Miss Jenkins spent the rest of the day and the next morning running around trying to find a way to get me out of the trip to London, it didn't work. According to Esther, the family rarely went on day trips out because they didn't have the staff necessary to control the twins, now they did. Not only that, but both twins had taken a liking to me and would be more likely to follow what I said rather than what Esther or anyone else said. There was no way of backing out of the day trip and, despite the implications, I didn't mind all that much. I was just excited to get out of the house for a day and go back to London.
Although I had made a promise to Mathias not to say anything about the factory, being back in London would give me the chance to see it, to make sure it was still standing. Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to sneak away from the family long enough to get to the back gate and see if I could spot Isabel and the others on their luncheon break. It seemed unlikely since we had never seen anyone near the back gate during our time there, but I needed them to know I was okay, and I needed to see that they were okay. Being on the outside was good in a lot of aspects, but it meant I was unable to see how my friends were getting on. I just had to find a way to break away from the family, something that seemed like an impossible task.
"Remember to do exactly as you're told, Rosie. We want to limit what Doctor Ealing has the power to do. He can't punish you if you do nothing wrong," Miss Jenkins said, straightening my dress out for the fifth time since I had put it on.
"I think you're overreacting. Doctor Ealing only slapped me because of Alexander and Mr Warrington, neither of them are going to be there and I highly doubt he will do anything in front of the twins. Just relax, your worrying about this more than I am," I said, taking a step back.
"Sometimes it's better to overreact. You need to be careful, Rosie, you're still on trial."
"I know I am, everything is going to be fine.
"Hm, if you say so. Well, I'm going to give your dress another scrub this morning since I'm on my own, with any luck I can get the blood out of it. If not, you'll be stuck with that one for a little while longer."
"This one's fine, it might be a bit big, but it's better than being covered in my own blood."
Any attempt to remove the blood from my dress the previous day had failed, and Miss Jenkins looked as though she was fighting a losing battle against it. I didn't mind all that much. Doctor Ealing had told me that if I passed the trial I would be getting a new set of clothes since most of what I wore came from Esther and she needed the spares. If I failed the trial and didn't get the new clothes, then at least I had a dress that I could grow into. I didn't want to think about failing the trial, but the longer time went on, the more I started to think it was possible. Ever since I arrived at the Ealing household, I had caused nothing but trouble and it's possible that the events of the previous few days might have tipped the decision over the edge.
With Miss Jenkins well and truly distracted with my old dress, I took the opportunity of her leaving me alone to stuff a piece of toast in my mouth. Having spent most of the morning dealing with Miss Jenkins' fussing, I hadn't had the chance to eat the breakfast she had made. Although the toast had gone cold, I ate it in one sitting and wiped my hands off on a cloth, knowing what would happen if I left jam stains all over my dress. I had never seen Miss Jenkins this nervous before, not even the day of Matilda's party. She was terrified about what Doctor Ealing would do, even more so then I was. Though her fear wasn't without merit.
Despite the idea of Doctor Ealing doing anything in public seemed impossible, the threat was still there. None of us could come up with any reason as to why he would decide to have this trip two days after he had cut and bruised my face. With the bruise more prominent than the previous day, and the cut still tending to bleed, the idea of it being a warning was starting to sit at the front of my mind more and more. I didn't want to admit that Doctor Ealing was capable of doing worse, capable of going beyond a backhand and a bruised face, it was possible. Not even the foreman wanted people to see the bruises and marks he had left us, he often kept those with visible injuries out of sight of visitors, and we had a fair few of those.
"We should head upstairs before they send someone down," Esther said, dropping a plate into the sink and drying her hands.
"Good luck, you two! Stay out of trouble, Rosie, for all our sakes," Miss Jenkins said.
"I'll try."
