The rest of the day the office past without incident. Well, other than Robert complaining when even more people came in with sprained ankles. Working with only one hand turned out to be of a challenge then it had when I originally got burned. At least the burn, I still had some use of my hand and full movement in my upper arm, this time I was completely limited to one arm and it was a great deal harder to wash dishes only using one hand. Luckily for, Robert had volunteered to help with anything I couldn't do.

I knew Robert was only helping so he didn't have to deal with the sprained ankles, but it was nice to have him help. He also managed to make menial household chores rather entertaining, but I suppose that it came with his ability to entertain himself with nothing but a ball or the wax of a candle. It was amusing to watch him do household chores when usually he would just stand behind me and make my life that much harder. The only time he had ever helped me was washing the windows, and that had ended in a sponge fight and getting caught by Gregory Warrington. I'm just glad he wasn't around anymore.

With Robert's help, the chores around the office were completed by the time Doctor Ealing shut up his practice for the night. It still felt strange operating with one arm, but Doctor Ealing didn't seem to mind the pace I was having to work at due to my shoulder. He just looked glad that I had finally told him there was an issue. Miss Jenkins on the other, didn't seem all that impressed with me when I walked through the back door that evening. Although she had been told about the injury, and my arm being in a sling, she didn't look all too happy to see me.

"I thought Doctor Ealing was exaggerating when he told me your arm needed strapping," she said, pushing a plate of chicken and vegetables in my direction.

"Unfortunately not. I have to do everything one-handed for the next week and maybe for a week or so after," I said.

"Hm, finding chores to do one-handed is going to be difficult, if there are any. How long is your arm going to be out of use?"

"I don't know. Doctor Ealing said he'll re-examine it when the bruising goes down, an old injury from the factory may have come back to haunt me."

"Meaning?"

"I was knocked by a machine a few years ago and hurt my shoulder, Doctor Ealing believes I had broken my collar bone and fractured my shoulder blade. Neither injuries healed properly the first time so they might have made a second appearance."

"And he can't tell that until the swelling goes down?"

"Apparently not."

"I suppose it'll be a waiting game for a few weeks. Go on, eat and then up to bed."

Smiling slightly, I grabbed the fork from the table and started to eat the chicken and vegetables on the plate. Although she didn't say it, I knew by her tone and the way she spoke that Miss Jenkins was none too impressed with the unknown time frame surrounding my injury. I didn't blame her, I didn't like it either. With an unknown time scale, no one quite knew when I would be able to return to my full duties and I hated the idea of feeling completely useless because I couldn't work the way I was supposed to. I had felt useless before, but I felt as though I had returned to that point.

Once I had eaten, I left the plate on the table for Miss Jenkins and climbed the twisting staircase to my room. Esther was still serving the family, so I was allowed to sit on my own in the room with nothing but the roaring fire to focus on. I sat on the bed and watched the flames dance around in the fireplace, the orange light filling the room with a warm glow as the wind outside increased and battered against the window. As I watched the flames dance in the fireplace, I glanced down at the scar on my left hand and saw how it twisted and moved itself around my lower up, just like the flames did the fireplace.

After I had burned my arm, I thought I would fear fire. That being too close to it created far too many memories of being in that small hallway with nowhere to escape. When the main building of the factory had been set alight and I knew Isabel was inside, the fire didn't matter to me; saving Isabel did. Since then, fire hadn't bothered me in the least. I had stoked the large fireplace in the drawing-room without so much as flinching and had even brushed my left hand over the top of a candle to see if it would hurt but it only managed to tickle slightly. The fire at the factory hadn't crushed me, it had made me stronger.

I sighed to myself and pushed off from the bed, grabbing my nightdress from the chest of drawers. Changing out of my work dress was going to be a bit of an issue one-handed but I had managed it before, so I knew how to handle it this time. I removed my sling and placed it onto the chest of drawers, lowing my arm so it hung down by my side. With my left hand, I fiddled with the clasps at the back of the dress to undo them. Grabbing the back of the dress, I pulled it over my head and slid it down my right shoulder until it came off. I then placed it into the top drawer and threaded my right arm through my nightdress and pulling it over my head.

Grabbing the sling from the top of the chest, I placed the knotted end over my neck and gently slid my right arm into it. My arm lent against the fabric as I pulled the pins out of my hair and placed them onto the side before climbing into bed and rolling onto my left side. I snuggled down against the bed and quickly dozed off.

I woke up the next morning with a sharp pain running down my right arm. Rolling over, I pressed my left hand against my shoulder as the pain started to ebb away and I realised I had been laying on my right side for a little while.

"I was about to wake you up, I don't think you're supposed to be lying on your shoulder like that," Esther said, her voice muffled slightly by a collection of hairpins in her mouth.

"Hm, I'm not supposed to. Here was me thinking I didn't move too much in my sleep," I replied, sitting up and massaging my shoulder as gently as possible.

"You move plenty, I think you've kicked me once or twice (or ten) over the past six months." Esther grinned and placed her last pin in her hair. "Come on, get dressed. You're meeting Doctor Ealing out at the carriage at seven and it's already quarter past six. Do you need any help?"

