Historical Fiction 一 ❝Nothing in this world worth having comes easy❞
一Diana Gaertner, a southern belle from South Carolina, was destined lead a life of adventure. Following the aftermath of the Civil War, she relocates to San Francisco in an attempt...
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Helga and her family lived in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on the upper north side of the city. In that area a strong German community had been established for some time and Helga's family was active in it. Not that Diana really understood what living in a 'neighborhood' was like. Perhaps it was similar to belonging to a church congregation in the south. Back home, things were much more spread out, thus people generally gathered for Sunday church or other similar occasions. However, Diana wasn't sure if this particular style of living was for her.
Everything felt cramped and tight, people lived like ants right on top of each other. The compact quarters left little room to breathe. Even from the inside of the carriage, Diana could see how people flocked together in the dirty city streets. Speaking of dirty, she'd never seen a place so grimy and muddy; even the Manor was cleaner on a bad day. Nevertheless, the city possessed a certain charm which helped Diana to see why people were drawn to places like this even if it was in a cramped, sloppy rat hole.
Slowly the horse drawn carriage led them away from the commercial distract towards the more urban focused areas of Chicago. Where Diana saw block after block of the streets lined with cookie cutter homes and apartments. Never before had Diana seen houses built so closely together that there wasn't any space to move between the buildings. The notion of living so closely perplexed her. Where were their yards? What sort of privacy did they have? Was every big city like this?
The Irwin household lived in a red brick townhouse in the middle of Wisconsin Street. On its facade, there were concrete steps which led up to an arched forest green door as well as several matching windows that could be seen on both the ground and second floors. It was fairly small Compared to the Manor and could've fit inside the grand home if it was still possible. Diana might've been more impressed if they hadn't already passed countless other identical houses on the way.
Once the quartet exited the carriage, Eustace and Ingrid dashed ahead not bothering to wait for their mother or aunt. While the girl was essentially a mute for the duration of their trip, the boy complained about how hungry and bored he was. Frankly, Diana wished she could've smacked him for the incessant whining. Her sister didn't seem to pay much attention to her son's moaning. Her lack of interest in her children was yet another thing that reminded Diana of their mother. Perhaps if Helga offered the slightest bit of discipline to the boy, he wouldn't be nearly as unbearable to be around and Ingrid would be a bit more bold.
As Diana's feet found the ground, she forgot all about her internal grumblings as a sense of a relief found her. Her journey was over for now and she could begin to take her mind away from the nightmares of the past month. Finally, she could close the door on that calamitous part of her life and she could focus on coming to terms with it.
With luggage in hand, she followed Helga up the stairs and into the house where they were greeted by the household's butler. The elderly man was long faced with a funny mustache and matching grey hair. He wore a suit coat and trousers which looked as if they had been freshly pressed that morning. Everything about the man screamed professional and uptight. But despite his strait-laced appearance, he seemed genuinely happy to see the lady of the house return.
