AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 7
Nature’s Course
Alicia’s eyes fluttered just as the rooster sounded its boastful song. If the bird had interrupted another frightful dream, it was one that passed into forgetfulness instantly, leaving Alicia with a smile on her face and a strange desire to breathe in the fresh morning air.
Springing from her bed, she stepped to the open window and looked out at the farmyard below. The sun was already climbing up into the shimmering blue, scattering its warm yellow rays onto all the trees and flowers beneath.
Off in the distance, beyond the copse of tall green trees that surrounded the house, Alicia could see a handful of men trudging off to the fields, one of them whistled a cheery tune. Though she could no more identify the song than she could guess what task the men were off to do, or name the trees and flowers that dazzled her with their beauty, she was nonetheless awestruck by the sight before her.
“What a morning!” she breathed to herself. It occurred to her vaguely that she would not have appreciated such things before arriving here just the other day, when…when she had…
And with that recollection the blissful amnesia of sleep flew from Alicia’s mind all too swiftly. Even as she watched the cottony puffs of tiny clouds roll overhead in the vast blue sky, her mind treacherously poisoned the beauty before her with the realization that it was Tuesday.
Herbert left for the town—whatever was it called?—on Sunday, the day of the crash, Alicia thought, retreating from the window to sit heavily on the side of the bed.Whatever could be taking him so long?
Her imagination, as ever, was ready with a vast supply of misfortunes that could befall one. Herbert could have been abducted or killed by bandits—he was a gentle man, and would not put up much of a fight, surely. His horse could have thrown a shoe, and Herbert forced to walk the fifty miles to his destination. Perhaps he was lost and wandered the woods, helpless and hungry…or perhaps he had found and procured a replacement carriage, yet was unable to find his way back to where Alicia was now, and her rescue was nearby yet out of reach. And then, of course, there was always the prospect that he had been attacked by wolves, bears, boars, wild bulls, or any of a hundred perils of the countryside.
Whatever it is that has waylaid him is immaterial,she thought with a heavy sigh.Today I really must write Grace, lest she do something foolish like declare me dead or missing before all of London society. And, I suppose, it would be the right thing to do so she does not worry after my safety.
Though Alicia had no doubt she had the right of it, it was not until after a leisurely breakfast with Jenny and Mary-Anne when she finally got around to the task at hand, spurred along by much encouragement from her two companions. She sat at the writing desk in a study near the entryway of the house, took a deep breath, and began to scratch out her missive.
Dear Grace,
Her pen paused there, dripping a blob of ink onto the fresh sheet of paper. Muttering a curse, Alicia dabbed away the ink from her pen and stopped in thought.
Whatever it is I say, Grace will surely blame me for this,she sighed. Then, in a rush of pique, this thought gave her some reassurance in her task.If she will be cross with me no matter what I say, then there’s surely no need to be excessively careful with what I say. I may as well just tell her the truth and let any resentment at what I say be entirely Grace’s business.
She dabbed her quill in the inkwell and began again:
I hope this message finds you well. After an unfortunate misadventure with our family carriage—we hit a stone in the road so violently that the front of the carriage was destroyed completely! I find myself stranded for a time in the countryside to the south of London. Herbert has gone to fetch someone to repair or replace the carriage from the nearest town. In the meantime, I am lodged temporarily at the home of a Mister Laurence Gillingham, a very—
Alicia stopped there, suddenly unsure how much to share about her host’s identity. She found she had only good things to say about the man, yet she knew how brightly the flame of Grace’s envy burned, and feared she might antagonize her sister with anything but a simple description.
—a verythe brother of Missus Edward Stanhope of Whitehall. He is a farmer, and a respected member of the community of Dunwood. He and his sister are treating me with great hospitality for my short stay.
Alicia halted to consider whether or not to give her regrets to Mister Woodruff, her would-be opera companion. Shaking her head, she concluded with an appeal to Grace’s better nature, should she suddenly discover she had one.
I assure you that I am in good health and will be returned to London within a few days, hopefully not more than a few hours after you receive this letter. Until that time, dear sister, please be well, and I look forward to returning to our home safely.
—Your Loving Sister,
Alicia Ramsbury
Before she could second-guess herself yet again, Alicia threw the pen back in the inkwell, blew on the paper to dry the ink, and folded the letter closed. She quickly passed it to Margaret, the Gillinghams’ faithful if quiet cook and cleaning woman, along with instructions for its delivery and a handful of coins to repay her son for his trouble.
There,Alicia thought, dusting her hands with a brief, brave moment of satisfaction.Now there is nothing to do but wait.
Then she glanced at the grandfather clock in the entryway with trepidation. The dusty old object looked to have been frozen in time at least a century ago, though by Laurence’s insistent winding of the thing she assumed it must still be in some semblance of working order.
I wonder just how much longer I shall find myself waiting? And how much longer I can bear it?
* * *
Alicia was unsure if two consecutive days were sufficient to say that she had established a routine. But once again, Jenny and Mary-Anne retired for a rest not long after midday. And just as the previous afternoon had found her staring into space listlessly in the upstairs library, so too did this one.
Unfortunately, today her thoughts were much more occupied with dread than with curiosity. Try as she might, she was unable to reconcile writing a letter to her sister to apprise her of her circumstances—by all accounts the just and proper thing to do—with her faith that Grace would most assuredly continue to lash out at her for everything said and unsaid in the letter.
It was not your fault, Alicia,she reminded herself, chin resting on her fist glumly.There was nothing you could have done to prevent it. You are not responsible for your sister’s dissatisfaction with her own—
