That a gentleman's honour depends on sticking to his word is a well known fact. However, whether one keeps his word is another matter altogether. There might be other ways to uphold one's honour equally well, but Sir Walter Waverley might beg to differ. Sir Waverley's agitated walk in the garden is observed by his oldest and youngest children-- Benjamin and Clara-- but they can do but little to stop their father from wearing away his shoes. They stand by an elm tree in silence, waiting for their father to come to a decision. Waiting, which, to these siblings, appears the most natural course of action under the current circumstances, may not be so for Sir Walter. Time alone, would prove it. Soon.

Clara's stomach grumbles. She places her hand over it and looks at Benjamin. Leaning closer, she whispers, "Ben, ask father to break his fast first. He is making me dizzy with all of his walk."

"You are not the one to be made dizzy so easily. You are the one who might make people dizzy.", Benjamin says with a smirk.

Clara hits him in the abdomen with her elbow. She looks at her father, who now appears tired after what one might call, a walk too much for the morning, that too, on an empty stomach. Clara takes slow and calculated steps towards him, eventually reaching Sir Walter as he stands at the fence of the garden, observing the brook passing some distance away. She passes her arm through his, and stands, taking in the scenery in front of her- a brook emerging from a hillock, surrounded by rocks,--small and huge-- grass, and shrubs of different heights. While these shrubs end up concealing most parts of the brook from plain vision, the location of Waverley Manor on another hillock, provides a view decent enough. The water gushes down slowly, sparkling in parts due to the early morning sun. She spots a man with a horse trotting towards the brook. She bites her lower lip, for she knows her father would have seen that too, and it would bring forth an unpleasant memory, something, she hoped, her momentary company might have helped him forget.

The breakfast table is rather quiet, in an uneasy way to be sure. Sir Walter Waverley's favourites- boiled eggs, apple juice, and almond pie do nothing to soothe his perturbed state of mind. Clara and Benjamin keep exchanging nervous glances, each beckoning the other to initiate a conversation to distract their father from his concerns. Sir Walter is clearing his plate early today. It appears to Clara that he has swallowed his food whole instead of biting or chewing it.

"Father,", Clara begins, but stops immediately after upon receiving a stare from Sir Walter enough to shake her from the very core. Her scared face, however, does the deed of softening Sir Waverley's hardened jaw.

Sir Waverley forces a stiff smile at Clara. "You do not need to be afraid, my child. Victor, on the other hand, may have to beg me to spare his life whenever he returns. I believe he must still be in England. If he hasn't left the country, it would be easier to locate him and bring him back."

Benjamin wipes the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "I doubt. If he eloped just after midnight, he might have made it to the shore in roughly five hours. Now this,", he emphasises, "means that he might have gotten the early morning ship that departs to Italy." He drinks some water and looks at Sir Waverley to realize that his silence would have been preferred at a time like this.

Sir Waverley rises from his chair and storms out of the dining room. Clara gives an annoyed look to Benjamin. "You could have chosen to say that later."

Benjamin shakes his head. "The time, is lost. My delay in making that point makes no particular difference for Victor is, now, a lost cause."

"Don't say that. He would surely return. He would not put the family's name at stake." Clara waits for Benjamin's answer, only to be overwrought at receiving none. "He wouldn't, right?" Benjamin's shrug worries her further. This uncertainty is unasked for.

***

Victor Waverley, the third child of Sir Walter Waverley and Late Lady Cecilia Waverley, was supposed to begin his scholastic pursuits at Oxford in a week. Although never particularly entranced by scholastic pursuits, he made for a good student and a fast learner, thereby being a source of immense reassurance to his ageing father who worried about his younger son's source of income. Victor's desire to engage in the profession of law was in order to help the disadvantaged lot of the society plagued by evils of the rapidly industrializing English society. Some travels with Benjamin had exposed Victor to the plight of the working class-- with the living being treated worse than the iron machines that they operated, and worked with-- and made him determined to stand for their cause. While Victor did realize that the aristocratic lineage he belonged to-- or any aristocracy for truth to be admitted-- had not done much for those who were below them, the industrialists were greater devils. He thought them Lucifer incarnates for setting foot on earth, but as the current situation progresses, Victor himself, has become a slithering serpent to his father, one who might lead to the greatest fall of the Waverleys' longstanding reputation.

Victor decided to embark on a Grand Tour instead of pursuing law at Oxford after all the promises he made. He neither thought it necessary to discuss it with his family, nor inform them in person. He left, leaving behind nothing but a note, and a seething family. Owing to her room being next to Victor's, and her habit of barging into his room as soon as she woke up, Clara first discovered an empty bedchamber, and a short letter, providing nothing but a declaration of a Grand Tour, and not much explanation or reason to support it. The letter, which Clara first read, and then gave to Sir Waverley to peruse through, read as follows.

