When the Hydrangea Flowers Bloom

Chapter Three: The Departure

The day had finally arrived. August 19. I had all three of my bags packed and ready to go. My family and I sat on the porch, waiting for my ride to pick me up. It was hot outside, and the sun was beating down on us. Aida had made me a new dress for the study. It was white, with see-through sleeves and red trim. I wore a straw boat hat with a red ribbon around the base.

I heard a putting sound coming from Digby Dr., and when I turned around, I saw a car turning onto our street! Professor Fawcett had said he would supply a ride, but he didn't say a car! We all gasped in awe of the machine that drove up to our house. A man hopped out.

"Good day, ladies and gentlemen! My name is Arthur Headbottom and I will be driving Miss. Langdon to Professor Fawcett's estate. May I take your bags?" he said in a cheery voice. He had a suit on and a curly, little mustache.

"Of course, dear!" Mother said. "Goodbye, my little Hortence!" She pulled me into a big hug.

"Goodbye, Mother!" I hugged everyone in my family until there was no one to hug left.

"Promise to write?" Abigail said as I walked down the stairs.

"Of course! I'll write three times a week if you want!" I climbed into the backseat of the car. Arthur had rolled down the window so I could stick my head out. I waved goodbye to my family until we had turned the corner and couldn't see them anymore. I climbed inside and rolled the window back up.

"It'll be a long ride, miss. Try to get some sleep." Arthur said. I nodded, but I couldn't possibly sleep. I was too... excited? Nervous? Sad?

I watched the town I had known for my whole life disappear until all the buildings turned into trees and all the trees turned into fields. I took out a book and started to read. Before long I was passed out in the backseat.

...

"Miss. Miss," Arthur was shaking me awake. I opened my eyes. It was dark outside now. "We're at an inn. I've brought your bags to your room. You can sleep there if you'd like."

"Thank you, Arthur. Where will you be?" I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

"I'll probably be in the pub. I know someone who works here, so we'll be catching up."

"That sounds nice. I'll join you." I said, stepping out of the car

"Lovely ma'am. But I'm not sure if the pub is a place for a lady such as yourself."

"Nonsense. I can handle myself, Arthur." I'd gone to a pub in town once before with my father. It was loud and surprising, but I did fine.

When we walked into the inn's pub I saw a lot of things. A bar with a bartender behind it sliding beers to men sitting on stools. Lots of tables with barrel seats filled with groups of men and a few women. Most people had beers, but some had wine. The room was dark, lit only by candles on the walls and tables.

Arthur found his old friend and went to a table with him and some of his mates. I walked over to the bar and took a seat next to a drunk man asleep with a beer in his hand on one side and a lady on the other.

"I'll take one beer please," I said to the barkeep.

"Is this your first time in a pub?" the lady next to me said.

"How did you know?" I asked her. The bartender handed me a beer. I took a sip and coughed it out. I didn't expect the taste.

"That," she said, looking me up and down. "I'm Charlotte. Nice to meet you." She had a cockney accent.

"Hortence." I held out my hand and she shook it.

The bartender handed her a large glass of beer. She started to inhale it. I watched her, amazed. I tried to do the same. I didn't drink nearly as much as her, and I almost choked, but I managed to swallow it.

"There ya' go! So, what are ya doing in here? I've never seen ya before."

"I'm on my way to Winfrey. Just stopping here for the night."

"Oh. Winfrey. That's very fancy. I met a lad once who lived there. All the houses are mansions with hundreds of acre plots."

"Really?" I asked. "I had no idea."

"What're ya doing in Winfrey?" She took another giant sip of beer.

"I'm- er-" I couldn't tell her what I was really doing, so I had to lie. "I'm visiting some old relatives."

"That's nice. I haven't seen most of my family in years. Moved away as soon as I could. Used to live in London, but the conditions were too harsh for me. Moved out here, fell in love, and started me own family."

"That's incredible! I haven't had half the experiences you've had."

"Though it's hard, struggle pushes you to be a better person. It makes you work harder and makes you think about other people. Those people in Winfrey don't know half the things we go through every day here. That's why all those rich people treat the poor like dirt. Because they don't realize that what they're doing to make themselves richer is taking from people who need it more." I thought about that for a while. I'd never really thought about people who had it worse off than me. "Anyways, I should go. It was good talking to ya, Hortence."

After Charlotte left, I started to feel flushed, so I walked to my room. It was small, but cozy and warm, too. There was a short couch in front of an empty fireplace. On the other side of the room, there was a bed with lots of pillow on it.

I walked over to the fireplace, threw some logs in, and threw a lit match on top. Slowly the fire built up, and soon it was blazing. I was tired, but I couldn't sleep, so I sat on a bench by a window and looked outside. I could see a small town with little cottages and dirt streets. There was a meadow with a few cows next to the cluster of houses. There weren't nearly as many trees as back home.

The next day, Arthur came to wake me at around 8:30. There wasn't much to pack, so we brought all of my bags back to the car and started driving. We were still about 4 hours from Winfrey. There were rolling hills outside my window for most of the drive, but I saw some ponds and forests, too.

We stopped for lunch at a little pie shop on the side of the road. It wasn't fancy, but it was the best shepherd's pie that I had ever had.

"You might want to slow down there, miss," Arthur said, chuckling.

"This is incredible!" I said, devouring the small pie.

I got one more for the car ride, and with my pie in a box, we went back on the road. Arthur and I talked a little during the ride, he was very interesting. He was one of seven children, four sisters, and two brothers. He grew up in a small town and raised most of his siblings as he was the second oldest. He helped out a lot of farming as his town was known for growing corn. When he was 18, he moved to London to look for work where he found Professor Fawcett. He's been working for him ever since.

Not long after hearing Arthur's history, we arrived in Winfrey. I watched mansion after mansion go by, each with its own stunning plot. I couldn't believe that this was where I was going to live for the next year!

We drove on the main road for a while before turning down a dirt driveway. There was a tunnel of trees that covered the sky, making it feel so private. We reached a gate where two men in uniform stood. Arthur rolled down his window and gave the men a nod. They went and opened the gate. The dirt turned into cobblestone and the straight path turned into a circle. We drove up and stopped in front of a huge mansion. Arthur hopped out of the car and opened my door.

I took a deep breath and stepped out.