Leaving Miss Jenkins to clean my dress, Esther and I left the kitchen and headed up the stairs to the hallway were the twins, Robert and Matilda were standing around looking bored. As we appeared from the basement, Robert gave me a small smile but continued leaning against the bannister and kicking his foot along the floor. He looked as though he had just woken up. His hair was stuck up in all sorts of directions and he looked as though he was struggling to keep his eyes open for longer than a minute. The twins were in much better condition, with Charlotte running up and down the hallway to try and escape Zachariah who was chasing her.
Matilda just stood there, leaning against the bannister and watching the twins dart back and forth across the hall, she barely even looked up when Esther and I appeared. I hadn't seen her since the luncheon incident, and even then, she had barely spoken but to see her standing there and not making any smart comments was odd. Robert might have filled me on how her feelings towards Alexander had shifted dramatically, but by looking at her it was clear there was much more to it than that. Whether she would talk to me about it remained to be seen, but I liked Matilda better when she was putting up a fight. Seeing her sad just didn't sit right with me and I don't think it sat right with anyone else, either.
"Esther, you will be riding with myself, Zachariah and Robert. Rosie, you'll be in the other carriage," Doctor Ealing said, stepping out of his office. He barely even glanced in my direction as he walked past and swung open the front door.
"This ought to be fun," I muttered to Esther.
"Just remember what you're telling the twins, they can't know the truth," she replied.
"I know, I've got everything covered."
I grinned towards Esther as we followed the group out of the house and towards the two carriages that were lined up along the gravel path. Mrs Ealing appeared in the doorway as Doctor Ealing prepared to lock it. She clutched the brim of her hat as she crossed the path and joined me, Matilda and Charlotte at the second carriage, waiting for her arrival. With Samuel holding the door open, the four us climbed into the carriage, I went last and had to help get Charlotte in as she was too short to climb up herself. As he closed the door, Samuel nodded to me and gave me a small smile, as though reassuring me that everything was going to be fine. He clearly didn't have the same thoughts Miss Jenkins did.
As we sat in the carriage waiting for Doctor Ealing to order the movement of the carriage, I felt Charlotte's eyes on me as I glanced out of the window. She was sat beside me whilst Mrs Ealing and Matilda were sat across from us. I knew what Charlotte was going to ask and I had the story all figured out in my head for when it eventually came up. She was far too inquisitive for her age, but I suppose I can't complain, I was exactly the same growing up. The only thing was, I didn't want to slip up and accidentally confess the truth. I had been pretty good at keeping my secrets recently, but there was going to be a point where I would slip up, everyone did eventually.
It took for the carriage to pull away for Charlotte to finally ask the question, and she didn't exactly sugar coat it.
"What happened to your face?"
"You know how my boots are a little ragged?" I said, shifting my seat slightly to look at her and gesturing to my work boots.
"Yes, they're falling apart." Charlotte reached down and pulled off a piece of leather that was hanging off the toe of my boot.
"Well, I was doing my usual chores and I tripped over my own foot and fell, it was all one big accident."
"You need new boots."
"Hm, but these are my lucky boots, I've had them for a very long time."
"How can the be lucky if you cut your face?"
"Good point."
I grinned at Charlotte and tore the piece of leather out of her fingers, wrapping it around my little finger and watching it unwind itself and straighten back out. If I was going to get a new dress if I passed my trial, then I hoped I was going to get new boots. My pair had lasted me for many years in the factory, with the toe being scrapped within an inch of its life after being dragged along the factory floor. They were only going to last a little longer and once they fell apart, I didn't have anything else.
Despite that, I had gone through a lot with those boots, they had been my lucky charm through several long years of abuse and hard labour back with the foreman. It would be a shame to have to get rid of them, though I was tempted to keep them, so I always had that reminder of the factory. It may have been some of the worst years of my life, but it had made me who I was and if I couldn't keep my old work dress, I was going to keep the boots. They would allow me to remember those days, remember the experiences that shaped who I was. It might not have been a fun experience, but I wasn't going to forget it.
