Charlotte picked up the pace and moved until she was next to Mary. As she walked, she kept her eyes fixed on the ground so she could not see anyone. Even if they were heard and any of the people around looked out their windows, she hoped that she would not be recognised. With her head down and her arms folded across her chest to keep the cold away from her body, she hoped that she would just look like she was a random woman ... out in the middle of the night ... moving quickly, looking suspiciously like she was running away.
Charlotte did not listen in as Mary spoke to the driver; she took her seat and breathed deeply trying to cool down her racing heart and her ragged lungs. Her whole body was cold with shock, but still there was nothing in her that wanted to turn back. Despite all the confusing emotions that were swirling around in her body, there was still a weight lifted from her shoulders. She was still shaking off her horrible husband and protecting her baby which was all that she ever wanted.
“Right.” Mary looked a little bewildered as she jumped in next to Charlotte. “We are going now.”
“Do you know where we are going?” Charlotte asked quietly. “Is that what you found out from the driver?”
“He would not tell me anything,” Mary admitted. “But it is alright. We will be with Edmund soon, and he will finally reveal all. The driver did say that it will not take us long to get there.”
As the carriage moved through the city, both girls fell into silence. They knew that wherever they were headed, they would be taken away from everything that they had ever known, but they still were not sure what fate awaited them. They both had images of the countryside floating through their minds, the simpler life that did not incorporate all the same rules as the city. Mary did wonder how Edmund could conduct his business from so far away, but he had assured her that he could do it. She was inclined to believe that. He was smart, and he had made a massive success of himself. If he thought that he could do something, then that was so.
It was not long until the carriage came to a halt, which made Mary immediately bolt upright. All that she wanted to do now was see Edmund. She felt safer knowing that she was headed towards him but could not fully relax until she actually saw him. She needed to know that he was there.
“Edmund,” she gushed as her eyes fell upon him. He had been handsome every single time that she saw him but never as much as he was at that moment. Her heart skipped numerous beats as she spotted him. She raced towards him so quickly that she did not even think to look around to see where she was. “Oh, my goodness, I am so happy to see you.”
She wrapped her arms tightly around him and squeezed. She clung to him and buried her face deep into his chest so that she could inhale every part of his scent. Her shoulders relaxed, the tension rolled off of her in waves; there was someone else to take control of the situation, and that was wonderful.
“Where are we? What is happening?” Finally, she pulled back to take a look around. It was only then that she noticed the giant crates surrounding them and the sounds of the water flickering in her ears. “Are we at the docks?”
“We are.” Edmund smiled as he tucked a strand of Mary’s hair behind her ear. He had feared that the girls would not show; he was scared that something would happen to keep them away from him, but they were here now. Everything was finally going to happen. Everything that he had been working towards for a while now was about to come true. “I have invested in a new line of business that means we can use a ship to escape.”
“We are leaving the country?” Mary gushed in shock. “Are you serious?”
“Of course. How much further can we go to escape Lord Jones? If we leave the country, he can never find Charlotte or the baby. They will be safe forever.”
Mary was amazed. She trusted Edmund and knew that he would look after them, but this was going above and beyond anything she could have ever hoped for. They would be somewhere else entirely, meaning they would have real freedom. It was amazing.
“I knew that you worked in international trade, but I did not know that you would be able to make this happen.”
Edmund’s hand did not stop brushing down Mary’s hair. It was almost as if he could not stand to stop touching her for even a second – as if he thought she might vanish if he did. “I have now opened up a new line of trade that I can manage from wherever in the world. I have worked out all the details, so this will be fine.”
“Where are we going?” Mary asked quietly. “Can I at least know that much?”
“Of course you can now.” Edmund stepped backwards and extended his arm to indicate his giant new ship. “We are going to America.”
Charlotte had been listening in to the conversation even if she was not really supposed to. She was just as desperate as Mary to know what was happening and could not hold back to hear it second-hand. The word America shook her to the core; she felt terrified. A part of her assumed that they would be going somewhere in the country where she could change her mind if she really wanted to – not that she thought she would – but leaving the country and going somewhere brand new would mean that she could not turn back. She would have to settle into her new life and stay there for good.
“America,” she said breathily. “I cannot believe it.”
Upon hearing her words, Mary let go of Edmund and joined her sister. She took her hands and stared into her eyes. She searched for any moment of regret in Charlotte’s gaze because the last thing that she wanted was to push her sister into something that she was not ready for. She knew that this was the right thing to do, but at the same time, it was a massive step. She did not want it to be something that she later regretted.
“Are you sure that this is what you want to do?” she gushed. “I know that it is a huge step, more than either of us was expecting, and I do not want it to be something that upsets you. You do have your baby to think about, after all.”
Charlotte rubbed her belly with a serene smile on her face. The idea of not knowing about the land, the culture, the lifestyle of where they were going appealed to her. Maybe the Americans would not have so many crazy rules to abide by; maybe the men would be calmer and more relaxed, and maybe her baby would be allowed to grow up in a world where there were no expectations.
“That is why I want to do this,” she said to Mary while taking a step towards the ship. “That is why I know that this is the best thing for the both of us. A new life, a new country; I will be somewhere that my husband can never find me. It shall be perfect.” She did not ever think that her journey of running away would take her quite so far, but that did not have to be a bad thing. “Come on, let us go.”