Thomas rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he looked at the grass. It seemed like he was having trouble deciding exactly where to start with his questions. I could only imagine how many he probably had by this point.

"Well..." he started slowly, "I guess my biggest question is 'do the others know?' I mean, it seems like Henry doesn't, but what about the rest of them?"

"Just Arthur." Thomas's eyes went a bit wide at this, but I held up my hand to stop him. "Don't worry, I actually did tell him this time."

His body did seem to relax a little after hearing this. "Ah, I see. Mind if I ask the reason?"

"There were a couple, honestly. He already knew about Jack and Victor, and I'm sure you know by now that Arthur isn't really the type to share a woman willingly. I figured it would make all of our lives simpler if I just told him.

But more than that, I just didn't want to lie to him anymore. I mean, it's like you said, for certain ones, the ones I'm not too close with, I can justify doing it. But... not with one that I loved. I couldn't keep doing that to Arthur. Not anymore."

Thomas nodded slowly. "Ms. Walton... my love for Mr. Weston and your love for him might be very different, but I promise you, I understand that sentiment better than anyone else in the world ever will. I can't even tell you how many times I considered telling him myself over the years.

But, as I said, I thought I was protecting him by keeping it from him. I feared he wouldn't be able to handle knowing the truth." He paused for a second. It looked as if he'd suddenly been reminded of something. "By the way, how did Arthur handle it?"

"Considering the fact that it's Arthur? Pretty well, actually," I admitted, shrugging.

"Really?"

"Don't get me wrong, the first day was hell. For both of us. But... he's been working through it.

I'm not going to be so stupid as to say he's completely come to terms with it by now, I mean, even Jack and Victor haven't reached that point, but... it's getting better. He's accepted it in his own way and every day he gets a little better. Given the circumstances, I really think that's the most I could ever ask from him."

Thomas smiled a bit at that last statement. "Considering the fact that I never even thought he'd get to that point, I suppose I'm inclined to agree with you there.

By the way, how has you relationship with him been? I know I give Victor a lot of grief for being the difficult one, but that's certainly not to say that Arthur doesn't come with his own set of challenges. He's not causing you too much trouble, I hope."

"He's... shy," I said carefully. "I guess that's the best way to put it."

"I'm not too surprised by that, honestly. Out of all of Mr. Weston's frequent personalities, it's probably safe to say that Arthur has the least experience romantically."

"Really? I would have guessed he'd be about even with Henry."

Thomas snickered. "While technically you'd be right, I'd hardly call them even in that respect. Henry would have to take an interest in women first before you could fairly consider him in the running."

A question suddenly popped into my head as Thomas said that. Well, not exactly a question. More like a suspicion.

After all, Thomas was right. In all the time I'd been there I'd never really seen Henry take an interest in me as a woman. I never questioned it much before, if anything I was happy to have one less complication in this ever-growing love polygon I seemed to be building, but hearing Thomas say that, it made me wonder if there might be some other reason for his lack of interest.

Still, I wasn't really sure how to bring it up. I mean, it would be awkward enough asking Henry, but his former caretaker? I cleared my throat and tried to plan my words carefully.

"Hey, Thomas..."

"Hmm?"

"Well... about that 'lack of interest' Henry seems to have towards women. Is that because... I mean... Is he..."

Thankfully, the logic seemed to click in Thomas's head before I had to finish the question. His eyes went wide.

"Ah! Oh! No, no, no, no, no," he said quickly, waving off my unspoken question. "Sorry, I think my phrasing might have been confusing. Henry would have to have an interest in people would be closer to my meaning.

You see, Henry sees people as companions. Nothing more, nothing less. Man, woman, or anything else in between, he sees them as vessels for his food and a plentiful source of conversation. He cares about people of course, but not in a romantic way. At least, not that I've ever seen."

I couldn't help but feel a little relieved at his words. Normally, something like that wouldn't bother me in the least. I mean, technically speaking, Henry and I were just friends. Why should I care what kind of "romantic preferences" he had?

However, considering my relationship with the rest of his personalities... Well, to say the least, it was one more complication I'd really like to avoid if possible.

"Umm, based on your question just now, is it safe for me to assume then that you and Henry are not involved in any way?" Thomas asked cautiously.

I smiled at him. "Just very good friends. Like you said, as far as he's concerned, I'm a taste tester and a conversation partner."

"Oh my. Doesn't that get lonely?"

Thomas and I both jumped a little at the sound of Laura's voice. I guess we both kind of forgot about her while absorbed in our conversation.

She blushed a bit and immediately waved off the question. "Ah! Sorry. What am I doing? This conversation doesn't have anything to do with me."

