An unwilling Heidi sat in the carriage with Nora and her uncle on her way to Woville. She hadn’t found enough time to do anything and therefore had written a small letter so that it would reach the Rune’s mansion, handing it to a maid before she left for Woville. She wanted to give it to Warren but he had been busy entertaining her uncle. She hoped Nicholas could find it in time once he returned Bonelake.
But what she had hoped for had turned to something else without her knowledge.
*Heidi who had excused herself to visit the bathroom before they left, went to Warren’s room trying to find a parchment and ink that she could write. Rummaging through the desk, she found it to write a brief letter to Nicholas. Finding a maid on the way, she took her to the side, giving the letter and asking her to deliver it to the Rune’s mansion as soon as possible after she left. *
After Heidi passed the corridor, the woman who had hid herself behind the pillar walked towards the maid.
*”What is that? Hand it over here?” Lady Blois pulled the letter from her hand, skimming through the four sentences that was written to the Rune’s mansion without a name. So this was how it is, s**he *thought to herself.
“Madame, I was asked to deliver it,” the maid spoke and lowered her eyes when the lady gave her a sharp look.
“I will have it delivered. You can continue with your work,” and she sent the maid away. Tapping the parchment on her hand she smiled, “This will be delivered with the same writing but not with the same contents,” she smirked.
An hour passed in the carriage and since they left Lawson’s house neither did her uncle nor her sister talk to her. With a guardsman sitting outside the carriage next to the coachman, there was no possibility that she could escape or try to defy them. Quietly, she tried to scheme something before they would enter Woville.
Thanks to the roads which the coachman took, the wheel of the carriage had to be fixed due to which they stopped at the side of the road. Nora who wanted to release the amount of water she had drunk previously took Heidi along, to accompany her while her uncle stood not far from them but enough to know they were there. As Nora did her work, Heidi didn’t waste a second more in stepping back into the bush and running in the opposite direction. She had caught sight of the small village on their way and if she could make it there for the time being, going back to the Rune’s mansion wouldn’t be difficult. Her dress didn’t make it easy to run but picked it high enough so that she could escape from there. She heard her uncle call for her, his voice echoing through the forest. She ran as much as she could before hiding herself in a bush. At the same time the guard who had accompanied them came looking for her. His feet making sounds with the dried leaves that rustled softly in the wide forest.
She covered her mouth when he got closer to the bush, hovering over it before he walked forward. Deciding to stay there until they were out of sight, she sat there for seconds that turned to minutes and an hour passed as they searched for her in the forest but to no effort. Thinking she might have gone to a nearby town, they decided to move from there as night was slowly spilling through the sky until it turned black.
Getting out of the bush, she walked in the side of the road to see if she could pick a ride from the regular coaches that rode on the roads for the town folks. Minutes passed by before a carriage appeared to be running on the road which was definitely not her uncle Raymond’s. Walking to the center of the road, she waved her hands for it to stop. Inside, an old couple sat looking at her with curious expression.
“Hello madam and Sir, good evening. I happened to broke the cart which I had come by and wanted a lift to the next town. Could you please help me with the ride? I won’t trouble you. Please,” she pleaded with a hopeful took.
“Of course dear. Come on in,” the old lady moved to the side, making place so that Heidi could sit as they had placed their luggage on the other side.
“Thank you so much!” Heidi thanked them, not able to express how relieved she felt.
“What is a young lady like you doing here alone on the road? You shouldn’t be walking down the forest at this hour,” the lady shook her head.
“Didn’t she tell that her carriage broke down. What is your name?” the old man asked.
“Heidi Curtis, Sir.”
“Well, Heidi we are the Robert’s. Please to meet you,” when the man bent down, he groaned to only sit back again, “Tying shoelaces is such a troublesome task at our age,” the man sighed.
“May I?” Being the only thing she could show as gratitude, she bent down.
“Oh please don’t trouble yourself!” the man exclaimed but let Heidi tie the lace.
“Only if everyone were kind as you…” she heard the old lady speak before something hard was swung to her head making her fall down and lose conscious.
When Heidi regained conscious, her eyes took time to adjust to the darkness that surrounded her. The side of her head hurt and throbbed in pain. Moving her body, she heard the sound of chains clinks and it didn’t take her much to realize where she was. Scrambling over the floor, her hand touched the iron bars and heart sunk down in realization. She was back in the slave establishment.