The garden still bloomed brightly, but the leaves changing let Priscilla know it wouldn't be for much longer. Autumn was coming, and it was growing cooler every day.
Carleon was always beautiful, but she found it to be the most beautiful in spring, when everything was coming alive. It had always been her favorite season; winter was beautiful but harsh, summer brought sweltering heat, and autumn...well, perhaps autumn was nice in its own way, but it was a prelude to winter and Priscilla couldn't stand to watch the flowers slowly wither and die from the cold.
She sat under a tree, glancing at the thick storybook she'd taken outside to read, but she didn't feel much like reading. Yet.
I wonder how everyone is back at Cornwall, she thought. She wondered if Mother and Father missed her, if Raymond did. It had been three years now, she tried to picture what he might look like and all she could conjure was a bigger version of the Raymond she'd seen last. Maybe someday I'll be able to take a trip back home to visit him...
A breeze began to blow through the garden then, and Priscilla shivered. It was definitely feeling like autumn now, she decided as she pulled her shawl more snugly around her shoulders. A few leaves fell from the tree, and she picked one up to examine it. The edges were beginning to brown.
"So long, summer," she murmured, then picked up her book and began to read.