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“I thought you travelled for pleasure,” Anne replied.
“We did. We do. We simply discovered that there is pleasure in knowing how not to suffer unnecessarily.”
Marianne looked relieved.
“If our travels do not take us near Kingston, we shall make certain they do.”
Simon laughed. “You have just volunteered us for several hundred more miles.”
“You were going to want to do it anyway.”
“That is true.”
For the first time since Anne’s announcement, Marianne laughed freely. Canada was still far away, but it no longer seemed quite so impossible.
The weeks that followed were filled with preparations.
Margaret took charge of the voyage and produced lists of everything Anne might need, everything she did not need, and explanations for why the second list had appeared on the first.
“You have listed eight pairs of wool stockings,” Anne said.
“Because you are going to Canada.”
“I am not walking there,” Anne replied.
“No, but you will spend weeks aboard ship in damp clothing, cold winds, and with little opportunity to wash anything properly.”
Simon nodded. “She is right.”
“You have both become alarming.”
“We are experienced,” Margaret replied.
There were clothes for the voyage and winter, books, letters, family portraits, and small gifts. The practical work gave shape to a future that was otherwise difficult to imagine.
The wedding was arranged before their departure. It would be a family occasion rather than an elaborate social event.
“If you are to leave England,” Marianne told Anne, “you shall at least leave it as a bride.”
“I had hoped to leave it as a wife.”
“That too.”
As the wedding approached, Berkeley Square took on the atmosphere of a house preparing for departure. There were lists, visits, discussions of ships and luggage, and fewer idle conversations.
A few days later, Margaret brought news of the voyage. From Quebec they would continue by steamer through the St Lawrence and the lakes, with possible delays and changes of vessel.
“It says we may spend weeks travelling after we leave the ship,” Anne said.
“Where possible, we shall go by steamer,” Margaret replied.
“And by wagon?”
“Only if necessary.”
“On roads?”
“Some of them.”
