April 9, 1888 - Delaney Townhouse, London

Mother and father had allotted Caroline an ample allowance for new gowns when she arrived in London. Of course she had had plenty made in Boston, but not wanting to appear out of style when the Season began she had argued the point of having more gowns made upon her arrival to London. It wouldn't do to appear as anything less than a fine lady to achieve her mission.

Of course right now Caroline looked anything but a fine lady. She had gone to the House of Lytton for a fitting by way of a carriage. It hadn't been raining, a surprise in London - if Caroline had learned anything in the few weeks since her arrival in the famed capital - when Caroline arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. Nor had it been raining when she entered Diagon Alley. In fact it wasn't until half way through her fitting when Hope had pointed out the first fat drops of rain had pattered to the pavement outside the shop. By the time they had left the store it was absolutely pouring. It hadn't been a problem in the confines of Diagon Alley, but in muggle London one simply couldn't enchant the rain to stop following on one and Caroline had neglected to bring an umbrella. Hope had managed to get them a carriage back, looking quite like a drowned sailor while her mistress tutted about being a polite young lady in an alcove outside of the Leaky Cauldron.

Once stashed inside the carriage and making way toward the townhouse it seemed as if the venture would be a success. That was until the carriage wheel broke. Never having been one to be left out of what was going on Caroline - quite to her maid's dismay - hopped out of the carriage onto the street to see if she might be of some assistance. The carriage driver waved her off, encouraging such a fine lady to return to the inside of the carriage - just as another passing carriage splashed Caroline's gown with mud and water. Truly it was quite a mess and it didn't look like the carriage would be alright anytime soon.

Wet and covered in mud Caroline didn't really have much to lose at the situation, and determining that the townhouse was only a few streets away she began on her way home. By the time they arrived inside the townhouse mud coated the skirts of the two girls and water had drenched them entirely but they were both laughing at their plight, just as Shawn caught sight of them dripping in the entrance.

Shawn Delaney

  

Shawn hadn't left the townhouse much, not since his life had shattered around him. He'd lost the woman he'd thought had been his fiance, the woman having run away from him just a the sight of him. Then he'd been stuck in some god awful tent for whatever reason with a bunch of obnoxious people. To say the least, he was ready to pack everything up and sail back to Boston with his tail between his legs. Britain had clearly been an awful idea. He'd just finished writing as much in a letter to go back home when he'd heard the front door open and his sister's laughter.

He got up from his desk in the study and made his way out only to find his sister with her maid standing just inside the townhouse both soaked to the very bone and with a good layer of mud on her skirts. The look of shock and slight flash of anger surely couldn't be missed when he took in the sight before him.

"Care to explain why you've decided the look of a homeless slum dweller is something to go for?" he asked, arms now crossed over his chest as he regarded with with clear disdain. It was safe to say, Shawn had lost all of his humor since their arrival to London.

  

Her brother’s stern voice stopped Caroline mid giggle. Shawn had been such a spoilsport since his venture to Hogsmeade last month and Caroline was rather sick of it. This was supposed to be an adventure and he seemed sullen instead of excited. It wasn’t like he had any reason to be. He just hadn’t had a proper conversation with Imogen, that was all. Perhaps she had thought Shawn a ghost, after all the lady had thought him dead. Caroline wasn’t ready to give up, but at times it seemed like Shawn did.

“Pfft. Didn’t you know it’s the latest trend right now?” Caroline teased, tossing her wet hair over her shoulder where it whacked with a soggy splash against her back. She didn’t care in the least if Shawn were in a sour mood. He needed to lighten up a little. Hope excused herself to get a fire and bath going for Caroline, leaving the two siblings alone in the entrance hall.

“But if you must know,” Caroline sighed, “Our carriage broke down on the way here and we had to walk.” It was perfectly reasonable and perfectly acceptable after all to walk to one’s destination.