My dearest family,

It so appears that my scholastic pursuits must wait. I find a Grand Tour to be much more exciting, and a far more enlightening experience than the stone walls of Oxford may provide.

With a thousand pounds, I am embarking on a journey, and shall return only when I exhaust my funds. I think of myself to be fully capable of taking care of myself, and hence, you need not needlessly worry.

Yours lovingly,
Victor W.

With this, collapsed Sir Waverley's dream- the one he had so carefully crafted, chiselled, and designed for Victor. His years of experience in the dealings of the world told him that Victor might never actually go to Oxford even if he were to return, and thereby end up a blemish on his particular family line. Even the boys of the smaller--and seemingly insignificant-- branches of the Waverley line had ensured that they received a university education.

***

Sir Waverley is now in his study. Benjamin and Clara-- who were summoned a while ago-- are sitting in front of him, waiting for him to flesh out his future plans. According to Clara, the most obvious course of action would be announce that Victor has taken ill, and has thus removed himself to a foreign land for recovery. A foreign land as an excuse would eliminate all inquiry, or suggestions for passing visits. A year, if they are to give that time, would be an adequate duration to seek Victor. If Victor is to be found earlier, another story may be made. This suggestion, which is otherwise immensely practical and resourceful, is politely declined, in favour of another suggestion, which is nothing less that absurd and bewildering.

Sir Waverley rises from his seat and heads to Clara's; he gently lifts her chin up and observes her expression. Clara's features are staggeringly similar to Victor is a fact known very well to people around them. Yet, it is a secret enough- for while Victor has travelled across the county-- even if not much-- Clara has not done so. With her introduction to society still some time away, she can, if she would, go to Oxford in Victor's place. If she were to adjust her gait a bit, wear a wig (since Sir Waverley happens to know a master wig maker), and don a man's clothing (which their master tailor would provide them with), Clara would metamorphose into Victor. Young boys at Oxford would be more strangers than friends, and Clara would have to pretend to study. She may choose to pass her time idly as well, but she'd rather not for the family name depends on her attending her classes and engaging in revolutionary discussions, of course, as Victor. As Sir Waverley fleshes out his entire plan to his children, they look at him in utter disbelief. An hour of locking himself up in his study and dwell on the matter give rise to, in him, a most preposterous plan. A girl at Oxford is something no one in the time would have heard of. If it were to be revealed, it would be scandalous, even more than what Victor's disappearance would cause. Sir Waverley, however, would not have it any other way. In the meantime, Clara's own disappearance can be attributed to an illness, and then, the plan she suggested may follow.

To Sir Waverley, Clara has always been his most favourite child. The reasons are simple, yet complex. Clara has been the smartest of all siblings, and her wit has always been unparalleled. At the age of eight, she was able to understand complex tenant accounts, something that her older brothers could do only when they had crossed twelve. Though this should have enabled Clara to achieve much more, she could not aspire to be anything more than a Lady- not because she desired to be one and thought of it as the ultimate goal of her life, but because belonged to the fairer sex. This made Clara wonder if her life would have been different if she did not belong to the aristocracy for she had seen women of the lower class exercise much more freedom than her. For instance, she remembers hearing about a female tenant who worked on their byres eloping with a man five years her junior. They had eloped to Ireland. As the situation would have it, her family had disowned her. She was now happily married with two kids running about. Now this was three years ago, when Clara was merely thirteen. Now, at sixteen, she was being prepared to enter the society. And while there was nothing particularly fascinating about it, to think that she would get married in a year or two due to her father's influence did scare her.

Sir Waverley looks at Clara with the most pleading eyes he has ever made. Benjamin, on the other hand, attempts to dissuade her from agreeing with their father. If this plan falls through only to fail later, it would create unfathomable trouble, and might even revoke Sir Waverley's title. Benjamin has his own reasons to worry. With his marriage coming up in less than three months, he cannot afford to lose all that he is meant to receive from his father. His feelings towards Miss Adelaide Crawford are far too great for him to envision a life without her. He might embark on a Grand Tour of despair if something were to go wrong.

While there are many challenges to this plan, Clara notes, it is the only chance to discover who she truly is, and see the world for the way it actually functions, rather than being told of its vices by men. Her extensive reading has enabled her mind to understand the intricacies and complexities of the self, but she knows better than to admit it as the absolute truth. What lies beyond the self remains unexplored, and Clara is willing to know it.

For once, she would be Clara, her truest self, and not merely the daughter of Sir Waverley. But no, she would be Victor, and Victor would be allowed freedom that Clara wouldn't. She agrees. She would set off for Oxford as Victor.