Neptune's Shadow
Stirring the Pot
My name is Rose Hart, the only child of the Lord and Lady Hart.
I never see my father, since he was always away on ‘business trips’, making alliances with other families, and other lordly duties. I only see my mother when she wants to talk to me, and the rest of the time, she takes care of the Lady duties, such as overseeing the house, the grounds and my betrothal.
Which means that I would be alone. Normally.
My tutor’s daughter, Lisa, was always somewhere nearby though, thank goodness. Today, she was sitting next to me in my room while I was practising embroidery. “What are you reading?” I said to her.
She smiled at me. “I’m not actually reading it. I just like the shapes of the words.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. What a weird thing to say. “Why don’t you just read it?”
I saw a deep blush blooming on her cheeks, and then I knew.
“Sorry.” I said to her. “I just assumed… I didn’t know…”
“It’s okay.”
“Maybe I can teach you?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Really? You’d do that?”
I nodded and smiled at her. “Sure. Here,” I took the book from her, and started talking. “There are twenty-six letters of the alphabet, and each letter acts as a symbol for a sound. Then, you can combine the sounds to form words.” I pointed to the title of the book. “The title of this book is “Tales of the Sea, I’ll talk you through it…”
I taught her through to dinnertime, to the point where Lisa could write her own name.
We separated at dinner, since I was only allowed to eat with my family. Both of my parents were here, for once. My father sat at the head of the table, my mother in the middle, and I on the other side of her. Today’s dinner was roasted pheasant and vegetables, and apart from everyone’s eating noises, it was completely silent.
I chewed slowly, not even tasting the food, which I only knew was delicious because it always is. I could feel my stomach in knots and I could barely swallow. The words two months to go kept swirling around my head. Suddenly my vision was blurring, the anxiety was just too much. I stood up abruptly, pushing my chair back from the table.
“I’m going to get some air, please excuse me.”
“Darling, there’s still dessert-“
Not bothering to look behind me, I rushed out of the dining hall and down the stairs. I could feel my breathing rate accelerating. “Deep breath,” I whispered, trying to get a hold of myself. “Deep breath.”
I knew that going out of the front door would just grab attention, but I also knew that it was the door furthest from the dining hall. I turned down the narrow corridor to where the kitchen was, prepared to use the back door, but something made me stop. Why did I have such a bad feeling?
I heard a gentle murmur coming from the kitchen, and I crept down the corridor towards it, making sure to silence my movements. Slowly, I began to discern the murmurs.
“…do you think they’re serious?” I heard a male voice. Must have been the butler. “Even if they’re just rumours, it seems a little drastic…”
“If they are just rumours then I don’t think we should tell the Lord and Lady Hart, we wouldn’t want to worry them.”
A small voice spoke up. “And if they aren’t?”
Lisa.
There was a small silence. “Then I suppose we’re all in trouble. But I doubt many of the other peasants will have the courage anyway.”
“When… When’s the planned date?”
“I’m not sure… But I think it was something to do with the young lady’s birthday. They say that the moment she is married, then the family’s land ownership will just expand even more, and they want to prevent that, because it means more money for the family.”
“They keep saying that it’s unfair for any one person to be the owner of such a large amount of land, and that it should be divided equally. However, I propose that we should wait until the right time to bring this up.”
I used the mumbles of agreement as a cover for backing away slowly. I had a really bad feeling that it was conversation I wasn’t supposed to hear, and definitely not to listen to. I walked back down the corridor, this time towards the front door. My anxiety only got worse, and I needed to breathe. I pushed the door open, not even caring what sound it was making, and stepped outside into the biting air.
So it looked like the servants knew something that they wanted to keep hidden. Were they only hiding it from the family? Probably – from the way they were talking, it sounded like everyone was well aware of the details and implications of this ‘rumour’, even Lisa! So everyone knew…
That a rebellion was brewing.
Was the rumour really true? If so, then what could I do? What would happen?
I liked the feeling of the cold wind against my skin, it made me feel as if my mind was clearing – and then I had an idea. I should go down there and find out for myself.
I’ll be dressed in disguise. I won’t be Lady Rose – I will be dressed as a boy, so as not to arouse suspicion. I will go into the servant’s clothes hamper and pick something out – some of the stable boy’s clothes, perhaps. That ought to fit me.
With conviction burning in my heart, I hid myself in my room, and waited until the house was quiet before I left my room.
