After returning to the house, I immediately went to Lucy and Suzanna who were battling to move the boys away from the sweet table. I told them what had happened with Mrs Ealing, but neither of them seemed all that surprised that she showed up to the party, they were more surprised that I had spoken up than anything else. To be honest, I was a tad surprised I had done so as well. All those years at the factory and I had never said a word to the foreman. I had never spoken back to Matilda and, until recently, had never spoken back to Mrs Ealing.

Mother always said that there was only so much a person could take before they exploded, and I believe I had reached my boiling point when Mrs Ealing decided to show her face where she wasn't wanted. I had put up with far too many people believing they could treat me the way they did, and it had gone too far for me to simply sit back and allow it to happen again. Perhaps I should have spoken out sooner, but I was glad to have done it. It felt as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I could finally move on from the last seven years.

The soft music from the piano filled the room as James emerged in the door with the twins, Sebastian and Kitty in tow. None of them appeared to have noticed what happened outside, meaning the plan to send to the kitchen had thankfully had the desired effect. The twins had already had to deal with a lot because of Mrs Ealing's actions, they didn't need to witness the continuation of her tirade of abuse. Doctor Ealing had been right, getting them out of the household had been a good idea, at least for their sake.

"Do you reckon she'll show up again after that?" Lucy asked, dropping shortbread crumbs onto the table.

"No idea. If she does, I'm not giving her the time of day. I've said my peace and there is nothing else I can see to her now." I shrugged.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You just seem so good at moving on from things, the factory, Mrs Ealing, what your father did, all of it. It just doesn't seem to bother you."

"It does, I just don't see the point in letting it be my focus. I don't want what they did to control the way I live my life; they've been doing that for long enough."

"Mathias and I are going to try and find our parents. Not because we owe them anything, we know we don't, but to prove to them that we can leave our life without them. I don't want to go into married life with them hanging over me. I reckon talking to them will help with that."

"If you think it will help, go for it. We're all going to have different ways of dealing with it, mine just happens to out-right avoiding my father for the rest of my life."

Lucy laughed and went in search of Mathias, most likely to tell him that the plan to find their families would be going ahead. They both seemed so much more willing to meet the person that put them in the factory then I ever would be. Even though it had been on Isabel's list, I had decided that moving back in with my brothers was enough and I didn't need to go the extra mile and talk to my father. He had been the cause of all of my problems over the years and held more responsibility for what had happened than anyone else. If he hadn't sold me to the foreman, I wouldn't have been burned or have to deal with Mrs Ealing.

Although, I also wouldn't have met Robert.

My father had been responsible for most, if not all, of the bad things I had faced over the last seven years and yet he had also caused my chance meeting with Robert. That was purpose been the only good thing he had done through all of it, but it didn't mean I wanted to see him. I didn't feel as though I owed him anything after what I did, and he certainly didn't get to see just how well things had started to work out since the factory. My relationship with him ended the day he left me at the gates of the factory, and I had no desire to rekindle it.

With Tommy still hovering by the sweet table, practically inhaling the entire table every time he took a breath, I scanned the room in search of Doctor Ealing. He was stood at the far side of the room with the twins, trying to stop them from removing the decorations from the tree and eating the popcorn. I didn't blame them; it did look rather nice.

I crossed the room to join them, the twins smiling up at me and Charlotte examining the embroidery on my dress sleeve. She traced the stitches with her fingers and then did the same with the beadwork on her own dress, following the pattern on the bodice. Charlotte seemed completely fascinated by the design on both my dress and her own. Small children were strange.

"Can I have a word?" I said to Doctor Ealing. He looked at me and then to the twins.

"Yes, of course." He turned to the twins. "Why don't you two go and see Mr Greyson at the piano?"

Charlotte gasped. "Yes! Maybe he'll let me play" She grabbed hold of Zachariah's hand and dragged him over to the piano where Christopher continued to play.

"Now, what is it you want to talk about? If it's Elizabeth, then I am so sorry she turned up this evening. I didn't think she would show up."

"It's not about that, and I wouldn't blame you for what she did anyway. It's actually about your offer, to train me as a nurse."

"Oh yes? Have you come to a decision?"

"I have. I'd like to accept the offer. If you'll have me that is."

Doctor Ealing smiled; he took a sip of his drink. "Of course, we'll have you. I'm glad you have decided to accept the position, especially after your actions the other day. You showed true courage in what was a terrible situation." He paused. "You'll be pleased to know that Arthur kept his arm and is healing well, although there may be some lameness in his leg."

"I'm glad it wasn't more serious."

"All thanks to you. I will look into getting you to visit the office more often so we can plan how your training will take place. We will start after Christmas."

I nodded just as the twins came stumbling back over giggling to each other. Zachariah had chocolate smeared across his face and specks of chocolate on his shirt. Doctor Ealing took one look at him and sighed, placing his drink on the table and shooing them from the room and probably down to the kitchen to clean them both up. With them gone, I looked around the room. Christopher continued to play the piano, James and Kitty moved amongst people and tried to avoid Aunt Molly. Robert was nowhere to be found.

