Charity Girl Part II

Ashley stops and takes Cherry into his carriage, and she tells him that she's running away from her aunt's house and trying to get to London to see her elderly grandfather. He tells her that her grandfather is generally held to be a recluse and a hard hearted man, but she is determined to leave. He can see that Lady Bugle and her cousins have been unkind to her and he can understand her wanting to escape. So he agrees to drive her to London. When they arrive in at Lord Nettlecombe's townhouse, he finds that the old man is not in his house, and nobody knows where he has gone. Nettlecombe is a hard man who has never cared much for anyone in his life; he has never been on good terms with his sons, and he did not care for his wife, who is now dead. He had had a major row with Wilfred Steane, Cherry's father, and disowned him. Some people in society felt that Steane was badly treated even though he was far from admirable himself. He seems to have left England many years ago, and Cherry thinks he may be dead. Her mother is also dead. She is not a very clever girl and is not sure how she can support herself if her father or grandfather dont help, but she tells Ashley that she does have a talent for looking after sick old ladies. Ashley tells her he will take her to Hetta's house, to stay for a few days while he finds old Lord Nettlecombe. So he drives her to Inglehurst place, and Hetta and her mother take the girl in. Lady Silverdale is a moody lady, but she takes a fancy to Cherry and is willing to have her to stay for a short while. She is more willing to do this because she finds that Cherry's aunt is Lady Bugle, whom was a social rival of hers years ago. Ashley leaves her and goes to see Lord Nettlecombe at his country seat. When he gets there he finds that the old man has let the house to a retired merchant, and then manages to find out that he has gone to Harrogate, the spa town. He travels there in a post chaise and finds the hotel where Nettlecombe is staying. Lord Nettlecombe is not willing to see him, nor to hear that his granddaughter is homeless and needs help. Then Ashley is startled to find that a rather over dressed lady comes in, and Nettlecombe introduces her as his bride. She is his middle aged housekeeper, who was like Nettlecombe himself, very economical, but she managed to persuade him to marry her and now he's tied to a lady who is vulgar and extravagant. Ashley is a little amused at the situation but he finds that he can't get the old man nor his wife to do anything for Cherry other than offer to take her into the house, with an expectation that she will work for them. He tells them that he does not intend to have helped Cherry leave Lady Bugle's house, only to put her into a house where she will still be an unpaid servant. He leaves Yorkshire to go home unsure what to do next. When he gets back, he finds that Hetta is worried about Cherry. Her mother, Lady Silverdale, is prone to take a liking to someone and then to find fault with her, and she's afraid that this is starting to happen with Cherry. The only solution seems to be to try and find her a job as a companion to an old lady.