I listened as the clock ticked away in the dining room. It felt like I sat there for an eternity listening to it. At some point, my fingers even started to tap out the rhythm of it on the table. I let out a deep sigh and leaned my head back, staring up at the ceiling.

Henry had left "the rest of the preparations" to me, but what those preparations were? I had absolutely no clue.

I mean, it's not like I had anything I needed to do to prepare for Thomas and Laura. Henry was doing food, the cleaners would be the ones cleaning. All I really had to do was be there to greet them, and it's not exactly like that took a lot of prep work.

Thomas's letter just said he and Laura would be here around lunch. Of course "around" being a vague time period, that really didn't give me a good idea of when to expect them. Considering we'd just finished breakfast, it could be any time between now and actual lunch time.

I suppose I could have just wandered off on my own like I normally did when Henry was around, but I worried about being too far from the front door. I knew from experience that I'd definitely be able to hear the bell not matter where I was in the house, but I still didn't want them waiting in the cold while I hurried down from whatever floor of the house I happened to be on.

That being said, there wasn't really much to do on the ground floor either. I'd already done all the organizing that I'd felt needed to be done, and most of the activities that were here were designed for two people or more. Great for when Thomas and Laura did arrive, but useless to me right now.

Which left me right back where I started. Sitting in this chair, drumming my fingers on the table, and listening to the clock tick.

I was half-ready to just give up and start wandering around the house when a miracle showed itself in the form of the doorbell. I leapt out of my chair and hurried down the hall. Partially because I didn't want to leave Thomas and Laura waiting for too long, but mostly because excited to finally have something to do.

I reached the entrance before the last echos of the doorbell even faded away. Which probably explained the startled faces that greeted me as I opened the door.

Surprised or not, I was happy to see a familiar face staring back at me. I don't think I'd realized until that moment how much I'd missed Thomas too. I could feel my lips curl into a smile as I saw him. And it didn't take long before his started to do the same.

"Goodness, I wasn't expecting such a speedy response," he chuckled softly. "I certainly hope you haven't been waiting on us the whole morning."

"Well, I wasn't waiting by the door or anything like that if that's your worry," I reassured him. "I did try to stay on the ground floor though, in case you guys came early."

He nodded knowingly. "Of course, of course. I'd have done the same myself. I just hope we haven't shown up too early."

A sharp laugh interrupted us before I even had the chance to answer. Laura suddenly popped up beside Thomas as if out of thin air. She linked her arm with his, grinning ear to ear.

"Jeez. Don't let all that stuffy servant talk of his fool you for a second," she teased, patting his arm. "This trip is all he's been talking about since yesterday. 'Too early' my butt. He'd have been here at the crack of dawn if I'd let him!"

Thomas lowered his head, a faint blush on his cheeks. I couldn't help but smile as I saw it. Although, as I looked at them, I couldn't help but notice some redness on Laura's cheeks as well. And something told me it had nothing to do with the conversation.

"Ah! What am I doing?" I said, shaking my head. "You guys must be half-frozen out there. Please, come in."

I moved aside so Thomas and Laura could shuffle their way inside. A small smile played at the corners of my lips as I noticed their arms were still linked together. I don't think they let each other go for a second. Although, both of them seemed too busy to notice this themselves.

Laura looked around the mansion the same way I probably did my first day there. Eyes wide with wonder and a face full of awe. I guess she was probably too busy helping Thomas move last time to enjoy it.

Thomas, however, looked around the place as if he were returning to a long-lost friend. A subtle smile tugged at his lips and his eyes misted over. It was like he was in his own little world. Just him and his memories.

Which quickly helped to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. He blinked suddenly and shook his head a bit as if to clear it. He cleared his throat before turning towards me.

"Ah, by the way, where is Mr. Weston? He's not waiting on us I hope."

I couldn't help the snicker that escaped my lips. "He's in the kitchen."

As expected of Thomas, those few words already told him so much about what was going on today. He let out a small chuckle of his own and gave me a knowing smile.

