Charlie awoke Saturday morning with an idea. A stellar idea, she thought. She went to Teresa first, to enlist her
support and aid. Teresa then went to Murdoch, just as the family were gathering at the breakfast table.
The plan being, to go into Val's office, and invite him out to the ranch for supper, and for him to bring Burl along.
"Charlie and I will do all the cooking preparation," Teresa was saying.
Murdoch stood beside his chair, and looked at Teresa. "Burl's a lot to handle," he began.
"That's why we're inviting Mr. Val," Charlie contributed, and Murdoch raised an eyebrow.
"I doubt that Val would appreciate that he's only being invited to manage Burl," Murdoch said.
"I didn't mean it like that," Charlie said, turning warm with embarrassment.
"I know, darling," Murdoch said, reaching out to cup the side of Charlie's face. "I'm only teasing you."
"Is it alright?" Teresa continued, looking to Murdoch for permission.
"What do you think?" Murdoch asked, looking to Scott and Johnny. "Can we count the two of you in?"
"I've got plans around supper time," Johnny said. "But, I'll be back home maybe before Val leaves."
"It sounds alright to me," Scott said, in acceptance of the plan.
"Can I be the one to ride into town, and give Val the invitation?" Charlie asked, at large, looking at Scott mostly.
"May I?" Scott corrected.
"May I?" Charlie corrected, sure now that the answer was going to be yes.
"I think that would be alright," Scott said, and Charlie sat down to her breakfast, feeling happy. The day was
starting off hopeful. It got even better before Charlie left the house for town. Beets arrived, in a rented buggy, full of
high spirits. He greeted them all with enthusiasm, saying that he thought he'd make a quick visit, due to having some
papers for Scott to sign.
For just a moment or so, Charlie felt frightened. Could it be something gone wrong with the guardianship? She tried to tell herself
that she was being foolish. Mr. Beets was in too fine of a mood for something as dire as that. And, it would, indeed be dire.
Still, she had to ask. Scott didn't appear surprised about having papers to sign, and Charlie took that to be encouraging. Scott
wouldn't be so calm if it was something bad...
"It's nothing wrong, is it?" Charlie asked, pausing in front of Mr. Beets and Scott.
"No, Charlotte, nothing wrong," Mr. Beets said, in assurance. "Just some customary things."
"Okay. Good," Charlie said, letting her breath out.
"Come on home as soon as you've talked to Val, alright?" Scott told her.
"Yes. I will."
The roads to town were muddy from the rains the night before. In town, there seemed to be more people than was
usual. Then Charlie remembered it was, indeed, Saturday morning. Lots of folks came to town on Saturday mornings.
She went to the jail, and inside. Val greeted her with a smile.
"You might as well take up residence here, young'un," he said. "You're here often enough."
Charlie smiled at his teasing, and then issued the supper invitation.
"Well-" Val said, hesitating as if in thought.
"Please, Mr. Val?" Charlie pleaded.
"Well, what are we going to have to eat? If I do decide to accept, that is," Val said, with a twinkle in his eye.
"Fried chicken. And biscuits. And applesauce cake."
"Sounds darn fine. Alright, J.C., the old fella and I will be there. What time?"
"Teresa said five o'clock," Charlie said.
"Alright."
"Can I say hello to Burl?" Charlie asked, then.
"He's still sleepin'. Whatever Doc gave him last night sure put him out."
"Oh. Okay," Charlie said, disappointed, but thinking that she would see Burl soon enough.
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When she left the jail, Charlie went to the general store, thinking she would take a quick look to see if there were any new
books in. There weren't any, and she was debating whether to buy some candy, when Lucy came in with her father. She
immediately came over to stand near Charlie.
"Hi, Charlie," she said, in greeting.
"Hi, Lucy."
"Did you hear that we're not having school next week, either?"
"We're not?" Charlie asked.
"No. Miss Susan can't teach. She has to take her mother to Stockton, cause her mother's still not well, and she's going to
go visit with her sister. With Miss Susan's mother's sister, not Miss Susan's sister," Lucy clarified.
Not for the first time, Charlie thought how Lucy could talk, and talk, and talk. Anyway, she didn't mind so much about
having some more days off of school. That was, if Lucy knew what she was talking about for certain.
"Do you know for sure?" Charlie asked.
"My father's on the school board," Lucy said, sounding important. "He knows about it."
"Oh," Charlie said, and started walking outside. "Well, bye, Lucy."
