Robert and I returned to our separate rooms as the sun came up so James wouldn't know we spent the night sitting in the art room. He was apprehensive enough about Robert and I getting too close to one another. He had been tense when he saw we had been holding hands, if he found out we were in the same room to each other at night then I would be in big trouble. James may have been willing to allow Robert to spend the night, but he most likely had reservation about that as well, regardless of what he said.

He didn't seem to suspect anything wrong when he woke us the next morning, though he did give me an odd look for finding me in my room rather than curled up in my usual spot in the art room. I had decided to go back to my room but spent the rest of the morning sat on the chair in my room and watching the sun come up over London. It had been one of my favourite things to do at the factory as a reminder that life went on beyond our walls. I enjoyed the ritual; it had been the only time I had to myself.

After James had poked his head around the door, I changed out of my nightdress and attempted to run a brush through my hair. When that didn't work, I simply plaited it down my back and tied it with a ribbon I had taken from James' shop. I grabbed a shawl from my dresser and wrapped it around my shoulders before leaving the room and heading downstairs.

Everyone else had already emerged from their rooms so I joined them at the dining room table. I grabbed a piece of toast from the wrack and tore into it whilst James poured some orange juice in a glass and pushed it towards me. I took a sip and returned to my toast, devouring the rest of it in almost one bite.

"Your father said he would collect you from the shop when he goes home from the office later this evening. You'll be spending the day with us and I'm sure we can find you something to do," James said.

"Or he can spend the day in the ally with me, it'll get us both out of your hair for the day and chalk drawing is a lot more fun than paperwork or putting things on shelves," I suggested. James glared at me. "What?"

"Nothing," he said.

It had to have been something, but he would never voice his thoughts with Robert so close by. Just presenting the idea of Robert and I spending time together turned James' vision red. If he had his way, I would never come into contact with Robert again. Lucky for me, he didn't get a say in whether or not I spoke to him, but I don't doubt he wished things went back to how they had been a week ago, when we had both ignored each other.

"I should go, I have a meeting with a client this morning," Christopher said.

"See you this evening."

"Or sooner, I don't know how long this meeting will go on for."

Christopher shoved a piece of toast into his mouth, grabbed his suit jack off the back of his chair. He picked his briefcase off the floor and left the room, calling a hastily goodbye as he went. James glanced up from the table to the clock on the mantel.

"If you are taking your chalk with you, you need to go and get it Rosie. We need to leave soon," he said.

"Alright." I brushed the crumbs off my hands and onto the table.

Robert looked at me from across the table, a sign of alarm crossing his face at the prospect of being left at the dining room table with James and Kitty. It would be impossible to miss any of the looks James had been giving him since the previous day and I doubt even Kitty could stop James from being confrontational towards Robert. Still, I didn't intend on being gone for too long so the likelihood of anything erupting during my absence were slim.

I pushed my chair back across the floor and left the room. The dining room remained silent as I made my way up the stairs and towards the art room. I moved as quietly as possible to catch anything that might be said in the other room, but it stayed still and quiet. Perhaps James didn't intend on saying anything after all. Still keeping my ears open, I unlocked the art room door and slipped inside, grabbing my tin of chalk from the side table. The dining room appeared to stay silent as I left the art room, locked the door and headed back downstairs with the tin under my arm.

The others had moved from the dining room to the hallway and James threw my coat at me as I climbed the last few stairs. I shoved my tin into his stomach in retaliation before slipping the coat on and taking the tin back. James put his own coat on before gesturing Robert and I through the door and out onto the street. Kitty locked the door behind her before the four of us set off down the street to the shop.

James walked ahead of us and seemed to be looking at everyone who passed us, quite possibly expecting something to happen as we went. People were known to gossip about most things and he most likely expected them to stop and stare when they saw Robert with us. The mere idea of a young man staying over night in the same house as a young lady, especially if they weren't related, would have caused most people to stare and ask questions. Aunt Molly would have been appalled if she found out. She never would.

We arrived at the shop without having to deal with anyone asking questions about Robert being with us. Upon arrival, James put the shop to rights after not being in the previous day before declaring the shop open by turning the wooden block with the word 'open' on it. Within seconds of the sign being turned, people looking for repairs to suit jackets for the Christmas season and adjustments made to previously ordered garments came rushing in.

Even without James agreeing, Robert and I disappeared into the alleyway out the back with the chalk for something to do.

"Is it usually that busy?" Robert asked as we stepped out of the warmth of the shop and back into the bitter cold air of the outside.

