Chapter 37: Wearing My Heart On My Sleeve
SOPHIA
In the back of the shop was the sewing room. It was a charming mess. Patterns were pinned to the walls, fabric draped tables, bins and shelves held lace, bows, ribbons, buttons, and more. If you named it, Tilda probably had it.
Tilda stepped to a rack of clothing and looking through the dresses.
"No. No. Definitely no." She paused. Frowned. "God, no. What was I thinking?" Finally, she pulled out a light purple dress. "Built-in bra," she said, showing me. "No corset. Those freaking things will kill you."
It had long sleeves, pearl buttons, and shimmering beads around the waist.
"Try it on. It should fit okay."
It fit perfect. I came out of the dressing room. Hannah clapped her hands excitedly, and Tilda whistled. "Hubba, hubba. It’s like I made that for you."
"I want it," I said. "How much?"
"You can afford it."
I could afford it, but it was expensive. I could see why Tilda didn’t have a lot of clients. Her prices weren’t in the range of commoners.
"I have a fitting tomorrow with a bride, but I can make it out to Amaranth Manor the day after. Does that work for you?"
"Yes. What time?"
"I’m not a morning person, sweetie. It’ll be lunchtime. You better feed me, too, because I get hangry."
"Hangry?" Tilda had an odd way of speaking. Maybe because she was from far, far away.
"It means you’re so hungry you’re mad about it. Hangry."
"I’ll make sure luncheon is served before you get started."
"By the way, what do you want to do with the old dress?" She pointed to where it was piled in a corner.
"Bonfire," I said.
She laughed. "I’ll torch it for you."
With plans made, it was nearly time to return to the pharmacy to retrieve the new prescription. We returned to the eatery and found the driver already waiting there with the carriage.
The driver opened the door, and helped us inside. The stop at the apocathery took no time at all.
"I’m exhausted," I told Hannah when I returned to the carriage. I put the wrapped brown paper packages on the seat next to me. I looked out the carriage window and saw the darkening skies.
"There’s a storm coming," murmured Hannah. "Should we wait in town until it blows over?"
"I’m sure we’ll be fine. It’s not that far. What, thirty or so minutes?"
It was like the weather gods heard me and decided to punish me. A brutal wind whipped against the carriage, rocking it. Then sudden, violent rain battered the sides and seeped through the windows.
"Hurry," I yelled at the driver.
I don’t know if he heard me. He was probably soaked to the bone, trying to fight the storm to get us home.
Lightning flared in the sky followed by the loud rumble of thunder. Hannah was trying to hold on to the seat, but the rough ride had us sliding from side to side. I slammed into wall, and pain shot through me. I hadn’t quite recovered from the airship crash, so slamming around inside the carriage was doing me no favors.
We heard a craaaaaack!
Thunder?
No.
The carriage.
We spun away from the road, down the grassy hill, skidding to a stop. My heart pounded in my chest. Sweat soaked my hair, my dress.
Through the window, I saw the driver laying in the road unmoving. The horse galloped away, taking the wooden brace with him.
I looked at Hannah, and gasped. She lay against the side, blood dripping from her temple. She was unconscious.
I went to her and put my finger under her nose. She was breathing. Oh, thank all the baby goddesses.
I needed to check on the driver and pull him out of the road. Not that anyone else should be traveling in this horrid rain. Why hadn’t I listened to Hannah and returned to town to wait out the storm?
The storm had lessened in its ferocity as I popped open the door and climbed out. Getting up the hill was more difficult because my shoes were for show, not comfort. I finally chucked them off and climbed up the little knoll barefoot.
By the time I got to the road, I was soaked to the bone. I checked for the driver’s breathing, and huzzah, he was alive, too. But definitely in worse shape than Hannah. I grabbed his arm and dragged him in short bursts until he was completely out of the road.
I bent over, hands on my knees, panting for breath, rain slashing at me like knives. What should I do now?
Was the town closer? Or Amaranth Manor? I looked in both directions, but didn’t see anyone else. And I had no idea how long we’d been traveling before the carriage broke.
All I could do was take a risk.
I would go back toward town. I was far more likely to run into someone going or coming from Velvetleaf than anyone from Amaranth Manor. And I think the village was probably closer than my home.
I stayed to the side of the muddy road, slogging through long grass and mucky puddles. I was hugging myself for warmth, and shivering so hard my teeth rattled.
I was nearing a wooded area that I believed meant I was getting much closer to Velvetleaf. Surely someone would be around in the next few minutes. The rain was calming down. What had been a deluge and turned into a pitter-patter.
Then my foot went down, down into a hole I hadn’t seen. I felt a click-pop in my ankle and then my knees buckled.
Unfortunately, I was on the rise above the forest, and when I fell, I immediately started rolling toward the treeline.
My body bounced against the wet ground and bumped against small rocks and big sticks. Avoiding the trees was impossible, so I wrapped my arms around my head and prayed I didn’t die from the impact.
Then SMACK.
My shoulder plowed into a pine tree. I snapped backward, groaning as pain shot through my chest, and felt my skull smash into a hard surface.
Darkness rolled over me. And then ... nothing.
