1832, Duchy of Pinkwood
Charlotte Wells, better known as Her Grace, Charlotte Wells, Duchess of Pinkwood, was a force to be reckoned with. Well, that is exactly what her husband, His Grace, Henry Wells, Duke of Pinkwood, would say to all of his mates at the local Gentleman's club. He would describe her as a woman of a towering stature, almost a meter and three quarters, he would go on to recount green eyes that glimmered in the striking August sun in southern England, for all that to become irrelevant as soon as he started to describe her character.
She was someone who was remarkably kind for her status and wealth. She hosted charity parties among the aristocracy and donated the earnings to the local orphanage which house children without parents. Charlotte was known for it.
Charlotte was in the estate gardens with Henry, long after one of her parties had ended. It had been a massive success -- she had raised enough money to feed the children in the Queen Augusta Orphanage for the season. She hadn't seen this kind of success since her 1828 gala where she had raised over one hundered pounds, which was a colossal amount of money -- it had fed the children for the whole year. She had raised one hundred and fifty pounds this year, a momentous amount. She was ecstatic as she described the night to Henry, who only smiled and nodded from time to time to insinuate that he was listening to her every passionate word. It is times like these that he remembered why he had fallen in love with and married her. She made him a better person, inside and out.
They were to visit the orphanage the next morning, as soon as they were done with their duties as Duke and Duchess. He could practically feel Charlotte's excitement through the nightly routine as they settled into their respective bedchambers.
The orphanage was not far, quite close as a matter of fact, but they decided to take the carriage as it had rained in the morning, making the paths muddy. Charlotte was in a modest dress, one she always wore to town.
"Dearest, have the maids prepared the carriages for the children?" Charlotte asked while Henry was finishing with his ducal duties. He nodded, a tender smile on his face.
"Yes, Love. The children shall depart at sunrise," He stood up, straightening out his documents that he had signed that same morning, "let me freshen up, Love, and we shall, too, depart to the orphanage. I assume you have got the donation cheques sorted?"
"Yes, Dearest." Charlotted nodded, her smile matching his.
They had a swift lunch and departed for the village with their carriage. The trip was quite short, and soon enough Charlotte and Henry were exiting their carriage, thanking the coachman and walking towards the entrance to greet Governor Carrington and Matron Constance.
The Governor and Matron greeted the Duke and Duchess with a curtsy. "Your Graces," Carrington addressed, "our orphanage is pleased to host Your Graces this afternoon. We could not be any more appreaciative for what You have done for our orphanage today." Both Charlotte and Henry nodded and the group of four made their way inside the orphanage. It was the biggest orphanage in the small duchy.
Carrington and Constance informed them of the condition on the orphanage, what they were upgrading and improving with the donation. They stopped in front of a dark brown door -- Charlotte figured it's made out of walnut.
"The children are in there, Your Graces. We have informed them of your arrival beforehand, so there should not be any problems with behaviour today." He stood back and let the two open the doors themselves.
The room was probably the biggest in the orphanage, Charlotte concluded in her mind. She did not count them, because Constance told her the exact amount of children that were in the room.
"There are exactly thirty children in our orphanage at the moment. Twenty-one girls, and nine boys. They are all very well behaved and we have had no trouble with them. The youngest, Liliana, is seven months old, and our oldest is James, who is about to turn sixteen." Charlotte nodded along, Carrington and Henry had gone to discuss business, leaving the two women to talk. "We have... uhm," Constance stuttered slightly, and Charlotte looked at the worryingly, "have had a new child dropped on our doorstep, Jane Woodpecker. We have tried to find her parents, but we have had absolutely no luck, even with her surname. She is tiny for her age, and she did not look well when Governor Carrington had found her outside, in the rain nonetheless." Charlotte heard the wariness in Constance's voice.
"Would you, Constance, be kind enough to show me to her? I would like to meet her." Charlotte requested.
Constance immediately went to the back of the room, where a small girl, of no more than the age of eleven, sat and played with a ragged girl's doll. Charlotte, of course, followed Constance.
The girl was diminutive, petite even. She had long copper hair that was a bit tangled, with slight curls to at the end. Charlotte did not see her eyes, as Jane did not look up from her toy. She was pale, sickly pale, and looked as if she had no blood in her veins.
