The Apprentice Girl // Book 3 in the Rosie Grey series

Chapter Thirty

Within seconds of the words leaving the woman's mouth, Robert and Doctor Ealing sprang to action whilst all I could was stand and watch.

Doctor Ealing disappeared back into the main office as Robert repacked the supplies he had pulled out of the briefcase, snapping it shut and waiting for his father to return. On his return, Doctor Ealing carried a second briefcase and nodded to Robert. Neither of them grabbed their jackets as they stepped out into the rain, me close behind them so Doctor Ealing could lock the office door. Robert looked at me.

"You'll be fine," he muttered. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and the three of us jogged down the steps and towards the crowd of people who had already formed around the carriage.

Rain continued to fall, soaking right through my dress in seconds. I pushed through the cold my dress sticking to my skin and followed Doctor Ealing and Robert. The group crowding around the carriage appeared to part as we made our way through. Some muttered and shook their heads at the sight and others appeared rather interested in what was happening. We shouldered our way through the crowd until it eventually opened up on the sight of the overturned carriage.

The carriage lay on its side, propped up against a small stone wall. One of the wheels continued to spin and someone fought to control the horses which had been detached from the front harness. No noise came from the inside of the carriage. Doctor Ealing pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and muttered something to Robert who nodded his head. He then turned to one of the men nearby, someone working on a building just a short distance away from the accident. I wondered in Matthew was nearby.

"Do you have a ladder?" Doctor Ealing asked the carpenter.

"We do." The man turned to the others. "Oi! Ted, ladder!"

A man appeared a little while later with a wooden ladder slung over his shoulder. He walked through the crowd with people being forced to duck so they weren't hit with it and placed the ladder between the wheels of the carriage.

Doctor Ealing muttered a word of thanks to the man and gestured to Robert to hold the ladder in place. Once he was secure, he scurried up the rungs and peered in through the window. I watched as he grabbed onto the handle of the carriage door and tried to pull it open, but the door wouldn't budge. He tried it several more times, but it remained shut, as if something was pinning it in place.

"The door is stuck fast," Doctor Ealing said. He turned to face us and pulled a face.

"We could break the window," Robert suggested.

"Neither of us can fit through the gap and we need to make sure he's not being pinned down by anything before we consider getting him out."

"I could fit," I said.

"Are you sure? It's a dangerous predicament on its own, having to climb in there could unbalance the entire carriage and in turn, the wall."

"I'm sure. Someone has to do it, right? Besides, I'm light enough that it shouldn't affect the balance too much."

"Alright, if you're certain this is something you want to do."

"I am."

"We'll get this window broken and send you in. You'll need to check for any injuries or heavy bleeding and report back to me. If he's trapped, we'll have to find a way to get him out."

I nodded and Doctor Ealing climbed down the ladder and muttered something to one of the workmen nearby. The man nodded and disappeared into the crowd, returning moments later with a hammer and a cloth wrapped around his hand. He scaled the ladder and looked to Doctor Ealing who gave him a slight nodded and took a step back from the carriage. The man swung the hammer down onto the window, shattering the glass and sending it into the carriage.