Wonderland by Night

TWO

Can this day possibly get any worse?

Emmie's legs wobbled as she raised out of the mud pit she and her maid had been tossed into when the vehicle had thrown them. Her heartbeat still hammered out of control, and the spinning in her head hadn't subsided. She glanced up the small slope to where the vehicle had rolled before stopping in the muck.

One minute they were riding along just fine, and the next minute, the coach jerked fitfully and flipped over. Within seconds, the door had broken open, throwing both Emmie and Anna out.

Anna groaned and rose to her feet but slipped and fell on her backside once again.

"Here, let me help," Emmie offered, holding out a shaky hand.

Once Anna was standing, she tried to swipe the mud off her dress, but it mostly stuck on her fingers. "What happened?" Her voice shook.

Emmie examined the scene closer—an overturned coach with a broken door, but the four wheels were still held together and connected to the vehicle. Where the horses had run off to, she didn't know. "I wish I knew what happened. Perhaps the vehicle hit a large rock and overturned."

"I can't see the driver."

Panic raced through her blood. "Neither can I." Emmie lifted her soaked skirt and walked to the knoll not far from them. "He's not down in the ravine...although our trunks are." She searched again, this time calling, "Sir? Driver? Where are you?" She turned toward Anna and shrugged.

"Heavens, Lady Sarah. Your face has smudges of mud all over it."

Emmie swiped the muck off her face, knowing she probably made it worse.

"Oh, Lady Sarah, this has been the worst day of my life, and yours as well. I blame your uncle and his selfishness for putting us in this predicament." Anna pouted and slipped again, but Emmie caught her maid's elbow, steadying her.

Sighing heavily, Emmie nodded. "I agree. Today has been simply horrid. But we must not blame my uncle. Not fully, anyway. This senseless world in which we live has many emotions running high. People don't always make the best decisions when they are angry." She glanced up and down the empty road, searching for their driver. "Sad to think we have only been in Hampshire for a few hours, and already we have had a very trying day."

"I want to return home." Anna sniffed. "Oh, Lady Sarah, look at your dress." She brushed her hands over Emmie's traveling dress but only managed to smear the caked-on dirt instead of removing it.

"Not to worry, Anna. Since this was something we could not avoid, we should not fret. However, I wonder what happened to our driver." She scanned the area once more. "Without him, how shall we get to our destination?"

"Oh, dear. Do you suppose he's terribly hurt from being thrown?"

Silently, Emmie grumbled. If only the soldiers had stayed with them the whole journey, perhaps she and her maid wouldn't be in this predicament. Then again, in order for Emmie to begin her charade, she was relieved the others had turned back. "I cannot see any trace of him. Unless..." She sucked in a breath and trudged through the mire toward the overturned coach. "I pray he's not trapped underneath."

"Oh, no!" Anna moved around the other side of the vehicle. "He's not here, either."

Worry seized Emmie's throat, and she walked slowly around the vehicle, hoping she didn't see any feet sticking out...or Heaven forbid, a head. "I cannot see him underneath." At least she prayed he wasn't completed crushed and sucked into the wet ground. But she felt he wasn't. Something else happened to him. It was like he'd...disappeared. Very strange, indeed.