Chapter Seven
April 11th, Bamberg County, 1861
Charlie watched with irritation as the carriages and wagons stirred up clouds of taunting dust. Men rode on horseback alongside of the carriages or drove the wagons while the women inside laughed and chatted away with each other; the girls giggling and the matrons with somber tones discussed whatever it was they discussed. Probably the young girls.
Everyone was on their way to Orangeberg for the Governor's Ball. Everyone, that is, except for Charlie. This had been her punishment for her behavior three weeks ago at the Foster's Ball. She was stuck inside while everyone from old Mrs. Smith, to Mary, to Jane and her husband, were on their way to a party.
She may detest parties, but they were better than sitting at home. Alone. She wasn't even allowed to go out to the stables because Mrs. Winter had banned her from everything today. (And she had so wanted to play with Annabelle's new calf - the same one Charlie had delivered last week, on her way back from leaving a get well card off at Bella's house.) Her mother probably had told the grooms to lock the barn door as a precaution. (She underestimated Charlie's lock-picking abilities.)
What was she expected to do all day? Without animals and people, all alone in the big house?
One of Charlie's signature wicked grins spread across her thin lips. All alone. In the house.
She had the entire house all to herself, even the maids were out with Mrs. Winter and and the family. She might as well take advantage of it.
She retreated from the window and unbuttoned her shirtwaist and skirt. She took off her corset and hoops, throwing the restraining garments carelessly on the floor. Today she would be comfortable and do what she wanted.
She dove into her dresser, and leaving a few things hanging messily out of her drawers in her haste, dug out her old white shirt, the wrinkled, loose thing she used for riding. The same shirt her mother dubbed indecent because it was missing the top two buttons and looked like a man's shirt. Next Charlie put on her favorite - excuse me, we must keep up the pretense - the only skirt she found almost tolerable. A single layer, short piece of purple material with a patch on the front that went very well with her baggy shirt. She let her hair down, tying a ribbon around her waistband in case she needed it later. She kicked off her shoes, left her room, and went straight to the library, savoring her first few minutes of this newfound freedom that came from truly being alone and unsupervised.
She selected Wuthering Heights, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary. With these she would start and then move on to something she had not yet read, like Frankenstein or The Pickwick Papers. And she could finish off the night - her parents would not be back till tomorrow or later, so she could read as long as she wished - with her favorite novel, The Phantom of the Opera.
Unfortunately, as she was sitting down, in her father's big, comfy chair, a knock sounded at the door. Charlie groaned and threw her head back against the chair. She picked up Sense and Sensibility and tried to focus on the Dashwood's problems. Perhaps if she pretended no one was home, the person at the door would go away. But the knocking only grew more and more persistent and louder and louder until the knocking became pounding. Charlie sighed and put her book down, cursing whoever was at the door for interrupting Jane Austen.
A quick glance out the window revealed an old wagon, one she had not seen before, with rickety, splintering wood.
She took her sweet time descending the stairs, and by the time she did get to the door, the pounding turned into banging. It sounded as if a very large man was putting all his strength into an attempt to break the knocker and bring down the door. A futile attempt, only Charlie knew, for the door was made of four-inch-thick oak.
Charlie opened it to find she was right: it was a big man with the crazed idea to ruin the door, but she frowned at him nonetheless. And considered slamming the door in his face and going back upstairs to finish her novel.
A sweaty, wild eyed Jason Asher was on her doorstep, looking more nervous than a dog about to be cas- a dog getting it's nails clipped, let's say that.
She started to close the door be he leaned against it, panicked.
"Charlie, the doctor," Jason spoke quickly, in a rush to get the words out less they apparently choke him?- Charlie wouldn't have necessarily minded that - " is six miles away from your house, over at the ball, or almost there. From our house to here, it's four miles. In total, if I was to go there and back, I would be driving that whole stretch 20 miles there and back. I cannot leave her for that long so you have to come." It occurred to him he should be polite about this because Charlie hated him and he needed her. "Please."
"What? I understand arithmetic. Why? You can't leave who?"
He grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the wagon. "Mr. Asher, what are you in a fit about?" She pulled her arm free, nearly falling down the porch steps.
"Bella! She's - baby -"
"WHAT?"
"Please hurry, the doctor is away and this stupid" (he did not exactly say that word.) "this stupid town doesn't have a midwife! Or anyone else who might know anything about babies - you have to help!"
"You left your sister who is having a baby ALONE!" She shrieked. Than what he was asking registered. "I CAN'T DELIVER A BABY! I've only done animals! Foals, piglets, and calves! Puppies and kittens. I don't know anything about people - I could kill her!"
Many emotions played out in Jason's face. Grimness won out.
"Well she'll die without you anyway so you might as well try. And you have to; you still know more than me. You don't me doing it, do you? You know much more than I do, I am sure." Jason prayed this was working.
She could not believe he was begging - pleading - with her.
"Fine. Switch your horse with one of ours - the barn doors will be locked so yell for the Abraham Brothers, tell them it's an emergency and ask for 'Copperfield.' Go!" She glared at him. "I can't believe you left her."
"She's with a neighbor-"
"Go!"
She shoved him away and then ran back inside and up the stairs.She found one shoe but did not have enough time to look for the other. She did not grab a bonnet either. (Indecent because her bare ankles were showing under the short skirt and her hair was a wreck.) She did grab her father's medical book; the one on animals though, not people. That one was hidden somewhere in the library. Finally she ran back downstairs, hoping Jason hadn't gotten in a fight with the grooms and that he had Copperfield already hitched up.
She was impressed; he did. Now on to a day Charlie had no clue what the end of would be.
YOU ARE READING
A True Southern Belle
RomansaCharlie Winter has the perfect life simply because she is the talk of the County and not many people like her. She enjoys her uniqueness, and does not care that she has long irritated her mother to the point where her mother is slowly coming to hate...
