A Regency Catastrophy

Chapter 12

The carriage ride is really uncomfortable. Carriage rides are always uncomfortable really, very bumpy and slow, but this one even more so. Simon is angry with me, switching between piercing gazes at me and frowning at the passing countryside.

After one more muttered "Unbelievable", I snap: "Well, it's your fault really. You promised you would come and get me before the next blood moon. Now we both missed it."

"Oh, grow up! Stop dreaming and face facts, Katy! We aren't getting back to the 21st century, however much you would want to. We already tried everything!"

"Bullshit! We haven't! There are so much more theories we could try and you know it! But you are quite comfortable here, aren't you? Rich, respected and in direct contact with a king who hangs on your every word."

"For now... With a mad king on the throne, our position here is fragile, don't you see! Never mind our position, our freedom or even our heads are at stake as I already painstakingly explained to you! The last thing we need is someone advertising the fact that we're trying to return to our own time. Why couldn't you just have stayed at the school?"

"Because you said you would come and get me in time and you didn't! Why didn't you?"

"Because I was in London with the king, damnit! I have to answer to him, not you!"

I turn my head away and look outside for a moment. "Still, you promised..."

"Don't be childish, Katy. You know I would have come if I could. But to slip away from school in the middle of the night to try..."

"I was sick of it, all right! Sick of the school, the teachers, the other ladies... It was horrible, you have no idea. No privacy, constantly putting on a front of a smiling, simpering ninny, it was exhausting. In the end, I felt completely numb. I had to get out..."

Simon leans forward and points a finger at me. "You are sounding like a spoiled brat right now. You were safe, had enough food and comfort and people treated you kindly. Do you know how many people would trade everything they had for such luxury?" I have never seen him this furious before.

"Would you? Would you take my place? Learn to dance and sing and entertain gentlemen as if that's your only mission in life? To be married off to some man you barely know, 10 years older, to be forced to have sex with him, bare his children and probably die in childbirth before you're thirty? Well, I refuse to." I look at Simon angrily and don't back down.

"Do you honestly believe I would marry you off to a man who'd rape you? Come on, Katy. And not all women die in childbirth, otherwise humanity as a whole would have died out by now. Don't be such a drama queen! Besides, what other future do you think you can have at this time? Do you honestly believe the king will allow you to run wild and free?"

"I could go to America! To anywhere but here."

"He would arrest you before you could ever board a ship. And even if you somehow managed to escape his notice, you wouldn't be safe on your own. A woman travelling alone and unprotected is considered fair game, Katy! If anyone had encountered you last night, you would have been utterly ruined."

"So all you care about is my reputation?"

"That's not what I meant by ruined..." He suddenly sounds softer, massaging his temples with eyes closed. "Look, I know this isn't easy for you. You come from a time in which you had so much freedom, so many rights and choices. But you'll have to adapt. Otherwise life here will utterly destroy you."

I huff, cross my arms and lean back.

"I only want what's best for you here, Katy. I'll make sure you'll marry someone respectable and have a very comfortable life. That's really all I can do, but you'll have to cooperate a bit."

I have gotten tired of him calling me childish and a drama queen, so I really think about my answer to that. "I'm nowhere near ready to accept that that's my only option."

"Don't worry, you have time to come to grips with your new reality. And you'll enjoy your season in London and all its social activities I'm sure. And if you can't accept any candidate for your hand, we'll simply keep returning every year until you do."

Shivers run up and down my spine, hearing those words, but he isn't done yet.

"But no more antics like the one you pulled last night. Otherwise I'll make the decision of when and who you'll marry for you, do you hear me?"

I stare at him in utter shock.

"Katy, do you understand me? You'll have a choice in the matter unless I see your wellbeing is at risk. Answer me now."

"Yes, uncle Simon." Inside, I'm fuming! This man, who has no real authority over me, presumes to take complete control over my life? I don't think so. I'll allow him to believe I'm compliant for now, but first chance I get, I'll get away from him as fast as a horse can carry me.

He studies me and sighs. "I know you're angry at me. Hopefully in time you'll be able to see I'm not the bad guy here. For now, let's try to rest. We'll be arriving home in a couple of hours."