chapter 10

(mean while in another city)

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If you're new - hi, I'm Laura! I'm a

teacher by day, hopeless romantic by

night, and this is a story that came from

my own passion for historical fiction,.

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Chapter 10

"Every traveler has a home of his own,

and he learns to appreciate it the more

from his wandering. " Charles Dickens

Chapter ten

Nate felt a sensation of nostalgia as

the distantly familiar sight of London

came into view from the window in

his cabin. The nostalgia made him

forget his horrendous nerves for a

few minutes, as within a few days he

would be home at Montrose and his

homecoming would reach the ears of

his friends at Ascot, namely the girl

whose engagement had meant his

return.

"Look, Maggie," Nate said softly

pointing out the small, circular

window. "London."

Maggie's pale green eyes peered out

the window and she gasped, flashing

a smile at Nate, the same smile that

had captured his heart nearly a year

ago when they'd first met in North

Carolina. "London," Maggie repeated,

her American accent wrapping around

the word like no other way he'd ever

heard it. "Is this where you live?" she

asked curiously.

"No, I live a few days' ride from here in

a place called 'Derbyshire.'My estate

is called 'Montrose," he explained. "It

will be our home."

"Are we going to stay here forever?"

Maggie asked next, still happily peering

out the window as the ship was being

secured to the dock.

Nate had already packed their trunks

and they were stacked at the door in an

orderly fashion. "England is my home,

Maggie. You'll like it here, I promise

you. The weather is questionable and

you might encounter a rude man or

two, but it is a wonderful place to live." 6

Maggie stood away from the windoww

and smoothed out her dress and

flattened her already smooth, brown

hair. Her hair was perfectly straight

and fell to her hip bones, and it had a

natural, gorgeous shine. Maggie's most

endearing feature, though, were her

beautiful eyes. The pale green hues

were unlike any Nate had ever seen.

Her eyes were framed by a set of dark,

long eyelashes. Her skin was naturally

olive due to her mother's Spanish

roots. All in all, Maggie was a very

attractive child, and would grow into

an exceptionally beautiful woman.

"Daddy, do you think I look nice

enough for England?" Maggie asked

vulnerably, looking down at her grey,

cotton gown. It was long sleeved

and buttoned down her front. He'd

commissioned a few dresses for Maggie

while still in Boston but she'd already

ruined them whilst playing with other

children on board. The simple, sturdy

kind were the dresses that suited the

amount of energy she had.

Nate smiled affectionately at his

young daughter. He placed his hands

underneath her arms and lifted her

up, supporting her light body on his

forearm as she wrapped her legs

around his waist. "You are perfect,"

he promised her. "No matter what

anybody says to you, you needn't

change. You have to understand, you

are different here, Maggie, so people

will say so. But if anyone makes you feel

different, you will report them to me,

understand?"

Maggie pursed her lips. "Can't I just

slap them around the ears?" she asked,

34

seeming perfectly serious.

Nate chuckled. "Absolutely not," he said

firmly, but then he rethought it. "Not

unless they really deserve it." She was a

child, so she could get away with a little

harmless fighting. Especially if a person

was behaving on their prejudices.

"Alright, even though it's March we still

need our coats. Quickly, the steward

will be here soon to collect our things."

He put Maggie down and helped

her into the thick, woollen coat he'd

purchased for her. She pulled her hair

out from inside the coat and then let

it fall down her back. The only reason

she wore it down was because Nate

had no idea how to fix a woman's hair.

Carrie hadn't had a chance to tell him

how to do that.

He'd met Caroline Wheeler on his way

through Charlotte, North Carolina.

Although he'd wanted to avoid any

potential reminder, the name of the

city had enticed him. Perhaps it was

fate. Carrie had worked in the hotel

he was staying at, as a singer in the

dining room, and he'd engaged her in

conversation after he'd had a little too

much to drink. Within half an hour

he'd divulged his entire tale regarding

Charlotte Wilde to her. Perhaps the

name of the city had brought it out of

him.

He and Caroline had become good

friends, and she'd helped him with

American customs so that he didn't

stand out so much. She'd told him of

her heritage, that being her father

marrying a Spanish immigrant,

hence her exotic features. She'd also

introduced him to her daughter,

Margaret, who preferred to be called

"Maggie'. Maggie was six years old and

she'd been born out of wedlock as her

father had disappeared soon after he'd

learned that Carrie was to have a child. 2

Carrie did her best to raise Maggie by

herself, though controlling her was

sometimes difficult as Maggie could be

quite a wild child when she wanted to

be.

Sadly though, two months after

he'd met Carrie and Maggie, Carrie

contracted diphtheria and had begged

Nate to look after Maggie on her death

bed. Nate had promised that he would,

and so he had.

Maggie had been reluctant at first, but

that was due to her grief. She'd been

ho

barred from seeing her mother as

Carrie had wanted to keep her away

from the sickness. She'd misbehaved

for Nate and had run away several

times, but Nate had eventually won

her over. All Maggie needed was to be

loved.

Nate had never imagined being a

father. Of course, he'd assumed it

would happen one day, but not the way

it did. Though he wouldn't change it.

Maggie had changed him for the better.

She'd made him brave enough to come

back home.

