Forged In Love

ChapterTwo

Lady Charlotte Bingley of Bridgewater was not a typical lady, and she was fine with that. Her father had all but insured that for her. He had wanted a boy, not a worthless girl, and then his wife had up and died before he could try again. Her father, the late Alvin Bingley, Duke Of Bridgewater, could have remarried but found the whole process bothersome and tedious, so he was left with his daughter, which he barely acknowledged. The only person that ever cared for Charlotte was her maid and governess, Anne. Anne was the mother she never had and the only person who ever really loved her. If it weren't for Anne, who knows what would have become of Charlotte. Her father really didn't care if she learned anything, or even became a lady. Charlotte spent the majority of her childhood with the children of the village and their families. She learned how to read and write with them. They were her friends. As she grew, they taught her their skills and trades. She learned to weave, sew, fish, cook, but her favorite was blacksmithing. Watching the blacksmith was the most fascinating. The way he took lumps of material and formed it into something useful or beautiful with his sheer will and power, was inspiring.

As a result of her upbringing, Charlotte was very headstrong and free-willed, but she was also respectful and polite. There was a time in her youth when no one really knew how to discipline her, she was, after all, the daughter of a duke. In the end, the mothers of the village got together with Anne and decided to take it upon themselves to take her in hand just like the rest of the children. They couldn't just let her grow up without any instructions. The more they treated her as one of their own children, the more she felt like she was. The whole village was her family. They were aunts and uncles and cousins to her. They even gave her, her own nickname... Lady Lottie. She would do just about anything for these people. She loved them all.

There were, however, two people in the manor that didn't care for Lady Charlotte in the least. The Head Butler, Nigel, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Green, despised Charlotte and no one really knew why. Some people believed they saw her as worthless, like the duke did. Others speculated it had to do more with whether they would still be employed after she was married off. Neither of these reasons were Charlotte's fault or even within her control. Anne made sure to shelter Charlotte from them as much as possible. There was no need for her to deal with adult minds as a child. Nigel and Mrs. Green were petty people and had no business being around such a sweet girl anyway. Even if she was a little odd.

By the time Charlotte was 6, she was apprenticing to the blacksmith, Peter. He had seen in her a spark that he knew would lead to greatness. The way she watched him for years had left very little room for him to tell her no when asked to be his apprentice. Blacksmithery wasn't suitable for a girl, let alone the duke's daughter, but Peter didn't have many others to choose from. She would make the best replacement and, since her father wasn't allowing an exchange of trades among the neighboring villages anymore, he would stick with Lady Lottie. She was a fast learner and wasn't afraid of hard work. In no time, she was stronger than the village boys and was making flawless knives. Along with learning about the forge, Lottie had picked up leather work. All of her knives had beautiful sheaths made of leather that she crafted and decorated herself. At the age of 13, she was producing perfectly balanced swords with ornate handles. Her work was sound and beautiful. It was a shame that her father wasn't interested. She had made him all kinds of blades, but never even unsheathed them. Lottie didn't let that discourage her though, she started selling her metal crafts. She was smart about it though and posed as the blacksmith's daughter. Lottie always sold out. As she turned 18, Lottie had learned all she could from Peter and had taken to teaching herself how to make fine jewelry with gold and silver. Those pieces went for a lot of money, and she used that money to help her family. Her father was old and sick and no longer cared for the people he was responsible for. No matter how much Lottie pleaded with him, he wouldn't release a single coin from the coffers. Lord Bingley had made it very clear that no money was to leave his purse until she was married. Most felt this was a cruel joke because they all knew he wasn't going to even try to make a suitable match for her. This was all his way of showing her exactly how useless he found her.

Now, at the age of 20, she was to be wed to a man she hadn't ever heard of, let alone met. Lt. Lord Henry Whitestone of Southampton was to arrive at Cadishead tomorrow around midday. Lottie had only been told of his existence and their arranged marriage two days ago. That wasn't much of a warning for a young lady to receive that her whole world was to be flipped upside down. There wasn't even time to think about what kind of man he was or what he might look like. She was far too worried about how he would treat her people and how he would react to wedding such a "wild girl". If Lottie was lucky, her life would only be slightly miserable and not completely over. She had very little experience with proper gentlemen, as there really weren't any around. She had grown up with village people and as lovely as her family was, they weren't nobility like herself or this Lord Henry. To think of herself as nobility made Lottie chuckle to herself, she was barely polished. If it wasn't for Anne, she would be indistinguishable from those around her. There was really no sense fretting about it, and if anyone was at fault, it was her father. He had neglected her and her upbringing. With that, Charlotte shook her head and went to find the housekeeper. There were preparations to make before their new lord arrived. While Mrs. Green liked to think she was the lady of the manor, it was time for Charlotte to reclaim her place.