I never see my father, since he was always away on ‘business trips’, making alliances with other families, and other lordly duties. I only see my mother when she wants to talk to me, and the rest of the time, she takes care of the Lady duties, such as overseeing the house, the grounds and my betrothal.
Which means that I would be alone. Normally.
My tutor’s daughter, Lisa, was always somewhere nearby though, thank goodness. Today, she was sitting next to me in my room while I was practising embroidery. “What are you reading?” I said to her.
She smiled at me. “I’m not actually reading it. I just like the shapes of the words.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. What a weird thing to say. “Why don’t you just read it?”
I saw a deep blush blooming on her cheeks, and then I knew.
“Sorry.” I said to her. “I just assumed… I didn’t know…”
“It’s okay.”
“Maybe I can teach you?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Really? You’d do that?”
I nodded and smiled at her. “Sure. Here,” I took the book from her, and started talking. “There are twenty-six letters of the alphabet, and each letter acts as a symbol for a sound. Then, you can combine the sounds to form words.” I pointed to the title of the book. “The title of this book is “Tales of the Sea, I’ll talk you through it…”
I taught her through to dinnertime, to the point where Lisa could write her own name.
We separated at dinner, since I was only allowed to eat with my family. Both of my parents were here, for once. My father sat at the head of the table, my mother in the middle, and I on the other side of her. Today’s dinner was roasted pheasant and vegetables, and apart from everyone’s eating noises, it was completely silent.
I chewed slowly, not even tasting the food, which I only knew was delicious because it always is. I could feel my stomach in knots and I could barely swallow. The words two months to go kept swirling around my head. Suddenly my vision was blurring, the anxiety was just too much. I stood up abruptly, pushing my chair back from the table.
“I’m going to get some air, please excuse me.”
“Darling, there’s still dessert-“
Not bothering to look behind me, I rushed out of the dining hall and down the stairs. I could feel my breathing rate accelerating. “Deep breath,” I whispered, trying to get a hold of myself. “Deep breath.”
I knew that going out of the front door would just grab attention, but I also knew that it was the door furthest from the dining hall. I turned down the narrow corridor to where the kitchen was, prepared to use the back door, but something made me stop. Why did I have such a bad feeling?
I heard a gentle murmur coming from the kitchen, and I crept down the corridor towards it, making sure to silence my movements. Slowly, I began to discern the murmurs.
“…do you think they’re serious?” I heard a male voice. Must have been the butler. “Even if they’re just rumours, it seems a little drastic…”
“If they are just rumours then I don’t think we should tell the Lord and Lady Hart, we wouldn’t want to worry them.”
A small voice spoke up. “And if they aren’t?”
Lisa.
There was a small silence. “Then I suppose we’re all in trouble. But I doubt many of the other peasants will have the courage anyway.”
“When… When’s the planned date?”
“I’m not sure… But I think it was something to do with the young lady’s birthday. They say that the moment she is married, then the family’s land ownership will just expand even more, and they want to prevent that, because it means more money for the family.”
“They keep saying that it’s unfair for any one person to be the owner of such a large amount of land, and that it should be divided equally. However, I propose that we should wait until the right time to bring this up.”
I used the mumbles of agreement as a cover for backing away slowly. I had a really bad feeling that it was conversation I wasn’t supposed to hear, and definitely not to listen to. I walked back down the corridor, this time towards the front door. My anxiety only got worse, and I needed to breathe. I pushed the door open, not even caring what sound it was making, and stepped outside into the biting air.
So it looked like the servants knew something that they wanted to keep hidden. Were they only hiding it from the family? Probably – from the way they were talking, it sounded like everyone was well aware of the details and implications of this ‘rumour’, even Lisa! So everyone knew…
That a rebellion was brewing.
Was the rumour really true? If so, then what could I do? What would happen?
I liked the feeling of the cold wind against my skin, it made me feel as if my mind was clearing – and then I had an idea. I should go down there and find out for myself.
I’ll be dressed in disguise. I won’t be Lady Rose – I will be dressed as a boy, so as not to arouse suspicion. I will go into the servant’s clothes hamper and pick something out – some of the stable boy’s clothes, perhaps. That ought to fit me.
With conviction burning in my heart, I hid myself in my room, and waited until the house was quiet before I left my room.
♠ ♠ ♠
Ooooh politics! So it's not just a sotry about some selfish brat who doesn't want to get married?!Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts on this! :) xx