Chapter Text
Sarah Meyer was a 24 year old german woman, who was not by any means different from the average women in her lifetime.
She went to college, had a degree in mathematics. Not because she loved math that much. Well she was fond of it, but more importantly she was good at it and it was a safe choice for future jobs.
Her college life was like everyone else’s.
Drinking, partying and getting along with exam stress.
She considered herself an introvert, but she was still not particularly insecure about herself, she always has had a handful of good friends she could confide in.
But she also honored her time alone. She could go weeks without talking to someone and just enjoy her own company.
In total, she was just your average college girl.
One with huge sleeping problems.
They started in her last semester.
Drank too much caffeine to get through her day and at night she laid awake counting sheep’s without success. Which lead to her drinking even more. And more and more and so on.
Even after graduating college, she still had those days where sleep was nowhere to be found.
And on this day, she had to get up at 6 am to go to work.
So there she was, completely sleep deprived at an early spring morning. And it still being completely dark outside didn’t help either.
But she had to drive to work, so with her purse packed, her brown hair loose and her work clothes on, which consisted of black fabric trousers and a white blouse, she made her way to work.
Or so she intended.
On the country road, that went straight through a forest, she crashed.
By virtue of her lack of sleep, she didn’t have the capacity of reacting to anything incoming. She simply didn’t expect a deer to be on the road and then she did what everyone would have done in her situation, she tried to bypass the animal and crashed directly into a tree.
And then everything went black.
It could have been hours or days till she woke up to sunlight again.
Her head hurt as never before and she cursed under her breath while taking a look around.
Besides feeling as if a jackhammer was doing its job in her head, she couldn’t see any other injuries on her body. No broken bones, no laceration. Well she had some bruises or little scratches but nothing serious. Which was odd considering the fact she most likely has been unconscious for a long period of time.
Another odd thing was, her car had been crashed in a tree, but there was no road. Sarah clearly remembered crashing near the road, so she must have got off the street somehow.
“Fuck”, she sworn. While grabbing her purse, she got out of the car.
Sarah had no idea in which direction to go to find the road again.
Once on the road, she could just hitchhike and maybe drive to a nearby hospital. She didn’t want to risk an untreated concussion.
But with her luck, she would just walk deeper into the forest.
But apparently, there was no other choice.
Her phone did not have a connection.
So she had to move forward.
It felt as if hours went by without any sign of civilization. No houses, no streets, no people.
Sarah didn’t remember the forest being that big. She had to find something someday.
But there wasn’t anything.
Just as the lack of sleep and frustration nearly took her out, she heard something.
A quiet neighing far away. Horses.
With horses come people. And people can get her into a hospital, because she was almost completely convinced there was something wrong with her head.
But as she approached the noise, she was disappointed yet again.
Only a stable with some horses. No person and no house in sight. Well, there must have been one, but the trees grew so close side to side that you simply couldn’t see anything.
At this time, Sarah was frustrated beyond everything. In any normal situation, she wouldn’t have done that, but she took a horse and rode off. She very likely would find the house of the owner of the horse and then give it back. Besides, unusual situations require unusual measures.
Once more, she didn’t now where she went. She went somewhere for sure.
But she still didn’t find a house.
She had already reached a point where she just wanted to cry. Why didn’t she just ran over that damn deer?
Worst of all, Sarah didn’t know how to ride. Till now she was just grabbing onto the mane of that poor animal and rode at walking pace.
But she just wanted to go home. Her clothes were dirty, she was tired and her head definitely had been damaged.
With a kick like the ones you see in movies, she managed to make the horse start running.
But she had no saddle nor any skills in handeling the horse.
“Brrr. Brrrr. Ruhig, ruhig.”
But she had no success in calming it down. It seemed as if the opposite occurred.
The horse freaked out and took off in a speed Sarah has never experienced before.
“Woah there, Miss are you in trouble?”
A voice from afar shouted out.
Sarah looked over her shoulders to see a man riding in her direction.
He wore clothes she had never seen before.
Victorian like. And a strange cylinder hat.
The man called out again, but even if she wanted to ask him for help, she couldn’t.
She couldn’t get the horse under control again.
Everything seemed so out of place. How did she walk so many miles without seeing a city or a village.
She lived in a small town in southern germany, but it wasn’t the smallest of towns, normally there had to be some community she would have came across.
Additionally the man’s strange clothing.
Now panic has set in. Not only because of the horse that would very likely throw her off at any moment, but also because she had no idea what was going on.
But before she could do anything, the man had already grasped the horse by its mane in an attempt to make it stop.
“Careful now! Woah there!”, the man yelled.
Under his hands, the horse calmed down and both of them came to a stop till they slowly strolled along side one another.
It was a cool spring morning, but Sarah was completely sweated through. The light breeze felt so good on her heated skin.
