I followed James through the crowd and out into the hallway, turning back to see Kitty rounding up the twins and Sebastian and taking them down to the kitchen. No one wanted the twins to be anywhere near another confrontation with their mother, they were still struggling after the last one. Once they were out of earshot, James and Doctor Ealing exchanged glances with neither of them looking too pleased with the current predicament. Everyone wanted a peaceful night but with Mrs Ealing, that would never be possible.

James opened the front door, my eyes instantly drawn to the carriage outside. No one had stepped out of the carriage but one look at it told us all we needed to know, and we all knew it was only going to end badly. The group of us ready to confront Mrs Ealing – myself, Robert, James and Doctor Ealing – stepped out into the street and closed the door behind us to keep from disturbing everyone else. I sort of hoped other people would watch through the window. Mrs Ealing's image was too important for her to act out in front of other people.

Mrs Ealing descended from the carriage two minutes later, Matilda close at her heels and both of them looking as though they had come for a fight. Beside me I felt Robert tense slightly, my hand seeking out his behind his back which I gave a reassuring squeeze. No one should fear their own parent but after all of the recent altercations, I had a feeling that Robert and the twins were all heading in that general direction.

Robert turned to me and smiled slightly, but it was almost unnoticeable and there was a trace of fear in his eyes. Part of me wanted him to go back into the house and down to the kitchen with the twins, but he would never do that. He still thought of himself responsible for his mother's actions. After all, he had been the one to stop and help me that day on the street and it had been that simple action that put us in the situation we were in.

"What are you doing here, Elizabeth? You were told to stay away," Doctor Ealing said.

"I am here for my children and I won't leave without them," she said.

"We've discussed this, on more than one occasion. You are not in the right state of mind to take care of the twins and they're both struggling after the incident in Mr Greyson's shop a few weeks ago and the fight we had the other day. They need to be in a stable environment and that isn't with you and Matilda."

"What do you know about raising children, Albert? You have been off working for a good portion of their lives and the only one you seem to care about is Robert purely because he is to follow in your footsteps. Our other children were merely an inconvenience to you, including Zachariah who should be following you into the medical profession. Why should you suddenly show an interest in them and their lives when you focused more on a servant than on either of our two girls?"

"I seem to recall you telling me that raising Charlotte and Matilda was to be your duty and not mine. However, recent events have proven just how effective your parenting really is. You have turned Matilda into a spiteful and violent young lady whose mood can change at the drop of a hat and I will not allow you to do the same to Charlotte. Until you and Matilda can figure out a way to co-exist with Rosie without feeling the need to ger violent, they will be staying with me. You are free to remain in the house or you may move in with your sister and allow the children and me to return to the house. It is your choice."

"And what will people say of the two of us living apart? People will talk!"

"Perhaps, but in this instance, I believe it is for the best. You must change your attitude if we are to reconcile. Matilda as well. This environment is not healthy for anyone, especially the twins."

"So, you take her side? The side of a girl who is the cause of all our troubles? Who has somehow manipulated everyone around her including you and my seemingly intelligent sister? I thought you were smarter than that, Albert."

Mrs Ealing took a step forward and instinctively I took a step back. I had followed James and others outside just to see what sort of excuses Mrs Ealing came up with, but every fibre of my being was telling me to run back into the house, close the door and join Kitty in the kitchen. Both her and Matilda had struck me in the past and I knew they would do it again regardless of whether there were people nearby to witness it. Even with so many people around, I had a feeling they were itching to do something.

I could hear the piano music through the open window, the sound becoming somewhat soothing against the backdrop of the arguing between Doctor and Mrs Ealing. Behind me, James shifted his weight and placed his hand on the small of my back, no doubt noticing that I was more than willing to make a run for it if the situation changed. Before we had even left the house, I knew she was going to drag me into the equation. According to her, everything had been my fault anyway.

From the carriage, Matilda slowly descended the steps, brushing off the dress and standing beside her mother with her hands clasped in front of her. She stared at me, seemingly not blinking for several minutes. They had come as a united front against me, even if they used the excuse of wanting to discuss the twins and who they were staying with. This had been about me and she could spin it however she wanted. They both had a score to settle after the way I had spoken to them both after the ball and when they turned up at the house.

"This is between the two of us, Elizabeth. There is no need to bring Rosie into it, or anyone else for that matter." Doctor Ealing looked at me and I saw the slight nod of his head.

