Charlotte smiled as her brother entered the drawing room. "Edward."

"Do you ever sleep?"

"Rarely these days. I would have thought you and your wife would be enjoying the relaxation of your not having to rush around tending to every man, woman and child in our little area of the world for a time."

"I rather remain ready for my return. I do not wish to have to retrain myself for early mornings."

"Understandable. I think I am the same with returning to Allerdale with Thomas. When there is no nurse to take him from me, I feel I should be ready for whatever time he sees fit to awaken."

Edward studied her for a moment. "You are not taking this very well, are you? Being away from him."

"When you and Joanne have that beautiful little girl I dreamt you had, you will never want to be out of her company either. Only you will not have societal norms tell you that you cannot be a parent to your child. You will be allowed to parent in a manner I cannot here."

Edward looked sadly at his sister. He suspected in his own mind that she was counting the days to her return to Allerdale Hall, on recalling the dilapidated building he so desperately did not wish for his sister to dwell in, he recalled the conversation from the day before regarding her possible delay in returning there. "I wish it was different for you, I truly do. But I have to ask, what is afoot? Do not say there is nothing. I saw yesterday from your manner that you and Thomas are not pleased regarding a matter, one that could keep you here longer."

"I will explain it to you at a better time," Charlotte promised. "There is much to discuss on that front." Her tone was hushed and somewhat reluctant to say too much as she studied the door carefully.

Knowing that his sister would do as she stated, Edward said no more on that particular matter. "And in all of this, there has been little or nothing said of Lucille."

"There is nothing to discuss."

Edward again studied his sister's demeanour. "Charlotte?"

"Whilst I was ill, the doctor here thought it too dramatic to have her so heavily medicated. He soon was called back to reverse his decision on the matter, you know how she is."

"Were any harmed?"

"No, thankfully. She stated we did it to her, or her slurred words did but of course, the ramblings of one so gone in the mind do not have others paying heed to them, thankfully. She is in her quarters, with her nurses. I think she is brought to the terrace some days, apparently, or perhaps that is the plan when the weather settles more, I do not pay her much heed."

"You could leave her here when you return north?" Edward suggested.

"Goodness, but that is tempting." Charlotte shook her head. "No, there is no way to ensure she is no danger to anyone that far away from her."

"She is always a danger. I warned you of that before." Edward wished his sister would listen to him more on the matter. "How are you since your illness?"

"I am still kicking."

"What were you thinking? Going out in such weather?" He chastised.

"It was not raining when I left the house."

"It is Wales, Charlotte. You are never more than a few moments from rain here." Charlotte seemed ready to argue him for a moment before nodding her head in agreement with the statement. "I was so worried for you."

"I would not die of that, not after the years my body has suffered it previously. It probably thought me overdue such."

"Charlotte, this is no laughing matter. You have just had a baby, your body is under a lot of duress and you went gallivanting, by yourself also, that is another issue here, and get incredibly ill. You could have died. What would have happened then? Do you know the people that depend on you? Your husband. Your son. Me. You are my sister, my only surviving relative. You are all I have, Charlotte. You and Joanne."

"I am going to go for walks Edward, I am a living creature, I am not supposed to stay indoors, silent and still, away from the world." She smiled lovingly at him. "I know you want to protect me, it is your duty to, I understand that, but I did not survive my parents to not live without them."

Edward swallowed. "I don't want that little boy to not know his mother. He needs you, Charlotte, how can he learn to be a better man than…" He paused at the look on his sister's face. "What I mean is…"

"Don't try and cover it, Edward, I know what you meant to say. I know Thomas is a faulted human being, I am married to him, after all, none know him as I do but he is a good man. I was hoping you were beginning to see that."

"I have seen he is better than I had thought, but he alone cannot rear a good child, very few can."

"Your mother did."

Edward smiled as he thought of his mother, a strict woman but everything she did, she did out of unadulterated love for him. "She did," He concurred. "And you could too, I believe if it was required."

Charlotte frowned and looked at her brother worriedly. "Why would I need to?"