"No, no, it's fine," I reassured her. "You just startled me a little. Could you explain the question though? I'm not sure I understand."

Her blush deepened at this. She looked down at the ground and clung tighter onto Thomas's arm. She shrugged.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it really. It was more me talking out loud than anything else. I was just thinking how if I woke up one day and Tom was suddenly 'just a friend' to me... Well, I thought it'd make me a little sad. Suddenly losing a big part of our relationship like that." Almost instantly, she started to wave off the statement. "Ah, but what do I know? I don't even have a clue what I'm saying here. Your situation and mine are completely different."

"Actually, it's probably not as different as you think," I admitted.

Laura's head snapped up in shock. As surprised as she was by my response though, she also looked a little relieved. However, it's not like I said that just to make her feel better either.

"Sure, my situation is... unique," I continued, "but Mr. Weston is the one with the condition. Not me. My feelings are probably about the same as anyone else's would be in a relationship.

You're right. Sometimes it does get lonely on the days Henry's here. I'm not just Mr. Weston's companion, he's my companion too. Which means I'm usually left alone on days like this.

I mean, it's not like I don't like Henry. And, sure, sometimes having him around is a welcomed break if some of the others have been difficult that week, but... mostly I just end up missing them. Waiting. Counting down the hours until I know that one of them will show up again. I miss them the same way anyone else would miss their partner."

"Oh, of course you do," she cooed softly, reaching over Thomas to pat my hand. "You poor thing. I don't know how you do it. And all by yourself too.

I mean, I love Tom, but god, I think I'd go crazy if I didn't have some friends around as well to talk things out with. Do you have anyone to talk to?"

I shrugged. "Usually, I talk to Mr. Weston, but it's hard to talk about my relationships with him since all the ones who know my situation are so competitive with each other. I can kind of talk about it with someone like Henry, but after the whole Arthur incident I try to keep what I say to a minimum to avoid complications.

As for other people... no. I don't really have a lot of close friends and I'm not close enough with anyone in town to confide in them about it. Besides, I'm always worried about rumors getting spread around about us. I won't even hold hands with Mr. Weston if the cleaners are around."

"Well, what do they know?!"

I was shocked by the sudden anger in her voice. Even Thomas seemed stunned by it. She huffed and shook her head, glaring down at some invisible enemy.

"God, I just can't stand people like that. Nothing better to do with their time than sit around and gossip about other people. I mean, hasn't the poor boy been through enough?

Orphaned as a child, mental illness, practically isolated from the outside world." She paused suddenly and turned towards Thomas with a worried look. "Not that I don't understand why you did it Tom. It really was for the boy's best interests. I just meant-"

"Hush. You don't need to justify yourself to me, Dear," he reassured her, patting her hand gently. "Whatever my intentions were, the simple fact is he was isolated from the outside world. There's no denying that that happened.

I may not have been the perfect guardian to him, but, to this day, I still believe it was the best decision I could have made for him at the time, and I'll stand by that choice until the day I die. So, please, don't apologize for merely stating facts."

She gave him a grateful smile before turning her eyes back towards me. "Well, all I mean is that the poor boy's suffered enough for at least a dozen people. Now he finally finds somebody special in his life and they're going to try to ruin that for him too? Is he just supposed to stay lonely and miserable his whole life?"

I wasn't sure why, but as she said that, all I could think of was Sara. The conversation she and I had had at Thomas and Laura's wedding.

I shoved away whatever leftover residue of petty jealousy there was and thought about when I saw her talking with Jack. They were both smiling, laughing, having a great time together. She didn't have any bad intentions towards him. If anything, I think she was concerned for him in her own kind of way. And I'm sure she probably wasn't the only one either.

"Actually... I don't think that's it at all," I said slowly. She looked at me with surprise. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you're right, there are always those people who aren't happy unless someone else is miserable, but... I don't think that's the case with most people when it comes to Mr. Weston."

"If that were true, then you wouldn't have to worry about any stupid rumors being started," she argued.

"Laura, you knew about the Westons before you started dating Thomas, right?"

The question seemed to catch her off guard. "Oh. Well, umm, of course.

It's a fairly small town. Word travels fast. I never really knew them myself, but I heard about the accident. And a little bit about their boy having some problems after. Not that anyone could blame him, of course."

"Then, as an outsider, if you had heard that a female caretaker had taken over at the mansion and suddenly, a few months later, she was in a relationship with him, what would you think about the situation?"

Again, the question seemed to fluster her. She sputtered around a bit, floundering to collect her thoughts.

