Whatever Robert may have had planned for me, or wanted me to do, he refused to budge on the matter and two days later I still had no idea what he planned on doing. Instead, I continued with my chores and when meat delivery day came around, I really hoped he would reveal his plan. I had always hated meat delivery day purely because it involved an awful lot of heavy lifting and I had never been a fan of raw meat. Still, I pushed past that and stood beside Esther whilst Miss Jenkins ran through the list to make sure we had everything. She did the same thing every time we received a delivery and the butcher had never missed anything. I think she just didn't trust Tommy.

"Everythin' in order, Miss J?" Tommy asked. Again. The constant repetition did get a little tedious after a while and I wish I could be somewhere else, but it would always be all hands on deck with food deliveries.

"Hm, it seems to be. Help the girls get this lot inside and there's a slab of toffee in it for you. I want to get this meat inside before it starts raining, a soggy meat pie would not go down well upstairs," Miss Jenkins said.

"Carryin' some of this for a slab of toffee? You got yourself a deal, Miss J!"

"Don't drop it!"

"Me? Drop it? No chance!"

Tommy grinned and rubbed his hands together before taking one of the largest slabs of meat from the cart. I looked at Esther who stifled a laugh and took a basket full of sausages off the cart and slipped through the back door. I grabbed one of the smaller pieces of meat and followed the pair of them through the back door and into the kitchen dropping the meat on the table for Miss Jenkins to sort through later on in the day. We were never allowed to touch the meat other than to bring it into the house, Miss Jenkins had a very specific way of preserving it and she didn't want us to get involved. Though I wouldn't have touched it with a ten-foot pole.

Between the three of us, we were able to haul the meat from the cart and into the kitchen, though Tommy managed a lot more than either Esther or me. He threw himself into the task of moving the meat whilst Esther and I sat back and allowed him to do. We weren't going to complain about someone doing our work for us and neither of us could lift the larger slabs of meat. Tommy came as a blessing in disguise and I spent most of the delivery time lounging against the kitchen counter whilst Tommy dashed back and forth with the meat. Miss Jenkins didn't appear all that happy with Esther and I's relaxed attitude to bringing the meat in, but the task would still get completed so there would be no cause for complaint.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Matilda asked, sliding into the kitchen doorway and raising an eyebrow towards Esther and I as we waited for Tommy to return.

"We are working, in a way," I replied.

"Oh really?"

"Righ', that's the last one, Miss J! All the meat in and not one drop of rain from the sky, you owe me some toffee!"

"Alright, alright." Miss Jenkins turned to Esther and me. "You two get nothing, this was supposed to be a team effort."

"We helped. Slightly," Esther replied.

"Hm, you keep believing that."

She shook her head towards us, but I could see a small smile tugging on the corner of her lips as she headed away from us and towards the pantry. Tommy grinned towards Esther and me and dropped the last piece of meat on the table. He brushed his hands on his apron and glanced up towards the kitchen door in anticipation of Miss Jenkins' return with his slab of toffee. I had never seen anyone get so excited over sweets, except perhaps Zachariah. Upon noticing Matilda in the doorway, his eyes widened slightly, and he turned away from her and quickly wiped his hands on his apron before tearing it off and throwing it into the corner of the room. Tommy then stroked his fingers through his hair and spun back around, hitting his side on the table.

Esther glanced at me from the corner of her eye and bit her lip to stifle a laugh as Tommy clutched his side to mask the pain, though he wasn't all that good at it. Tommy and Matilda had only ever seen each other from afar, with Matilda making a wild dash for it whenever she saw him coming. Esther and I always found it amusing to see her run from the room whenever Tommy entered it and when they did spend time in front of one another she could barely speak. During one of the previous deliveries, she had been waiting for a carriage outside when Tommy arrived. Mrs Ealing had asked her a question and Matilda had been unable to take her eyes off Tommy and unable to speak.

Neither of them said anything as Tommy rubbed his side and Miss Jenkins re-entered the room with a slab of toffee wrapped in brown paper. She had been completely clueless about what happened whenever Tommy and Matilda were together, and Esther and I had refrained from telling her. Robert may have been privy to the information, as he had been in the room when Matilda had been hovering, but the three of us planned on keeping the secret. The secret had never been ours to share and we intended on keeping it that way unless either of the parties involved felt as though they needed to mention it. Robert found it funny, the idea of Matilda being sweet on Tommy when she had lived her life in the correct high society manner.

"There you are. The butcher had the right idea hiring you, I've never seen anyone so happy to be delivering meat even in the rain," Miss Jenkins said, gesturing to the open back door just as the clouds burst and a torrent of rain crashed onto the grounds.

"I'm happy to be doin' anythin', Miss J. Even in the rain," Tommy said, accepting the toffee and tucking it into his back pocket.

"You're welcome to stay here until the rain stops, it looks as though it'll be a short burst so it will be over soon enough. If you walk back in this, you'll catch your death."

"Thank you, Miss J! Can I trouble you for a hot drink? It's cold outside."

