Miss Waverley's Secret

1. A Runaway

That a gentleman's honour depends on sticking to his word is a well known fact. However, whether one keeps his word is another matter altogether. There might be other ways to uphold one's honour equally well, but Sir Walter Waverley might beg to differ. Sir Waverley's agitated walk in the garden is observed by his oldest and youngest children-- Benjamin and Clara-- but they can do but little to stop their father from wearing away his shoes. They stand by an elm tree in silence, waiting for their father to come to a decision. Waiting, which, to these siblings, appears the most natural course of action under the current circumstances, may not be so for Sir Walter. Time alone, would prove it. Soon.

Clara's stomach grumbles. She places her hand over it and looks at Benjamin. Leaning closer, she whispers, "Ben, ask father to break his fast first. He is making me dizzy with all of his walk."

"You are not the one to be made dizzy so easily. You are the one who might make people dizzy.", Benjamin says with a smirk.

Clara hits him in the abdomen with her elbow. She looks at her father, who now appears tired after what one might call, a walk too much for the morning, that too, on an empty stomach. Clara takes slow and calculated steps towards him, eventually reaching Sir Walter as he stands at the fence of the garden, observing the brook passing some distance away. She passes her arm through his, and stands, taking in the scenery in front of her- a brook emerging from a hillock, surrounded by rocks,--small and huge-- grass, and shrubs of different heights. While these shrubs end up concealing most parts of the brook from plain vision, the location of Waverley Manor on another hillock, provides a view decent enough. The water gushes down slowly, sparkling in parts due to the early morning sun. She spots a man with a horse trotting towards the brook. She bites her lower lip, for she knows her father would have seen that too, and it would bring forth an unpleasant memory, something, she hoped, her momentary company might have helped him forget.

The breakfast table is rather quiet, in an uneasy way to be sure. Sir Walter Waverley's favourites- boiled eggs, apple juice, and almond pie do nothing to soothe his perturbed state of mind. Clara and Benjamin keep exchanging nervous glances, each beckoning the other to initiate a conversation to distract their father from his concerns. Sir Walter is clearing his plate early today. It appears to Clara that he has swallowed his food whole instead of biting or chewing it.

"Father,", Clara begins, but stops immediately after upon receiving a stare from Sir Walter enough to shake her from the very core. Her scared face, however, does the deed of softening Sir Waverley's hardened jaw.

Sir Waverley forces a stiff smile at Clara. "You do not need to be afraid, my child. Victor, on the other hand, may have to beg me to spare his life whenever he returns. I believe he must still be in England. If he hasn't left the country, it would be easier to locate him and bring him back."

Benjamin wipes the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "I doubt. If he eloped just after midnight, he might have made it to the shore in roughly five hours. Now this,", he emphasises, "means that he might have gotten the early morning ship that departs to Italy." He drinks some water and looks at Sir Waverley to realize that his silence would have been preferred at a time like this.

Sir Waverley rises from his chair and storms out of the dining room. Clara gives an annoyed look to Benjamin. "You could have chosen to say that later."

Benjamin shakes his head. "The time, is lost. My delay in making that point makes no particular difference for Victor is, now, a lost cause."

"Don't say that. He would surely return. He would not put the family's name at stake." Clara waits for Benjamin's answer, only to be overwrought at receiving none. "He wouldn't, right?" Benjamin's shrug worries her further. This uncertainty is unasked for.