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Many thanks to Linda62953 to help me to present this story better.
Chapter 9: Gratitude
Charlotte woke up earlier than normal with urgent feelings. She washed quickly at home. Brendon would probably come to the lake, but that was of no concern today. Sitting on her couch, she took her time considering her options to get Patrick under a ward again. In the moment of the casting, he had to be spent. In addition, at the same moment, she had to be at her best.
She needed to avoid coming under the same compulsion as yesterday. Her biggest problem was that she did not trust herself at all. Thinking clearly of Patrick was hard, and she was not even close to him. The frustration she had felt yesterday was still lingering inside her; how could he tease her so much? She needed to be clear headed and very close to him. Right now, she could not think how that could happen. That problem had to be solved later; the other part of her problem was probably easier.
Patrick had to be near her after his act. He had agreed to bring cloth to Eveline, and he wanted her gratitude, probably to win more chances to have her at his disposal. Therefore, the biggest problem was timing on her own part. When would he buy the cloth? She was not totally sure that he would keep his promise. However, given that he had the same fairy blood as Charlotte running in his veins, he would have a hard time backing out of it. Even if he was not aware of any limitations placed on him.
Even when she would ask Eveline to warn her that he was meeting her, she could be too late to react. Living close to Eveline a few days was also not to Charlotte's liking. Both options would put extra stress on the maiden, and that could hamper her plan. However, there was another option, Patrick would have to buy the cloth first, and he would probably do that right before going to Eveline. Otherwise, he would have to go back to the castle carrying a pack of cloth. He could send a servant to buy it for him, but even then, he would probably time this with his own visit.
Her best option was to find a way to know when the cloth was bought. Charlotte had to go to the merchant and put some kind of scrying spell somewhere on his place that would alert her. The problem with this kind of spell was that it was hard to place. And she had to move quickly enough to get to Eveline, so she had to fly again; walking there would be far too slow.
Charlotte was not scared to fly again, but had not done it before yesterdays escape. She had heard stories about it though, those suggested that a broom was a great help with it. Beatrice had not needed anything in Patrick's story, but she had been highly emotional on the moment she flew away. Concentrating on a broom, in such a state, would be very difficult. On the other hand, she had plenty of power to her disposal, emotions were helping with that. Charlotte just needed to feel really hurried at the moment, that would provide her with enough drive to fly.
The first thing to do was to inspect the merchant and look for a way to place a spell on his place. When the cloth was stored inside, the door would probably be the best spot to use for the spell.
She ate some leftovers and quickly walked to town. It was still so early that she met Brendon near the bridge. He had been looking forward to meeting her at the pool that morning. To prevent gossip, they agreed that the disappointed man would wait some time, before returning to his work. Otherwise, every villager would quickly learn of their morning encounters.
Entering the town, Charlotte looked for the late widow's home. She found it quickly, after a helpful girl showed her the spot. It had a garden with big plants around it. Charlotte hid there to observe it some more. A large female calico cat walked towards her, she even lay down beside her. Charlotte thought about Louise and the shop; this had probably been the cat from the widow, and the cat missed her companionship.
There was some activity inside the house. Most of the goods were left on the outside, but all the cloth was taken inside. It would be convenient to show to it there to interested people, and it would not get wet from the rain. The small house would be quite crowded with three people staying there with lots of merchandise. Charlotte was already concentrating on the spell, she could get to the door relatively unseen due to the plants. She started to move slowly forwards toward the door.
The plant, she intended as her hiding place, was smaller than she liked. She had to crouch low for cover, but she could reach for the doorpost from behind it. She placed her hand on it, and started with the spell. She imagined a big bundle of cloth going through the door, without regard to who would carry it. Charlotte broke out of her concentration when someone walked around the house. One of the servants had left the back door earlier. Now he had noticed her, and was standing close to her spot, too.
"Hey, what are you doing here? Looking for something to steal? Get up!"
"No, I don't want these goods," was her quick response in a hushed voice.
"I don't believe you. What are you looking for?"
"A handsome man," was the only plausible answer that Charlotte could think of. It was not far besides the truth.
"Now, that wish is fulfilled then," was his response. He had pushed up his chest. It was certain that he wasn't the best-looking man around, but he probably thought that he was. She had to play along though to get a second chance on placing her spell.
She pulled him with her, deeper into the foliage. There, she pushed her body to him. "Do you know how to make a woman happy? I had my eyes all over you yesterday, hold me!"