"That is where you are wrong. This has never been about just us and you know that as well as I do. Our lives were perfectly ordinary before you and Robert decided to become good Samaritans and invite a street child into our house. Not only that, but she lied to our faces for almost two weeks and caused the break-up of a potential union between Matilda and Alexander Warrington. All of this started because she was invited into our home."

"Rosie didn't do anything; it was all because of you. You're the one who physically assaulted her and gave her an infraction for saving your son's life. You caused all of this, no one else," Robert said. His voice was low, and his fists were clenched by his side.

"This doesn't concern you," Matilda snapped.

Her head darted up from the ground a flash of hatred crossed her eyes for all but a brief moment. Matilda had never been shy of showing her true colours, she had done so on countless occasions, but she was selective about when she showed it. For the six months, I had faced the threat of dismissal from Mrs Ealing, she had been somewhat nice, offering to write down Isabel's list and trying to defend me against her mother. That had changed the moment I had been mean to Robert, but even that wasn't the full story.

She had used my somewhat brash comments towards Robert as an excuse. Matilda knew that Mrs Ealing was less than happy with how close Robert and I had become, and her attitude had changed drastically. All those months she had needed an excuse to return to her old ways, the way she had behaved when I had first arrived, that opportunity had appeared, and she never looked back. Mother always said to never trust someone whose mood changed as quickly as Matilda's did.

It had taken me a while to remember that, but I was glad I had. I didn't want to know what Matilda would have done if I had continued to trust her.

"Robert's right. I offered her the position so any anger you may have should be directed towards me. Not Robert and certainly not Rosie. The arrangements with the Warrington's broke down upon the discovery that they were engaged in illegal activity and gained their wealth through the mistreatment of children which led to deaths. She played no part in that. The only people who are guilty are them."

"If she had never come into our lives the arrangement would have gone ahead."

"And then when his wrongdoings came out, the image you were determined to create would have been shattered. People would suspect that we had something to do with the factory and all of your hard work would have vanished in the blink of an eye. So, either the arrangement failed to go ahead or we became the villains."

"That is hardly the point."

"What is the point, Elizabeth? I'm struggling to find one. You said you want the twins back but have made no case as to why you should and instead have spent the entire time ranting and raving about Rosie's actions. It hardly seems like a reason for the twins to live with you."

I didn't think Mrs Ealing would be able to come back from that comment. She may have said her intention for turning up was to fight to get the twins back, but she showed no sign of missing them. Her tirade of hatred against me had overtaken her supposed reasoning for showing up at the party, but I doubted her original story was the truth. Had she really arrived to take the twins back, that would have been her focus. Instead, she felt the need to blame every little thing that had happened on me without mentioning the twins since her first arrival.

Something told me her plan was more to get back at me then to get the twins, they were just an excuse and it certainly forced her to show her true colours.

"Do you not find it strange that the girl who has been the cause of our problems over the past few months refuses to say a word in her own defence? Instead, she has you and Robert jumping to defend up, further proving my point that she has manipulated the pair of you. I will not allow her to do the same thing to the twins."

"Leave her out of this," James growled from behind me.

"Touched a nerve?" Mrs Ealing seemed to smirk a little.

James pressed a hand against the small of my back, almost trying to steer me back into the house before something bad happened. Even though every part of me told me to leave, that it would be safer and easier if I returned to the house and got out of the way from whatever Mrs Ealing had planned. Still, I felt as though I had to face up to whatever she tried to throw at me, to take a stand for once in my life and not fall into old patterns.

I had allowed the foreman to do whatever he pleased out of fear for what he would do, and I was not going to allow Mrs Ealing to run my life the same way. They weren't so different the two of them, the difference would have to be me and how I dealt with her attitude and treatment towards me.

My comments towards Mrs Ealing a few weeks before had been a trial run. I needed to start standing up for myself.

"Rosie, you should go inside," James said.

"Yes, do what you do best and leave," Matilda sneered. I rolled my eyes.

"No. I'm staying."

"Rosie-"

"I've run away far too many times; I'm not doing it again."

"This should be better than a trip to the theatre," Matilda muttered. I ignored her.

"I've spent half of my life around people like you. First, my own father who was so wrapped up in his own grief that he sold me to a factory without a second thought, even though I was only seven and had no idea how to take care of myself. Then, the foreman. A man who would use any excuse he could create to get back at me and anyone else he didn't like. He didn't have to have a reason, he just did it. The Warrington's fall into that category as well. And then there's you. Both of you. Two people who are so wrapped up in themselves that they don't see the damage they are doing to other people.

