Disappointments

Having closed up her own shop early for once, Adriwyn hurried through the Salma district, finally reaching the building that held Savidge Designs – only to find it closed, with the notice posted that it was going to be for a while. She stood in stunned disbelief for a few moments, then turned and ran back up the streets toward Manor Hill. Heedless of the damage she was doing to her skirts or her fancy shoes, she vaulted fences and sprinted through the back alleys, not wanting to be seen by anyone who would stop her.

She charged through the servants’ door of the Valenwright manor house, barely kicking it closed again behind her, and rushed up the stairs to her windowless room. Bolting the door, she grabbed the covers off the bed and made a nest on the floor, stuffing part of the comforter into her mouth so that the sobs that finally broke through wouldn’t be heard.

Her thoughts were a chaotic swirl of snippets like I’s a horrible girlfriend!, I knowed I shoulda made the time sooner!, and Now how’s I going to get them the dresses they deserves from me?!  She knew she was overreacting, but she’d barely been holding herself together as it was, feeling overwhelmed – and this had, for now, brought her to a breaking point. She collapsed into broken-hearted sobbing, stifling herself further in the blankets, until numb exhaustion claimed her.