The WAR: A Story of Family

8. Not Staying Out of Trouble

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If trouble comes when you least expect it then maybe the thing to do is to always expect it.

TROUBLE

The five of them had traveled too far North for the dinner party.

Avyanna had been reluctant to join them but even Aunt Emma had urged her to go out with the girls, "You'll have fun. Trust me, Alistair wouldn't want you sitting at home just worrying and waiting for him."

"No, I suppose he wouldn't."

"People want to meet you, Avyanna."

"I can't think why."

It had been a lovely dinner of rabbit smothered in cream, in mustard and spices, sliced tomatoes, and then a fluffy white cake for dessert.

Avyanna met a slew of new people even while she herself was under curious observation. They asked her about Alistair, and commended his service with sincerity. They acknowledged his service, knowing that while they indulged in their frivolities, and their parties, that he and the rest of their young soldiers faced the unknown while providing the blanket of security they enjoyed now and always.

The conversation throughout the evening had been pleasant, the men discussing politics, the women indulging in talk about books, poetry or style and the most recent party most of them would have attended.

The guests tried to ask Ivy about the planning of her upcoming nuptials and about her fiancé Gavin Withers, but she had been dismissive, steering the conversation elsewhere.

They had travelled too far North.

And after traveling for almost an hour heading back to their respective homes, the carriage finally turned onto the quay. Although Avyanna knew they were driving along the river, with the familiar streaming bands of silver moonlight that shimmered lazily across its frigid surface, she became a little nervous.

This was not the route they had taken North, but sudden rain had altered their course.

The five ladies were being carried along in Lillian's carriage, pressed together in the cab in a riot of expensive silks and colorful gowns.

On the other side of them mansions blended into the skyline, statues and ancient balustrades were shadows in the night, and there were lights in the mansions telling of life and activity in the city surrounding them.

The horses' hoofs pounded on the cobblestones, echoing in the silence, kicking up showers of water from puddles of rain.

Suddenly the carriage jerked violently and came to an abrupt halt.

"Oh! What's this now?" Lillian crawled across Avyanna and Kat to peek her head out of the carriage window, "Steven, what is it!"

The old coachman scrambled down from his perch, "Sorry my lady, one of the wheels has broken and come off... it's the cobblestones, my lady."

Lillian sat back with a sigh, "I'm sorry. I think we're going to have to get down so Steven can sort this out."

It was pouring freezing rain yet staying inside the carriage was not possible.  Without the forth wheel the carriage was sitting at a precarious angle, and all five of them seeking shelter inside the cab was sure to damage it further.

Lillian said, "I suggest we go into the closest borough and wait while Steven sorts this out.  It's freezing." 

But Steven was horrified at the suggestion, "No, miss, the closest borough is Stormville. It's no place for you. I'll just see if I can find help if you wait here."