CHAPTER - 2 - A NEW BEGINNING

Kathani Sharma was many things, but she was not a sound sleeper. Even after her tiring four-month long journey across the world, she was awake, up, and about, early in the morning. After all, old habits die hard, and this was a habit she very much missed aboard the Stakesby on the tumultuous ocean waves. The sun would be up in about an hour and she needed this respite before the biggest challenge of the London season of 1815 began. She got dressed in her day clothes and braided her hair loosely. Grabbing her cloak on the way out, she carefully closed the door to avoid noise. Walking out of the guest wing, she gently pushed on the door next to her room, in hopes that it was not bolted shut from the inside.

She peeked in and looked at the bed, only to find Mary was sleeping soundly. Kate closed the door and opened the one in front of it, hoping that this one would not creek. Kate looked around the room startled, Edwina was nowhere to be found. She pushed on the door gently to get a wider view. Edwina's slippers beside the bed left Kate wondering about the whereabouts of the younger miss.

As Kate looked around, she noticed black braid hung down from the foot of the bed. Kate relaxed and smiled at the realization; Edwina twisted and turned a lot in her sleep, and had apparently turned around and placed her head near the foot of the bed sometime during the night. She walked out of Edwina's room, and closed the door behind her gently. Walking slowly to the end of the corridor, she took a quick right turn and opened the door on the left to reveal a hidden staircase.

'Here it is', Kate murmured as she let herself into the servants staircase.

The stairwell was already noisy and smelled of freshly baked biscuits. Kate rushed past the first set of stairs, only to hide behind an open door. A scullery maid walked past her with a heavy pot of water, not even bothering to look back. Kate took her chance and rushed into the washing area through the servants' back door. Kate looked around to find that it was empty, and decided that it would be the best course of action to put on the cloak now.

As she tied the ribbons of her hood together, she made her way towards the stables.

"I need a horse", she told the stable boy, who turned around in alarm.

"Miss, you…" he began unsure.

"I am one of Lady Danbury's guests, we arrived yesterday at sundown, I need a horse", she said.

"Aa.. I.. am not sure. I ain't want to get in tro-"

"Trouble, yes of course, I understand" said Kate, immediately prying something out of her pouch. "Keep this".

The stable boy, merely fifteen years of age, took whatever was handed to him. Five pennies, almost what he earned in a day.

"Miss, no, I cannot – Lady Danbury will-" he shivered.

"Lady Danbury will not know, for I will not tell her. Neither will you", Kate proclaimed. "I will be back before she wakes. Now bring me a good horse, I wish to go riding".

The stable boy meekly saddled a beautiful brown horse, Copper, and brought him to Kate. She patted Copper as she murmured, 'Good boy'. Slowly she walked towards the saddle and began climbing up astride. "Miss..." the stable boy began, horrified.

"-Now, that will be all. Thank you", she cut him off before he could say anything else. As she took the reins into her hands, she breathed relief. "No one will find out, do not worry", she assured.

The stable boy let go of the horse, and stepped back half in wonder, half in shock. Kate gently pulled the reins and the horse whined in attention. 'Time for a ride, finally' she whispered to herself as she finally began riding, gripping the horse with her legs. Copper seemed to agree, and started walking towards wherever Kate led.

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It was merely a few minutes since she left the Danbury residence, and Kate decided to pick up pace. Kate had been longing for this since the past five months. The morning air was fresh and crisp, and the winter had eased out. The air had a certain chill that was reminiscent of Bombay winters and reminded her of home. Kate let out a chuckle at the absurd thought that she would have been raised in Somerset, where she was born, if not for everything the Sharma family went through.

Kate Sharma was the first and only daughter of Milan Sharma and Charithra Sharma. He was the fourth son of her grandfather Rajendra Sharma, a somber businessman who had established himself in the British Society in the early 1700's by trading silks. Milan Sharma had taken on his father's love for travel unlike his brothers who were quick to take to business and had only settled down in Somerset with his wife after Kate was born. Their happiness however did not last long, as Charithra died of a lung fever when Kate was barely 3 years old. Milan Sharma took over accounting for his fathers' business and stayed in Somerset.

Things changed when he met Lady Mary Sheffield a year later. The only daughter of Lord Sheffield, the Earl of Mulgrave, and the youngest son of an Indian businessman, an unlikely duo to fall in love considering Lady Mary's roots were established from a line of noble blood. The Sheffields had instantly disapproved of her father, but Mary and her father chose each other. They eloped and got married in Gretna Green. The ensuing scandal was huge, as expected, and they chose to move away from England along with the 5 year old Kate, days after the wedding, and Milan Sharma set sail to India, hoping to rediscover his roots.

Kate however had never felt like she belonged elsewhere. All her memories of her father, Mary, and Edwina (who joined them a year and a half later) were in Bombay. Mr. Sharma had begun to work for the Royal Family of Satara, a part of the Maratha Empire in the Indian Subcontinent, which Kate now realized was due to the connections her father had built over his years of traveling. Mary had showered Kate with love, like Kate was her own, ever since she had met her for the first time. Even when Edwina came along, Mary did not show even a hint of apathy towards Kate. And Kate doted on Edwina. They were happy, and living comfortably after a long time it seemed. But every moment of happiness came to a screeching halt one September morning when her father did not wake up. Kate was 17 years old when her father died in his sleep.

Looking back now, Kate realized that there were many signs that her father had taken ill with some malady. Milan Sharma had been growing weaker by the day, since a couple of years before his passing. He could not spend hours outdoors anymore, teaching Edwina the very same things that he taught Kate. The portions of his food had diminished, and he somehow always seemed out of breath in the months preceding his death. Kate wondered at times if her father knew that something chronic had plagued him, yet chose to not tell them. But that would all be water under the bridge now. Milan Sharma left behind a grieving wife, and two young daughters.

Kate reminisced on the words her father had said to her once. We are a family, Kate, which means we take care of each other, always. And that was all she needed to wipe away her tears and step into her fathers' shoes. She had taken over her fathers' job with the royal family immediately, Kate was good with numbers after all, learning everything from her father. It was not long before she realized that this job alone would not be enough to sustain them, for their funds had started dwindling. That was when she came to know from her fathers' solicitor about Milan Sharma's knack for investments, something Kate never got to learn. So Kate did what she could and took on another job as a governess for the children of the Royal family. Mary was still too lost to be consoled and Edwina looked up to her elder sister for her needs and necessities. That's when Kate decided she wouldn't have anything else in her life. There were only Edwina and Mary now, and she would do the best of her ability to take care of them and never allow them to feel the loss of Milan Sharma.

Kate had now reached a clearing that was away from the city and secluded in a way. She took a minute to admire the open grounds in front of her. The greenery painted a beautiful landscape that anyone could get lost in for hours on end. The air was breathing life into her, and the sky was lighter now. This was exactly the respite she needed. Kate began riding again, and soon she felt the cool wind on her face, her heart racing, her cheeks flushing, and the sensation of being free as a bird again filled her heart. She continued fiercely, galloping through the clearing, up and over the small ditches of water pooled in the shallows of the land, and through the grasses and over the bushes again. Kate slowed down as she breathed deeply and chuckled. She could see the crimson creaks of dawn in the sky and birds had started chirping louder. Dawn was just around the corner it seemed. 'Just one more ride', she thought to herself. Soon, she noticed another figure on a horse at the far end of the clearing. A playful thought crossed her mind. Maybe it was time to have some fun. Kate smiled to herself mischievously and began riding again, this time towards the other horseman riding in the distance.

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A/N: I thought Kate deserved some backstory. What about you?