Charlie snickered and I elbowed him in his side. This was no laughing matter, and even a boy of twelve should know that. He elbowed me right back. It was on the tip of my tongue to remind him of the seriousness of our situation, but I held back. If hesaw this as an adventure, then at least one of us wouldn’t be panicking.
The pounding rain roared around us and the carriage slogged forward again. Papa pounded on the roof, a motion that usually stopped the carriage, but we plodded ahead. The driver must not have heard his signal over the rain.
“We need to turn around.” Papa’s voice was a low mumble.
He hit the roof again, this time with an astounding force. Dust, hidden so well it had been missed during cleanings, fell from the frame. This time the carriage stopped.
Papa threw open the door and the storm burst into the carriage, wind and rain forcing a gasp from Mama’s throat. He left as quickly as he could, slamming the door shut behind him. I could only barely make out the loudest edges of Papa’s instructions to the driver. I pulled back the curtain and crushed my face against the window, but it was impossible to see anything through the storm. Mama’s eyes darted about, wide and worried.
When the door burst open again, Papa brought a lake with him, rainwater dripping down his weatherworn face and his soaked coat. “We passed an abandoned shepherd's croft not far back. We’re turning around. We will stop there and take shelter. I won’t have these horses risking their legs in this storm.”
Mama nodded, her eyes finally settling on him. Papa was nothing like his gentlemen friends in London. He was rough and seasoned from twenty years in the army. He rarely played cards or drank, which made him less popular at parties, but he didn’t care one whit about the men who would judge him for it.
In short, Papa might not dance as gracefully as others in polite society, but he could be counted on completely in a disastrous situation like this one.
Thank goodness the rest of the traveling party wouldn’t be setting out for several more days. No one else should be caught in our same predicament.
Papa would get this carriage to Blackwell, and he would get us all there in one piece, even the horses.
It took several agonizing minutes to turn the carriage on the narrow road, and Papa finally seemed to relax when we were heading toward certain shelter.
“How much longer until we reach the croft, Papa?” Charlie asked.
He shook his head. “At this pace, at least half an hour. But it is better to go slow and steady.”
And slowly and steadily we went. The carriage slipped several times and each time Mama held tighter onto Papa’s hand. Then, without a warning slip or bump, the carriage suddenly stopped.
I pulled back the curtain. “Are we there?”
Papa shook his head. “No, we can’t be yet.”
Papa stood, but before he could leave, the door opened a crack and our driver Hollister’s wizened face filled it. “There is a felled tree on the road.” He had to shout over the noise of the pounding rain.
Mama’s frown of concern deepened. “Can it be moved?”
“Perhaps.”
“If the groom and I help, do you think it is possible?” Papa asked.
Hollister nodded. “I think it would be.”
Papa turned his eyes on me. “Evelyn, I hate to get you wet, but can you hold the horses?”
I nodded without a second thought. “Of course.”
“I can do it.” Charlie jumped from his seat, anxious not only to leave the carriage, but to prove himself more capable than a sister, even if I was nine years his senior.
If I’d been born to any other father, Charliewouldhave been the one that was asked, but Papa hadn’t known he would have a son for nearly a decade, and by the time Charlie was born, Papa was already in the habit of including me in almost all of his activities.
Papa fixed Charlie with his dark, commanding eyes. “I know you can, but your mother needs someone to stay with her. And Evelyn still has several stones on you, which might be needed tonight.” He turned back to me, not waiting to see Charlie’s reaction. He’d used logic and reason and therefore, any complaints from Charlie would have been superfluous. Not that either of us argued with Papa when he used that tone. “Come.”
I pulled the collar of my coat closed as tightly as possible at my neck and stood.
“Be careful,” Mama called out to me over the noise of the storm.
“I will be.” I flashed her a confident grin. “I can’t risk ruining Hattie’s house party.”
The moment I stepped out of the carriage the rain and wind attacked me as fiercely as any enemy. I leaned forward into the storm and made it to the front of the carriage. The groomsman handed me the reins and only then did I catch sight of the felled tree that crossed our path.
