'

The day of the much anticipated boat trip (which incidentally was also the first of the three days where they were required to retire early) dawned bright and beautiful.

It was midsummer's day, so the rule of being home before the sun set could be stretched to its limit (that was a mischievous idea of Rose's).

That morning, Rey baked a seed cake, pleased to have finally been able to buy some caraway seeds. It was one of her favourite recipes, and she thought it would be a nice addition to their picnic.

Mr Hux had generously given Poe, Dopheld and herself the afternoon off together and they were all very excited about it, well, she and Poe were, Dopheld seemed mainly nervous, but still wished to join them.

'

As they were having a quick lunch, shouting erupted upstairs and they all paused to look at one another. There was the customary slam of a door, but then heavy steps on the stairs had them all flinching simultaneously and shooting to their feet.

"Dameron!" Lord Ren barked as soon as he burst into the kitchen with a tight-eyed Mr Hux behind him. "I need you to drive over to Penrith to pick something up for me this afternoon," his glare turned on poor Dopheld, "Mitaka," he seemed to flounder slightly for a moment, then with a renewed ire declared, "Silencer needs his tack cleaning and polishing. I want it done today, I shouldn't even need to ask."

His eyes fell on Rey and she braced herself for her own term of sentence, but oddly, he huffed slightly, nostrils flaring, in front of everyone, then spun on his heels, brushing Mr Hux aside, and stomped back up the stairs.

There was a shocked silence, then to Rey's astonishment, Poe spat angrily, "What in the hells prompted that?"

Mr Hux shot him a quelling look, then shook his head, "It doesn't matter what it was, you have your instructions," he turned to look at Rey, " I am afraid it seems it will just be you and the Tico's today."

Rey frowned as she looked between Poe and Mr Hux, "We could postpone the trip? Perhaps try next Sunday?"

Poe's mouth tightened, but he shook his head, "No, the weather is perfect, you should see Ullswater at her best, Rey. I am sure we can go another time."

"He's right," Dopheld sighed resignedly as he collapsed back into his chair, "Go and enjoy it and tell us all about it this evening." He looked at Mr Hux, "Though I am sure the master usually insists on cleaning his tack himself."

Mr Hux shook his head, "It is his prerogative, ours is not to question why."

A huff and snort of derision came from Poe but he didn't otherwise comment as he sat back down and Mr Hux disappeared upstairs again.

It was difficult not to feel guilty over being allowed to go on this trip when her fellows could not, but Rey was secretly glad that they hadn't taken up her offer of postponement - she had been so very much looking forward to the trip and couldn't help but be excited despite this turn of events.

"At least there's cake," Poe said in an effort to sound cheerful.

She smiled, "There is, and barring three slices to take with me, it's all yours, what Lord Ren doesn't know won't trouble him."

Her reward was a flash of a smirk from Poe, though Dopheld merely sighed and nodded.

'

When it came time for her to leave and go and meet Paige and Rose, she felt rather nervous. For one, she had never been on a boat, and while she had met and exchanged conversation with the sisters, she hadn't spent a lot of time with them on her own. What if she ran out of things to say? What if she made a fool of herself?

'

To give herself some added confidence, Rey changed into her church attire rather than her other casual outfit. There would be other passengers on the trip and she didn't wish to embarrass the Tico's, or herself. In a few months time, she hoped to buy a new dress or outfit and retire her shabby dress for good.

Her church attire consisted of a high necked white blouse and a jacket and skirt of matching grey blue. The jacket was done up with black buttons and she had embroidered the collar and cuffs with a simple black vine leaf pattern. It wasn't anything special, but it was smart and fit well, (though her corset had to be done rather tighter than she wore for work). Her gloves were black as was her chatelaine purse and paired with her good black hat, which had a small quantity of feathers adorning it, she felt very respectable.

As she left the house, the sensation of being watched came over her and she looked back expecting to see Dopheld come out of the stables, but there was no one there. Poe had already left on Lord Ren's errand and she knew Mr Hux was in his office… with a shake of her head, she resolutely avoided looking back, even though the feeling returned as soon as she started walking again.

'

The nearest pier was ten minutes away, not far from the mouth of the Aira Beck and Rey was relieved to see Rose and Paige were already there, (though she hoped she had not kept them waiting). Their faces lit up, then fell slightly as they noticed that she was alone.

"Lord Ren has taken up being the Big Bad Wolf again, I take it?" Rose asked malapertly.

Paige smacked her sister's arm, "Hush! Don't be impertinent where people may hear you!"

Big bad wolf? Something tickled the back of Rey's mind, but stayed hidden when she turned her thoughts to it.

