18
Charlotte
Just after sunrise the very next morning, Charlotte awoke to her maid placing a small salver with a note on it next to her bed. She groaned her displeasure at being awakened at the ungodly hour.
"Who is it from, Rachel?" She squinted against the cruel onslaught of sunshine entering the room once her maid drew back the bed curtains.
"It's from Mr. Gowrey. He carried it to the kitchen himself, where he found me making a tray for ye." Rachel motioned toward the covered platter awaiting her in front of the fire. "He said to deliver it straight into yer hands. Then he said 'Please, miss,' and I thought I'd swoon. One’d ne’er know from his size and looks that he’s so polite."
With a trembling hand Charlotte took the note from her bedside table and broke the plain green seal on