"It was simply a statement, Charlotte." Edward's tone was dismissive.

"Edward, why would you say that?"

Seeing that his throwaway comment was scaring her, Edward looked his sister directly in the eye. "Charlotte, I merely said it as a general statement. There is no reason to be fearful."

For another moment, Charlotte studied her brother's face to see if what he was saying was true before calming slightly. "Why would you say something of that manner?" She scolded. "You are after putting fear into me something terrible."

"I apologise, that was not my intention." She settled more. "I know I cannot stop you from living. I would never want to but that does not mean I do not fret for you, every single day because I cannot protect you. I swore to Cordelia that I would protect you, that as soon as I was able to, that I would come for you both. When she said about what was happening, I was so close to getting her out of there." Charlotte swallowed at Edward's words. "When they took her away, I knew the only chance I had was to get her out and…" Edward's voice shook. "I wrote to Cordelia too, not as frequently as I did you but we wrote." Charlotte frowned, she had never realised such a thing. "She made me promise, that if she could not stay strong long enough to get you out, that I would do it. She made me swear on my mother's grave. I didn't...I tried…."

"Edward…"

"I cannot protect you, not in this world."

"I do not need protecting, my dear brother. Be happy. Have your life and your family, I am close by, we still have each other. You need to protect yourself and Joanne, and when the time comes, your children also." Edward's face altered for a moment. "What is it?"

"Your dream, you recall it?"

"Yes, a little girl with locks of auburn. Curls like yours, why?"

"You stated you did not know why auburn?"

"Yes, it makes no sense really, a child born to you and Joanne would have blonde or darker."

"My mother had auburn hair." Charlotte nodded slightly. "I never told you that but she had. Reading your letter, it scared me somewhat. I was scared because for you to see such a random thing so clearly, it made it seem real."

"Do you want it to be real?"

"More than anything. Reading that, it gave me hope I was never aware even existed." He smiled slightly.

Charlotte returned the gesture. "You spoke yesterday of the plans you have yet to bring into fruition, is that one of them?"

"At least three, I don't care if I have eight daughters, as long as they are my children and I get to be the father to them that ours never was to us," he confessed.

"Poor Joanne." Edward looked concernedly at his sister. "What a brood you plan to bestow on her."

Edward chuckled. "She is the one to say that three is the minimum." Charlotte gave a small laugh. "You think us mad?"

"Not at all. I know the joy of parenthood."

"Then why laugh?"

"It is one of irony."

Edward frowned. "How so?"

"I envy you, brother, I truly do, having the right to do as you please with your children."

"You will never want for anything."

"Money is not everything. You will see that for yourself when Joanne gives you a child and were I to offer my fortune in exchange for it, you would decline."

Edward was about to make a joke back regarding a good price when Margaret entered the room causing both siblings to look at her. "Begging your pardon, Lady Sharpe, but there's a lady 'ere for you saying it's urgent and that she needs to speak with you now. A Ms Carmichael."

"See her in immediately, Margaret," Charlotte ordered. "And somehow, I think Thomas needs to be awoken."

"Right away, Lady Sharpe." Margaret turned and left, leaving to do as she was told.

Edward watched as his sister rose to her feet and inhaled deeply, as though about to embrace some terrible fate. "Charlotte?"

"I thought I would have more time to tell you." She looked at her brother to convey her seriousness. "Mr Hall has tried to have Ms Lydia Carmichael, William's lover, say that her niece under her charge is William's illegitimate daughter so that he, along with her familial claim can take Foxgrove, the Hamilton shipping company and all associated money from me."

"What?" Enraged that Mr Hall was continuing his nefarious methods of getting the Hamilton money from his sister, as he himself had heard William stated that he rather tear down Foxgrove to no more than rubble than see it fall into the hands of his most loathed cousin. "Can he?"

Charlotte gave a small laugh at her brother's words as she smirked at him. "Oh Edward, do you think so little of me?"

Seeing a scheme in his sister's eyes, Edward calmed slightly. "What have you in mind?"

"I am not entirely sure as I need to see what it is that has Lydia here at such an early hour first."