"Maybe, I'm not going to be able to pin my own hair."

"Alright."

With Esther's help, I dressed and prepared myself for another day working in Doctor Ealing's office. I wasn't entirely sure what the day would hold seeing as most of the work that needed to be done had been completed the previous day. Doctor Ealing said he would try and find something I could do but with one arm, my tasks were limited to shuffling sheets of paper and dusting shelves. There were only so many times I shelf could be dusted in a day and once every few hours wasn't it. With so little chores to do both at the house and the office, it came as a shock to find out that I wasn't going to be sacked and end up on the streets. There wasn't much a servant could do with one arm.

Instead, I left the room with Esther and headed down to the kitchen just as Miss Jenkins placed some scrambled eggs on two plates and pushed them towards us. Esther and I sat down at the table and begun to eat, shovelling the eggs into our mouths. Miss Jenkins looked at us a tutted but continued on to get the families tea tray's ready before Doctor Ealing left for the office. As I watched her work, I realised I had never seen her eat breakfast. I doubt she ever did. I glanced over to Esther and resolved to ask her about it when I returned from London and if it were the case, resolve to rectify it. She had done so much for me and I had done nothing but get into trouble in return.

"Eat quickly, Esther, there is a lot to be done and not that much time to do it in," Miss Jenkins said.

"Yes, Miss Jenkins," Esther replied.

"This was on the table when I came in, Rosie. I'm not sure who's writing it is, but it's addressed to you." Miss Jenkins slid an envelope with my name scrawled on it across the table.

"Hm, strange."

"Definitely strange. When you are finished, you can go ahead and wait outside for Doctor Ealing. There is no point in you hanging around here and getting in the way."

"Yes, Miss Jenkins." I tucked the envelope into my dress pocket, so it sat with Isabel's list.

I shovelled the rest of the scrambled egg into my mouth, spilling at least half of it down my front in the process. Eating without a fork was a very difficult affair. Once I had finished and cleaned myself off, I slipped out the back door and down the gravel path. As I went, Miss Jenkins comment swirled through my head and I couldn't shake the feeling that she felt some sort of resentment towards me. I knew it wasn't true, but it didn't stop the thoughts from cropping up at the back of my head as I stood facing the trees.

The only other time someone had told me I was getting in the way was at the factory. The foreman used to say it all the time and it became his way of telling me that I was in trouble and that I would get punished even if I hadn't done anything wrong. That phrase became a symbol of what was to come or the punishment that the foreman never failed to deliver on and that only got worse the longer I was within his reach. I knew Miss Jenkins did mean it the way the foreman meant it, that she couldn't have known how powerful that phrase had become, but it didn't stop the fear from coursing through my veins.

Staring out into the trees, my palms were sweaty and, despite the cold air, a small bead of sweat travelled down my face and I wiped it away with the back of my hand. I lowered my hand and noticed it was shaking violently, I clenched it into a fist and unfolded it, but it made no difference. My chest felt as though it was constricting with every breath, just like it did the day of Zachariah's accident. Continuing to clench my hand out in front of me, I took several deep breaths to try and calm the constricting feeling in my chest. I had no idea what was causing it, but I hated that it had happened more than once. Something didn't seem right, but I wasn't going to be the one to mention it to Doctor Ealing.

I wrapped my arm around my torso as the wind wiped past and almost tore my bonnet from my head. Some part of me was tempted to disappear back into the house to get my shawl from my room but I knew what Miss Jenkins would say about that. She expected us to be prepared and taking my shawl would have been a part of that preparation. I didn't want to give her another reason to think I couldn't do my work correctly. So many things had already gone wrong and others felt as though they were waiting around the corner. The next moment could mean a new infraction and being on step closer to dismissal.

Everything felt as though it was hanging by a remarkably loose thread.

"Whenever I see you, you look as though you're thinking about something important." I turned my head and watched Robert walk down the path to join me.

"I thought you would be having breakfast."

"I ate it. Mother thinks I'm like an animal when I eat, but I'm just always hungry. What are you thinking about?"

"What I'm going to be doing at the office today. There aren't many chores I can do at the moment." I lied.

"Father was wondering the same thing yesterday, so I made a proposal. The purpose of your trips to the office was to help with your reading skills and it's been so busy that that has been neglected. So, I'm going to help you out today since there is nothing else to do."

"What about your studying? You go to the office to get practical experience, you can't do that if you're helping me."

"Ah, that's the beauty of it all. I'll be helping you using medical textbooks. They may not be the most interesting things to read, but if you can read some of the words in there, you'll be reading some of Charlotte's books in no time."

"Killing two birds with one stone?"

"Obviously."

Robert and I stood side-by-side on the gravel path and stared out into the trees with the wind wiping around us as it picked up speed. In the brief moments of silence, we could hear the sound of the river in the background as waves crashed against the river bed and up the side of the rocks. Standing outside with Robert, even with the threatening weather, felt so much more calming compared to being inside and having the pressure of getting things right all the time. I wished I could have spent more time outside, after being cooped up in the factory for seven years it felt like a dream, but my duties were to the house and the house alone.