"It depends. There have only been a few days when it has been really busy since I started coming. Today is probably the busiest, although it makes sense since Christmas is so close."

"What's the plan for this morning?" He looked at the box of chalk.

"Drawing."

"Anything in particular?"

"Anything you want. It will get washed away eventually and no one comes out here that often."

"I'm not very good at drawing. My horses look like fat, misshapen cows."

I laughed.

"It doesn't matter. No one else is going to see it."

"You will."

"So?"

I gave him a pointed look and Robert shrugged as though not wanting to take the discussion any further. Not wanting to push the matter any further, I placed the metal tin on the floor and grabbed a stick of chalk from inside. Robert watched as I settled myself onto the cold stone and started to draw, not really knowing what I would end up drawing but glad to have something to do that didn't involve staring at the same four walls all day.

After a few minutes, Robert took his own piece of chalk and joined me on the floor. He chose one of the paving stones closest to the wall and leaned over it to block what he was drawing from sight. I found it funny seeing him behave so cautions around his drawing when he had never been all that shy about anything in his life. Robert often said things that most people wouldn't dare and never cared about making a fool of himself in front of others. Yet he refused to let me see his drawing.

I suppose there are some things that should remain hidden.

We spent what felt like several hours sitting on the cold stone with the strong wind wiping around us doing nothing but drawing with a stick of chalk. Robert seemed to grow restless as time went on and I knew drawing wasn't something he enjoyed, at least as much as I did. Despite that, he stuck with it and didn't complain once. At least not outwardly. He still refused to let me see it and kept it hidden from view.

"Can you come inside for a minuet? There is someone here who wants to speak to you," James said, appearing in the doorway.

"Who?" I asked.

"Both of you."

James and I exclaimed looks, but we both dropped our chalk back into the tin and I closed the lid so it wouldn't get wet if the clouds that loomed above us burst. I brushed my hands together to try and get rid of the chalk dust, but it didn't seem to shift. I followed James back into the narrow room and into the main room of the shop where Kitty lingered off to the side. Unlike earlier that morning, the shop was almost empty with only two people standing near the doorway looking around. I didn't know who it was until Robert spoke.

"Aunt Sybil?"

"Ah, Robert! How lovely to see you again!" Lady Thatcher, Mrs Ealing's far nicer sister, crossed the room to Robert who had stepped out behind me. She held his face between her hands and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"What are you doing here?" Robert asked, looking extremely embarrassed.

"George and I have decided to spend the rest of December in our London home, to be closer to family during the holiday season. We stopped by your family home this morning, only to be told you weren't there after a disagreement your mother summarised as-" she paused "-what was it again dear?"

"A mental affliction caused by an exposure to someone with a tendency for manipulation," the man in the back corner said.

"Thank you, George."

"Charming," I muttered and beside me James snorted.

Mrs Ealing had been known for her rather creative descriptions of people, I had once overheard her refer to someone as a cretin, but I didn't think this to be one of her best. I expect she had spent most of the night trying to come up with an insult that suited the current situation and decided that blaming me for Robert's outburst would be her best option. She just couldn't accept that Robert may have spoken out on his own and that I had nothing to do with it.

She hated the idea of her children turning against her, but she had done that on her own and I had nothing to do with it. Although my appearance in her household may have caused Robert's dislike for his mother, it had been her actions that led to it. Had she just kept her distance Robert never would have spoken to her that way. I may not have said it out loud, but she deserved the talking to.

"Of course, I know far more than my sister, but I wanted the truth from you seeing as she refused to give it to me and decided that a vague answer would do."

"I yelled at her, I said she was horrific about how she treated Rosie and had no right telling me who I could or couldn't talk to. Rosie had nothing to do with it, it was all me."

"I thought as much. Where she got the notion of manipulation is beyond me and I don't intend to ask where she got the idea from in the first place. This entire situation is beyond ridiculous and I don't blame you for what you said, from what I have been told she probably deserved it." She paused. "Oh, goodness me, where are my manners? I'm Lady Sybil Thatcher, Robert's Aunt, and this is my husband, Lord George Thatcher."

"James Greyson."

"Ah, Miss Grey's older brother. Yes, I can see the resemblance." She turned to me. "Miss Grey, it is wonderful to see you again. Might I say that you look far more comfortable out of servants clothing then you did in it."

"Thank you, Lady Thatcher."

"It is still Grey, isn't it? Or do you go by Greyson now you are back with your brother?"

"Grey is fine. I'm more used to it then I am Greyson."

"Very well."