"Well, I, umm... Well, that's different. I mean, if it was just any strange woman who'd wandered into the house, then sure, I might be a bit suspicious of her, but you-"

"But that's the thing," I explained, "to most of the people in town I am just any strange woman. I'm an outsider. Someone they've barely seen, probably never talked to. They don't really know who I am or what my intentions are here. For all they know, I'm just some conniving gold-digger taking advantage of a sick man so I can get his money."

"But you're not," Laura defend. "Anyone with half a brain could tell that. All they'd need to do is see you and that boy together for five minutes to realize you're perfect for each other. Hell, I haven't even seen that myself and even I can tell how much you care about him."

I couldn't help but feel touched by how passionately she defended me. I'm sure part of it was probably out of loyalty to Thomas and trusting his words about me, but I could tell most of it came from Laura herself.

She wasn't buttering me up, or trying to make me feel better, she truly believed every word she was saying to me. And as much as I respected Thomas and his faith in me, it was kind of nice to know there was somebody else out there who was on my side. Someone from the outside of this crazy situation we were in.

"Thanks, Laura. I'm glad you can see it that way. Unfortunately, the workers and the people from town don't really get to see us the way you two do."

"Then why not show them?"

"Huh?"

I was too caught off guard by the question to even think of a reasonable response. She smiled and reached out to pat my hand again.

"Well, you said yourself that no one from town really sees you two that way, and, as I said, anyone with half a brain could see you're meant for each other after just a few minutes. So, why not show them? Wouldn't that be the simplest solution?"

I sat there, stunned. I wasn't even sure how to process what she was saying. Show them? My relationship with Mr. Weston? The idea made me nervous. Thomas seemed to notice this right away.

"Laura, Dear," he interrupted quickly, "I don't really think it's our place to-"

"Oh, hush it, Tom," she scolded him. He immediately backed down. "Now, I know you both worry about the boy, and, Anna, I understand your concern about those rumors, but honestly, how long do you think you can all keep going on like this?

Are you two really just going to stay cooped up on this big old property forever? I mean, Tom was already kind of an old dog when he got here, but you? You're still young. Don't you want to get out and see the world a little?

And more than that, what about the poor boy? Will he really be happy with that? Tom had his reasons for keeping him here before, but what about now? You don't think he'll want to go out and finally start living his life now that he's found someone special to share it with?"

I couldn't have argued with her if I'd wanted to. She was right. I mean, wasn't I already kind of having that issue now? Arthur was talking about photography trips, I know Henry worried about me staying at the mansion all the time, and Jack and Victor had both already hinted at the idea of dates several times.

She was right. He wanted more. From me, from life. Was it really fair for me to keep him trapped here just because "it was for his own good?"

I felt sick to my stomach just thinking that question. After all, hadn't I been in that very situation before? Restricted, monitored, having my every action scrutinized before I'd even done it? I knew that feeling better than anyone. And it felt suffocating.

Wasn't that the whole reason I left my family in the first place? For my freedom? For the chance to live my own life? Good intentions aside, could I really say I was "doing the right thing" for him despite knowing firsthand how wrong it all was? Didn't he deserve the same chance at freedom that I did?

"And what about in the future?" Laura continued. "I mean, I know you two haven't been together long, but I'm sure you've at least thought of marriage before. What do you think would happen if you two ever did get married? Don't you think it would seem even more suspicious if you suddenly just turned up as his wife one day? Or you're really going to try to keep it a secret from everyone? Forever? Dear, that just sounds exhausting.

Now, maybe Tom's right. Maybe I'm just being a nosy old woman-"

"Hey, I never said-"

"But," she emphasized, holding up a hand to quiet him, "I think you'd both be happier in the long run if you weren't so darn secretive about all of this. I know your situation is... well, a little different, but at the end of the day, he's a man, you're a woman, and you both have the right to be with each other just as much as any other couple on this planet.

And to hell with anyone who would dare to tell you any different."

If I was touched by Laura's words before, I was practically in tears at them now. She was really, truly, and passionately defending my relationship with Mr. Weston.

Here she was, practically a stranger to me, and yet I couldn't even remember the last time somebody had cared for me so much. I wanted to express my gratitude to her more than anything, but the growing lump in my throat made it nearly impossible. I could barely squeak out sounds, let alone words. And, unfortunately, she seemed to have the wrong idea as to why.

Her face turned from shocked to concerned to regretful in a matter of seconds. "Oh. Oh dear. Don't cry. Oh! I've gone and done it now.

Damn it, Laura! There you go again. Running off your mouth about things that are none of your business. Oh, please, don't mind me, Dear. I just-"

"No, no. It's not that," I finally managed to choke out. "I just... Thank you. It-it really mean a lot to me to know that I have you on my side."