With a sigh, Rey nodded - considering the scene in the kitchen earlier, it wasn't a inequitable description, "He suddenly, quite out of the blue, had jobs for Poe and Dopheld," she shrugged, "I don't know why I wasn't included, but both Poe and Dopheld insisted we should go without them," she hesitated, then shyly added, "I hope you aren't too disappointed it is just me."
"Of course not!" Rose exclaimed, "It will be nice, just us ladies. Men discuss the silliest things and Poe talks too much anyway."

Paige smiled fondly at her sister as she shook her head, "It will be lovely I am sure, but do try and speak at a reasonable volume, dearheart, you weren't born in a barn."

'

The boat, a steam powered pleasure cruiser named the Lady of the Lake, arrived, and they walked along the slightly rickety pier so they could pay their ticket and embark.

The lovely weather meant that there were quite a few people already on board, as well as those who waited on the pier with them, but there was still plenty of room to find a seat under the canopy so they wouldn't have to squint in the sunshine.

When the boat began to move, Rey felt her stomach drop and she grasped the rail by her seat, unnerved somewhat at the odd motion, but as Rose and Paige chattered on, she relaxed and the strange feeling dwindled to something she could disregard.

'

It was a wonderful way to see the countryside and felt quite odd seeing views she had gazed at for hours, from another perspective.

The chuffing of the steam engine was rather like a train and coupled with the gentle swish of the water, it was rather relaxing.

After the boat paused at the Glenriding pier and they were on their way again, they bought cups of tea from the saloon and sipped them on the deck as the high fells faded behind them and the lake opened up again as they headed for the next stop at Howtown.

"Ullswater really must be the most beautiful place in the world," Rey said, half to herself as she watched wild geese stretch their long necks out as they flew above the water, reflections following them.

"I am glad you think so," Rose answered with a proud smile, "Only the best people do, you know."

'

The prospect from the boat afforded a better view of the shore opposite Varykino, and there were many small becks and secret coves that she hadn't been able to see before. The shore landscape varied so much, the high fells that kissed the blue sky, the craggy rock promontories that thrust into the water, and sweeping, shingle bays. Lush green trees and ferns hugged the shore in some places, or retreated to allow meadows to thrive, with tall grasses and wildflowers that undulated in the breeze.

'

They disembarked at the Howtown pier to stretch their legs and to find somewhere pleasant to have their picnic.

It was a simple affair, just sandwiches, apples, Rey's seed cake and lemonade. They walked east and north, so that they were away from Hallin Fell, which close-to hid the rays of the sun, and settled on a patch of grass close to the shore of the lake where they could watch the boats and birds on the water.

Both Rose and Paige turned out to be keen birdwatchers and helped Rey put names to many of the birds that up until now she had been unfamiliar with.

The conversation was easy and relaxed, and once they had finished eating, they went down to a little bay and attempted to skip stones across the surface of the water. None of them managed to achieve more than a few bounces, but it produced much jollity even in failure.

'

They embarked once more at Howtown Pier and took the route to Pooley Bridge to see the rest of Ullswater. They remained on the boat to make the journey home, simply mirroring the outgoing route, though that did not mean it was dull and there wasn't anything new to see - Ullswater was a veritable feast for the eyes and balm for the soul, and Rey didn't imagine that opinion would ever change.

As they were leaving Pooley Bridge, they had a clear view of the lake all the way up to Hallin fell and Rey noticed with concern that the sky was growing dark as clouds descended off the heights.

"Ah," Rose said with a sigh, "It never ceases to amaze me how the weather can turn on a sixpence."

As they came closer and closer to Hallin Fell, the breeze turned cold while the sun hid behind the clouds, and they were forced to sit inside the saloon and warm up with cups of tea.

They were still able to watch as the lake and land went by them, and Rey marvelled at how different a place it looked to a few hours before. Of course she had witnessed these sorts of changes in the weather since living here, but it was still fascinating nonetheless.

What did concern her, though, was that with the dark clouds, it was likely that Lord Ren would deem that the sun setting would be earlier than she had allowed for. Which was very careless on her part - she really ought to have had the foresight that this may happen.

At any other time of the month, to arrive home a little late may be negligible, especially by Mr Hux, but during this time, Lord Ren would doubtless notice her absence and be very displeased by it.

She tried not to let her anxiety show and to enjoy this contrary character of Ullswater, but by the time they were sailing by where Varykino would be if the mist weren't so thick, she was nervously chewing her lip.

'

Then disaster struck - due to the mist, the captain informed everyone that they would not be sailing from Glenridding to the Aira Force pier and everyone was to disembark at Glenridding.