When we had returned to the house after the confrontation with Mrs Ealing, Robert had disappeared into the crowd and now it seemed as though he had disappeared completely. I didn't blame him. The altercation with his mother most likely shook him up a little more than he would ever admit to anyone. Robert had a tendency to keep his emotions inside, much like I did, but it never did either of us any good, he had taught me as much. I needed to find him, but that seemed like a rather difficult task.

After telling Lucy what I was up to, just in case James happened to ask questions, I ventured out into the hallway and upstairs. I moved from room to room, checking each of them in case Robert had chosen one to hide in. I even checked my art room, even though the door was still locked and the key still on the doorframe. Robert was nowhere to be found. I even ventured up to the attic to see if he had hidden up there, but it was empty.

I returned to the ground floor, chewing on the inside of my cheek in an attempt to figure out where Robert may have gone. It was far too cold to be outside and his coat still hung in the entranceway. Mrs Baker lingered around the kitchen and he didn't know her well enough hide out there with her. There was nowhere else to be, unless he had decided to go outside after all, even without his coat. Still, it was the only place I hadn't checked, and the most likely of the last few places to check.

Before I could head outside to continue my search, the front door opened and in walked, Esther, Miss Jenkins and Samuel. All of them looked a tad sheepish and I noticed how Samuel kept himself to the shadows even though there was no one in the hallway. Esther spotted me at the bottom of the stairs and smiled. She wore a plain, pale blue dress that had been mended multiple times and was the only outfit she had for church.

"Rosie! Don't you look pretty in that dress, the handiwork of your brother?" Miss Jenkins asked, removing her coat and hanging it onto the mass of coats. The dress underneath was a shocking red colour that would have offended my grandmother had she seen it.

"Yes, he only finished it the other day," I said.

"He does some fine work. Perhaps he can make a new Sunday dress for you, Esther. Yours is looking a little tired."

Ester rolled her eyes. "Perhaps."

"Now, I need a drink." Miss Jenkins rubbed her hands together and disappeared into the living room in search of a drink. She seemed a lot more comfortable than either Samuel or Esther.

"Sorry we're late, we had some last-minute work to do. Doctor Ealing has moved all of us to Lady Thatcher's house. Sarah stayed behind; she didn't want to intrude."

"She should have come."

"It was her choice. I tried to convince her to come, but she wouldn't have a bar of it. I told her I would bring her back something."

"You should get in their then, the twins and Tommy have been making their way through the sweet table all evening."

"I suppose I should." She laughed.

Without another word, Esther slipped into the living room and made her way through the crowd and to the sweet table where she took a napkin, placed some of the shortbread biscuits on it and then tucked it into her pocket. Whether or not it would survive the party would remain a mystery until she got it back to the house. I turned to look at Samuel, noting the patches on his suit jacket and trousers. Had Mrs Ealing seen him, she would have sent him away – not that he would have been invited to anything by her.

He continued to lurk in the shadows and as close to the doorway as he could probably get, most likely eyeing up an escape route in case he needed one. Despite all my chance meetings with the Ealing's and even going to the Ealing house for supper, I had yet to see him since he took me back to London a month ago.

"You don't have to hide," I said.

"Most people wouldn't want me here, I'm better off in the shadows," he said.

"Technically, this is my party and I want you here. Everyone else will just have to accept that." I shrugged.

"Will they? Accept it?"

"They're going to have to, my brother wants to meet you and I doubt he will do so in the hallway."

I offered Samuel my hand and he tentatively accepted, letting me drag him from the hall and into the living room. A few people turned to stare, but I ignored them. Regardless of how they may have felt, it was my party and I was the one who decided who attended. I want Samuel there after everything he had for me and everyone else would have to get used to it. Even if they didn't want to. There were a few mutters among the crowd, but I ignored them and even ignored Aunt Molly's look of disgust when we passed her. Her opinion didn't matter.

James stood near the piano, talking to Christopher in a hushed voice over the music from the piano. He looked at me and smiled when Samuel and I approached, his face becoming unreadable when he noticed Samuel before returning back to the way it had been only seconds before. I had already warned James of the likelihood someone might not be happy with my decision to invite Samuel, but even James seemed a little unsure of the whole thing. I didn't quite understand what the issue was with Samuel, why everyone looked down on him the way they did. Esther had tried to explain it to me, that it had something to do with the colour of his skin, but I didn't understand why that would be an issue.

I never quite understood why people were obsessed with seeing the differences in each other rather than the similarities. It seemed to me that that was often the cause of turmoil amongst people.

"You look like you're up to something," James said, furrowing his eyebrows at me.

"I'm not, I promise."

"Why do I have a hard time believing you?"

"Because you're determined to see the worst in me." He laughed. "Anyway, this is Samuel."

"The man himself. I owe you a word of thanks for what you did to help Rosie, had you not offered to take her away from that place, she would most likely still be there."

"I did what I thought was right, sir," Samuel said quietly.

"Regardless, I am your debt."

