Miss Charlotte

Miss Charlotte could hear the rhythmic chopping of a knife coming from the kitchen beyond the main hall as she entered through the front door and set her cloak on the peg beside the door. The steady sound was at odds with the sporadic hammering inside her chest, since she had bustled up the hill to the Litwell home faster than she was used to walking. She wasted no time in crossing the entrance hall and proceeded in towards the kitchen.

Dearest Father,

I hope this letter finds you well and healthy as when you set off. Do not worry, for Miss Charlotte and I are both wanting in nothing except your quick return home. Life in town is nothing short of exciting and I shall have a good many stories to tell you when you come home.

In the quiet evening when all lights in the neighborhood were blown out, one room in the top floor of the Cadien house remained illuminated. The windows were thrown open to let in the occasional gentle breeze, while Ellany was standing at her dresser, clutching a letter to her chest with a dreamy expression upon her face. This week, having hardly seen Corrben, she thought perhaps that he had grown disinterested in her after she had made her affections towards him known.

Ellany returned down the stairs to the kitchen after helping Muirenn up to her room. As the day came to an end, Miss Charlotte had taken up one of the guard's shirts to mend. She squinted down at the small tear and let the firelight guide her needle. When Ellany sat down opposite Miss Charlotte, the elder woman glanced up from her sewing.

The elder woman sat rocking in her chair by the hearth, not a single dark hair out of place, not even the few greying ones. Her knitting needles worked rhythmically in time with her rocking. Click, click. Click, click.

"So did you stop by the jail and acquaint yourself with the Watchers as your father bid you before he left? You know that if there's any trouble, you go straight to them." Miss Charlotte raised a thin eyebrow, regarding the younger woman across from her.