Dearest Charlotte by Audrey Lockyer (mobi reader TXT) 📕

“Yes, ma’am.” “How nice! Where you from then?” “I’m from London.” Said Charlotte, who, enjoyed talking to this lady, found it strange that she was talking to a total stranger at such ease.
The lady looked shocked for a moment. "Oh my, I wouldn't have thought that for a second! You haven’t got the slightest accent.” “Thank you, ma’am.” She said, although that wasn’t strictly true; she did have an accent but she was trying ever so hard to talk without one.
The train was crowed and she was glad that she had a window seat. She watched the grey landscape tearing past until it began to rain, then she watched the raindrops splash against the window and trickle down the glass pane, however this too soon became dull and she sat back in her seat and wondered that to do. The old lady had fallen asleep with her pencil still in her hand because she’d dropped off in the middle of writing a letter to her son, who, she had said, was away fighting. Charlotte wondered whether or not to wake her but she decided against it in case she didn’t want to be woken. She closed her eyes and sucked on the sweet that the old lady had given her, she tried desperately to remember her mother, who had died when she was three. Her sisters always talked about her, they were a lot older than herself; Jane by eleven years, Emilie by nine and Annabelle by five. The only memory she had was very vague, it was of a tall, brown haired lady with bright green eyes, picking her up and cuddling her. Although, she was never completely sure if it was just a dream.
“Dear, wake up. We’re coming into Oxford.” She was being shaken awake by the old lady. “Oh, thank you for waking me, ma’am.” She said, sitting forward in the seat and picking up her suitcase. “No trouble, Dear.” The lady said, putting her powder, purse and letter back in her handbag. She gave Charlotte another sweet for the journey before she put them in her bag too. Soon, the train came to a halt. It stopped so abruptly that Charlotte nearly fell over. “Well, here we are, Deary!” The lady exclaimed, happily. “I suppose we have to say ‘good bye’ now.” They both said good bye and to Charlotte’s great surprise, the lady hugged her tightly, “God bless, God bless.” She was whispering until she let her go. Charlotte waited so that she was last to get off, there is so many people, she thought, I don’t want to be trampled on! Eventually, she managed to get off and out of the station.
It was a thirty minute walk to the Manor and by the time she got there it was nearly ten O’clock. For a moment she stood before the house in wonderment; she had never seen a house so big. She walked up to the door a ring the bell, immediately; a footman came to open it. “Hello, I am Charlotte Bromfield. I believe I’m staying here?” The footman opened the door wider. “Certainly, Miss Bromfield, if you should like to come this way.” He replied, leading her into the entrance hall and taking her bags, “I’m terribly sorry, Miss Bromfield, but I’m afraid that the lord is in bed now and so is unable to greet you.” He said, leading her up the tall stairs.