A Black Web: Hushed Night

Matilda's eyes moved rapidly behind her eyelids. She frowned as the shaking of the train car intensified.

A room appeared as she dreamed. It was an all-wooden one except for the books, coat of arms, and guns that lined the shelves, and walls.

In this room, a man stood behind a desk, shaking and screaming, "I will get that boy!"

Matilda looked at her hands. They were not the proper size, but smaller, daintier even. "I am not little," she whispered to herself. Suddenly, she was her appropriate age, facing down this nightmare of a man.

"But, Father, he said I could learn," Matilda whined.

"Learn," he snorted. "You are a lady. Your place is manners and rules. You have no use for learning. Your mother or the nanny can teach you to write. It's all that Larkin boy's fault. Why I ever decided on a marriage contract with that family, I will never know!"