"Jane, dear, would you greet Her Grace, the Duchess of Pinkwood?" Constance crouched down next to Jane, taking the doll away from the girl. Jane looked up and made eye contact with Charlotte. Her eyes were what striked Charlotte the most. They were the gentlest of a shade between green and blue, aquamarine is the word Charlotte settled on in her thoughts.
Jane stood up, doing a shaky and curt bow before Charlotte. "Your Grace." She said in a small voice, and Charlotte crouched down in front of her.
"I heard you name is Jane, yes?" Charlotted questioned the girl, Jane nodded, "and how old are you, Jane?" Charlotte continued. "Nine." Jane replied hesitantly.
Charlotte spent a couple of minutes with the girl, speaking to her in her motherly voice. She learned that the girl loved flowers, that she would love to have her own garden one day when she was older and married. Charlotte also learned that Jane's favourite colour was lilac, and that she'd like her own white horse one day. Charlotte thought that she is the most perfect child to ever have been born.
She was growning attached to Jane, and it would be painful once she had to go back home without her in tow.
"She comes across as a sweet girl, Constance." Charlotte nodded at Constance. She nodded: "Yes, she is a sweet, but timid, girl, We have had no trouble with her as of now." She gave the doll back to Jane and the two women left the girl alone. Charlotte did not want to leave the girl alone, she felt as if she had a duty to this child. To take her home and give her a better life. She shook the thoughts away, she couldn't. She absolutely should not go down that path.
The day went as planned, both Henry and Charlotte finished their respective duties necessary for the donation and left as the sun set.
Charlotte and Henry were at home now, it was past dinner time and the two were in the drawing room. Charlotte was reading a book, Henry concluded it must have either been Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' or Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein', he would not know as he did not read as much fiction as she had. He preferred philosophy, Rousseau or Voltaire especially.
"Dearest, you look as if you're lost in thought." Henry sat down next to Charlotte, growning worried as she had been staring at the same page of her book for over ten minutes now. She looked up, a bit startled.
"Ah, I seem to have been." She said, closing her book and setting it down on the small sofa table. Charlotte sighed and leaned back against the sofa.
"What has put you in such thought, dear charlotted?" Henry placed a soft hand on her own. She sighed once more.
"I cannot seem to...," Charlotte paused for a second, "to get this girl out of my mind. An orphan..." She finished her sentance with another sigh, a bad habit she had picked up on in recent years.
"An orphan?" Henry questioned, a bit taken back. "Was there something wrong with her... or him?" He asked again. Charlotte shook her head. "No, nothing was wrong with her. Jane, is her name. She is the newest orphan." Henry nodded to Charlotte's words.
"Ah, I figured. Tell me about her." He leaned his head on her shoulder, and she continued to tell him about her, at least what she had found out from her short time there.
It wasn't much, but she told him everything she could, and ending with a sentence he thought he'd heard sooner than now: "I wish I could have taken her home." She ended her little monologue. He nodded, he knew she would want to take one home eventually. He couldn't be vexed at her, he had never been before, as he had thought about it as well. Taking in a new child. They already had three, two boys and a girl. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea, a new playmate and sister for their little Louisa, who did not get along with her older brothers, James and George.
"Please respond, my dear." Charlotte whispered and looked down at him and his head on her shoulder. He looked up at her and sat upright. "Charlotte, you..." He let the words die down on his tongue.
"Henry, I was just...," she paused, "just saying things." He shook his head. "I would be lying if I said I haven't thought about it. But I did expect this to come up in conversation way sooner than now." He smiled softly at her. And with that, her eyes lit up like she was just crowned queen.
"Are you proposing with I think you're proposing, Henry?" Charlotte stood up, a bit erratic. He noddded, he had never seen it as a bad idea to have more children at home.
"Yes, dear Charlotte." He stood up as well, taking her hands in his. "Of course. I have thought about it, about another daughter. I've always wanted more daughters." He smiled up at her. "We would... need to go to court, and she wouldn't be able to receive my titles, but she would be perceived as my daughter in society." Charlotte nodded, and hugged him tightly. His hand found the small of her back and rubbed it. "I will speak with my advisor, but if this is what you really want, I will do it for you, my love." She looked up at him. "Thank you, Henry." She put her chin up on his shoulder and they stayed like this for a little while.