"Oh, is he busy right now? Or should we pop over and say hello?" Laura asked.

"I'm sure he'd be more than happy to take a break for a minute to see you two," I reassured her. "Although fair warning, Laura, he'll probably try to ask you a bunch of questions about what you want to eat."

She waved the comment off playfully. "Oh, he doesn't need to bother with all that. I'm not very picky, you know.

I am a little surprised though. A house this big and all that money, and he doesn't have anyone to cook for him? Tom, I thought you said there was a chef or something. Oh goodness, he's not cooking just for us, now is he?"

A faint, but panicky look filled her face. My interactions with Laura had been pretty limited up to this point, but it was already pretty clear that she was the kind of person who "hated putting others out," so to speak. I had a feeling I'd be spending a lot of time today reassuring her that she wasn't being any kind of burden.

However, Thomas beat me to the punch this time. He reached over and patted her hand on his arm. "No, no, Dear. It's nothing like that. This is just one of those things Mr. Weston does from time to time."

"Oh, Tom, will you please stop with all that 'Mr. Weston' stuff?" She almost begged. "I swear, that where half my nerves are coming from. 'Mr. Weston.' It's like I'm about to meet some fancy-schmancy duke or something! Can't you just call him 'Jack'? I'm sure he'd probably ask us to do that anyway, right?"

Thomas's face fell a little as she said this, and I could understand why. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that Thomas had explained Mr. Weston's condition to Laura. Probably a few times by now. That being said, that didn't mean that she necessarily understood it.

After all, calling an old friend by their first name was the most normal thing in the world, right? Why shouldn't she expect Thomas to do it?

Unfortunately, there was nothing "normal" about Mr. Weston's condition. It wasn't really the kind of thing you could understand just from some second-hand stories. You understood through experience. And it seemed like Laura was about to get more than her fair share of "experiences" today.

"Actually, it's 'Henry' today," I explained sheepishly.

Laura instantly put her hand over her mouth and looked mortified. I didn't even know a shade of red like that existed in nature.

"Oh! Of course! Damn it, Laura!" She chastised herself. "Goodness, I can't even count anymore how many times Tom's told me about the poor boy being sick. And there I go, just letting it slip right out of my head like it's nothing!"

"Laura, Laura. It's okay. Really," I reassured her. "I mean, you're right. If Jack was here today, he'd absolutely insist on you calling him by his name."

"But he isn't." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What a blunder! Just thank God the poor boy wasn't here to hear it. The last thing I want is to make your job any harder than it already is."

"I promise, it's fine," I insisted. "Besides, unlike me or Thomas, you actually are meeting him for the first time. I'm sure he'll want to introduce himself to you properly, and even if you did happen to make a mistake like that, I'm sure he'd probably just write it off as you forgetting his name. So don't worry. Really."

She let out another deep sigh and shook her head. Thomas put his arm around her shoulder and patted it gently. He gave me a grateful, but tired, look. I'm guessing this wasn't the first mini-panic attack Laura had had over their visit today.

I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You're here to visit, not to safeguard Mr. Weston. That's my job. Just enjoy yourself, okay?"

She gave me a weak smile in return. "I suppose. Still, that won't stop me from feeling just awful if I put my foot in my mouth like that again."

"Don't worry, some of Mr. Weston's personas practically live with their foot in their mouth," I chuckled. "Now, please, follow me. I'll show you to the kitchen. I wasn't kidding earlier. I'm sure he really will be excited to see you both."

"That sounds wonderful," Thomas answered quickly. "Please, lead the way, Ms. Walton."

Laura looked at him in shock, but didn't protest as he started to gently guide her down the hallway. I took the hint and started "leading" them towards the dining room.

Poor Laura. I remembered a bit of that feeling myself. Being suddenly thrust into a world you felt you had no place being in at all. The worry that one wrong move might somehow unravel it all. Only she had it worse than I did.

