When he had left his farm for Whitby in the morning, Tobias had had no idea of what the day would bring, or how Ben and Alice would take his proposal. But he had certainly not been prepared for all the drama that had ensued. He had only met Elijah briefly of course, but he had liked and respected the man and had hoped he could become a friend over time. He understood that the proposal was not ideal and had felt nervous about bringing it up to Ben, but he had certainly not expected such an outburst from the constable. Nor such a display of disrespect towards Ben - in front of the children too. He couldn't fathom what was going on, but figured that these were deeper waters than they had seemed initially.

It had all left him rather shaken and he had departed soon after, to give the family space to calm down and make up their mind when they were in a better position to do so. He drove the carriage through the cobbled streets, with a deep frown on his forehead, not really paying attention to what he was doing. That would cost him dearly.

When he turned to go over the bridge - the only connection between the two sides of town - he drove one of the rear wheels over the pavement. When it met the road again, it did so at a section where it was uneven. He felt the cart slam down on the road, and then heard a crack, and then the wagon leaned down to the right, rear corner. Tobias quickly jumped off the cart to see what was wrong. The wheel was broken. He put his hands on his head. He was stranded on the busiest section of Whitby. Although there was enough space for carriages from the other side to pass, he was holding up the traffic behind him, and there were many people watching.