The next week passed, and then the next. The process was long, grueling, and Charlotte debated if this was the right decision. They didn't hear from the local court for two months, even if they were a priority in this case.
They received the news in a long letter on October 9th, forty-three days after they had visited the orphanage. Charlotte read the letter a couple of times, a big smile on her face. She couldn't believe it, she left ecstatic. Henry as well, he was overjoyed. They were going to have a beautiful daughter once more, close to Louisa's age as well.
Over those forty-tree days, Charlotte visited Jane more often, making time to see her at least thrice a week, to get to know the girl. This was going to be her daughter. And when they had informed the orphanage of their intention, Governor Carrington and Matron Constance were overjoyed that they had found a forever home for Jane, who, Charlotte learned, was an outcast and none of the other girls liked to play with her.
Charlotte got to know Jane better over the next week. Found out all of her favourite things that she had not known before, like her flower (which had been a mix of lilacs, pink roses, and daisies. Charlotte requested the flowers be planted in their garden the very next day). She took it upon herself to get her some flowers while they waited for the process to finish. Henry visited once a week, but with his ducal duties taking over now that the autumn season arrived, he was busier than ever. Charlotte barely saw him outside of his office or speaking with advisors.
Charlotte brought the letter to Henry that afternoon, after having been rereading it for the better part of the morning. They were being summoned before the court to determine the adoption of Jane Woodpecker. In day's time, it would be Jane Wells.
The day they were to be in court was October 29th, a Monday. Charlotte, simply, couldn't wait and was antsy for October 29th to come.
Charlotte stared at herself in the mirror, her personal maid, Molly, was fixing her hair up for the better part of the hour. Charlotte chose a lilac dress and a fresh bouquet of lilacs, pink roses and daisies that had been picked from the garden that morning. Charlotte wanted to make a big first impression as Jane's mother. Lord, she wished the twelfth hour would come soon. She hadn't seen Jane in a whole week, her duties as Duchess occupying her mind.
Henry entered her bedchamber, already ready to go at any minute. "Dear, how are you feeling?" Charlotte heard him say as he fumbled with his cufflinks.
"I'm quite alright, dearest. I must confess, that I feel to be in flutter about... today." She sighed dreamily as Molly finally finished her hair.
"You are all set, Your Grace." Molly stepped away from Charlotte, letting the Duchess stand up and walk over to her husband.
"Thank you, Molly. You may go." Charlotte dismissed her and stood in front of Henry. "Ah, I would appear to be in flutter about today, as well, dear Lottie. Another little one to add to our family. Louisa would be delighted to have another sister, another playmate, yes." Charlotte smiled down at her, taking his hands. "We must leave by the end of the hour, as we do not want to be late." Charlotte nodded at his words, smiling as well.
"Today is the day, Henry."
"Yes, today is the day, Charlotte."
The court house was not far away from the orphanage. They arrived, Charlotte's hands shaking as she stepped out of the carriage with the help of a footman, Henry right behind her. This was it. This was the moment.
Court dragged on for at least a couple of hours. Charlotte was growning tired, though, thankfully, she did not have to worry about the legal side of this adoption, her husband had to instead. She made eye contact with Jane a couple of times over the past four hours, the little girl in the hands of Constance, wearing her prettiest dress (the one Charlotte had gifted her a month prior). It didn't take long for the court to come to the verdict -- they were suited to be Jane's legal parents. Charlotte tried to contain her wide smile, but it was impossible in this specific situation. Though, she knew this was not the end, as they had yet to discuss the inheritence and other meaningless things. Charlotte only cared that she would finally call Jane her own.
She could finally call Jane her own.
Court ended at five o'clock and thirty-seven minutes in the afternoon. And Charlotte could finally go up to Jane.
It was like a fairytale, hugging her for the first time as her mother. Jane was happy, giggling and hugging her new mother back, her light pink dress glimmering in the sunlight that peeked through the stained glass windows and into the court room.
Henry joined them, he was beaming as well. They had a new little girl to dote on. The children had been asking for a sibling, and they got them one. Charlotte wanted another child, and he got her one.
They may have had three children already, but what's one more to love and cherish?
Welcome to the family, Jane Wells.