Unfathomable Phantom (COMPLETE)

XXVIII. me as a mother(?)

Chapter 28

A week has passed after I took care of the sick Leo and now, he's okay as ever. Nothing to worry about, dear readers.

Right after that night, before the whole household got the chance to wake up, I immediately went straight to my room and changed.

Leo was still fast asleep when I woke up and when I checked his temperature, it was somehow okay. By the time I reached my room, Martha was still asleep.

Thank goodness. In case you're wondering, I failed to catch Leo's cold which is good news.

The following days after that, Leo didn't leave his room, it was me who went to him and took care of him.  Alternating between feeding him and reading him a book until he fell asleep.

"I better get going, Martha," I uttered as I straightened the beautiful yet simple gown Martha gave me earlier, saying she grew out of gowns like this, probably because of her age.

Actually, the balloon skirt is in the color pink and the top is a simple white long sleeve, tucked-in, of course. Martha then gave me a black ribbon, telling me to tie it around the neck.

Martha even insisted on letting me borrow one of her favorite gowns that she cannot fit in anymore but I quickly declined because first, it's too pretty and second, I am overly overdressed in where  I am going to if ever I chose to wear it.

However, of course, I still gave my gratitude to Judy because the dress is just so damn pretty. The roses make me wanna cry and hug the dress all day long.

To tell you the truth, I badly want to spend my whole salary on new gowns since I am getting a bit embarrassed borrowing one to Judy and now, receiving hand-me-downs from Judy.

But then, my pride isn't really worth sacrificing the happiness of the poor orphans in London.

That is why as soon as I received my salary a while ago, tightly sealed in an envelope, I went straight to the bathroom to bathe.

"Be careful, my child," replied Martha, not looking up from what she was doing.

Martha's counting her money at the bed since she'll send them all to her family later. According to what Martha told me, her family now lives in the province, her sons are a bunch of farmers while her only daughter set off to marry a clerk or something.

Now, she has dozens of grandchildren, waiting for her money since life was really rough.

As soon as I left the room, one thing I noticed was how busy the staff are. Many maids are carrying huge boxes and such. I bet the kitchen is packed, I can visualize Chef Florentino screaming at the top of his lungs.

Perhaps there's going to be a massive ball later tonight.

Well, thank goodness for this day off since I don't really want to involve myself at such an event, to be frank.

I just don't like parties, I mean, I don't have the will to socialize and also because I suck at it.

I then hailed a carriage and went straight to the town to buy gifts for the children.

I spent all my salary on warm blankets, jackets, and food for the children since winter is coming.

The footman then helped me carry all the boxes to the carriage, insisting that it would not cost any since helping me will be like helping the children as well.

With that, after half an hour, we finally reached the orphanage. As soon as I set foot in the orphanage, I couldn't stop pitying the children.

I mean, the orphanage is pretty small considering there are about three dozen children here.