"Is Charlotte going to be my new

Momma?" Maggie asked suddenly, as

the steward collected their trunks. Nate

had taken her hand and had begun

leading her up to the deck.

His head snapped down to the girl who

was barely four feet tall. "Excuse me?"

"I read that letter you were hugging last

night," she answered innocently. "The

lady that wrote it said that Charlotte

loves you. Is she going to be my

Momma?"

"You know, when I taught you to read,

it didn't mean that you could read

everything you find," he scolded lightly.

amuthina

Maggie enjoyed reading anything.

And it was true, he had fallen asleep

reading and re-reading Bess' letter.

How he wished that Charlotte would be

Maggie's Momma, as she put it. Though

that was highły unlikely. For many

reasons.

The first, obviously, being that she was

engaged. Eric Mornington. Nate wanted

so desperately to hate him. Bess had

said there was only friendship between

them but he wouldn't believe that until

he saw it. If they were in love, then he

would retreat. He'd let her be happy

and find someone else who could love

both him and Maggie.

Maggie was the other reason that a

reunion, if one could call it that, would

be unlikely. Nate didn't know how

Charlotte, nor any of his Ascot friends,

would react to him having a daughter.

Maggie wasn't exactly a polite, little

debutante either. She was blunt and

often spoke her mind, no matter how

inappropriate the statement. It was

part of the reason that he'd never

written home about her. Perhaps he'd

thought he would've had more time to

think about how he'd tell them that a

deceased friend had bequeathed him a

daughter.

He'd never forgotten Charlotte though,

in all the time he'd been away; she'd

rarely left his thoughts. He'd loved her

two years ago and he still loved her

now.

The purpose of his trip had been to

forget her. He'd found distractions, but

he'd never forgotten.

Emmett had been right to want Nate to

stay away from Charlotte. His previous

dalliances didn't exactly paint him as a

desirable husband for his best friend's

sister.

Charlotte had changed though. She was

no longer the little girl that he'd known

in his adolescence. She'd grown up

and had quickly bewitched him. Her

sweet nature and irrefutable beautyy

had captured him as well. It wasn't

hard to fall in love with her. It wasn't

hard, also, to tell her everything about

himself. She knew the basics, of course.

His family was gone and he was alone

in the big house at Montrose, but only

then did she know how it felt. She

understood him in ways that no other

had ever before. Not even Emmett.

It was why being so horrid to her had

been the hardest thing he'd ever had

to do. Emmett had forbidden him from

touching Charlotte, and she refused to

let him keep his promise. Just thinking

back to that night made him feel

tremendously guilty. Emmett had sent

Charlotte, Rose and Marie to stay with

him for their safety and Charlotte had

surprised him in his bedchamber on

the first night.

**

It was raining and the air outside was

freezing. His bedchamber was warm

though, and the fire was throwing offa

flickering glow. Just as he was drifting

off to sleep, he was stirred by a soft rap

on his door.

Charlotte didn't wait for him to open the

door and burst into his room wearing

only a silk nightgown. Her dark hair

was fixed in a braid over her shoulder

and was secured with a white silk

ribbon.

"Charlotte,"Nate remarked, sounding

quite alarmed. He rose from his bed

and suddenly wished he was more

decently dressed. All he wore was a

pair of drawers. He couldn't help but

notice Charlotte's blue eyes rake over

his person quickly before they returned

to his face. "You should not be in here.

This is highly inappropriate. " If Emmett

some truly dijicult times.

Then, before Nate could even think

to stop her, a spark flashed across

Charlotte's eyes and she practically

launched herself at him. Quicker than

anything, she'd wrapped her arms

around his neck and was trying to kiss

him

She was truly testing his willpower.

With all the strength he had, both

mental and physical, he pushed her

away from him, keeping her at arm's

length. Charlotte looked incredibly hurt,

and he swore he saw tears forming in

her eyes.

He had to stop her, and he knew exactly

how. "You're a girl, Charlotte. You're

a child and I am a man. It would have

never worked between us. I suggest you

leave."

That had done it. He'd hurt her, perhaps

even beyond repair. Her lip trembled

and she stepped away from him. A

second later she turned and ran.

***

He'd felt so awful about saying that

ever since. He'd broken her heart and

he'd never meant the words.

Every time he'd caught her looking at

him after that, she'd always looked sad,

even if she'd plastered on a smile for

her family.

He'd tried to repair what friendship

they'd had during her early teenage

years. He didn't want Charlotte to

be miserable. Even if he had to be.

And he somewhat had repaired the

friendship. They were able to have

conversations again. But in having

those conversations, he'd decided that

he needed to get away from her fora

while. And so, America had beckoned,

as well as the fantastic wall in China.

However, Maggie had stayed him from

ever journeying to see the latter.

In his final letter to Charlotte, he'd told

her that he wished for her to meet a

nice gentleman her family approved

of. She'd done that. Though if the man

was older than thirty he would wring

Emmett's neck. He was thirty years old

himself now, and Charlotte was twenty.

That wasn't as horrible as when she

was still eighteen.

"Daddy, what now?" Maggie asked,

tugging on his sleeve. They stood on the

docks with their trunks in tow.

If he'd had made plans, he would have

sent wora anead to Montrose tO have a

carriage waiting. "We'll hire a carriage,

and then we'll go home. Are you

ready?"