He held out his hand for Samuel to shake and I found myself resisting the urge to roll my eyes at how dramatic he seemed. Had Samuel not taken me away, I probably would have been given my third infraction and been asked to leave their service within a matter of days. There was no need for him to act as though Samuel had removed me from an extremely dangerous situation. Perhaps he saw it that way, but I didn't. Maybe that was because I had grown used to it, or maybe I just didn't think Mrs Ealing capable of anything similar to the foreman.

I left them to talk, moving back through the people to continue my search for Robert. Since I had stopped to speak to Esther, Miss Jenkins and Samuel he hadn't re-emerged from wherever he had chosen to hide since Mrs Ealing left. My assumption he had been in the garden had been more or less confirmed since he would have had to pass me to make it anywhere else in the house. The only place he could hide and not be easily discovered was the garden.

With James distracted, I slipped through the crowd and back out into the hallway. I walked down the hall, down the steps to the kitchen and out of the backdoor before Mrs Baker even noticed I was in the kitchen. Outside, the wind was bitter, and I wished I had taken my coat the moment I had stepped through the door. How Robert could have stood being outside without one for as long as he had surprised me, but he could be stubborn when he wanted to be and not wearing a coat in the middle of winter was stubborn.

Robert stood in the middle of frost-covered grass. He stared up at the partial completely treehouse and he barely seemed to notice me as I crept up behind him. The grass crunched underfoot, and dark clouds loomed in the sky. I hoped it wasn't about to rain with the two of us standing out here. James wouldn't be too happy if I ruined my dress.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked him. He jumped slightly and turned around to face me.

"How did you find me?"

"I know you. That and I searched every room in the house, this was the last place to check." I shrugged.

"Right."

"Are you alright?"

He sighed. "I knew Mother was awful, she's always been that way, but I suppose I never wanted to see it as the truth. Turning up here the way she did, the way she behaved towards you and how little she cares about the twins confirmed what I have refused to believe for as long as I have. Those things you said today? You were right to say them regardless of what she thought. I just wish I could have done the same thing."

"You still stood up to her, even if it wasn't in the way you wanted it to be. Besides, there are other, smaller ways of proving her wrong just in the way that you act or behave. The best thing you can do to stand up to her and prove her wrong is to become everything she doesn't want you to. Prove to her that she doesn't control your life and she never will. That's the best way to stand up to her. Words can only go so far but your actions can tell her so much more than that."

"I suppose you're right."

"I am right."

"Let's not talk about Mother anymore. She's done enough to ruin your party already."

"We can do that." I paused. "I accepted the offer. To train as a nurse, I mean."

"What made you change your mind?"

"I want to help people. I think this is the best way to do it. It's strange. For years, I was just a factory girl, and then for that brief period of time, I was a serving girl. I don't know if this will give another title, but I'm just happy being plain old Rosie Grey for once. I'm sort of hoping that Rosie Grey can be someone more than all of them."

"I'm sure she will be. You can help people in other ways too. Maybe a charity that helps people in situations similar to the one you were in."

"Perhaps."

"If you do decide to do something more, Father and I will help." He paused. "I actually have something for you. Consider it a birthday and Christmas gift."

From his pocket, Robert produced a small box. The size of the box was not that much different from the one his cufflinks came in, but I knew that he wouldn't have bought me cufflinks; I wouldn't have a shirt for them. I furrowed my eyebrows at him and opened the box, my eyes drawn to the small broach inside. It was shaped like a butterfly with green jewels down the centre and for the eyes.

"It's beautiful," I said.

"I thought it matched your dress."

"I have something for you as well, a Christmas present."

"You didn't have to."

"I wanted to. I owe you everything, Robert. If you hadn't stopped to help me, who knows where I would have ended up. You were the only person willing to help me and since then you have done more for me then you will ever know. This doesn't even come close to all the things you've done for me. I'll never be able to repay all of that."

He looked at me and smiled slightly. I reached into my dress pocket and pulled out the small box that contained the cufflinks and handed it to him. Robert took the box and slowly opened it, his face lighting up at the site of the cufflinks. He had one dimple on his left cheek that always appeared when he was happy and a little gleam in his eye. I watched him tuck the box under his chin and work to remove the cufflinks he was already wearing, swapping them with the one's in the box and tucking the box into his pocket.

Neither of us said anything.

A small fleck of snow drifted from the sky, I opened my hand and caught it on my palm. It melted almost immediately but soon more were falling until a light flurry of snow started to cascade down. I laughed to myself, tucking the box with the broach into my pocket and holding my arms out in the night-time air. All month I had been wishing for snow, just hoping that it would arrive in time for my birthday and my wish had finally come true.

I looked at Robert, noticing how he was looking at me with that slight smile, dimple and all.

The snow continued to fall.

Robert took a small step forward so that we were really close to one another. He grabbed my hand.

Snow fell all around us.

At the moment, it was just us in the snow. Nothing else seemed to matter.

Robert leaned in and kissed me.

~~~

A/N - And that is it! TAG is over! I've been looking forward to seeing the reactions to this chapter since I wrote it and I so hope you enjoyed the book and the series!

Details for the third book will be released soon, I'm still waiting on the cover. I'll put up the 'The End' chapter tomorrow so make sure you check back in!

Thoughts on the book and the ending?

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to all of you lovely people!

First Published - September 8th, 2020