  

Shawn's face remained void of any emotion and simply looked at his sister with the original stern expression he'd had earlier. Clearly he was not impressed with her joke, which really said something. Caro had always been a soft spot for Shawn and could typically get anything she wanted from him. That seemed to no longer be the case. He wouldn't even bother to respond to such absurdity.

"And you didn't think simply waiting inside of the carriage while repairs were seen to was the best option?" he asked, his voice holding an almost icy sarcasm to it, "Caroline, this isn't Boston. Things are done differently here. You can't simply do whatever it is you wish whenever you wish to." He sighed then and shook his head. His arms unfolded and he rubbed at his temples for a moment with his eyes closed before looking back to her. "I think we may need to go back to Boston," he ended up saying though couldn't quite meet her gaze at that moment.

  

Shawn's features didn't even remotely change, his look reminiscent to her father's look when disappointed in one of his children. Caroline's brow furrowed in concern, normally Shawn at least humored her with a slight chuckle. He was almost as drool as Jeremy these days, her teases and jokes falling on his morose shoulders.

At his suggestion of merely staying in the carriage Caroline rolled her eyes. "No." Her tone imply his absuradity of such a question. "It was only a few blocks away." It would have been silly to remain in the carriage for hours only for a five minute drive home. Although , to be honest, the walk had taken at least half an hour in the rain. At his comment about things here she frowned the mirth leaking away from her like the water from the hems of her skirts. It wasn't like anyone around here even knew them, Shawn had seen to that, keeping them holed up in this townhouse.

Shawn looked away from his sister, likely in complete dismissal of her behavior - not that he even had a say. He wasn't her father after all! "What?" Caroline exclaimed, eyes widen. "What, just because I have the audacity to have one ounce of common sense, unlike the ladies here apparently, you've decided we go home?" Facetiousness dripped from every word that left her lips.

  

Shawn shook his head and ceased rubbing at his temples. The motion was going No good for his headache and it was clear by his sister's tone it was only going to get worse. Caro had always been most like him. Stubborn and fiercely independent so it really wasn't much of a shock she had opted to walk home. And, had Shawn been more of his normal self, he'd have applauded her. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

"Caro, no matter how sensible it may seem, you cannot go galavanting around London as you see fit. There are things that are to be followed here lest you want to be ostracized by society," he said bluntly while looking directly at her, "Things are gone differently here like it or not."

He took in a deep breath then and wished someone else had accompanied them on their journey to help him in his efforts of making her see things the way they were. "And I think we should return because there's little reason to remain here," he put it simply though left out any mention of Imogen, "Besides, our whole family is back in Boston. Not here."

  

Caroline’s eyes were incredulous as she looked at her older brother, normally the most understanding of her family, the most accepting of her actions. “It wasn’t like I was gallivanting.” She replied, folding her arms over her chest and resting her weight on one foot. A familiar stance for when her family criticized her actions. “That would imply I had actually been up to something more than just a walk. Surely the good citizens of London would understand the very difference between a walk and scandalous behavior.” Her lips pursed in annoyance at the very argument they were having.

Caroline very nearly went slack jawed. What? “Little reason?” She repeated tone rose with the scepticism lacing her voice. There were many reasons to stay, both of them knew the trip hadn’t been entirely about one thing but Caroline determined to hear him out before addressing this. He continued on with his reasons but Caroline knew her brother well. Knew the moping he’d been doing since his one sighting of Imogen and it dawned on her what this really was about. “This is because you haven’t had the guts to go speak with Imogen, isn’t it?” It was a statement, not even a question, one full of steel and disappointment in her brother’s actions. With Shawn she didn’t put on an act she let him see what she was feeling, it often being more effective than the act she put up with others.

  

Shawn had folded his arms across his chest to show his own displeasure in his sister's actions without saying a word. He was certainly starting to look like his father while scolding one of the children. He didn't really care though. In his opinion, Caro was acting like petulant child and even if he wanted to stick around she wasn't showing she could be trusted to not have him around her nonstop. Some ground rules were going to have to be set out if they did stay and that was a big if in that moment.