As we waited for Doctor Ealing and the carriage to arrive, my mind went to the envelope I had tucked in my pocket. I wanted to pull it out and open it, but I knew Robert would ask questions. I was asking my own questions about the letter and I knew they could be answered if I simply opened it, but I wasn't ready for an interrogation so early in the morning. All I knew about the letter was that it hadn't been delivered to the house by a postman, it had been left on the table by someone in the house, I just didn't know who that person.

"Are you two ready?" Doctor Ealing asked, readjusting his jacket as he came down the gravel path to join us.

"Yes, I've told Rosie what we're doing today," Robert said.

"I hope you don't' mind, Rosie, there just isn't much for you to do at the office, especially one-handed."

"I understand."

"Shall we go?"

Doctor Ealing gestured to the carriage further down the path. I had been too caught up in my thoughts and the letter that I hadn't even noticed the carriage arriving, but I clambered in it behind Robert and settled against the seat. Whilst the carriage pulled away, I rested my hands on my dress and felt the envelope underneath the fabric and the list that Matilda had written. I kept the list as close to me as I possibly could, so I remembered my reason for staying and kept my head clear when things got a little difficult. That list meant everything to me, and I couldn't complete it if I had no one to help me and the Ealing's were that help.

The carriage ride to the office passed in peaceful silence, and with the weather turning outside there were very few people in the streets. Doctor Ealing muttered something about it hopefully being a quiet day as we climbed the steps to the office, and he hung up his jacket and hat. He took a seat behind his desk and examined the stack of paper that Robert and I had sorted through yesterday. Whilst he flicked through it all, figuring out what he needed to sign and what needed to be sent away, Robert and I took a seat on the sofa near the window and Robert pulled a medical textbook off one of the far shelves.

When I had been told that learning to read and write properly would be on the agenda for my long term stay, I didn't think that would include medical textbooks. They were long, heavy books full of words that I didn't understand and had no meaning. I would have preferred to have read one of the twins' books seeing as they were written in a way that even an idiot could understand. Trying to read through the medical book made me feel stupid like I shouldn't even bother trying to improve my reading because it was never going to get better. Robert tried to be reassuring about the whole thing, but even he looked as though I was a lost cause.

The longer I struggled to read through the book, the more I wanted to give up and do something other than reading. Even being sat in a room with Mrs Ealing felt more appealing than trying to understand half of what was written in the book.

"I think we need a break," Robert said after two hours, slamming the book shut and leaning against the sofa cushions.

"I'm never going to get it," I muttered.

"You're doing better than you know. It'll take time until you can read a book this complicated, but you have the basics."

"I appreciate the optimism."

"You know me, I'm all about optimism," Robert said, grinning at me just as a knock came at the door.

Doctor Ealing glanced at us over the top of his glasses before pushing his chair back and leaving the room. The sound of low voices carried from the hallway shortly followed by the sound of footsteps as they headed down the hallway and into the main room. Doctor Ealing walked through first, shortly followed by Matthew and James who caught sight of me sitting on the chair and smiled. James raised an eyebrow and nodded his head towards the sling around my arm and I quickly looked away, fighting back a laugh.

"You actually listened to me, that's a first," James said.

"I'm surprised myself, but here we are," I replied.

"Robert, you know Matthew Greyson, and this is his brother," Doctor Ealing said, gesturing to James.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Greyson."

"James will do, otherwise you'll get us confused."

"I expect I would."

"Let's take a look at that hand, Mr Greyson. The bruising should have gone down by now and if the sutures have held up, the cut should be healing."

James stood off to the side whilst Matthew took a seat in the chair in the middle of the room and Doctor Ealing set about unravelling the bandage that covered his hand. After a few seconds, his hand was exposed with the suture down the back of his hand the most prominent injury. The bruising that made his hand larger than it should have been had gone down considerably though it still looked a little purple. Doctor Ealing chewed on the side of his cheek as he examined the injury, though I couldn't help but notice him glance over at me as I sat and watched. I suppose it was a little strange, two people from the same family with somewhat similar injuries.

Doctor Ealing muttered something to Matthew and grabbed a fresh bandage from his cupboard. I readjusted myself on the sofa slightly as my leg started to fall asleep and as I moved, the letter and the list flung out of the pocket and slid across the floor, landing at James' feet. He furrowed his eyebrows and picked one of the pieces of paper up.

"What'sthis?" he asked.  

~~~

A/N - We are back! Chapter Thirteen is here and I am in the process of writing Chapter Nineteen! I also had the shock realisation that I go back to uni in just over a month and I am not looking forward to it xD Alas, our weekly updates will continue! I promise!

Anyways, we have another Robsie scene! I'm determined to write more of them for all you lovely people. Do you think Robsie will become official, or will something get in their way? Who do you think wrote the letter? Was it the letter that Matthew grabbed?

Comment below!

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to verxnicaxx who mass-voted on The Factory Girl! It means a lot :)

First Published - August 20th, 2019