Misfits & Daydreamers

Misfits & Daydreamers

Share this post

Misfits & Daydreamers
Misfits & Daydreamers
The Lady of Charlotte, Part 10
Short Fiction

The Lady of Charlotte, Part 10

In which Charlotte finally wins...

Susan Dennard's avatar
Susan Dennard
Oct 10, 2022
∙ Paid
26

Share this post

Misfits & Daydreamers
Misfits & Daydreamers
The Lady of Charlotte, Part 10
11
Share

Read previous parts here.

brown concrete palace surrounded by body of water during daytime
Photo by Richard Clark on Unsplash

Three days later, Charlotte was sweatily helping the quarrymen roll limestone from the quarry to the horse-drawn cart that would transport it all to the stonemasons’ lodge. Despite the brutal afternoon heat and mosquitos that wouldn’t leave her be, she was positively giddy with joy.

Kisses tended to have that effect on people—and there had been a lot of kisses in the past three days.

Perhaps even more romantic, though, was that Olivier had recruited Arnold and Ryan, three paint-makers, and two quarrymen to help Charlotte with all the larger projects she had never quite finished—like finally fitting the sluice gate to the mill or hammering on the paddles. She’d made more progress in these last few days than the entire summer.

As the midday sun cranked down, the lead quarrymen called for a break. Water—purified by modern means—beckoned from the castle. Charlotte set off that way, leading the way with a determined march and unshakea…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Misfits & Daydreamers to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Susan Dennard
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share