Everything really was different than advertised Caroline thought with grim amusement. Shoes, potions, travel, and yes, even marriage. But then again how different was marriage than what she had expected? Not as much as you likely thought. She'd been scared of being trapped in a marriage and yet she hadn't even noticed the bars closing with her in them so caught up had she been in the idea of a loving marriage.

For a moment Caroline stayed quiet, sipping her tea. She'd always worked to present the perfect impression but beyond Hope who did she have to confide in? Taking a fortifying breathe Caroline met Elsie gaze and started.

"Did you know I use to want to go on grand adventures?" She asked, pausing for a moment for Elsie to nod or shake her head. "I wanted to see the world. I lived off the stories of father's captains, read every book and captain's log I could get my hands on. I had this whole image of what coming to Britain would be like." Caroline chuckled without humor. "I was certain I'd find a match who'd suit my family's expectations, who'd whisk me off my feet, and who would take on adventures to the rest of the world." How very very wrong she had been. Evander hadn't quite been the match her parents had hoped for, but she certainly had been whisked off her feet. In fact Alfred had more in common with this fictional husband of her's than Evander did. "I was petifried to find myself a wife another nothing more. Chained to a parlor and children." And this was the difficult part but Caroline never shied away from a challenge. "And yet here I am." Again a dry chuckle, a shrug of the shoulders, anything to soften the impact of those words, to ignore the truth of them finally spoken and the sinking feeling in her stomach. How ironic was it that she had met Evander when fighting of a boggart showing her that very fear only to have him be the one who doomed her to it?