"Wait, I'll walk with you," Lucy said, and called out to her father that she was going with Charlie.
Charlie wished she could have stopped Lucy from walking with her. Teresa told her all the time to be patient with Lucy, but
Charlie felt as though a little bit of Lucy went a very long way, indeed.
"I have to be going back home," Charlie said, hoping to discourage Lucy.
"Come over to my house. We can swing on my swing. My mother was making cookies," Lucy invited.
"I can't," Charlie said. "I'm supposed to go straight home."
"Well, can't you come over, anyway? You can say that you decided to stay and play at my house."
For a moment Charlie was tempted to laugh at that. Maybe she could have gotten away with something like
that in Stockton. Well, for sure. Nobody would even have noticed if she was late arriving back when she lived in Stockton. For
a quick moment, Charlie felt a lump in her throat. Things were different now.
So, when she spoke, she felt secure and safe in speaking the words, "Scott would be awful angry with me. I can't."
"Aw, why?" Lucy said, beginning to pout. "Why is he so mean?"
"He's not mean," Charlie denied, heading towards where she'd left Gurth tied, as Lucy tried to keep up.
"Then come over," Lucy persisted. "I'll even tell my mother to get us some root beer. Have you had root beer before?"
"Johnny got me some, awhile back."
"Well, come on, then."
Charlie paused in her walking. "I can't. I'll get into trouble."
"You said that Scott's not mean, though."
"He's not."
"Then if he scolds you, just cry, and he'll feel bad and stop. That's what I do," Lucy said, as if she was giving out a
valuable secret.
Charlie nearly laughed, and Lucy took offense.
"Why are you laughing at me?" she asked.
"It's just-that's so silly," Charlie said. "Scott would never-" she paused. "Anyway, I can't come. We're having company for
supper and I have to help get things ready."
"Who's coming?" Lucy asked, and Charlie thought she sounded a bit sad, and lonely.
So, she found herself softening, and answering nicely. "My friend, Mr. Beets, from Stockton, and Mr. Val, and Burl."
Lucy's eyes widened. "You're having him at your house? For supper?"
"Sure. Why shouldn't we?" Charlie asked, bristling again.
"He has no place to live now," Lucy said, as if reporting something new.
"I know."
"He'll have to go somewhere else," Lucy said. "He's not stable-my mother said so. She said he needs to go to an
asylum."
"Asylum?" Charlie asked.
"Yes," Lucy said, and puffed up with importance at Charlie's interest. "You know, one of those places where they put folks when
their mind is gone. And they never get out."
"Burl's mind isn't gone," Charlie defended. "He just gets confused." She wasn't going to let on to Lucy anything about Burl's recent outbursts. "And
if he was to go to a sanitarium, he would get help there, and then he'd be fine, and come home again."
"Those places are called asylums," Lucy said, her tone superior. "And they're horrible places. I heard my mother-she said
they tie people up, and try to shock them into getting better, but it almost never works. And, then they stay there, and it's dirty,
and there's lots of rats and things-"
"Shut your mouth," Charlie said, suddenly furious.
Lucy blinked in shock. "What?"
"I said to shut your mouth. You don't know what you're talking about," Charlie said.
"You can't talk to me like that!" Lucy said, her blue eyes filling with tears.
"Yes, I can! You-you're just a silly girl that talks too darn much, and I wouldn't come to your house ever again,
not even if you were giving away gold coins for it!"
"I'm going to tell my mother!" Lucy cried, and turned to run up the sidewalk.
"Good! Your mother talks too much, too!" Charlie shouted after her.
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Charlie found that she was shaking. From being so angry, she thought. And, the shaking did abate, a bit, by
the time she was halfway home again. But, she was still filled with fury. At Lucy. At Lucy's mother. And, at Scott, too, though
it hurt to admit it to herself. Why hadn't he told her all those things about the sanitariums? The rats, and the being tied up, and
how a person never got out? Maybe Lucy was just running off at the mouth again.
When Lancer was in her eye's view, she began to worry of another nature. If Lucy did tell her mother, and she was sure to
do just that, then her mother was likely to raise a fuss. Making her precious daughter cry, and then Charlie saying that she, the mother,
talked entirely too much, as well...
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Charlie untacked her horse, and went to the barn loft to hold the kittens. It was some later when she heard Teresa calling
to her. She wanted to ignore her, but then thought better of it. Teresa had been awfully nice lately, and she didn't deserve to be
ignored. Charlie went to the loft opening.