Me? I came here to be a servant. At least, that was the original plan. I walked into this place with the hopes of a steady paycheck and nothing more. And while I did desperately need the job at the time, it's not like my entire life would have been affected if I'd lost it.

But Laura? This was her life. She wasn't just some worker or casual visitor. She was Thomas's wife.

Thomas. The man who had raised Mr. Weston since he was a child. How could she not be nervous about meeting the man who was, for all intents and purposes, her husband's son?

No, this wasn't as simple as "make a fool of yourself and never go back there again." Thomas would always be a part of Mr. Weston's life. Which meant Laura had to be too. Of course she'd worry about making a good impression.

I just hoped this meeting with Henry would be enough to reassure her that she didn't have to.

We entered the dining room a short time later. Laura peeked around anxiously, as if wondering where he could be hiding.

"Mr. Weston is in the kitchen, preparing lunch," I explained. "Let me just check to make sure he doesn't have something on the stove before I grab him."

"Of course. We'll just wait here," Thomas answered, patting Laura's shoulder.

Laura looked a little caught off guard by how fast Thomas responded, but she quickly composed herself. She turned towards me with a smile and gave a small nod of agreement. I nodded to them both before turning and heading towards the kitchen.

As expected, the kitchen looked like a war-zone as I entered it. Utensils, and pans, and food everywhere. However, as chaotic as it looked at first glance, I could still see some sense of purpose to it all. A sort of commonality between certain items that told me they were grouped together for a reason. Whatever that reason may be.

And, of course, at the center of all this organized chaos was Henry, busily working on whatever he had planned for today. He didn't even flinch as I walked into the kitchen.

I stood there for a minute, wondering if he might look up and notice me, but I quickly realized it wasn't going to happen. I cleared my throat, trying to get his attention. He barely glanced in my direction.

"Is everything okay, Ms. Walton? I'm very busy right now," he said, rushing between the counters for various items.

"I just wanted to let you know that Thomas and Laura are here," I answered. "They were hoping to see you before lunch, but if you're too busy right now, then I can explain that to them."

His body perked up immediately at the mention of Thomas. He turned towards me with a huge grin on his face.

"Why didn't you say so? Of course I have time to see them!" He exclaimed, quickly turning back to the counter. "I just have a couple things I need to finish up here first, but please let them know I'll be out soon."

"Of course, Sir."

I nodded to him. Not that it mattered. He was already back at the counter, finishing whatever it was that needed to be finished. I couldn't help but smile at him as I left.

Thomas and Laura were sitting at the table now, the same expressions from the entrance on their faces. Laura glancing around awestruck while Thomas was elbows deep in nostalgia.

"Mr. Weston will be out soon."

They both jumped a bit at the sound of my voice. I guess they hadn't noticed I'd returned.

"Oh, umm, is that alright?" Laura asked, still obviously flustered. "If he's busy we can just see him at lunch."

"No, no, it's fine," I reassured her. "He has a couple things he needs to finish up, but he'll be out soon. He's very excited to see you both."

Laura didn't say anything else, but I noticed her lower her head slightly. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and a faint blush colored her cheeks.

Although I'm sure Thomas must have told her at least a thousand times by now that Mr. Weston would be happy to meet her, I guess it was still different to hear it from someone else. After all, Thomas was her husband. Why wouldn't he say something like that to make her feel better? It was probably reassuring for her to hear it from a stranger.

Well, not a "stranger" exactly, but someone who wasn't close to her at least.

"Well, while we wait, why don't you come and join us?" Thomas suggested, gesturing to the seat in front of them. "It's been a while since we've seen you as well, Ms. Walton. How have you been?"

I sighed as I sat across from them. "Alright, I guess. I mean, you know this job better than anyone, Thomas. It has its ups and downs."

"And would those 'ups and downs' be on a more personal or professional level?"

A soft thump from under the table and the sudden look of pain on Thomas's face caught my attention before I had a chance to answer. Laura smiled sweetly enough, but the look in her eyes as she turned towards Thomas was anything but sweet.

