A True Southern Belle

         Chapter Ten

  When Charlie woke.next, the sun was high in the sky. The small clock on the wall said it was noon.

  Oh good Lord, Chalie thought with more than a little irritation. How could she sleep this long when she never had before? That statement deserved an exclamation mark, not a question mark, the way she tought of it.

  She came down the stairs to find Bella sitting in the dining room with her baby, and Jason rummaging around in the kitchen.

Bella was beaming down at her little girl and didn't see Charlie approach, but Jason heard her. He had the pleasure of seeing the irritation leave her deep gray eyes, joy taking it's place. "I see you woke up at last, sleeping beauty."

  "Charlie! Come see the baby, dear." Bella grinned at her.

Charlie paused on the last step of the stairs. "I'm certainly not sleeping beauty - in fact, five me a moment Bella. I think I might scare the baby with how I look." She tried smoothing her tangled hair.

  But if anything, she looked prettier than usual. She was accustomed to late hours and early mornings which left a faintly haggard appearance around her, or a sharper one at least. Now, strangely well rested, her eyes were brighter and she gave off - as impossible as it seemed - more exuberance, vivacity, and liveliness then she normally did. It enhanced her eyes and almost gave her skin a glow. Her hair was loose, curls unrestrained, making it darker or lighter in some parts, but thicker overall. Her clothes were rumpled but they suited her still.

  "I think you look quite lovely," said Bella. "Ignore my brother he's  just jealous. What do you think of Jane Carol?"

  Bella was the tidiest in the room, next to Charlie's just-fell-out-of-bed look and Jason's untucked, slept in, messy-haired style. Her hair was neatly held back with a lavendar ribbon, and her purple dress looked freshly ironed.

  Charlie peered at the baby over Bella's shoulder, frowning.

"Is something wrong, Charlie?"

  "No, no, she's perfect."

  "Then do you not like the name? I named her for you and Jane."

  "Well Jane is fine, and I am really honored to have a child named after me... but Carol doesn't suit her or I. How about Cara?"

  "Jane Cara... Cara Jane! It's wonderful. Cara Jane Twain. I really do like that," Bella said, squeezing Charlie's hand. "Thank you darling. I'm  so glad Jace was able to bring you. It was generous of you both."

  "Bella, if that is generous, I wonder what you call it when someone does something really big for you  - like weed your garden. Is that good-natured kindness?"

  "You know what would be kindness? Breakfast. What wouls you two like?" Jason cut in.

  "Jason, you look harrassed." Charlie observed.

"Isn't it lunchtime?" Bella asked.

  "Yes but I only know how to cook fish, toast, eggs, and coffee. And I can cut up cornbread. Since we don't have fish we're having breakfast."

  "Are you saying eggs aren't a lunch?" Bella and Charlie laughed, with Jason joining in, still shuffling around the kitchen.

"I'll help you with the eggs." Charlie offered.

  "Thanks. I'll go down to the river later and catch some fish for dinner."

  "Oh Jason! Take Charlie with you, please. You really must see it Charlie. It's a beautiful river."

Charlie hesitated. Her mother wouldn't approve. But that made her want to go all the more. But...

"Charlie has to go home at some point Bella. She can't live with you forever."

"But Jason, her family isn't home yet, right Charlie?"

"Right. So I will go. But Jason... you sound awfully sure you will catch fish. That's a lot if confidence. What if they don't bite?" Charlie teased him.

 
The only issue that presentrd itself was Charlie's apparel. She needed to wash her skirt and shirt, which meant she would also need to wear something over her undergarments.

  Bella was a head shorter than Charlie and her regular dresses were put away anyway to make room for her 'mother' clothes.

  "You know, mother's old dresses, the ones she sent me to make baby clothes out of are in the attic. They're old but they might work..."

"But?" Charlie asked.

"But you can try them."

Those dresses barely reached Charlie's ankles and hung in loose folds around her chest. Jason had to stiffle laughter when he saw her.

  "To save some trouble, can't imagine just wear a pair of your breeches  and one if your shirts?"

  Chuckling to and from his room, handed her a shirt and pants. Bt when she emerged this time, he had to admit she didn't look half bad. She didn't even need to roll up the legs. (Unknown to Jason, Charlie cuffed them before tucking them into a pair of Bella's boots, which were a size too small.)

With her clothes drying and an amused but slightly shocked look on Bella's face at Charlie's choice of apparel, Charlie and Jason set off on horseback through the forest, to the river.

It was a very nice day and Charlie enjoyed the ride. She inwardly gloated about Copperfield - to ride him, once must be an experienced rider and have an exceptional seat. Not to mention, they had to be Charlie. But it did take a lot to keep Jason's horse, Duke, another stallion, and Copperfield from fighting. 

  The cool breeze and warm rays of sunlight shining through the trees seemed to have a soothing affect on the stallions and their hot blooded - and hot tempered - owners.  This was the longest Charlie and Jason had gone without sneering at each other.

  They had a rather pleasant conversation actually.

  "How come "Caroline" changed to Charlie?"

"When I was three, I ruined a lace dress by throwing mud balls at my brother, Daniel. He called me a tomboy while our mother scolded me. I liked the term."

Jason gave her a funny look, making her laugh. "Not the word exactly, more like the way he said it. Like I was one of his friends. It was amiable, friendly. Not like how we spoke to The Sisters. It wasn't a word that meant I was a girl who played rough, or acted like a boy. It meant I was closer to boys almost, the fun ones.

"Our sisters were prissy an perfect, and you couldn't talk to them without them sniffing at you or getting shocked by something you said to them. You could say something to a normal person and they would think it.was just a plain old word. Repeat it to them and it would be callous."

"And?"

"And so, after my mother threw a ladylike fit and Mary got mad at me, Daniel loaned me a pair of his pants, which I tied with a rope so I wouldn't ruin another dress. I had nothing on underneath, to the confounded amusement of him and his friends. I went out riding with them. They said they didn't like my name, Cara, Carol, and Caroline were too girly. Tey suggested Carl or Cal. I didn't like those.

"Mother of course found out what we were doing and told Father. At dinner that night, he greeted me like he usually did, only instead if calling me Caroline, like always, he called me Charlie. He looked meaningfully at me, looking over the top of his glasses, and said 'Hello, Charlie.' The name stuck ever since."

"I love that story, Charlie."

  "Me too."

"Why were you named Caroline?"

   "Well the only names my mother liked were given to my sisters. She hadn't planned on having more girls. I was an unexpected surprise. So since Jane, Virginia, and Diana were taken, there was only one option left. Oddly enough, it was the first one my father liked. And that was the great states of North and South Carolina. The Carolinas."

Jason snorted. "Named after a state."