"I'm up here," she called down.
Teresa shaded her eyes from the sun, looking up. "I thought you weren't back until I saw Gurth in the pasture. How long have you
been up there?"
"Not very long."
"Well, come on down. I need your help."
Charlie heaved a great sigh, but went to the ladder, taking the rungs to the bottom.
"Did Val say that they would come?" Teresa asked, once Charlie was standing beside her on the ground..
"Yes. He said they would be here by five."
"Alright. Good," Teresa said, and began walking towards the house, still talking. When she realized that Charlie wasn't following
behind her, she paused. "What's wrong with you?" she demanded.
"Lucy Stone. That's what's wrong," Charlie said, shortly.
"Oh, Lucy again. I've told you, she's a little spoiled-"
"A lot spoiled," Charlie corrected.
"Alright. A lot spoiled. So what? You just be nice to her and go your own way."
"She-" Charlie paused, finding that she couldn't, or didn't want to go on. "Never mind."
"Alright. Well, come on, we've got to have a quick lunch ready, so we can clean this afternoon, and start supper
preparations."
Charlie followed Teresa sullenly to the house, and was helping prepare things when Scott came in.
He went to wash his hands, and said, to Charlie, "How was town?"
Charlie, from where she was sitting on the tall kitchen stool, chopping carrots, said only, shortly, "It was the same as usual," while
avoiding his eyes.
"Yeah?" Scott asked, looking at Charlie, puzzled. He met Teresa's gaze from where she stood, opposite Charlie, peeling apples. Teresa
gave a slight shrug in answer.
"Did you see Burl?" Scott asked, now, leaning against the cabinet, and drying his hands on a towel.
"He was asleep."
Scott laid the towel aside, and came over to stand closer to both of the girls.
"I thought we'd have an easy lunch in here," Teresa was telling Scott, "And then tonight, we'll do up the table in the dining room
really nicely."
"Sounds fine," Scott said.
"Are the others coming in soon?" Teresa asked.
"They're coming along, right behind me," Scott said.
"Good."
Scott eyed Charlie again, and then said, "Something bothering you, kiddo?"
Charlie hesitated the merest of moments, and then said, "I'm alright."
That wasn't answering his question. Charlie knew it, and she knew that Scott knew it, too. She waited for him to
say something more, but he was quiet, though he stood there, where he was, still looking at her.
"She had a go 'round with Lucy Stone," Teresa volunteered, and Charlie looked up from her carrot chopping to give
Teresa what was nearly a glare.
"That right?" Scott asked Charlie, sounding concerned.
"I don't want to talk about it," Charlie said, very quietly, and she looked up at Scott, though she looked over his shoulder,
and not at his eyes.
"Alright. We don't have to talk about it right now," Scott said. Charlie didn't miss that 'right now' part of his statement.
"I don't care about Lucy Stone!" Charlie said, and now she did look at him, and at Teresa and back to Scott again. "She's
a spoiled brat, and I don't care what Teresa says, I'm not going to be friends with her."
"All I said was to be nice to her-" Teresa began to protest, pausing in her apple peeling.
"Why doesn't somebody tell her to be nice?" Charlie pointed out. "I don't think anybody's ever told her to be nice."
And, then, to Charlie's dismay and embarrassment, she found that she was perilously close to crying. She rubbed at her cheek,
angry at herself.
There were sounds at the back door, coming in, of others. Mr. Beets and Murdoch. Charlie could hear the jingle of Johnny's spurs, too.
"Why don't you go upstairs and wash your face," Scott told her quietly. "Calm down a little bit, and then come back down."
Charlie nodded, and hopped down from the stool, going thru the door and towards the stairs to her bedroom before any of the
others could see her face. It was bad enough, she thought, that Teresa and Scott had seen it. Scott was sure to want to know, later,
what exactly had happened to cause her to be so wrought up.
"I should have hidden it better," Charlie scolded herself.
It was just-well, just hard to hide how she was feeling from Scott. Maybe it hadn't been quite so difficult at the beginning, but
now, well, it was hard.
Charlie did wash her face, and the cool water helped her feel better. She sat on her bed for a few minutes, and then
she ran a hairbrush thru her hair, and went back downstairs, though slowly. She could hear voices from the kitchen, and laughter, too.