"Now, Tom, I really don't think it's our place to be asking something like that," she said gently, patting his arm.

I couldn't help but smile at the faint venom lacing of her words. Bless her heart, she was really trying her best to look out for me. Although, her attempts were definitely less subtle than I think she'd been hoping for.

"No, it's alright, Laura," I reassured her. "Thomas is probably one of the few people I actually can talk about this with. And to answer your question, Thomas, it's both."

He gave me a small, knowing smile. However, it was quickly replaced with one of mischief as he turned to look at Laura.

"I'd love to ask you more, Ms. Walton, but I fear I won't be able to walk home tonight if I dared to."

Laura huffed and hit his arm playfully. "Oh, stop that, Tom. You know as well as I do that wasn't a very nice question. Imagine if you'd said something like that to anyone else."

He chuckled softly. "I imagine they'd be quite upset with me. Which is why I wouldn't say it to them. I only asked that question because it's Ms. Walton I'm speaking to. Although, I do apologize if it came out sounding a bit brash, Ms. Walton."

I shook my head. "No, it's okay. I knew what you meant when you asked it."

"Then, honestly, how have things been for you? I'm pretty sure I can understand the working aspect of things, but personally speaking. How are you? Mr. Weston isn't causing you too much trouble in that area as well, is he?"

As if Thomas's words had summoned him, Mr. Weston burst through the door at that moment. He hurried over to where we were at the table, a huge smile on his face.

"Thomas! Long time no see, old friend. Ah, and this must be your lovely wife," he said cheerfully, holding his hand out to her. "Henry Weston, and it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Laura was obviously flustered having all this attention suddenly on her, but she did her best to compose herself. She smiled shyly and reached out, shaking his hand.

"Laura Hil- oh, umm, Anderson." She corrected quickly. "And it's nice to meet you too, Mr. Weston. Tom's told me a lot about you."

"Goodness, Thomas. Are you trying to scare the poor girl off?" He teased. "Well, I wish I could say the same, Laura. Unfortunately, somebody's always been a little tight-lipped about his personal life. I'm afraid I don't know much about you at all."

"Oh, that's fine," she said quickly, waving him off. "I'm not that interesting anyway."

"Nonsense! I certainly can't pass up an opportunity like this now that the old dog's finally decided to bring you home! So, please, tell me about yourself. Ah! How about how the two of you first met? That's probably a good place to start."

Laura laughed nervously. Her face was red. I guess she really wasn't expecting so much attention at one go. Still, despite all that, she didn't look to upset either.

She told him a story pretty similar to the one Thomas had told me. She worked at the post office, met Thomas when he came to pick up a package, they did some light flirting here and there, and before she knew it they were in a relationship. A simple story, but Henry looked absolutely enthralled by it. Aside from popping in with the occasional question here or there, he barely said a word.

I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised. After all, Henry was an extrovert by nature, and a conversationalist at that. Maybe it was because I was so used to being the one who always listened to him, but I almost forgot how easy he was to talk to.

It felt like almost no time had passed when we suddenly heard the clock chime. Henry glanced in its direction, looking just as startled as he'd been this morning.

"Ah, already? I'd better get back to the kitchen if we want to have lunch on time." I wasn't sure if he was saying this more to us or himself, but the way he turned and smiled at Laura helped to answer that. "Sorry to leave so soon, but I hope we can continue this conversation over lunch?"

She returned his smile and nodded. "That sounds lovely. I'll be looking forward to it.

He gave her a brief nod before looking at me. "Ms. Walton, please take care of them in my absence. I'll call you all when lunch is ready."

With that, he stood up and headed back towards the kitchen. As soon as the door closed behind him, Laura let out a giant sigh of relief. It was as if she'd been holding her breath the entire time they'd been talking. The way she fanned herself made her look out of breath too.

"Oh, my goodness, I really wasn't expecting to be interviewed like that."

