Chalett was a small town, constantly blighted by storms and hurricanes because of it's dangerous proximity to the ocean and its harsh cold moods. It was on a particularly wet day when he met her.

You see, Charles worked in the post office, the only connection Chalett had to the outside world, or any world in fact if there was one outside of Chalett. Charles wouldn't dare leave the shop lest he be caught in the downfall so instead he sat in the back room and played with a stray kitten he'd met only a few weeks before then. She was a cute thing with bright white fur that glowed in the dark and, from a distance, like a cloud was walking on the cobblestones. She chased the light Charles cast with the small mirror around and around grabbing and jumping wildly. They didn't have radio's then so this was Charlie's only source of entertainment, after a while it became too dark for his kitten to see the mirror light and, exhausted, she decided to take a nap. Suddenly, Charlie heard a loud rapping on the post office door. Confused he rushed out to the front and saw her. Olivia Nightingale, her wavy blonde hair clung to her head heavily from the weight of the rain, her bottle green coat hung loosely on her shoulders and she shivered violently as she waited for someone to open the door for her. Quickly, he rushed to the door and swept her in before the rain could do any more damage.

“Thank you, Chuck. Any longer out there and I would've caught pneumonia.” she said breathlessly.

He didn't bother telling her his real name, it would only embarrass her.

“ Let me take your coat. Mr. Stocker has a fire in the back room, I'm sure it would be of more use to you dry than like this.” he smiled. He was surprised he could even speak to her without blushing profusely.

Stumbling over a stool in the main shop, he clumsily made his way to the back room, her heels clapping on the floor behind him. His own coat hung on the line, He swept hers over it gently.

“ Might as well put these on as well, god knows when we'll be out of this.” She said quietly to herself. She swept off her shoes and pale stockings, she then reached up and removed a beautiful hair pin from the nape of her neck and with it a long length of blonde hair.
Charles was mesmerised.

“ Sorry, its dreadful I know but I desperately want long hair and I can't wait for it to grow out so I use hair extensions instead but they're a horrible dead weight when dripping with rain and- Sorry I'm boring you aren't I? My fiancée says I talk far too much.”

“ Oh no, no I just-that's a very pretty hair pin.” he said blushing again, but this time he could blame it on the heat of the fire.

“ Oh, thanks it was a gift from him for my birthday. Apparently it was dreadfully expensive, or so his sister tells me. Oh! Is this your kitten?! Oh she's the loveliest thing I've ever seen! Does she have a name?” she gasped, noticing the curled up creature next to her.

“ Uh, no. I just call her kitty because – well - I couldn't really think of anything good enough.” he chuckled, then knelt beside her.

“ She's so placid, most cats hate and scratch me.” she mused.

“ How could any thing hate you?” He said, shocked.

She giggled. “ Oh Chuck, you do say the loveliest things, but unfortunately its a fact. A lot of people hate me.”

“Like who?”

She sighed. “ Oh, just people. I don't think half of the folks who call themselves friends actually like me. And if I'm honest, I don't care for them much either.” She settled down next to Kitty on the rug.

“Then why are you friends with them? The whole point of a friendship is to find people that you relate to and can have a good time with.”

“Its not that easy, I spend time with these people because its what's expected of me. As Philip's fiancée I have certain responsibilities and one of them is entertaining his friends and colleagues.”

“Well, for what it's worth I don't think its fair on you to have to do things you don't want to do and accept gifts you don't care for and- well its just not right.” he finished lamely.

“What makes you think I don't like the hairpin?”

“You discarded it like it offended you.” He chuckled.

“It does.” she said, as It gleamed in the fire light.

“Well there we are then.”

“There we are.”

In February 1901, Charles asked Olivia for her hand in marriage.

She said no.

Then she changed her mind.

On the 23rd of May 1903 Olivia gave birth to a girl they named Scarlett Maria Lotte.

On the 14th of October 1905 Olivia gave birth to a second girl, and she christened her Charlotte Kitty Lotte.

Charlotte was the calmest of the two, a well known fact in their household.

But she never understood why she was named after an old grey cat.