1910s: Anna Comes of Age

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As Wednesday came around, it was time for Anna to go from a girl to a woman. A real woman. Someone who can fend for herself. And the day started happily as Anna got her acceptance letter to university! She's getting an education!!! Anna was ecstatic. (Of course since Foxbury is modern, we're pretending that part of the acceptance letter doesn't exist, since it doesn't, yet.) 


But even girls on the verge of aging up needs to go to school. Anna's last! Next she'll be studying things she want to learn, instead of what the school wants her to learn. For Abigail, this was a quiet normal day. She prepared for Anna's birthday party, baked a cake, taught William more about how to speak, and numbers, and then took the time to stop over at Emily and Frank's house to visit the new baby; a girl named Beatrice.


Once the children returned from school it was time for the party to start. Almost every teenager and young adult was there, and Anna was sure that some of the young men were invited only to keep her at home and married instead of going to university. Not that Anna has any intention of letting something so silly as a boy get in the way of her dreams. Still, she enjoyed herself, blew out her candles, and got her new trait: adventurous (although that felt fairly obvious didn't it?)


The next day is full of preparation. There are things to buy, things to pack, things to prepare. Abigail starts with taking her to Magnolia promenade and after getting some money from the bank, takes her shopping for a new wardrobe and style "more appropriate for a woman." Anna doesn't really see the problem, but does as her mother wants when it comes to her hair, but refuse to budge when it comes to her wardrobe: "No, mother, the hemline is not too short!" All the same, she does get a new athletic outfit to fit the fashion in Britechester. She doubts anyone will approve of her riding outfit. The chances that there is any riding to be had in Britechester is slim anyway.


Back home, her room is starting to look more like a warehouse than a bedroom with all her trunks. 


Joseph, while supportive, cannot help to worry about his little girl. He takes her into his office for a serious chat about what she can expect, and what is expected of her. "Do not let young men fool you, they are up to no good!" "It's a girls only dorm, dad!" "Still! And no alcohol! See what it has done with your brother!" "Yes, father."


Meanwhile, Alice has joined the school drama-club, and while her parents are busy worrying about Anna, neither one pays attention enough to complain about it. Sometimes it's good to be the sister that goes under the radar. She wonders how long that will last now that Anna is going away. But then again, come fall it's her turn to go. And she intends to, just like Anna, she too want to go to university.


For Anna the rest of the week is a combination of endless and impatient waiting, and realisation of how much she will miss certain aspects of her home. Like her sisters. Like riding. Oh how she will miss riding! To make up for it she spends most of Friday in the stables or riding Lady. She only hopes the freedom she gains from going will replace the feeling of freedom she gets on the back of a horse she loves so much. 

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