Rose mused on her strange manner as she descended the stairs to the drawing room. She settled at her desk to write a letter to Mary. Of course, Mary knew it was her birthday and usually sent a note wishing her well, so she wondered if one would come today. Of course, there was one other person who also knew it was her birthday. She wondered if she might lay eyes on him today.
After about an hour, Jennings entered the drawing room.
“There is a carriage outside, Your Grace. The driver says he has been sent to collect you.”
“A carriage? From where?”
“The driver did not say, Your Grace.”
Rose was perplexed and got up to look through the window. It was not one she had seen before. She was not of a mind to climb into a strange carriage with no knowledge of its destination.
“Let me talk to him,” she said to Jennings.
The pair of them walked outside to the carriage and the waiting driver.
“Who sent you?” Rose asked.
“I am not at liberty to say, Your Grace.” The driver did not look at her but rather kept his gaze fixed straight ahead.
“But how can I come with you without knowing where you will take me?”
“I was told it was to be a surprise, Your Grace.”
Rose looked at Jennings. “Do you know anything about this?”
Jennings shook his head, but there was a faint smile around his lips, which mirrored Anna’s that morning. At that moment, Anna appeared on the steps with Rose’s light summer coat over her arm and a bonnet.
“How did you know to bring these to me?” Rose asked her.
“I thought you would need them if you were going out, Your Grace,” she said, and that same faint smile was there.
“Why do I not trust either of you?” She said to them but neither replied. She turned back to the driver. “What happens if I refuse to ride with you?”
The driver put a hand into his breast pocket and withdrew a note. He handed it to her.
On it, in capital letters, was written JUST GET IN THE CARRIAGE AND STOP ARGUING.
Then Rose smiled. Mary! It had to be Mary. In that split second, she decided to play along. Perhaps the children wished to see her and thought a magical mystery tour would be fun. Well, she had nothing else to do, and a ride in the countryside would be pleasant. She took her coat and bonnet from Anna and nodded at Jennings. They were both beaming now, and she assumed they were both in on the surprise.
“Well, it had better be a nice surprise,” she said to them, as she climbed into the carriage.
The driver steered the horses towards Rose’s family home. She smiled and sank back into the plush velvet seat. It was a beautiful summer day, with the sun shining through the trees. She pondered what kind of birthday she would have had if the marriage had gone through and her days had been dominated by Ernest's needs.
She disliked arguing with Mary and was thankful for the thousandth time in a few days that she had been spared. She had felt as if a black cloud was closing in around her, suffocating her in the days leading up to the wedding. The cloud had vanished, and she felt a lightness in her chest that she hadn't felt in a long time. Nothing changed the future. She knew that. However, shefelt far more able to deal with it.
The driver pulled the carriage level with the driveway to Mary’s home but went right past it and kept going. Rose sat forward.
“I say,” she called to the driver, but he did not reply. “I think you may have missed the way.” The horses kept plodding forward. Rose was confused.
They had gone another mile down the country road when the horses began to slow. Rose knew these fields well. There was nothing here. When the driver turned the horses away from the main track and onto a smaller one that she knew led down to a spur of the River Arun, she became worried. Perhaps she had been foolish not to demand to know who had sent the carriage. What if someone with bad intentions was waiting for her? The note had been written in block letters, so she could not decipher the hand. The driver was unusually uncooperative. She berated herself for being so foolish and wondered if she should jump from the carriage before it reached its destination, but the driver might come after her with the horses. She could not outrun them.No, she told herself,let the carriage come to a stop and then get out, then whatever happens, you can jump in the river and swim like fury. Rose was an extremely strong swimmer, and she wagered any brigand would not be. She had a plan, but she was beginning to breathe quite heavily, and she felt uncomfortably hot inside the confines of the carriage. She wondered who might want to claim the Duchess of Norfolk as their prize.
The track narrowed where it approached the river. She could not see ahead. Every sinew of her body was taut as the hooves started to slow.Alright, she told herself,just keep the element of surprise. She would leave her coat and bonnet behind. She did not want to be encumbered by anything. The trees began to widen again as the driver steered the horses into a wide right-hand arc before coming to a stop.
Rose looked around wildly. There was nobody there. She could see the water on her left out of the carriage window. On the right, there were just trees. Through the back window, just more trees and more river. The driver was climbing down from his seat and opening the door for her.
“Where are we?” she demanded. “Why have you brought me here?”
“This is your surprise,” he said, but his expression was blank, and he did not smile.