Charlotte didn't ask any other questions or pry any further as the carriage moved away from the house and towards the bustling London streets. As we went, Matilda stared out of the window, oblivious to the rest of the world and not looking as though she had paid the slightest bit of attention to any of the conversations that had gone on between Charlotte and me. Throughout the entire ride, Mrs Ealing watched Matilda, she would tug on the collar of her dress as though waiting for Matilda to say something or do something other than stare out of the window. Whatever was going through her mind, it wasn't a good thing.
"Matilda? Are you alright?" Mrs Ealing eventually asked, releasing the collar of her dress to appear calmer.
"Hm?" Matilda replied, blinking slightly.
"You're awfully quiet."
"Just thinking, that's all. May I ask a question?"
"Of course." Mrs Ealing looked stunned at Matilda asking to ask a question rather than just simply asking the question straight out. She had never been one to ask before speaking.
"Why did Father decide we were to go to London? I thought he had work to do."
"I'm not sure I can be the person to answer that question. I'm sure he just wants a family day out, nothing more to it."
"I suppose."
Matilda turned her attention away from Mrs Ealing and back to the window, watching as the country scenery changed into the busy streets of London. The trees morphed into buildings and the clear sky was blocked out by smoke from raging chimneys and smog carrying from the Thames. The sun was blocked out by the rising smoke and as we pulled through the streets, the noise started to rise. People walked past the carriage window carrying flowers of bread, selling all sorts of things to those who passed. They were doing whatever they could to earn money to eat whilst we rode by in a large carriage, something they could only dream of.
When the carriage came to a stop, the driver scrambled off the top of the carriage and opened the door. I stepped out first, followed by Charlotte, Mrs Ealing and Matilda. Within seconds, Charlotte had grabbed my hand and was clinging onto it as people brushed past us, nodding towards Mrs Ealing but ignoring the rest of us. The excitement that Charlotte had clung onto back at the house had changed drastically and she squeezed my hand so tightly I thought it was going to fall off. London was remarkably different in person, it was larger and to a child who had not been for a while, probably scary.
"I need to drop some paperwork off at the office so why don't you go over to the book shop and have a look around, we can always add to our collection," Doctor Ealing said, his briefcase in hand.
"Very well, how long will you be?"
"Not too long. Rosie, would you accompany me?"
"Of course, sir."
Esther glanced at me anxiously but said nothing. I couldn't disagree and refuse to go with him, after all, I was his servant and to defy him would most likely end in another slap across the face. There was nothing I could do but agree to go and see what was to become of me whilst along with the man who had already marked me. Miss Jenkins may have had had every reason to be scared, Doctor Ealing was separating me from everyone else and he had no reason to. Dropping his briefcase off in his office wasn't a dangerous task, it was something he did every day. He didn't need a servant to accompany him unless he had something planned, I just didn't know what it was.
As we walked away from the rest of the family, I started to twist the strip of leather around my fingers, tightening it to the point that it hurt and then unravelling it. It was satisfying, to say the least, and it worked as a distraction from whatever was to come in Doctor Ealing's office. Following him down the streets and towards his office, the piece of leather became a repetitive action. I used to do the same thing with a piece of string back at the factory, I had pulled it out of one of the pillows and would wrap it around my hand to distract myself from whatever the foreman was up to.
Approaching his office, Doctor Ealing took the steps two at a time whilst I followed close behind him. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, gesturing me in with his briefcase. Swallowing, I followed him. My heart was beating rapidly against my ribcage, threatening to burst out of my chest as the anxiety rose. I followed Doctor Ealing into the large room where he placed his briefcase down on his desk and turned to face me. I remained standing in the doorway, not wanting to go any further than I had to.
"Come," Doctor Ealing said, gesturing me towards him. I approached him slowly, the floorboards creaking under my weight. As I approached him, Doctor Ealing fished around his cupboard, pulling off jars of liquids and examining them. They were the same bottles that I had organised just a few days before, but I had no idea what he was looking for.
