Charlotte: The Practical Education of a Distressed Gentlewoman by Amelia Grace Treader Page B

friend was in the army.
I doubt he even looked at me. I was a gangling young girl at the
time. Still, I wonder about him from time to time.”
    “ So you still think about
him?”
    “ Not often and only when I'm in
the dumps. Anyway he's either a casualty in Spain or happily
married by now. I'm sure when I really fall in love, my fantasies
about him will evaporate like the morning dew.”
    “ I don't know. I've met many men
in the last few weeks, but somehow they just don't make an
impression. Not even a bad impression like Freddy.”
    “ Now you're being silly,
Charlotte. If you expect to meet the love of your life during a few
weeks in Bath, I think you will be disappointed.”
    “ I don't know. It's just I keep
thinking about your annoying brother. Why can't I get him out of my
thoughts?”
    “ Don't ask me about that. I can't
get away from him either.”
    “ But you're his sister. Why would
you want to get away from him?”
    “ Didn't you ever want to get away
from, what was it, John?”
    “ Yes, but he wasn't as nice to me
as Freddy seems to be to you.”
    “ Well Freddy is special, but then
I'm his little sister.”
    “ The thing is Lizzy, he isn't
always annoying. He hasn't been so annoying lately. I don't
understand it.”
    “ I'm glad to hear that. Maybe you
know him better than you did?”
    They reached the junction of the
two canals, and much to their surprise there was a party of men
examining the aqueduct and locks at the junction. One of them was
Freddy.
    Elizabeth shouted, “Freddy! What
are you doing here? I thought you were headed for
London.”
    He walked over and greeted them. “I
was, but first I'm inspecting one of father's special investments,
from his 'canal mania' period.”
    “ What's wrong with
canals?”
    “ Not much is wrong, but it's not
right either. It's making a decent return for now, but I don't
think it's a good long term solution to moving goods. We've put too
much capital into it, so now the question is how to get some of our
money out without crashing the company.”
    Charlotte quietly watched as
Elizabeth queried her brother. They spoke as equals, analyzing a
problem and listening to each other about their ideas. The idea
that a mere female could have any opinion about a matter of
substance worth listening to, let alone seriously considering was
something of a surprise to her.
    “ What's the problem with
it?”
    “ High maintenance costs, and the
damp.”
    “ The damp?”
    “ Everything has to float. Just try
keeping your grain dry in one of these barges.”
    “ I see. Also, if everything is
horse drawn.”
    “ You're right Lizzy, it can't go
any faster than a wagon, and the canal just seems to eat
horseflesh. It's just too expensive to last.”
    “ So is there any
alternative?”
    “ Stephenson, Trevithick. Steam
engines and tramways.”
    “ Sounds risky.”
    “ It is. The trouble is doing
nothing is even more risky.”
    “ That's true, but will they use
our ironworks?”
    “ Of course, initially it might
make a loss, but it won't be long before it becomes a very
profitable endeavor. The canal itself uses steam pumps to keep the
water flowing, and if we can improve those using Stephenson's
higher pressure engines, we'll be ahead there as well.”
    Elizabeth remembered her manners.
“Freddy, Charlotte and I were riding on the downs. We'll return to
Bath presently. Would you or your party care to dine with us this
evening?”
    Freddy finally seemed to notice
Charlotte, but unfortunately he had to reply, “I'm sorry Miss De
Vere, I'm due to take the next boat back to Reading on my way to
the city. I'll probably be dining, if you can call it that, in a
canal-side pub at Chippingham, if not Devizes or some other such
damned place.”
    Charlotte wondered why, despite her
nominal antipathy to this bounder, it was a disappointment that he
wouldn't be dinning with them. “I'm truly sorry to hear that Mr.
Talbot. I'm planning to visit London in a week or so, could we