Lady Thatcher glanced around the room, her eyes seeming to scan every single shelf as though looking for something that wasn't there. Lord Thatcher continued to linger by the door as though wanting to make a rather hasty exit. From my experience, men never wanted to get that involved in the conflict of others especially if it was what my father used to call 'woman's business'. Were we discussing the economy or the importants of trimming one's beard then we would have had his full attention.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched James as he awkwardly corrected his jacket and picked a single piece of thread off his jacket and dropped it to the floor. I had never seen him so nervous before, but I expect the arrival of a Lady to his shop was more than he ever expected. James was used to ordinary people coming through the door, those of a class similar to our own. A Lady seemed like an impossibility and he didn't quite know how he should respond to such an unusual situation.

After a few moments of looking around the shop and staring at the collection of fabric we had on the walls, Lady Thatcher glanced back towards the sofa that sat in the middle of the room. She backed up slowly and took a seat, settling herself against the cushions and looking as though she planned on staying for a while, though I couldn't imagine why. I never thought a Lady would want to spend too long in a tailor's when she could go to the finest dress makers in the country.

James sure seemed rather uncertain with it all.

"I take it you will be returning home this evening?" Lady Thatcher asked, turning her attention back to Robert.

"Yes, Father is coming to get me when he has finished at the office."

"Perhaps I should visit this evening then, check everything is in order and that none of you have killed each other."

"I'd be grateful for the support; I doubt Mother is even going to look at me when I arrive home. In fact, I doubt she'll look at me again."

"She will. If I have anything to do with it. My sister certainly needs a good talking to at the moment. The holidays are about family and she should be remembered of that rather than trying to stir up trouble."

"Good luck telling her that," he mumbled. Lady Thatcher pulled a face but said nothing, though it looked as though she agreed.

When Esther first told me of Lady Thatcher, I thought she would be the same as her sister; just as cold and vicious. Yet she seemed nicer, down to earth in a way Mrs Ealing never was and I was grateful for that difference. With any luck she would be able to talk Mrs Ealing out of the mood she had been stuck in ever since she found out about my life at the factory.

The office fell into silence and James continued to fiddle around with both his clothing and whatever happened to be in reach. I must admit that it was rather fun seeing him fuss around with everything as though wanting it to be perfect. Even if I had only met Lady Thatcher once in my life, she never seemed like the type to worry if something wasn't perfect or up to standard. She had wanted me to serve her at the table despite the burn and even went as far as to say it added character.

Not the reaction I expected, especially as her sister hated the sight of it; as did I.

Across the office the silence continued to settle, and it showed no sign of shifting, though I wished it would. After a few minutes more, the silence was broken by the ringing of the bell and high-pitched giggling. I glanced up from watching James awkwardly try to correct everything around him to see Suzanna, Lucy and the boys stumble into the room laughing over something that I doubted was as funny as they made it out to be.

"Are we interrupting something? We can leave," Suzanna said after noticing Lady Thatcher and Robert.

"Not at all, I wouldn't want to interrupt you on what is clearly an exciting occasion," Lady Thatcher said."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Go on, tell her." Suzanna shoved Lucy in the back.

"Mathias proposed!" Lucy shrieked. She showed me her hand and the simple metal band that had been placed on it.

"When?"

"Just now, in the park!"

"I'm so happy for you!" I rushed over to join them, pulling Lucy into a hug and holding onto her shoulders. "Not that we didn't see it coming, though. You two have been fawning over each other since you met."

"Oi!" She slapped me lightly on the arm.

"Excuse me, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how do you all know each other?" Lady Thatcher asked.

"They were my friends at the factory."

"And you still keep in touch? Well, that is interesting." She paused. "Allow me to offer my congratulations to you both, I am glad you found happiness in such a dark place. How do you intend to celebrate?"

"We don't plan on it," Lucy said, exchanging glances with me.

"Well, we can't have that! Perhaps I can help. George and I are hosting a ball tomorrow at the dance hall, consider this my invitation to attend in order to celebrate your engagement."

"Thank you, but we couldn't possible intrude."

"You will. On my request."

"One problem," Mathias said, "I can't dance."

~~

A/N - I'm so sorry this is so delayed! I forgot it was Tuesday... Anyway, here you go, Chapter Twenty! I just started Chapter Twenty-Five and it is safe to assume that this book has changed direction from the original idea I had xD Oh well!

Do you guys think that going to the ball will be a good thing? What about Mathias and Lucy's engagement?

Comment below!

Dedication - I'll sort this out tomorrow, it's 1am xD

First Published - May 27th, 2020