Chapter One: On Her Own
The river ran wild in the distance behind the small black carriage, picking up dust as it coasted away from the sounds of the Thames and towards an ever expanding range of green, wet grass. Wide hazel eyes peered out from the stagecoach at the beauty of a land unspoiled by the hands of man or industry. Laura Hollis was most certainly not in London anymore.
Victims of several bad financial coincidences all in a row, the Hollis family had gone from a close-knit, well-to-do British family to a household in trouble in what seemed like a few days. The plan for Laura had always been simple: grow into a beautiful, talented young woman ripe for marriage and ride off with the most appropriate suitor when the time was right. But faced with destitution, the grandest of plans were forced to change. One afternoon, as Laura slid her fingers across the keys of the grand piano in the sitting room, she felt a chill as her father entered behind her and beckoned her attention. He told her grimly that, though he loved her, he was presented with an opportunity for her that he simply could not refuse, and she was to prepare to depart anon. Two days later, a valise and a satchel had been packed for Laura and she boarded a carriage bound for the Kent countryside.
She was to be a governess, her father told her, as she sat on the piano bench facing the wall, posture as straight as ever, but mind slumped over at the news. An old Oxford colleague had been recently made a widower and was simply unprepared to provide for the education of his two daughters. The man had evidently not taken the events well and the need for a figure for his children was imminent. Laura couldn't believe her father had been humble enough to admit their financial struggle—she was raised to be a lady herself, and to be offered up as a governess was to announce without question that the Hollis family had fallen. She didn't mind the prospect of teaching or the idea of a new adventure, she rather craved it in fact, but she was not ready to leave the comfort of her father's home. Certainly not in two days' time. Though she had recently reached nineteen years of age, by all accounts, she was nearly a girl herself.
Her fears were not taken for importance and today she found herself riding in this carriage behind a tall, well-built young man who held the reins to two horses that drove the vehicle through the meadows.
This morning, after a silent breakfast and an hour to bathe and dress, the two had their first encounter outside the Hollis home in London. Laura meekly followed her father out the doors to find the unfamiliar figure standing in front of his horses and carriage. She leaned against the wall of the entry and watched as the two shook hands and exchanged a few words. After a minute, her father waved his hand at her and motioned for her to approach.
"Miss Hollis," he said, and gave a small bow. "A pleasure to meet you."
"And I you," she responded with a curtsey. "What do I call you?"
"Kirsch will be fine," he replied, nodding. "Are you prepared to depart?"
"Yes." Laura watched as her father loaded her small amass of luggage into the carriage. "Quite ready. How long is our journey?"
"Not long. Just under four hours. We'll be there in time to settle you in and have tea before you meet Master Silas."
"Very well."
Laura looked down towards the carriage floor again and smoothed her dress for the hundredth time. A dress once belonging to her mother, she never quite felt like she fit into it. It was the most impressive article of clothing she carried with her to her new lodging, but it brought her no sense of comfort. There is no safety in the arms of the long lost, indeed in the ones never really known, she thought.
Without turning his head, Kirsch announced, "Five minutes to the manor, Miss Hollis."
"Excellent," Laura murmured, though she felt nothing of the sort.
As the carriage meandered through the last mile of the journey, the mansion appeared in Laura's vision. A revivalist dream, the structure was tall and stately and entranced her deeply. Akin to the summer homes she dreamt of residing in when she was to be married, it touched her fantasy and she smiled at the beauty, forgetting momentarily that she was not to be the lady of this house.
The horses slowed their trot and the stagecoach soon stopped at a cobblestone path. Inhaling deeply, Laura waited as Kirsch dismounted from the driver's seat and opened the door, offering his hand to her. She placed her small hand in his timidly, and stepped down from the car, carefully maneuvering in the strange dress. Waiting for them was a very tall girl that looked to be a couple of years older than Laura. Her bright red hair fell to her strong shoulders, and Laura noticed when she saw her that she felt a sudden safeness that she hadn't felt on the trip thus far.
"Miss Laura Hollis, may I introduce our cook and head maid, Miss Danielle Lawrence."
Laura watched the girl visibly cringe, and shoot Kirsch a look. "Danny, please."
"Is she not to know your proper name?" the man asked with a smirk.
"Danny is my proper name," she retorted, and turning back to the new arrival, asked "May I call you Laura?"
"Yes, of course. It is a pleasure to meet you, Danny," Laura smiled, looking up at the admittedly handsome young woman.
"I'm sure the same is to be said for you. Come now, quickly. There is much for us to do now that you've come. Oh, and welcome to Silas Manor."