The Apprentice Girl // Book 3 in the Rosie Grey series

Chapter One

"What's your plan for today?" James asked as he moved one of his mannequins to the centre of the room to dress.

"Put the last of the fabric away and see if we need anything else before Christmas. It feels odd to send away for an order with nothing but buttons on it and I'm sure there is something else we need," I said. I placed my now empty cup on the tray beside the other two.

"I'm sure you'll find something to add, though you keep on top of our orders most of the time so if you missed anything last time, I'd eat my hat." He laughed at his own joke, something he did quite often. "One day this week, I'll be leaving you in charge. Kitty and I want to have a look at some of the stalls to see if we can pick up a bargain on some more fabric. The green fabric I'm using for your dress came from a stall and I want to find something similar."

"If you trust me enough to look after your shop that is."

"Of course, I do. I'll make sure it's a day I have nothing booked in, so you'll be handling normal transactions for ribbons and the such, it'll be fine. Besides, you're one of the most responsible fourteen, almost fifteen, year-olds I know."

He didn't say it, but we both knew what had been hidden in his words. The factory had forced me to grow up faster than most children. My childhood had been snatched away from me and I had to be the adult even though I was just seven. James didn't like to discuss the factory, it had been one of the rules made when I moved in and it had been the only one we stuck to. He didn't want to know all the sordid details about the life I had lived for seven years and knew about as much as he wanted to. The factory coupled with the work I had done for the Ealing's meant most of my childhood had been dedicated to working and that had forced me to grow up.

James wanted to forget that I had ever been in the factory and that the past seven years hadn't happened. It had been easier for him to push those thoughts from my mind, but it had never been that simple for me. The factory had been a part of me for half of my life and it would not be something I would forget in a hurry, even if I wanted to. Even if James refused to acknowledge it, it would always be a part of me and be something he had to get used to.

The bell above the door rang and James scurried away from the mannequin to find out what they had come in for. I pushed myself up off the chai and seized the tea tray and took into the backroom to wash up. James' voice carried from the shop into the small room as I soaked all three of the teacups and saucers in a bowl of water and wiped them out with a cloth before leaving them on a draining board to dry. I dried my hands on a cloth and returned to the shop floor to resume the clean-up and hopefully finish it before the new year.

I seized a massive bolt of light blue cloth from the far wall and hauled it over my shoulder to carry it to its place on the shelf. When I had first started re-organising the shop, I had been amazed at just how many different types of fabrics in different colours really existed. I had worn nothing but plain dresses for years and had only been exposed to different fabrics when going through Matilda's wardrobe. Since moving in with James, he had made me several dresses to wear since he longer thought it suitable for me to be wearing a servant's dress if I were no longer in service.

With the bolt of cloth in hand, I crossed to the other side of the room and lifted it up, standing on my tip-toes to try and force it into its place on the shelf.

"Need a 'and?" I turned and saw Mathias standing at the other end of the bolt with a grin on his face as he showed me his metal hand.

"If you're offering one," I said.

"I would give you this one, but I need it." I glared at him. "Alright, 'ang on."

Mathias stepped forward and took the end of the bolt, lifting it higher into the air and allowing me to slide it into its position on the shelf. Once it had been pushed in, I took a step back to make sure it looked like it should before turning back to Mathias. He still had a large grin on his face and his eyes seemed to have a mischievous glint to them. Over time, Mathias had really adapted to life outside of the factory, even with one arm. He had taken to living with Miss Lewis and enjoyed working to deliver the Sunday newspaper whilst working on developing his own metal arm. He still struggled, just as we all did, but he had been improving.