Chapter 2:
Julia continued her way and passed two open compartments. One with two dark-haired, hazel-eyed young men, both tall and in burgundy suits. They seemed in great animated discussion. And one with a man in his sixties whose hair was more white than red, in the company of a young woman in her mid-twenties, blonde, immersed in reading a book that seemed exciting.
When she finally arrived in the main carriage, a sort of ballroom, she sighed in relief. She really thought she would never get there.
"Please, sir…" Julia called out to a young man smoking a pipe near an open window.
He turned to her, and she knew immediately that she had found exactly who she was looking for.
"Are you the driver?"
"Yes Madam." he answered tit for tat.
He had brown hair and light green, almost yellow eyes. He had a driver's cap on his head, and he was dressed in a navy-blue uniform that she had seen on the ticket counter workers at the station.
"Zachary Lauzon. I am the second driver. The first is Pierre Barton." he replied politely, putting out his pipe out of respect.
"Oh...what does that mean?" asked Julia confused.
"Yes, excuse me." he smiled. "I often forget that these are not well-known professions. The first conductor is the leader of the others. He is my superior. He is the one who will drive the train most often during these three days. And, for the return too, if you are one on it."
"Yes, I will be part of it. Thank you for your answer, Mr. Lauzon. Where can I find Mr. Barton?"
"In the cabin." Zachary gestured to the closed door in front of him. "I'll take you there."
Zachary walked past Julia who followed him. He knocked on the white wooden door and gently opened it.
"Pierre… There is a passenger who would like to speak to you…"
"Thanks." Julia smiled again at the young man.
She entered the room and Mr. Barton rose from his seat. The cabin was as luxurious as the rest of the train, and she was fascinated for a moment by all those buttons and all that technology. Mr. Barton reached out and shook Julia's.
"What can I do for you, ma'am?"
"I was wondering why we still haven't started?"
"Oh…I'm sorry ma'am, we're still expecting five passengers."
Julia was silent for a few seconds before adding.
"Why don't we leave without them? It was clearly written on the ticket that the train left at 1:20 p.m., with or without delay from any passenger." Julia easily annoyed.
"I understand your annoyance, madam, but I was ordered to wait for them."
"And why this?"
"That's absolutely none of your business, ma'am." began to get angry the driver.
"It's my business if it delays my arrival in Sitka!"
"The lady is absolutely right. My mistress, Elizabeth Hébert, is impatient in her compartment." suddenly declared a young woman with brown hair tied in a loose bun.
She had no makeup on her face and her clothes looked somewhat scruffy. Especially for such a train. Julia therefore guessed without difficulty that the young woman was a maid. And she thought sadly that she must not be treated very well. The young doctor hated that. Exploitation and abuse of the people you employ.
"And you're?" the driver asked condescendingly at the woman's appearance.
"Marie Gosselin. I'm Madam Hébert's maid." declared the young woman firmly, without flinching.
"Well, Miss Gosselin, you will tell your mistress that, like everyone else, we will leave when the last passengers have arrived." asked Mr. Barton impatiently.
"And why are these passengers even privileged? My mistress is probably the most influential customer on this whole train."
Julia stopped herself from laughing at Mademoiselle Gosselin's words. It was true that she herself had quickly lost her temper. But her tirades almost bordered on the ridiculous.
"If you want to know everything, these passengers were personally invited by the head of the Night Train Station Company: Walid Champagne. The man who owns this train. So no, we won't leave until they arrive." Pierre Barton raged. "And you can tell your mistress that, given the presence of the company boss and his family on the train, she is clearly not the most influential customer."
Julia looked at Marie Gosselin blushing with embarrassment and annoyance, and she felt pain. The young woman knew perfectly well that if Marie came back with this style of information for her mistress, the latter would not be happy at all. And, to look closely at the frightened face that the young woman was currently making, she was used to it, and she knew it perfectly.
"Anything else ladies?"
She saw Marie open her mouth as the door to the main carriage opened again to reveal Zachary.
"They're here…" he whispered.
"Well…" sighed Pierre. "Excuse me ladies." he said as he walked past them so he could get out of the driver's room.
Julia followed the driver and Marie into the main carriage and saw five more people inside, looking out of breath, with luggage in their hands. There was a man with bright red hair who had his hand resting on the hip of a woman who was surely his. She was brunette, her hair up and an emerald-green hat on her head. Next to them were two little boys, the youngest of whom was holding his mother's hand. They both had blond hair and looked bewildered by the luxury of the train.
Finally, Julia looked at a young man who seemed totally uncomfortable. As if he was not at all where he wanted. He had black hair and hazel eyes. He stood tall in a classic black suit with perfectly polished shoes. The young man suddenly met her gaze and Julia felt her heart jump for no reason. He continued to watch her, and she did the same until they jumped at the voice of Pierre Barton.
"Alright ladies… Now you can go back to your compartments since we can leave. You can stop worrying about it." he said in a condescending manner that immediately angered Julia.
"Well… It's not too soon… Is it?" she could not help but retort, looking at the five passengers.
"I beg your pardon, miss?" the dark-haired young man suddenly spoke, with a defiant look on his face.
Julia was surprised at his confident reaction when he had looked so uneasy only seconds ago.
"The train is late because we were expecting your arrival. The least we could have done was to arrive on time, don't you think?" Julia annoyed again.
This time, she felt a kind of anger welling up inside her. What was the problem of this man?
"Who do you think you are...?"
"Murdoch!" suddenly scolded the red-haired man who had let go of his wife to take the young man by the shoulder as he looked at Julia with his brow furrowed in annoyance. "Go on! We're all going to relax there. Now we're here, we can all go to our compartments and leave, okay? If the tensions are already starting, the three or six days will be long."
"You are right, Thomas. We are here now." smiled the woman with dark brown hair, stroking the heads of her two boys.
"Yes! Come on ladies, you can go back to your compartments. It's 1:59 p.m., the train is about to leave. Can you get over it?" finished Pierre Barton, in a sarcastic tone.
Note: The atmosphere is quite electric in this train! I hope the details are comprehensive and it's not too badly written. Do not hesitate to leave me a comment, even in private to tell me what you think.
Merci beaucoup pour le commentaire que j'ai reçu. J'espère que la suite te plaira :)
Thank you also for the second comment I received! I hope you'll enjoy their meeting and the unfolding of the story!