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

Chapter Thirty-One

I lurched backwards against the side of the carriage, losing my balance and falling against the seat. The sound of the bricks scraping together filled the carriage before the rocking came to a stop and the carriage settled itself, albeit in a different position from before. Once it had stopped moving, I pushed myself off the seat and stood up, giving myself the once over to make sure I hadn't been injured by the sudden movement. Everything seemed to be fine, but I didn't want to stay in the carriage any longer than I had to.

"Rosie? Are alright?" Robert's voice came through the window above my head.

"Yes, although I don't want to be in here any longer than I have to be," I said.

"We're working on it. We need to stabilise the carriage before we do anything else. You'll have to sit tight for a little while longer."

"I'm not going anywhere."

He laughed outside and I listened out to the conversations unfolding around me from inside the carriage. Whether my mind had started playing tricks on me or not, I could hear the slight movement of the bricks from the wall as they shifted under the weight of the carriage. The wall wouldn't be able to hold the weight that much longer and I doubted there was anything that could stabilise it fully so I could get out with a ladder or something a little safer.

Although I could hear them trying to solve the issue outside, I glanced around the carriage to see if there was a quick way out if the opportunity presented itself. With the bottom of the carriage flat, and the seats at an angle, there didn't appear to be an easy way out, but that didn't mean there wasn't a way. Despite how precarious and dangerous it would be, I knew I could climb onto the edge of the overturned seat and pull myself through the broken window.

At least I had a way out if I needed it.

I listened to the sound of the men outside, the shifting of wooden beams and the sliding of the bricks on the wall. Through the small gap in the window, I could see them trying to stabilise the carriage with the wooden beams by propping them against the side and then wedging them in place to get them to stay. Despite all the effort, I had the sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't work the way they wanted to. The carriage weighed far too much for it to be halted by some wooden beams and a brick wall.

The carriage shifted yet again.

Rather than wait for the carriage to be stabilised, and risk it going through the wall, I decided to climb out. I placed one foot on the edge of the overturned and seat and reached up to the door handle to pull myself up. When I was crouching on the edge of the seat, I grabbed onto the edge of the broken window and started to pull myself up and through the window. My arms shook violently as I pulled my head up through the gap, but my strength wavered, and I almost dropped.

Someone grabbed onto my forearms and helped to pull me up through the window and out onto the side of the carriage. I wiggled my way along the edge of the carriage until I could sit with my legs dangling over the edge of the carriage. After taking a breath, I swung myself off the carriage with my knee almost giving way when I hit the ground. I turned just in time to see the ladder pulled backwards and the carriage tumbled over, smashing through the brick wall and sending a plume of dust up into the air.

"That was a tad too close for comfort," I muttered.

"Are you alright?" Robert said, creeping up behind me and rubbing his wrists. He had been the one to pull me out through the window.

"Fine. For once my tree climbing skills came in handy." I let out a nervous laugh. "How is Arthur?"

"Father thinks he will be alright. He accompanied the carriage to the hospital, so the doctors knew just what had happened."