"What will we do?" Rey asked in dismay, "It must be miles back to Varykino by road and even further to Dockray!"

Paige pursed her lips, her pretty face marred by a frown, "I believe it is over two miles for you and almost four for us."

"Yes, but Glenridding will have a cab we can take, they often congregate there when a mist comes down," Rose gave Rey a warm, reassuring smile, "Don't you worry."

Rey reflected that Rose didn't quite understand what living with Lord Ren was like, not worrying was impossible at that moment.

Still, worrying about things out of her control was wasted energy, (or so she told herself, that didn't mean it relieved her concerns though).

'

On reaching Glenridding, there was a rather uncivil rush to disembark, and in the press there was a sudden cry as Rose slipped alighting on the pier.

Luckily, if there was any to be had, thought Rey somewhat grimly, she and Paige prevented Rose from falling to the ground, and they supported her back onto the boat to sit for a moment.

"Are you hurt?" Paige asked her sister worriedly, even as her eyes darted over her figure.

Rose shook her head, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, "No, no, I am fine. Just clumsy of me!" but as she went to stand, she winched and fell back into her seat, "Actually, I think I may have turned my ankle, it is rather sore."

Rey and Paige glanced at each other, then Rey stood, "I will go and see if I can engage a cab to come up to the pier to save you walking."

She left her basket with them, and walked swiftly down the long pier and up the lane to the road, but with their delay, all the available cabs had been taken.

When she returned with the bad news, she found the sisters chatting with the captain. After greeting him as politely as her agitation allowed, Rey informed them of the lack of cabs.

"My dear ladies," the captain addressed them with a smile, "One of my crewmen lives in Dockrey and once he is done with his tasks, I am sure he would be happy to take you in his trap. It will be a wait of an hour or so, but I can offer you my office to pass the time in, if that is acceptable?"

Both Rose and Paige beamed at him, unconcerned it meant such a delay to their plans.

"Oh, thank you Captain Canady, we would be most obliged," Paige said as she stood and went to help Rose.

Captain Canady called over a crewman to give Rose an arm and take them to the aforementioned office.

As they walked, all Rey could hear in her head was a clock ticking, getting louder and louder as each moment passed.

Once the crewman had left them sitting in a rather cramped cabin that smelt of cigar smoke and pitch, she turned to the sisters.

"Will you forgive me if I do not wait with you? I am so awfully late, and I think if I walk quickly, I will get back to Varykino faster. If I don't I will meet you on the road and you may laugh at me, but I think if I sit and wait I will go mad with worry."

"But, Rey," Paige said, her eyes huge, "The mist is so thick, what if you get lost? Or come upon someone unsavoury?"

So far, Rey had yet to meet anyone to cause her concern in Ullswater, some people were peculiar or prone to superstition, but no one had felt threatening, other than Lord Ren of course. At that thought her stomach flipped uncomfortably, if she didn't at least attempt to get home faster, she felt as if he would somehow know and judge her all the more harshly for it.

She had to do this, she already knew she would be in for trouble and the longer the delay the hotter the water was likely to be.

"So long as I stay on the road, I think the mist won't be too much of a problem," she answered, more confidently than she felt, "And I could always hide if I hear someone coming that I don't like the sound of, the mist will make that easy, at least… but may I leave my basket with you? I think I will walk faster without it."
'

And so Rey found herself on the road alone, shrouded by mist and silence as she almost jogged her way along. Recalling her jumpiness of the first time she had walked in an Ullswater mist, she recited psalms in her head as she went. Occasionally she would have to slow down, her tight corset making it hard to breathe, but she didn't stop, merely slowed to a walk for a while before speeding up once more.

Although she knew she would be exhausted and rather clammy when she arrived home, she kept going, as the seconds ticked by, rushing ever nearer towards the possibility of dismissal and the end of her new life at Varykino.

'

'


A/N: Dun dun duuuuuuun!

The Lady of the Lake launched on Ullswater in 1877 and is still in use today. She is believed to be the oldest working passenger ferry in the world.

While Rich Seed Cake was enjoyed by the Victorians, I could not find an authentic recipe, so here is my version (still tastes good!)

INGREDIENTS

8 oz SR flour

8 oz sugar

8 oz butter

4 eggs

1 oz caraway seeds

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cinnamon

METHOD

Grease a large round cake tin or line it with parchment.

Cream the butter and the sugar together, then alternatively beat in the eggs, one at a time and some of the flour, spices and caraway seeds until all is mixed together.

Put in the tin and bake for about an hour on 180 or 40 mins on 160 for a fan oven.

This keeps well and is delicious with a cup of tea.