"Fine, but only because I'm making tea for Mrs Ealing." She placed the kettle on the stove and then turned to Matilda. "Can I help you with anything Miss?"

"No, nothing." She turned to leave. "Actually, could I have some tea in my room please?"

"Of course, Miss. I'll send one of the girls with it as soon as it's done."

"Thank you, Miss Jenkins. Tommy, it was good to see you."

"You too, Ma'am," Tommy replied. Had he been wearing his cap, I knew he would have tipped it in some way or another.

"Esther, can you can and see to the twins? I expect they're causing havoc upstairs, Rosie can take Mrs Ealing's tea tray up."

Esther nodded and followed Matilda out of the room whilst I pressed the palm of my hands against the only empty spot on the table. Miss Jenkins knew of my rather strained relationship with Mrs Ealing and yet wouldn't allow me the opportunity to stay out of her way wherever possible. I would have given the whole of my left arm to attend the twins rather than to take her the tea tray and risking facing her. My last interaction with Mrs Ealing had been the day she caught me speaking to Robert on my first day back after the influenza. Since then, I had avoided her gaze and hadn't said so much as two words to her if I could help it. I wanted to avoid her at all costs, but that appeared unlikely.

Still, I could hardly sit there and turn her down nor put the extra work onto Esther when she had been the one to juggle all of the household chores when I had been sick. So, whilst Miss Jenkins pushed a mug of tea towards Tommy, I grabbed Mrs Ealing's tea tray which had already been prepared and left them to it. Wrapping my fingers around the handles of the tray I walked form the kitchen and up the stairs. I couldn't take my eyes off the tray as I walked, focusing all of my attention onto the mug and saucer so they didn't tip over and spill all over the floor. I had been so nervous when I had carried my first ever tea tray up those steps and I felt the same way carrying Mrs Ealing's.

Stepping out into the hallway, I carefully crossed the hallway and climbed the next set of stairs towards the bedrooms. I had never been to the Ealing's bedroom before, but I knew roughly which landing it was on and where I would find it. Esther normally took charge of anything that needed to go to the Ealing's room, seeing as she was older and, therefore, the senior servant out of the two of us. Being asked to take something to their room felt off and I felt out of place for doing it, I preferred cleaning to bringing tea trays to people. At least with cleaning I only came into contact with a person if they happened to pass me, taking people things meant I had to talk to them.

I crossed the hallway towards the door closest to the main staircase. Balancing the tray on the palm of my hand, I tapped my knuckles lightly against the wood of the door and waited for the murmured reply. When it came, I used my free hand to turn the door handle and used my foot to nudge it open whilst I gripped the edges of the tray again.

"Tea, Ma'am," I said.

"Over there," Mrs Ealing said, gesturing to a table at the far side of the room. I walked the length of the room and placed the tray on the table, nudging it back ever so slightly so it wouldn't threaten to tip onto the floor.

"Is there anything else, Ma'am?"

"I thought Esther was to bring me my morning tea, why has Miss Jenkins entrusted you with the task?"

"Esther is tending to the twins, Ma'am."

"Hm, I see." She paused. "Perhaps you can help me with something."

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"I noticed a small burn on the back of Robert's hand during supper yesterday evening. He said it was an accident and he caught his hand on a candle, but I don't think that's true. Do you happen to know how he got the burn?"

"No, Ma'am. I haven't seen him since Sunday."

"That's not true. I know you were lighting the fires yesterday and I know Robert requested the one in his room be lit and the next time I saw him he had the burn. Do you know anything about it?"

Mrs Ealing had caught me in a web that I could not, no matter how much I tried, escape from. I could not lie to her, but I knew that if I told her the truth, I would gain yet another infraction and would be one away from being out on the streets. I knew the burn had been my fault and in a way, the infraction would be well deserved but I had hoped all of it would be avoided seeing as Robert promised he wouldn't tell the truth on what happened. He had kept his word and yet Mrs Ealing had still managed to work out what had actually happened herself. Then again, I didn't know if she knew what really happened or simply wanted me to admit to it and get myself into trouble. I thought it would be the latter. She had made implications, not direct statements.

As I stood in front of her, wondering just what to say to either get myself out of trouble or change the topic of conversation, I wished I had a cloth or something I could tie around my arm. Instead, I placed my hands behind my back and played with the frayed edges on the back of my apron. It may not have been as good as a cloth, but it did its job and served as a distraction whilst I tried to come up with something to say. Unfortunately, Mrs Ealing didn't like people stalling and would much rather they got to the point, much to my annoyance.

"Well? Are you going to stand there gawping at the wall or answer the question?"

"I dropped a match when lighting the fire, Robert moved it out the way before it singed a hole in my dress," I mumbled.

"I knew it had something to do with you, everything usually does. Robert may have been quick to cover for you, but I will not forget this. If I see you with Robert again, in the same room as one another or even passing each other in the hall, you will be gone. Mark my words. You should be given an infraction for your lack of care in the house, but I have no grounds as far as Albert is concerned. Now get out of my sight."

