Page 4 of Lady Charlotte and the Lending Library
Charlotte was struck dumb for a moment. Her beloved Thorne’s could not be in danger of closing; she simply would not allow it.
“Is that why Robbie isn’t here today? You’ve had to let him go?” she asked with concern in her voice.
“He went to the apothecary to fill a script for his mother,” Mr. Thorne replied. “I allow him the odd hour or two every week to take care of his family.”
She murmured vague words of support. As she returned to her friends in their little nook, a wagon could be heard rumbling past in the street outside. Gunter’s Tea Shop was nearby. Perhaps the vehicle delivered ice to the confectioner’s store.
“Are you all right?” Edith asked when Charlotte retook her seat. “You look pale.”
“Thorne’s may have to close,” she replied starkly.
There was a short silence. The bell over the door jingled, startling them all, and a female customer entered the shop. The woman proceeded to speak with Mr. Thorne.
“What about Robbie?” Edith asked with a frown. “He needs this job to help support his family. Where is he today? I do hope he hasn’t lost his position.”
“Mr. Thorne told me Robbie is visiting the apothecary on his mother’s behalf,” Charlotte replied soothingly. “I think it best we don’t tell him the shop might close. Of course, he may already know.”
“Robbie has enough to worry about with five siblings to feed,” Louisa said, for once, compassion evident in her voice. She looked up from her magazine and frowned. “Thorne’s can’t close. It may not be the most fashionable place in London, but it is our place.”
Charlotte was pleased Louisa shared her distress. Edith was passionate about her newspapers and politics, Louisa about magazines and decorating, and Charlotte adored books. Thorne’s was the next best thing to having her own private library.
The three women never spoke of it, but they weren’t considered great beauties. Charlotte liked to tell herself she should try harder to be sweet and biddable to attract a gentleman. She simply didn’t have any interest in doing so. Her childhood friend Louisa agreed, and the women had become friends with Edith at the beginning of the season due to her likeness of mind. The lending library was a place Charlotte felt comfortable being herself, a place far removed from the critical eyes of the marriage mart.
She blew out a breath. “We simply must make Thorne’s more fashionable.”
Edith nodded with vigor, her golden curls dancing with the movement.
Louisa raised a winged brow. “How do you propose we do that, Charlotte?”
“There are a hundred things we can do to help bring more customers to Thorne’s,” she responded, hoping some ideas would come to mind. And quickly.
“Such as?” Louisa pressed.
Charlotte hesitated a moment before she began to tick off points on her fingers as she said, “Louisa, you have excellent taste in decorating, you can make the interior of the shop look more presentable. Since Edith is the most tactful of the three of us, she can speak with Mrs. Thorne about advertising in the papers and behaving in a friendlier fashion toward patrons. I will find an influential person to tell others about Thorne’s and research what makes a place exclusive.”
“What influential person do you have in mind?” Edith asked.
Charlotte found herself stuck for a name. After a moment’s thought, she replied, “Lady Cairs! We’re attending her ball tomorrow. I have always been a favorite of the matron as I believe she had a tendre for my father years ago. If a grande dame of the ton recommends Thorne’s, that will surely carry some weight with others.”
“And how do you plan to research the exclusivity of an establishment?” Louisa asked as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. Louisa’s rampant skepticism didn’t usually irritate Charlotte as it was frequently directed elsewhere.
“What place in London is exclusive?” she asked more to herself than to her friends.
“White’s!” Louisa answered with a groan. “My brothers are members of Boodle’s, and they loathe hearing about the bow window set.”
“Then I shall take a peek inside White’s,” Charlotte responded with false bravado. “To find out what is so special about the window.”
Edith put a hand to her breast. “Charlotte! You cannot be serious. Ladies aren’t allowed on St. James’s Street.”
As for Louisa, she appeared to be at a loss for words.
“I will disguise myself. Dress like a man and get as close to the club as I can,” Charlotte replied, her head held high. “I will only need a few minutes to look in the bow window.”
Louisa gave a weary sigh in response. “I know you too well, my friend. You will never rest until you have attempted to see inside White’s. To keep you out of too much trouble, I will help you with your plan.”
* * * * *
When Ashford returned to the coffee room in White’s, he told Cecil of his suspicions about the person standing outside White’s being a debutante of the ton. His friend proceeded to laugh out loud.