Charlie was quiet during lunch, not totally silent, because she didn't want to draw more attention to herself by not talking, but
still quieter than usual. She ate her lunch, answered when she was spoken to, and tried to keep her expression from showing
any upset.
As they were all finishing, and getting to their feet, Mr. Beets paused beside Charlie. "Perhaps we can go for a walk tomorrow," he
suggested. "Since you're busy helping Teresa this afternoon."
"Alright," Charlie said.
After that, when the two girls were the only ones in the house, they began cleaning, and straightening.
Charlie was to dust the library, and polish the dining room table. Teresa paused, her arms full of laundry from the
line, and said, hesitantly, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"
"No," Charlie said, curtly, as she gathered her dusting supplies.
"I'm sorry if I shouldn't have mentioned Lucy to Scott earlier," Teresa said.
Charlie shrugged. She wished Teresa hadn't done it, either. But, she didn't want to treat Teresa badly.
"I told Lucy to shut her mouth," Charlie admitted.
"Oh, Charlie," Teresa sighed.
"She was talking about things she shouldn't have been."
Teresa was quiet, looking regretful.
"And I told her that she talked too much, and that her mother talked too much."
Teresa rolled her eyes heavenward. "Why didn't you practice what I told you?"
At Charlie's puzzled look, Teresa reminded, "You know, imagine her in her petticoats being chased into the pond by
a goat."
"Oh, I forgot," Charlie said.
"What did she say that upset you so much?" Teresa asked.
Charlie hesitated. "Do you know anything about asylums?" she asked bluntly.
"Asylums?" Teresa asked, obviously puzzled. "What's that got to do with Lucy?"
"Do you?" Charlie persisted.
"Well, not really. I know what they are, obviously, but that's about all. Why do you ask?"
"Are they terrible places?" Charlie asked.
"Well, yes, I think they're pretty terrible," Teresa said.
"With rats?" Charlie asked.
"I don't know about that," Teresa said. "Why do you want to know that?"
"I don't wanna talk about it anymore," Charlie said, with a sigh, and went off to begin her dusting.
Teresa rolled her eyes heavenward again.
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The house was clean, and welcoming when the men gathered in the library to await Val and Burl's arrival.
Teresa had coated the chicken with flour and was frying it, pushing her hair away from her hot face. The applesauce cake
was baking in the oven, and the biscuits were going in next.
"You can go and set the table," Teresa said. "Put that lace table runner down first, alright?"
"Okay," Charlie said, and she went to do that. She was spreading the table runner on one end when Scott came from the
library, a drink in his hand.
He set the glass down, and went to take the other end of the table runner, to spread it out.
"Table's going to look nice," he said.
Charlie stood at one end, looking down the long table to the other end, at Scott.
Into the momentary silence, Scott said, "Are you feeling some better than you were earlier?"
Charlie shrugged slightly. "I guess so," she said.
"You don't sound too sure," Scott said.
Another moment of quiet, exchanging a look, and Charlie said, "There's no school next week again. Miss Susan has
to take her mother to Stockton."
"Oh. You hear about that in town?" he asked.
Charlie nodded.
"We'll have to think of some lessons for you to do here at home, huh?" Scott asked. He'd been half-way joking, and
was prepared for Charlie to protest mildly or such.
Instead, Charlie only looked at him, and said, quietly, "I guess."
Scott came to stand near to her. "This is about more than a set-to with Lucy Stone, isn't it?"
Charlie met his eyes, and then nodded.
"Whatever it is sure seems to be bothering you a lot," he said. After a moment he reached out to run his hand
over her back. It was such a 'paternal' gesture. Charlie had seen Ann's father do it at a school picnic, and she'd even
seen Lucy's father do it while he'd been sitting with Lucy in a wagon in the school yard.
It was a gesture of pride, of comfort, that's what Charlie had determined from watching the
other girls with their fathers. And, now, in the moment of Scott rubbing her back that way, well, Charlie took the step or
two to him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. For a long few moments, she didn't say anything. She just
hugged him, and looked up to meet his gaze.
"I need to talk to you about it," Charlie admitted.
"Alright. Do you want to do it now, before Val and Burl get here? Or later, before bed?"
"I have to set the table, and help Teresa finish the food-so later, before bed, I guess," Charlie said.
"Alright."
"I made the biscuits," she confided.
"Did you? Well, I hope you made enough, because I plan on eating at least a half dozen," Scott told her.
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