Chapter 142: Chapter 141

With those words, Amethyst walked to her own carriage. Lunia and Roman checked on her one last time and got into their own carriage. The carriages left the mansion for their much-anticipated camping trip. They travelled without stopping but the sun started setting even before they reached the hunting grounds.

“Oh dear,” said Amethyst, “The sun has already set. I don’t think we can put up tents today.”

“Will we be sleeping on the streets?” asked one of the ladies.

“It might be fun,” said another. They seemed excited at the prospect.

Sir Hill stepped in. “I don’t think it is viable for the ladies to sleep on the streets,” he said, “It might be a little uncomfortable, I am afraid you will need to sleep in your respective carriages.”

“That’s absolutely alright, Sir Hill,” said one of the ladies, “Some of us travelled months to reach the duke’s mansion. We are used to sleeping in carriages.”

“That’s right,” said another, “A day or two of discomfort is nothing to shy away from.”

The other ladies chimed in and had a hearty laugh. Sir Hill wondered how they could be so happy and excited on having to sleep outside. They were perplexing to him.

“But what about the knights?” asked Countess Onslow, “They came on horseback, they don’t have a carriage to sleep in.”

“Perhaps we can spare two or three carriages for them,” suggested Amethyst, “We ladies can huddle together.”

“No, no,” said Sir Hill, “That won’t be necessary. Please don’t trouble yourselves. We will guard you tonight. Please do not worry. We can go without sleep for a night. We are trained for it.”

“The Commander is right,” said Sir Buer, “We sometimes marched in the war without sleep for a whole week. Please don’t trouble yourselves. We will be fine.”

“Then we will spend the night in the carriages,” said Amethyst, “and continue travelling once the sun is up. Sir Hill, we are in your care.”

“Of course,” said Sir Hill, “Please don’t worry.”

Sir Hill followed by Sir Leyrian, Sir Buer and Sir Marcus went to patrol the perimeter while the ladies prepared to sleep in their carriages.

Lunia and Roman approached Amethyst. “Madam, will you be alright?” asked Lunia, “Won’t you be too uncomfortable?” Lunia was worried because Amethyst had never spent a night in the carriage. This was her first time sleeping outside the mansion.

“Don’t worry about me, Lunia,” said Amethyst, gratefully, “What about you? Will you two be alright sleeping in a carriage? It must be quite tight.”

“We are alright,” said Roman, “Please don’t worry about us.”

“Oh,” said Amethyst teasingly, “Perhaps it is better that way. You two, together.”

“Madam!” said Lunia, perplexed, “It’s not like that!”

Amethyst laughed. “Alright,” she chuckled, “Goodnight. See you tomorrow.”

Amethyst tried to drag herself to sleep. What a relief! She mused. The trip was good so far. I had thought the ladies might get into a fight with each other but nothing of the sort happened. They are very considerate people. Feeling relieved that the knights were protecting them, Amethyst drifted off to sleep.

The next morning when she woke up, the ladies were already up and full of smiles. They greeted each other and shared the fruits they had packed for the travels. They shared their food with the knights and thanked them for their service.

With that they continued in their journey. They travelled at a faster pace as they had been unnecessarily delayed yesterday with all the dramatics with Pon. The carriages finally arrived at the grounds near the hunting match. It was past lunch time.

Amethyst stepped out of her carriage. “It’s so refreshing!” she said, taking a deep breath. The air was fresh and full of life.

“Beyond that river is the hunting ground,” said Sir Hill, pointing at a distance. “No one is allowed to enter the grounds without permission. You can see the red border from near that stream. The wild animals won’t be able to come to this part of the woods because of the river and the barrier that has been set up. But, for your own safety, you must never cross the river.”

Amethyst nodded. “Can we drink from that river?” she asked, “Is it clean enough to drink?”

“Of course!” said Sir Hill, “The water here is fresh and pure. The mansion makes sure to check it very strictly.”

“That is a relief,” said Amethyst.

“What should we do now?” asked Countess Onslow.

“First, we will build the tents,” said Amethyst, “Otherwise we will have to sleep in the carriages like yesterday.”

“Does anybody know anything about setting up tents?” asked Baroness Renove.

Oh, no, thought Amethyst, I didn’t consider that when I made the plan. I only had the touch tent that springs into shape when flung to the ground. But there aren’t such kind of tents in this world…. Amethyst looked at Sir Hill, awkwardly. Perhaps he can teach us how to set up tents!

The ladies followed her gaze and looked at Sir Hill too. He seemed taken aback with all the sudden attention.

“We will put it up for you, madam,” he said, chuckling.

“I will help,” said Amethyst. “Just tell me what to do and I will do it.”

“No, no,” said Sir Hill, declining respectfully, “Please don’t trouble yourselves. It’s alright. We will set it up for you.”

He gathered the knights around to instruct them to set up the tents.