Of Light So Dark and Dear

Chapter 1

The air was damp and gloomy the day Lena Weiss stepped off of the train and onto the platform. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath of it as her feet once again touched stable land. The train ride from Berlin to Augsburg had been a long one, and she craved nothing more than to break free of the confinement that was the cramped train cart.

Her mother had called her crazy for daring to board a train. "The high speeds will render you unable to breathe, Lena!" She recalled her mother's words vividly.

Her mother did not have the same fondness for new technology as Lena had. Things that she could not explain frightened her, and concepts that made her feel dumb angered her. Lena would have to write to her mother that she had survived the journey, for she would surely assume Lena dead if she did not do so immediately.

She was getting ahead of herself, though. What she first needed to do was locate the inn she was to be staying at and take a long nap. She was drowsy from the ride and yearned to rest her busying mind and aching body.

She rustled in her hidden skirt pocket for the Count's letter that contained the inn he had signed her into for the night. She did find it odd that a woman of her birth would have to stay the night at an inn, but her train had arrived early, and there was no way to get to the Count that she was here.

The astound Count of Wimmer had planned for this very outcome, though. At 222 South Limburg Street you will find my favorite inn, should you arrive early, his letter wrote. A carriage will take you to Gloggerson in the morning.

She scanned the platform for well-meaning townsfolk who seemed to know their way around. Fortunately, that described about everyone here. She honed her gaze on a woman who walked with a small dog trailing her. She swiftly approached the woman and said, "excuse me, ma'am?"

The woman with the dog halted her stride and swiveled around to face Lena. "Sitz, Marvin!" she commanded as the miniature hound came to sit by her feet. She then addressed Lena with, "what is it you need, meine Frau?" Lena was thankful this woman spoke English.

She offered the woman the letter with the address on it and asked, "do you happen to know how I could get to this address?"

The woman took the letter from her hand and scanned it for the address. Once she had read it, she looked Lena up and down in confusion. "Pardon me for asking, but why are you going to an inn?"

Lena guessed that she had taken one look at the custom-tailored blue dress, pagoda sleeves, laced ribbing, and flowered bonnet and realized that the last place an outfit like this would be found in was a traveler's inn.

"I was invited to be a guest at Gloggerson Manner by the Count of Wimmer. My train arrived early, though, so he recommended me an inn to stay in should I end up in this predicament."

"Oh meine Frau, no offence to Seine Hochgeboren, but he greatly overestimates the gentlemanliness of the men who take residence at the inn. I insist you spend the night at my husband and I's cottage. I live only a short distance away from the manner and can have my coachman send word to the Count that his carriage is to be sent there in the morning."

"Thank you so much, my kind Frau, but I couldn't possible accept. I wouldn't want to be a bother to you or your husband."

"Oh, you English! Always too polite. Please accept my offer. The knowledge that I let a woman such as yourself stay at a traveler's den for even just one night would be too much of a burden for me to bear."

"Okay, I will accept your invitation. Thank you so much. You do not know how greatly I appreciate the service you are offering me."

With that, the woman turned to face the opposite direction and said, "come with me this way, my coach is waiting just a block from here."