Mrs Ealing waved her hand towards the door and I scurried through it before she could say anything else. I took a breath and paused in the hallway outside, pressing my back against the wall and taking a deep, shaky breath to calm my risen nerves. In truth, I had expected an awful lot more from Mrs Ealing compared to a warning and threat about going anywhere near Robert in the foreseeable future. Mrs Ealing may have thought she was going the right thing, but I knew the person she needed to talk to about the whole thing was Robert. He always managed to find me, not the other way around. I had never actively searched for Robert unless I had something to give him like his breakfast tray.

After a few seconds of staring at the walls in the hallway, I pushed myself off the wall and started down the stairs to the kitchens. As I went, I tried to think of ways to avoid Robert whenever we happened to be in the same room or see each other in the hallway. The only thing that came to mind was to turn away and head in the opposite direction in hopes he didn't see me but that didn't seem like a very good option. Robert could be rather head-strong when he wanted to be and nothing me or anyone else said could deter him.

"You look as though you've seen a ghost," Tommy said as I remerged in the doorway with a small strip of thread from my apron tied around my finger.

"Not so much as a ghost as having to see Mrs Ealing." I turned to Miss Jenkins. "Why did you send me up with her tea tray and not Esther?"

"You cannot avoid Mrs Ealing, Rosie, you work for her."

"Yes, but I never have to see her intentionally unless it's for church. She doesn't like me, she's made that perfectly clear enough times."

"What on Earth happened? I only asked you to take a tea tray up and now you're all flustered."

"Nothing. I just prefer to keep out of everyone's way, that's all."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do. Shouldn't you be getting back?" Miss Jenkins turned to Tommy.

"The rain's stopped so I better. Thanks for the toffee and tea, Miss J!"

"I'll see you out," I said.

"Fill up the water buckets whilst you're out there," Miss Jenkins said, nodding her head towards the buckets by the back door.

I nodded and watched as Tommy handed his empty mug over to Miss Jenkins and pushed his chair back. He grabbed his balled-up apron from the corner of the room and tied it around his back before pulling his cap out of his pocket and tucking his hair underneath. I moved around the table and grabbed the two metal buckets that we kept by the back door and used when a non-carpeted bit of flooring needed scrubbing. Tommy held the door open for me as I crossed through it and stepped out into the dark, cold outside. He followed not long after.

I nodded towards Samuel who passed the two of us with a wheelbarrow full of dead plants and looking as though he had been caught out by the rain. Tommy stood beside his now empty cart whilst I walked the short distance from the back door to the pump that stood near the entrance to the vegetable patch. He watched as I placed each bucket underneath the end of the pump and moved the handle until they were both full of water. Once finished, I returned to the backdoor to bid goodbye to Tommy, though he appeared a little reluctant to leave, not that that was unusual for him.

"Wha' happened with Mrs Ealin'?" he asked as I set the buckets on the ground and turned to look at him.

"Nothing," I lied.

"I know you better than that, Rosie. Come on, spill."

So, I told him, and I started from the first time Mrs Ealing turned against me. Although I hadn't exactly kept it hidden from them all, there were a few things I never told anyone, including Miss Jenkins and Esther. The things they knew were the things I could say around Robert without him finding out the truth because even he only knew what I wanted him to. The past six months hadn't been as easy as I may have made them seem and even I was surprised that it had taken so long for Mrs Ealing to give me my first infraction. Had she had it her way, I would have been out of the house before the ash had even settled. Only she didn't have her way and instead had decided to make my life a living hell ever since.

"She can't ban you from seein' Robert, tha's insane," Tommy said when I finished.

"She can and she has. I already have one infraction, I can't risk getting enough especially for something so stupid."

"Are you sure this is the best place for you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It's pretty close to bein' a copy of the factory with Mrs Ealin' as the foreman. You've met your brothers now do you really need a place here?"

"It's not as easy as that."

"From where I'm standin' it is. Why stay if Mrs Ealin' is out to cause trouble?"

"It's complicated. You should go or you'll be late."

"This conversation isn't over."

Tommy gave me a pointed look before grabbing his cart and setting off down the gravel path. I watched him go, knowing full well I had an answer to his question and I just didn't want to tell him what it was. When he had disappeared out of sight, I grabbed the buckets and headed back towards the kitchen. As he went, my mind spun with just what had popped into my head the moment Tommy had asked.

I couldn't leave because of Robert. 

~~~

A/N - And we're back! I'm not gonna lie, I did almost forget to update today purely because it's gotten a little crazy with uni. All of a sudden it's Week 5 and deadlines are approaching. Updates will continue, though!

Anyway, question time! Mrs Ealing find out about the burn! Do you think she's planning something to get rid of Rosie? Tommy and Matilda seem to be getting close. Are we thinking Endgame for them? And the last line... Thoughts?

Comment below!

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to  who has mass-voted on both TFG and TSG. It means a lot :)

First Published - October 22nd, 2019