Wendy let out a long and exasperated sigh, her warm breath hit the freezing contrast of the glass window in front of her. Her fingers twitched with the sudden urge to reach out and draw in the fresh canvas she had just created. She couldn't of course, that was something that a child would do, and you have to be a grown up now Wendy Darling. She urged to be sat in the third class part of the train, everyone in first class were all so serious and she wondered with a sudden curiosity what their journey was for, what could bring them this far up North?
She didn't have time to ponder as the train stopped with a jarring halt and she gathered her bags and departed onto the platform with a deep sense of dread. Wendy was met on the platform by a rather plump middle-aged woman who had flushed cheeks and a friendly smile, "Wendy I assume?" the woman asked enthusiastically.
"Indeed, how did you know?" Wendy spoke, her accent suddenly sounding too strong in her head compared to this woman's thick Northern accent.
"You looked ever so lost as you stepped off the train just now! Honestly what a relief you arrived safely, I've been here for a good few hours, must have been very long for you Miss! I've never been on a train myself!" she exclaimed.
Wendy was about to reply and tell this lady that travelling by train is actually rather tedious but the look on this woman's face as she studied the train with an almost childlike excitement and curiosity, Wendy kept quiet and simply nodded.
"Right dear, lets get these bags onto the carriage and we'll be on our way". Wendy was lead to a lovely carriage pulled by a large black stallion.
The journey that Wendy had been dreading as she had been travelling a long time already actually turned out to be rather pleasant. She enjoyed the company of the woman she was travelling with, her name was Mrs. Nelson and she was married to the man who worked in the stables and she had two sons who both lived at the manor. She informed Wendy of all the staff working there, Wendy stopped listening when she began talking about the wonderful Master, Mr Thomas this and Mr Thomas that. Instead she looked onto the impressive scenery, so different to that of what she lived in within the heart of London. Wendy pondered what life in the country was really like, how far was their nearest neighbour, how far to the nearest town? What was it like to not have to keep up with the latest London fashions? She was soon to find out.
Mrs. Nelson mistook Wendy's silence for boredom, "we're almost their dear I promise" she said encouragingly and Wendy gave a smile and a nod in return, 'how much quicker they would be if they were flying!' Wendy thought and then a smile lit her face as she thought of the incredible exhilaration of the wind gripping your hair at hundreds of feet above the ground! The wonderful fear! The trust in just the grip of a hand and a cheeky smile…The carriage stopped. They had arrived. Wendy had to be brave now, as she was about to embark on the next dismal chapter of her life.