Daughter of the Rebellion

Chapter 36

The waiting was pure torture. Richard, good to his word, had sent me and the children, along with his mother to the middle of nowhere. Charlotte was here as well. Her husband felt about as secure having her and their son at home as Richard did with me and the children.

We were confined to one of John's properties, three days journey from the kingdom. The house was nice enough, but I felt like I was cut off from everything. It had been nearly three weeks since Richard and John exiled us all and I was going insane with worry. What would we do if things went badly? It was bad enough that my family was in constant danger, but I couldn't bear losing Richard too. Granted, he did warn me that this whole thing could take up to a month, but I couldn't seem to make myself believe that would be a good scenario. The more time that passed, the worse the odds were.

"Mama, where Papa?" Samuel tugged on my skirt as I stared out the window. The children asked every day where their father was, and every day I told them he was working, and that he would join us as soon as he could. It wasn't really a lie, but it was close enough that I still felt guilty for telling them that. I remembered how much I missed my father when he was away on business, but I'd understood it was necessary. My children were all so young that they couldn't really understand why their father couldn't be with them. Keira, I think, mostly understood. I could tell that she knew that the situation was pretty serious, and so she asked about Richard less than the boys did, but there was still a lot she couldn't understand.

I reached down and picked up my little boy, wishing I could take his sadness away. Samuel was the one who was the most confused. He didn't understand the concept of working yet, and so it made no difference when I gave that as an explanation. To Samuel, his father would go away a little every day and be home by dinner time. It was frightening for him to suddenly see Richard absent for so long.

"Soon Sweetheart." I hugged him tightly. "We'll see Papa soon." I desperately hoped I wasn't lying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're going to wear a hole in that window from looking out it so often, Cecily," Charlotte joked from her place on the couch where she worked on her embroidery.

"Then I suppose we'll have to get a new one," I answered without glancing away.

This little village that we'd been sequestered to was quaint and lovely, and one I really would have liked, under any other circumstance. But since I was going stir crazy as it was, the constant inactivity was maddening. Especially knowing how much was happening in the kingdom.

"We'll hear any carriages that arrive," Charlotte tried. "You don't need to stand there all day every day."

"I know," was all I said.

It was true. This place was so quiet and the driveway was so close to the house, it was impossible not to hear anyone that rode up. But I didn't care. I wanted to watch for them. I wanted to see them before they actually arrived. Besides, every time I sat down to read or embroider or anything else, all I wanted to do was look out the window.

Charlotte sighed and gave up. She hadn't been exaggerating by much. I had stared at this view so much in the last few weeks that I could probably paint it by memory.

After several minutes, I noticed a speck, moving in the distance and I stared at it hard, trying to decipher what it was. I didn't want to get too excited. It could be an animal or a supply wagon. Even if it was a carriage, it could be for someone else in the village.

Come on, I urged silently. Hurry up!

After a very long time, I determined that it was, in fact, a carriage, but I still had to wait to see it clearly.