Creak, crackle, whoosh...
The carriage traveled along Charcoal Dust Road; the sounds it emitted in the night were particularly distinct. Inside the carriage, lit by the stove, Lady Ingrid wept over and over again.
She lamented her daughter, Mrs. Roby, wondered what her future held, and what was to become of her young granddaughter, Diana.
Lady Meryl and her sister-in-law Gwyn gently comforted Lady Ingrid.
Lola, now thirteen, propped her chin in her hands and daydreamed, watching the dark night sky through a gap in the curtains.
She could no longer remember what her Aunt Roby looked like.
But she remembered her cousin Diana, two years her junior, whom she occasionally saw at festival banquets with her Uncle Davis and Diana in attendance. However, Diana was somewhat reserved, not quite a playmate for her.
"Quite pitiful," Lola thought.
She had two brothers and one sister, whereas Diana had no siblings at all.