"Of course you do," she reassured me. "And, look, I know I might not be as experienced with all this caretaker stuff as you and Tom are, but just know that if you ever need somebody to talk to, you know, about the regular relationship stuff... well, I'm here for you. Okay?"

A small laugh forced its way through my lips. I smiled and nodded, wiping off the few tears that had managed to leak out.

"Thanks. I certainly need it."

Laura smiled at me, but as she did, my eyes were suddenly drawn to something moving behind her. I glanced to the side only to see Mr. Weston waving at us from the patio. I quickly dried off my face of any remaining moisture and stood up, waving back at him. He gave a thumbs-up before walking back into the house.

"I think that's our cue for lunch," I explained.

"We'd better hurry then," Thomas said, standing. "Henry's not really one for patience when the food's already on the table."

I followed him as he started walking towards the house. Laura, however, hung back a bit. She waited until Thomas was a little ahead of us before matching my pace and walking next to me.

"Hey, don't for a second think I was just being kind with what I said earlier," she said in a low voice. "I mean it. Anytime you need to talk, just give me a call, okay? I know Tom's trying his best to give the boy some space, but that doesn't mean you have to be isolated from everyone too."

"Thank you, Laura, but-"

"No 'buts'," she insisted. "I'll give you my number before we leave. And I mean it. Call me. Any time. Okay?"

It was already clear that this was one battle I was going to lose. So why bother to fight it? Besides, it was kind of nice to know I had someone there if I really needed to talk.

I smiled and gave her a small nod. Not much, but enough for her to give a satisfied nod of her own before hurrying to catch up to Thomas.

Since the moment I found out about Laura, never once had I questioned Thomas's judgement about her. After all, managing to keep a guy like Thomas meant she had to be pretty extraordinary, right? But the more time I spent with Laura, the more and more I realized just how much of an understatement that really was.

Generous, considerate, caring. Laura really was the full package. I could only hope to be half the woman she was someday. Or half the wife.

I watched as she quickly caught up to Thomas and linked her arm with his again. Nothing but genuine love on her face as she looked at him. And I wanted that. Not just for myself, but for Mr. Weston too.

Laura was right. We couldn't spend the rest of our lives living in secret like this. I wasn't ashamed of my relationship with Mr. Weston, we weren't doing anything wrong, so why was I sneaking around like it was some kind of dirty little secret? He deserved more than that. We both did.

I watched as Thomas pulled out Laura's chair for her at the table. She rolled her eyes and hit him playfully before siting down. Thomas chuckled as he sat next to her.

Pure love. Simple love. That's all it was. And for the first time since meeting him, I actually found myself disappointed that Henry and I didn't have more of an intimate relationship. Because, at that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than to run into Mr. Weston's arms and give him a kiss.

But I couldn't. Not with Henry. Not yet, anyway. And who knew? Maybe that might change in the future, but for now, we were just good friends and I'd have to be content with just that.

Henry stood next to the table and smiled at me. He gestured for me to take my usual seat. I didn't even think twice about it when he sat down next to me, but apparently Thomas noticed it a lot more than I did.

"Oh, are you going to be joining us, Sir?" He asked, obviously shocked.

Henry laughed. "Well, I certainly hope that's alright, considering it's my house and all."

"O-of course, of course," Thomas managed to sputter out. "I guess I'm just a little... surprised. You were never really one to actually sit in the dining room before."

"No, you're right. I wasn't," he admitted, "but I guess it made Ms. Walton nervous never seeing me actually eat anything, so this has become a bit of a regular routine for us lately. Besides, it's a special occasion today."

"Oh, really? What's the occasion?" Laura asked cheerfully.

"Why, you two, of course! It's not very often we have guests here, you know." Everyone let out a small chuckle at the statement. "Well, anyway, enough with all that small talk. You all must be starving. Let's eat!"

Without another word, Henry stood up and started uncovering the dishes on the table. I watched Laura's eyes go wide with amazement as she saw the food in front of her. Thomas, however, was still busy looking at Henry.

Again the soft, nostalgic smile was on his lips. After a while, those eyes shifted to me. They were filled with some emotion I couldn't quite identify, and I didn't have much time to try before he looked away again and, instead, started helping Laura to make a plate.

It was a quiet moment between the four of us. A soft moment I couldn't quite explain. But it felt nice. It felt right. And I didn't want it to end.

It may have only been a few hours since Thomas and Laura had first arrived at the mansion, but already, I couldn't wait until they decided to visit again.