"Except that seems to be a common trend. My father was wrapped up in grief, the foreman wrapped up in his obsession with earning money and the Warrington's who were wrapped up in protecting themselves. Each one failed to see just how their actions could hurt not only those who were a target of their hatred but everyone around them. By getting rid of me, Father affected my brothers. The foreman traumatised hundreds of children, Gregory Warrington warped his son's mind as you have with Matilda and you have terrified the twins and Robert all for your own gain."

"I don't have to listen to this," Mrs Ealing scoffed.

"I'm not finished."

Mrs Ealing looked shocked.

"There will always be people like you in the world, you're not special despite what you may think. However, there will always be those who see through the façade and see the truth within. There will be more people willing to stand up and fight back then people willing to defend the actions of someone who hurts everyone they possibly can. You can go on about me and what I may have done all you want, but the fact is the only one at fault here is you and it always has been. You are the reason the twins are scared of you. You are the reason your own husband has decided it is better for you to be apart.

"The only person you have to blame for what has happened is yourself. You are no better than the foreman, whose actions led to the deaths of countless children including my best friend. I sat back and let fear consume me when it came to the foreman, but I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm done being the target of your abuse. Maybe it's time you find a new hobby because this one doesn't appear to be working out."

I took a breath and stared at Mrs Ealing, not breaking eye contact and refusing to let her try to intimidate me again. My refusal to stand up to the foreman had been the cause of Isabel's death and I certainly wasn't going to allow Mrs Ealing to treat someone else the way she had treated me. That behaviour shouldn't go unpunished. James moved his hand from the small of my back to my shoulder and squeezed it lightly. Robert, who was still holding onto my hand from earlier did the same.

Mrs Ealing looked at me and narrowed her eyes, but she said nothing. She seemed a little stunned by my outburst and attitude towards, but I was past the point of caring. I was past the point of allowing her to walk all over me, of allowing everyone to treat me like a doormat simply because I had come from the factory. No one should feel they have the right to look down on someone else because of where they came from, because of the life they have lived. That's not right, it never has been. It just took me a while to realise it.

"My sister has said all she has needed to say. Either you leave, or I will get the constable, and everyone can see you being escorted from my property.

Without saying another word, Mrs Ealing spun on her heel and walked up the steps to the carriage, disappearing inside. Matilda looked less than impressed at the thought of retreating, but she followed her mother and it didn't take long before the carriage pulled away from the pavement and disappeared into the night. It wasn't until the carriage was out of sight that I felt all of the pressure and weight lift off my shoulders. I expected that would be the last we saw of her, or I was just being optimistic.

"Are you alright?" James asked.

"Yes. I think I needed to get that off my chest," I said.

"You're quite intimidating sometimes. You know that don't you?"

"It's been said before."

"I'm terribly sorry about that, I didn't think she would show her face here," Doctor Ealing said. He looked a little pale, but I didn't blame him.

"You don't need to apologise; her actions are hers alone. Besides, I think it was a little cathartic for someone." James smiled at me.

"I'm cold, can we go back in now?" I asked.

"Yes. I need to tell Matthew and Christopher about what just happened and get the twins up from the kitchen before they break something," he said.

James herded me back into the house with Robert and Doctor Ealing trailing behind. For the first time since we had stepped outside, Robert had let go of my hand and I felt somewhat empty without it there. Had he not been there, I doubt I would have been able to say half the things I said to Mrs Ealing and I probably would have not said a thing and allowed her to continue with her tirade of abuse.

The cufflinks in my dress pocket felt heavy, as though telling me they were there, and time seemed to be running out to give them to him. It felt a little strange to be giving him something immediately after the altercation with his mother, but if I didn't do it when I had the chance, I'd never do it. The altercation with Mrs Ealing had given me the surge of energy I needed to give Robert the cufflinks.

I just needed to get him alone.

~~~

A/N - The second to last Chapter is here! Just one more to go and then the main series is over! I'm on Chapter Two for the prequel, still no word on the cover yet, but I'll let you know. The prequel is a little different style wise with shorter chapters!

What did you guys think of the second to last chapter? Rosie standing up for herself is always a win!

Predictions for the final chapter? 

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to blue_diamond0123 who has been reading and voting on TFG recently! Your comments and support mean a lot!

First Published - September 1st, 2020