After All These YEARS

Sixteen

KNOCK, KNOCK 

No One's Pov

Lisa's heart dropped instantly when she saw the tall form of Mr. Bae standing on her doorstep.

"May I come in?" He said quickly.

"Please do." Lisa said with a nod of her head.

Mr. Bae walked in and turned around, waiting for Lisa to close the door. As soon as Lisa did he began to speak.

"I heard what happened tonight. Both from Irene and one of our regulars, Shamus McMaster. He witnessed the whole thing."

Lisa found herself unable to look at Irene's father in the eye. Instead her she lowered her head so she was looking at his shoes. Lisa knew she was dead.

"I take it I'm discharged." Lisa said, wanting to get it over with.

"Is that what you think I'm here for?" Mr. Bae said, sounding a bit surprised.

Slightly confused, Lisa looked up at Mr. Bae. "Frankly sir, yes. I treated that sergeant rather roughly, not to mention I pretty much humiliated him by doing it in front of his men. My father taught me how to fight. He wanted his girl to be able to handle herself."

He smiled slightly and shook his head. "No Lisa, you are not discharged. In fact I wanted to thank you."

"What?"

"I know Irene wanted to handle things her way, but these soldiers from the sound of it just arrived back from somewhere. I've seen men like that, especially after a long posting overseas. Men like that are capable of nearly anything, You performed above and beyond your duty as a servant."

"Thank you." Lisa said quietly. Though the last part of what he said stuck in her mind. As if he were somehow reminding Lisa of her place.

"In gratitude, I will increase your salary by 2 pence a week. You've done very well so far."

Lisa bowed slightly. "Thank you so much sir. How is Miss Irene?"

"She's a bit upset but will recover. Thank you for your concern. " He said in his usual polite but military like manner.

"You're welcome sir."

Mr. Bae moved to the door. "Well I have to attend to some business before I turn in. I will leave you alone for this evening. Good night Lisa."

"Thank you sir. Have a good night." Lisa responded as she walked to the door and closed it behind him.

A few moments later, Lisa was alone. While she had kept her job, Irene probably was still mad at her. Plus there was no telling when and if Irene would ever talk to her again. Lisa felt about as defeated as before. Sighing, she sat down and tried to figure how to get back into Irene's good graces.

Lisa was still sitting there a half an hour later when there was another knock at the door. "What the hell?"

Puzzled as to how now was at the door, Lisa pulled it open to see Irene standing on her doorstep. Unlike before, she did not look angry, in fact she looked somewhat humbled.

"Can I please come in Lisa? I'd like to speak with you if I could."

Not quite sure what this was about, Lisa gestured for Irene to come in. As before, she waited until her guest was inside and shut the door.

As Lisa turned to Irene, she quickly noticed the Korean fumbling with her hands in a rather nervous manner. "Thank you for seeing me."

"So what can I do for you, Miss Irene?" Lisa addressing her as she would normally while she was working. Still a bit upset at being yelled at, Lisa decided to keep it a bit formal.