“Come and lie down. In a short time, the dizziness will pass and you will feel better.”
“I’ve spent the week like this, Charlotte. I don’t think anything will change.”
Sonia’s health changed much to her relief. A few days later the weather was very good, and she seemed to get used to the movement of the boat. One day she wanted to go on deck. There Sonia met several people who enjoyed the magnificent sunny day.
Sonia was sitting with her umbrella. She was covered from the inclement sun when her brother joined her. “Good morning, sister.”
“Good morning, Edward.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“A bit.”
“You must try to distract yourself so you don’t think of your discomfort.” He placed a hand over hers, but Sonia withdrew her hand. She was hurt by her brother’s words on the day that he talked to her mother and because he was helping her father in his plans to marry her off.
“I just learned that Angustias Walton is also on this ship.”
“Angustias?” It was strange that she was traveling to England.
“She seems to be traveling with her cousin and his wife, who is English, the daughter of a count and I imagine she will be her chaperone. The idea is to present her to society and marry her off with someone of the nobility.”
“Her too? For God’s sake! Have all the parents’ gone crazy? We are sent like a batch of cattle for the nobles of England to choose the best cow.”
“Sonia! Take care of the way you speak,” he chided.
“I’m just telling the truth. They are not interested in the least of our feelings. They only care to get rid of their daughters, but if they can be related to the nobility, so much the better.”
“It’s totally exhausting talking to you. I’m going to leave you alone so you’ll settle down a bit, but think about changing your attitude, Sonia. It’s not going to help you if you keep having tantrums like a spoiled little girl.” Edward left.
Sonia decided not to listen to him because all that would do was to make her feel bad and bother her more than she already was. She looked at the crystal clear water and felt the breeze caress her face. That seemed to relax her and then she thought about her future and what awaited her in England. She couldn’t understand a parent’s eagerness to send their daughters for the social season to get a husband. Now poor Angustias was in the same position as her. An heiress like her and with the same curse of having to look for a man of their same social standing and with her family’s approval. Up until now, Sonia hadn’t seen her on the boat, but she remembered that they attended the same events. Sonia thought that she was a nice and very kind girl. She didn’t dislike her, but the problem was that Angustias dressed like a widow in dismal colors like brown, black, gray, and sometimes in purple. Those colors didn’t do justice to her pretty skin or her eyes, but her mother, as Sonia had heard was an extreme fanatic and thought everything was a sin. The poor girl was tied to her mother. Angustias barely went anywhere and Sonia couldn’t understand how they wanted to marry her off to someone of the nobility when she looked like a frightened bunny every time someone talked to her.
Weeks later, the ship arrived in England and Sonia could only thank God and fight the strong urge to kiss the ground. She’d had the impression that she would never touch the earth again. All that time in such a small space with only water ahead and the company of her maid and her pompous brother could have ended her sanity. She used to go to eat in the company of the captain and other important passengers, but she was bored by the constant talk of the war or the gossip about who had a good reputation or who was about to lose it. So there came a time when she ate her breakfast and dinner in her room and only left in the evenings to get some sun. Now that they had finally reached their destination Sonia set out to see the streets in detail. It was not very nice out there. The atmosphere was dirty and smelly. All kinds of men, from the very well dressed to those who were sweaty and loading huge boxes walked close to her. She had to cover her nose with a handkerchief and thanked God that there was a carriage waiting for them. Sonia and her maid entered and waited for them to finish placing their luggage on top. Her brother entered, gave the carriage a small tap, and it pulled out.
As Sonia continued to cover her nose from the terrible smell, she could see the streets crowded with carriages. The streets were so narrow that she could not understand how the carriages and pedestrians could fit in the same space. That there was room for the itinerant businesses they had on the sidewalks. At that time it was raining, and the streets were wet and apparently very slippery because she saw a poor woman land on the ground violently due to a fall.
“Oh God, this is chaos,” Sonia said, surprised by what she saw and the terrible noise.
“It’s no stranger than what you’ve seen in New York,” her brother said.
“It doesn’t look anything alike,” she replied. “It may be very crowded, but there’s a lot more space and less noise.”
“No, dear,” her brother laughed, “the parts that you frequent are like that. You have never gone to the streets where the factories are or approached the places where the working class live. That’s why you’re surprised.”
“Maybe.” She looked at him sideways. “But if the rest of London is like this. I am not crazy enough to want to live here.”
“I’m sorry to say there’s no turning back. Here is where you will live