A look of pure anger was quick to replace any displeasure or annoyance he may have felt previously. She had taken a low blow, one that instantly seemed to ignite his anger into something rarely seen by any of the family members.

"Don't you dare accuse me of such a thing," he ground out, having taken a few almost menacing steps toward her, "I tried talking to her. She ran from me. How do you honestly expect me to take such a thing?" If she thought he should have just taken it and like it wasn't an insult or a direct hit to his heart, she was wrong. He'd loved Imogen. He had been set to marry her. And then everything had changed and now she was nothing more than a stranger. One that had run from him as if he would harm her.

  

There had been very few times in Caroline's young life when she had seen Shawn fully lose his temper and now was one of those times. The look on his face was one of pure rage, but Caroline didn't shrink from it even as he prowled toward her. Instead she squared her shoulders, keenly feeling the cold damp dress pull against her skin uncomfortably and disregarding the discomfort. She didn't regret her words for she knew knew she had struck the right spot. This was exactly what talk of going home was about.

"Like a man who understands that most people in his life considered him dead. For four years!" Caroline's tone was a mix of anger, exasperation, and pain at the memories. "Shawn, she may not have even known you were alive. She may not have thought you real!" Caroline had heard of people who longed for one thing so much that they began to see things, perhaps Imogen had given in to grief too much. Perhaps she had even thought Shawn a ghost and that he truly was dead when she held in her heart that he was alive as Caroline had, had frightened her too much. Caroline would think less of Imogen
. if the woman had given up such hopes of Shawn being alive, but they had to think practically about this.

"It doesn't mean that a second attempt wouldn't be more successful." Caroline gently added

  

Shawn really didn't have the time for what was happening nor did he have the patience. Normally he quite enjoyed Caro's strength and independence but in that moment, it grated on his nerves. Her squaring her shoulders and not shrinking from him didn't help in the slightest. And then she opened her mouth.

The fury visible on his face only intensified further, if that were possible, when she spoke. He didn't need a reminder of what had been thought when he'd been missing. He had been stuck on a boat without any recollection of who he was and when his memories had come back, he'd had to come to the realization he'd lost four years of his life. He'd missed out on so much. They'd at least been able to go on with their lives.

"Caroline, I do not have the time for this," he ground out, fully glaring at her before making a wave of his hand as if dismissing her, "Go bathe. Get out of those drenched clothes before you catch your death and then do whatever the hell you want within this house." He turned away from her then, Headed back to his study before pausing just outside the door. "Don't expect me for dinner," he added before going into his study and slamming the door behind him.

  

Caroline almost snorted at Shawn’s words. He had all the time in the world! After all, what was he even doing other than moping around the townhouse? Luckily she had long since learned to school such reactions.

Shawn waved at her as if she were no more than a bothersome maid interfering with his day, Caroline’s glare hardened at the dismissal. She couldn’t complain at being able to get out of her clothes, wet as they were, but this conversation most certainly wasn’t over. Before she could object her brother had slammed the door behind him leaving her alone in the hallway shivering. He was acting like a petulant child, Caroline’s mind declared as she tilted her chin up and made the trek upstairs, water trailing behind her as her soggy skirts limped in sodden puddles to their destination.

Upstairs Hope had poured a bath and was waiting for Caroline to help her undress. While the girl’s fingers had to be cold there were deft at their task. Surely she had heard the siblings bickering but seeming to sense Caroline’s mood the young woman remained quiet. As soon as her task was complete Caroline dismissed her for her own bath as Hope was just as cold and wet as Caroline had been. Moments later Caroline sunk into the tub, grateful for Hope’s talents with water charms, the water was just the right temperature. Caroline paid it no mind as she relaxed and began mulling over her tactics of how to handle Shawn’s unreasonable assumptions.