His Sensible Heart by Leenie Brown

Author:Leenie Brown [Brown, Leenie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Leenie B Books

Chapter 10

Charlotte looked from the missive she held to the gentleman who had delivered it to her and back again. The words had not changed. It still read “I have left school. Any correspondence, should you wish to send any, can be directed to my aunt’s home in Bath.” Below that were Mr. Chapman’s signature and the directions to his aunt’s house.

She sank down onto the couch next to her sister in Mrs. Levy’s sitting room. “I do not understand.” Tears felt perilously close. How could Mr. Chapman leave with so little to say in his farewell? His other letters had seemed so promising. He had seemed so earnest in his admiration. Was it all a game? Surely, she could not have been so mistaken in his character, could she have been? He loved her, did he not?

“He felt unable to explain further. I am certain he will write once he has arrived in Bath,” Mr. Green assured her. He had taken the seat next to the couch on which she and Louisa sat and was leaning forward towards her. “He was reluctant to go.”

He smiled a sad smile and nodded when she looked at him as if he were trying to answer the questions she had been thinking. She would grasp onto that and hold to the idea that Mr. Chapman still loved her and was not fickle in his affections.

“But he was ill.” It made no sense for a gentleman, who had just had a fever, to suddenly go on a trip. “Did he think he needed to see Mr. Norman?”

Mr. Green shook his head. “He has left school.”

His expression seemed to be attempting to say something his words were not, but Charlotte could not decipher it.

“And he is not coming back?” Louisa asked.

Mr. Green’s eyes shifted from Charlotte to her sister. “No.”

“Why?” Louisa asked. “Does he not love my sister?”

“No, it is not that!” He looked back to Charlotte. “He loves you. It is –” He clamped his lips closed and grimaced. Whatever he was not saying was taking some effort not to say.

“What is it then?” Mr. Wesley asked. “He agreed to complete his schooling in order to claim Charlotte’s hand – if she wished to give it to him, that is.”

If? The way Charlotte’s heart was breaking at the thought of Mr. Chapman deserting her truly made it impossible for her to question her feelings for the gentleman any longer. Her thoughts were well-sorted on that front. He was her happy future. No matter what his profession might be or if he ever earned a degree.

“I cannot believe he would leave school if he loved her,” her father continued in the same nearly angry tone he had begun with. “I had thought his affection for her was stronger than this.” He waved the letter he held. “I thought he would, at the very least, attempt to bargain with me to change my demands of him. Instead, I get an ‘I can understand if you do

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