Chapter 218: The Wedding
"We are here," Thomas said as the carriage stopped.
Rose thought it was odd that he would announce it when it was pretty clear. She doubted the carriage would stop moving if they had not arrived.
Thomas had an impatient look as she glanced in his direction. Rose nodded in response and picked up the fruit basket. She stepped out of the carriage, which the coachman had been nice enough to open. He tipped his cap at her but didn’t help her get down from the carriage.
Rose frowned as she looked outside. Where were they?
She jumped off the carriage. Luckily, the soft grass softened her landing. She adjusted the fruit basket in her hands, and the door shut behind her. Rose jerked back—Thomas remained seated in the carriage with clearly no plans to get off.
This was good, his attitude was not one needed at a wedding. Rose turned her attention away from the carriage.
The wedding was on a farm, and the carriage had stopped close to the entrance. Rose gripped the handle of the fruit basket as she walked towards it. There was a little wooden gate stopping her from going through. Rose doubted it was locked, but it didn’t feel right to step past the gate by herself.
The gate was intertwined with strings of flowers. They were pale purple and had been purposefully wrapped around the wood. The gate wasn’t very tall and stopped around her waist, which meant Rose could see right into the farm.
Rose looked past the gate and saw it was also decorated with flowers. There were people just past it, and they all had their attention on Rose. She suddenly felt self-conscious as she scanned the small number of people, immediately noticing that she couldn’t see Edna anywhere.
Seats had been arranged and the farm was decorated for the wedding. It was a small and simple one. There was a little podium at the opposite end—a small shed covered in flowers. Rose thought it was pretty. The ceremony wasn’t in full effect yet, but she could tell it would begin at any moment.
Rose shuffled on her feet as she wondered what to do. The gate wasn’t locked, but she couldn’t exactly walk in if she wasn’t welcome, and by the looks she was getting, the people didn’t know if she was welcome either.
The basket started to feel heavy, and Rose just stood in front of the small gate like a little lost lamb. Suddenly, a child bolted from the guests.