Thomas chimed in before I had the chance to. "Sorry about that, Dear. Henry-"

"Oh, no, no, no. Please don't apologize for the boy, Tom. He didn't mean anything by it. Even I can tell that," she reassured him. "Like I said, it just caught me off guard. If anything I'm actually happy he was asking me so many questions. It means he was genuinely interested in talking to me, right? At least, it seemed genuine enough."

I smiled at the statement. "It was. Trust me, what you see with Henry is what you get. He's too busy worrying about what food to put on the table to worry about putting on airs."

Thomas chuckled. "Very well put, Ms. Walton."

"Henry is the easy one to figure out. It's all the others I have trouble with."

I meant it as a half-joke, but Thomas seemed to take it a little more seriously than that. His face stiffened a bit and his eyes softened. He almost looked concerned.

"About that... back to what I was asking before Henry came out, how are you, Ms. Walton? Has everything been okay for you? Personally speaking."

I sighed and gave him a weak smile. "Overall, I guess I'd say yes. Jack, Arthur, and Victor are the only ones I really have a 'relationship' with so they're the only ones I really need to manage."

"And how are you managing? It may be in separate ways, but I know Arthur and Victor can both be quite a handful. And that was just as their caretaker."

"Believe it or not, being their girlfriend actually helps with that a little. Arthur doesn't put up as much of a fight about eating now, and Victor's really trying his best to control his temper now."

Laura went a little pale. "Goodness, the boy hasn't been violent with you, has he?"

"No, no, don't worry. It's nothing like that," I explained quickly. "Victor's one of those 'bark is worse than his bite' kind of guys. He's not violent, just moody. Think of it more like a child who throws tantrums."

"Oh," she sighed, obviously relieved.

"About those 'tantrums' of his," Thomas chimed in. "You said he's been trying, but have they been getting any better?"

I chuckled softly and nodded. "He's starting to recognize when he has them now. And he's even apologizing too. As for the whole 'stopping them before they even happen' thing, that's still a work in progress.

But he is making progress. And I'm sure you know better than anyone how impressive that is for Victor."

He lowered his eyes to the table, a small smile on his lips. "I do indeed... Maybe that's why I find it so hard to believe. No, not even that. Maybe I just don't want to believe it. It just makes me wonder if there was more I could have done for him when I was around..."

"Thomas, stop," I said sternly. "You did plenty for him. For all of them. They all knew that. Even Victor. I've heard something about you from almost every single one of them, and never once has any of them even hinted that you should have done more."

He scoffed as he doubted that, but the subtle softness in his face told me it probably comforted him more than he let on. "Victor really never said a bad word about me?"

A small snicker escaped my lips. "Well, I wouldn't go that far, but I can honestly say he never blamed you for anything. Sure, he was hurt when he realized you'd been hiding the truth from him, and he definitely didn't know how to talk to you about it, but never once has he ever said that he thought you were wrong for doing what you did. Even he understood that you were doing the best that you could. They all did. So don't be so hard on yourself, okay?"

I'm not sure what reaction I expected from him exactly. Relieved? Comforted? Hell, I probably would have been satisfied with disbelief. But that wasn't what I got.

Instead, his face went completely blank. I wasn't sure what to make of it.
Even Laura looked surprised to see him that way. The air seemed to get heavier around us the longer he stayed silent. It was suffocating.

After about a minute or so I just couldn't take it anymore. "Thomas?"

"When he learned I'd been hiding what truth from him, exactly?"

His voice was empty as he spoke. It was like his eyes were devoid of all feeling. A terrible question suddenly came to my mind as I looked at them. Wait, had I ever actually told Thomas that Victor knew everything?

Apparently, the answer was 'no.'

His face seemed to harden as he looked at me. He slowly lifted his hands and folded them on the table in front of him. His voice was firm as he spoke again.

"What truth, Anna?"

A horrible wave of nausea suddenly swept through my body. Now, only one question filled my mind: Exactly how big of a mistake had I just made?