"I wanted to apologise, for my actions the other day. I should have been more careful during the luncheon," I said, getting closer towards Doctor Ealing.
"You have no reason to apologise, Rosie. If anyone does, it's me. I should not have hit you for something you did not do. My intention was not to hurt you or upset anyone, it was simply to get Gregory off my back for the way I deal with the people under my command. I should not have hit you as hard as I did, and I apologise profusely. However, the damage has been done and I cannot turn back time, but I can offer you something to help with the bruising."
"You do not have to apologise, sir. As for the bruise, I hardly feel it."
"Even if that is the case, it should help the bruising go down quicker. Here, this should help." Doctor Ealing handed me a small glass vial with a blue-ish liquid inside. I wasn't entirely sure how it was going to help with the bruising, but I accepted it anyway.
"Thank you, sir."
"Put it on the bruise before you go to bed this evening, it should help."
"Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome. Come, we should return to the others. If I spend too long here, Elizabeth won't be too pleased with me."
Tucking the vial into my dress pocket, I followed Doctor Ealing out of the office, waiting on the top of the steps as he locked the door and tucked his keys away. With his keys stowed away in his pocket, Doctor Ealing and I left his office behind and navigated back across the London streets, moving further and further into the heart of the city. As we moved, I could see the gates of the factory coming into view, the large metal gates that hid all manner of horrors behind it. Gates that hid my friends.
I glanced away from the gates and followed Doctor Ealing into a book shop where Mrs Ealing and the rest of the family were waiting. Books were piled high against the walls, stacked on shelves and on every surface possible. I thought the Ealing Library was vast, but this shop was unlike anything I had ever seen in my life, I just wish I could read the books and understand their content. Esther smiled at me slightly as she noticed us walk in, relief was evident on her face as she noticed no new bruises or markings. She thought the same thing Miss Jenkins did, she was just easier at hiding it then I was.
As we joined the rest of the family, Charlotte immediately grabbed my arm and led me over to another corner of books. She started to pull them off the shelves, reading the titles out loud and then putting them back or handing them over to me. I didn't question what she was doing, all I did question was that she was a much better reader than I was, and I was almost ten years older than her. Still, I accepted the books until I felt as though my arms were going to snap off under the weight of all of them. Whether or not she had any intention of reading them was beyond me, but I followed Charlotte back to her parents and handed the books over. I had never known a child own so many books and I was a little jealous.
Doctor Ealing purchased all of the books that Charlotte wanted as well as the others that had been offered up by the other members of the family. The pile of books was substantial, and I had no idea how they were going to get them all home, but I didn't question it. I accepted a basket of books off Doctor Ealing and follow them out of the shop, hauling the basket up my arm so I didn't drop it. As we exited the shop, there were a lot of people moving in the same direction, most whispering amongst themselves. I look at Esther who shrugged her shoulders, not entirely sure what was going on either.
Fighting against the sea of people and moving in the opposite direction was a mop of bright red hair and a bandaged arm. I knew it instantly to be Mathias. His face was the same colour as his hair and he was breathing deeply as he stumbled out of the crowd and spotted us standing in front of the book shop. He approached us, his eyes darting around and looking rather frantic.
"Mathias? What's going on?" I asked as he stopped in front of us, his eyes moving between myself and Doctor Ealing.
"You have to come, now," he said.
"I can't. What's this about?"
"There's a fire."
"A fire? Where?"
"The factory."
~~~
A/N - Hold on to your hats, Ladies and Gentleman, it's about to get serious. This is your official warning that the next few chapters are going to be difficult and possibly emotional BUT I'M SAYING NOTHING MORE!
Just be warned.
Anyway, what did you think of the chapter? Do you think Miss Jenkins fear was logical? What about Matilda, is she okay? Of course, the ending! What are you guys expecting in the future?
Comment below!
Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to AkwardMarthy who voted and left a few comments over the past few weeks, it means a lot :)
First Published - April 2nd, 2019