She still kept her gaze downward. Very slowly she raised it to meet his’.
He was certainly handsome. Couldn’t be over the age of 30. He had chestnut brown hair, an athletic stature. But what caught her attention the most were his eyes. Dark brown, handsome eyes that viewed her with a mix of curiosity and confusion.
“Are you alright Miss?”
He looked her up and down, stopped at her trousers and then faced her again.
He spoke english. The last time she remembered she was in Germany.
She could tell just by his appearance that he was a man of authority.
See could see his confidence radiating through his entire posture. He demanded an answer. He was not the kind of man whom one doesn’t answer his questions.
Sarah swallowed hard. Something was wrong. Like really wrong. She felt like a character in a victorian novel.
Completely out of place.
As the man kept looking at her and his former expression of concern slowly was replaced by one of annoyance, Sarah cleared her throat.
“I am. I so am.”
His eyes narrowed in distrust.
Sarah realized that she might as well adapt her language. At least as best as she could till she found out what was going on.
Maybe she hit her head so hard at the crash that she was still unconscious, in a coma imagining all this.
“I am well, sir. Thank you for your concern, but it is not at all necessary.”
“Oh I believe it is. You were quiet in a rush there. Is really everything all right?”
Sarah took a look around. All she could see were trees. They were still in the forest. But this man was here, so there had to be at least one house there as well.
She looked at his face again and realized he was still waiting for an answer.
“Yes, I am. Thank you.”
With one last nod she took off in one direction. She wanted to get away from this man, wanted to find out what has happened and how she ended up there.
“Does your maid know you’re riding ahead?”, he asked, making her stop moving forward.
Maid? As in lady’s maid?
Where the hell was she?
Gradually, she got annoyed. At her situation. At this man who would not stop asking questions. She was the one with questions who needed an answer.
Watching him again, he looked like a proper gentleman. The ones that are written about. Handsome, strong and confident. But also too full of themselves.
“I’m riding alone.”
“Alone?!”, his eyes widened in shock.
Sarah must have been stuck in a really weird coma. She felt like a child that wasn’t allowed to go out of the house without their mother.
She was a grown woman! She had a degree and was independent. This was her coma, she wouldn’t let herself get talked to like that.
The man must have seen the change emotions on her face because for a second he looked down and said:
“Forgive me. I was just assuming you rode ahead of your maid and got lost. Well, you are lost, I take it?”
She was.
“I’m not.”
He grinned, little crow’s feet appearing in the corner of his eyes which made him even more handsome than he already was.
He obviously didn’t believe a word.
“So where are you heading Miss?”
Where was she heading. Hell, she didn’t even know where she was.
“If your destination is Mayfair, then you’re walking in the wrong direction. It is this way.”
He pointed in the opposite direction of where she was currently trotting to.
“Mayfair! As in London-Mayfair?!”
Sarah’s voice resembled a squeak.
How did she end up in London?
“Yes of course. Is there another Mayfair?”
The man whose name was still a mystery seemed off put by her reaction.
This woman was clearly lost. And she needed his help.
Sarah quickly tried to compose herself and put on a neutral expression.
“Yes, I was just going there actually.”
“Of course.”, he mumbled more to himself than to her.
Then, they found themselves strolling alongside each other towards Mayfair. The man never taking his gaze off her.
“Who are you?”
“Who are you?”, Sarah replied.
“I asked first.”, the man declared.
“Well, I’m not answering first.”
It was absurd. She didn’t want to be walking with this man. She needed to get clear on what happened. But he didn’t seem to let up.
Unlike her, he appeared to find their conversation amusing.
“But then you must tell me what a lady in clothings like that is doing out here all alone. Riding a horse without a saddle.”
Sarah blushed mildly by the mention of the non-existing riding accessories.
“I was in a rush. Just a little morning stroll.”,
she tried to act nonchalant about it.
“Besides, trousers are much more comfortable while riding a horse and I didn’t expect to come across anyone.”
This answer did not please him perfectly, but it did soothe his curiosity and confusion.
But there was also another expression in his eyes. Glittering away only for a mere second. An expression, Sarah couldn’t assign to a certain emotion.
“If you excuse me, I have to get back before anyone notices me gone. I know my way now. Good day, sir.”
With those words she made the horse accelerate and left behind a confused, yet enchanted viscount who knew nothing about this strange girl with the non-british accent.
He didn’t even have a chance to ask her about that.
———————————————————————
Yet again, Sarah found herself riding alone. This time with a destination in mind. Mayfair, there were people. People who might help her or at least help her figuring all this out.
When she finally reached the city, she thought she’d have a heart attack right there and then.
All the houses were built in a victorian style. The streets, they weren’t even real streets. More like beaten paths. No cars.
Carriages.
Only a few, it must have been early even in this parallel reality.
Afar, you could notice a few people walking around. Dressed in historical clothes. But not like those, the man in the woods wore. These looked like… servants.
The wealthy people must still be asleep.
But did this mean, she was somehow stranded in a victorian or regency timeline? That crash must have been grave.
Sarah was so invested in her observation that she didn’t notice the carriage that came her way from the side.
Only once it had stopped, Sarah glanced at it.
To her surprise, the door opened and an elderly woman with a walking cane stepped out.
It was a brown skinned woman with black hair that was tied into a firm bun.
She wore a silver dress which showed off elaborate embroidery and rhinestones.
This woman did not step out of the carriage to tell Sarah to get out of the way.
This woman stepped out of the car to tell Sarah to get into it.
“Now, now. Get in.”
Sarah was utterly bewildered.
“Child, don’t look like you saw a ghost. Get into the carriage. We will have a little talk while my footman”, she gestured towards the man riding the carriage, “will take care of my horse.”
With her cane she gesticulated towards the horse Sarah was sitting on.
She took in a deep breath. The woman, she apparently stole a horse from, demonstrated even more dominance and authority than the man in the woods.
Sarah knew, one did not wish her as one’s enemy. That was sure.
But seemingly, she just made her one. Because if she knew anything, then it was stealing someone’s horse was not the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
She had no other choice, but to do as she was told.
The carriage ride was worse than the conversation in the forest.
The elderly woman nearly pierced her with her gaze.
An uncomfortable silence set in.
After torturous minutes of dead silence, the woman finally spoke up.
“I have been woken up this morning by my butler, to find out one of my horses has gone missing. Apparently without a saddle or other accessories. The groom has apparently seen my horse and on its back, a person he has never seen before.“
She paused to emphasize her words.
“So I have decided, to see for myself who would steal a horse without a saddle. Thief’s exist everywhere, but never have I heard of a larceny such as this one.”
Her gaze was still directed towards Sarah who was too stunned to reply.
“So? Do you care to explain your action?”
Sarah didn’t know what to say. What could she say?
Not even hours before she was on her way to work and now she was stuck in what… In the 19th century?
“I demand an answer! Now!”
Sarah swallowed. It was best not to enrage this woman. She clearly had power and money. She could help her, maybe she had pity if Sarah could improvise and come up with a sad backstory.
“I apologize mylady. I-…Well, you see, I’m confused-“
“Obviously.”
“Well, yes. Ah, I was on my way to London. Well, no actually, I was in Germany and then-“
“Oh for Gods sake, make sense!”
The woman was losing her patience. But Sarah still couldn’t come up with something that did make sense. Best she could do, is using her story, but making it more appropiate for the time.
“I was on a carriage ride. You see, I originally come from Germany, but I was to visit distance relatives in…”
“London?”
“No! Ah, not London.”
It would have been difficult to explain where those relatives would have been. This lady seemed like she knows all of London and Sarah didn’t want to be caught lying while trying to soothe things out.
“Very far away actually. Ah, you see. We had to get through London and our carriage crashed. In the forest. When I woke up, my maid and footman was gone. I was walking around and found the stables and…well, thought it was easier than to go by foot.”
At least that bit was true.
To Sarah’s relief, the elderly first showed signs of compassion on her face. Not trusting her to the fullest, but at least she didn’t look as murderous as before.
But this woman couldn’t be fooled. Sarah knew that. Sarah knew, that this woman knew that she didn’t tell the truth, leastways not entirely.
But the slight motherly warmth that appeared in her eyes made Sarah feel a little less scared of everything.
“Then how do you explain your…”
She pointed with her cane up and down.
“Appearance.”
“I was alone in the carriage, I- I didn’t think anyone would have noticed my clothes. I am aware, they are quite improper, but it was a long ride and I allowed myself a little bit of comfort.”
At those words, the woman’s eyes widened. Not in a bad way, more in a way that showed respect for her, making Sarah feel a little proud of herself.
“Well, well, well.”
She paused yet again.
“Do tell, what is your name?”
What was her name? Should she lie now?
Her name was german, pretty common, but what if there was a family known to this woman who shared Sarah’s family name? But after all, there must be more than one family with the same name, right?
“Meyer. Sarah Meyer.”
“Well, I am glad to make your acquaintance Miss Meyer. My name is Agatha Danbury. You shall call me Lady Danbury.”
A noble woman.
“Yes, thank you Lady Danbury.”
She eyed Sarah with a keen expression.
“Can you read Miss Meyer?”
Sarah was baffled. First, the woman switched from a fire spitting dragon that swallowed you whole to a person that seemed understanding to one’s situation and now.
Why would she ask that?
“I can, mylady.”
“Good.”, she expressed, “Then I will take you to my estate first. You must be in shock, and we will get you proper clothing. Then you will tell me more about your family situation.”
It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a decision already made.
With that, the carriage expedited and both of them fell into a quietness yet again.