Christopher emerged from his room about an hour later looking a little worse for wear. Whilst James had dressed before he came downstairs and managed to make himself look somewhat presentable, Christopher hadn't bothered to change out of his bedclothes or tame his hair which stuck out in a whole manner of different directions. The moment he sat down he grabbed the blanket that had been thrown over the sofa and wrapped it around him, pulling it up to his chin. Every slight noise caused him to groan.

"That clock will be going out the window if it doesn't shut up," he muttered from underneath his blanket cocoon. James looked at me and looked as though he wanted to laugh."

"You missed out on all the fun, Matilda Ealing was here," James said.

"I take it you saw her out?"

"Actually, Rosie did. She handled it rather well."

I recounted the story of that afternoon's events with Matilda and very slowly he started to emerge from the cocoon and out into the real world. Although I had thought nothing of my interactions with Matilda, both of them thought it a good thing that I had dealt with her myself rather than let someone else do it. They also seemed rather impressed that I saw through her act rather than believed the shy attitude she had tried to present when she first arrived. Little did they know that I knew Matilda had never been shy in her life.

When I had finished, Christopher had a few choice words for Matilda that I dare not repeat but he seemed a little disappointed that he had missed out on all the fun. Usually, I would have disagreed with them, that something like that should not be considered fun, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little enjoyable. Being employed under the Ealing's meant that I just had to deal with whatever it was that they threw my way, but I finally had more freedom to stand up to them and prove their actions wrong the moment they happened.

My deal with Robert had been the tipping point I needed to finally stand up for myself when someone thought they could push me around. Before, I would have let it happen and had that belief that they were somewhat redeemable and that their actions were to hide behind how they really felt. That viewpoint had done nothing for me. For years I had let the foreman push me around and do whatever he wanted to me and those around me. I refused to let anyone else act that way towards me regardless of who they were.

No adult has the right to inflict pain on a child for their own amusement or to prove a point to the child. That isn't how the world should work. Both Mrs Ealing and Matilda had proved they would do anything as long as it meant getting their own way and if they happened to show their face again, I didn't intend to sit back and let it happen. I had dealt with enough people pushing me around and I didn't intend to let that happen any longer than I had to.

"What are you going to do about their order at the shop?" Christopher asked James, drinking the glass of water Mrs Baker had bought him in one gulp."

"I don't know. That sort of order could give us a lot of money, but I don't want to either of those women anywhere near the shop if I can help it."

"It's the twins I feel bad for, growing up in a house like that."

"The twins are closer to Robert than anyone else, I doubt they even listen to anything either of them says," I added.

"Perhaps not." James looked out the window. "I think we've wasted quite enough of our time on them. How would you like to go and get a Christmas tree, Rosie? I think it's time we got one, or we'll run out of time to decorate it."

"I'll stay here. Too many people outside," Christopher said. He buried himself in the blanket once again and slipped down the sofa until he was half on it and half on the floor.

"Good thing I wasn't asking you then. Go and put your boots on and I'll see if Kitty wants to come. Will you knee be alright?"

"I expect so, I haven't moved in about two hours."

James nodded and gestured me upstairs to find my boots. My knee felt a little stiff after not having been moved from the table for a few hours, but it no longer hurt to stand. I left the living room and climbed the stairs to my own room to hunt for the boots I had kicked off two days ago. My bed and desk were still a mess from that morning but neither of those messes would have affected where my boots were. I dug around the bottom of my wardrobe before stretching out under the bed, finding them shoved against the wall at the back of the bed.

I shuffled back out from under the bed, perched on the edge and put my boots on. They were the same boots that the Ealing's had bought me when I became a permeant member of their household. James had offered to buy me a new pair and send the other one's back, but I wouldn't let him. I liked the boots and they were comfortable. I didn't want to replace them purely because of where they came from, besides, boots were expensive and if they weren't falling apart, they didn't need to be replaced.

After I finished tying my boot laces, I crossed to the dresser and attempted to run a brush through my hair. It did nothing to control it so I dropped the brush back onto the dresser and left the room. Kitty had joined James in the entranceway and the two of them watched me as I jogged down the stairs to join them. I grabbed my coat and scarf off the peg by the door and threw them on before following them both out the door and onto the street.

The air felt colder than it had in weeks and within seconds of stepping outside, my cheeks went numb and I doubt I would have felt someone slap me across the face.

"Looks like you might be getting your snow sooner then you thought," James said. "It's freezing!"

"Finally. I thought we were never going to get snow."

"It might end up being your birthday present," Kitty added.

"It snowed the day you were born; I remember that. Father sent us outside to play so we wouldn't be in the house. It was because of the snow that Mother knew you were a girl."

"I've never heard that story before."

"Are you sure? I swear we told you when you were younger."

"Not that I remember."

"I'll have to ask Matthew; he'd remember better than anyone."

I nodded in agreement and said nothing more on the matter. If they had told me about the snow on the day I had been born, I didn't remember it. There were only flashes of images that remained in my head about life before the factory and that wasn't one of them. The factory had eliminated most of my memories of life before and replaced them with the haunting images that kept me up at night. I hoped that those memories would begin to fade as new ones were formed, but I had my doubts.

Due to the cold weather, the streets were almost bear except for those who didn't have a home to hide from the cold. Those who were on the streets were wrapped up as tight as possible and looked as though they wanted to keep moving to protect themselves from the cold. Carriages trundled along the path, another way to keep people out of the cold, as the three of us moved along the streets. The cold nipped at my fingers and I shoved them into my pocket to keep them from freezing.

James led us through the streets though I had no idea where he was taking us. I hadn't seen a Christmas tree in seven years, and I didn't even know where he would buy one since we were nowhere near a forest or tree line to buy a proper one like the one Queen Victoria had. Where we were going to get one of those in London remained a mystery.

"Where are we going?" I asked after several more minutes of walking.

"There is a man who owns a Christmas tree farm not too far from here, he comes to London to sell them. It's easier than travelling all the way out to get one."

"Oh, right."

"We're almost there and I might see if we can get a carriage back. It'll be better than lugging the thing home."

We walked a little further until I could see several Christmas trees leaning against a wall or heaped onto the back of a horse-drawn cart. A man stood nearby approaching people to ask if they wanted to purchase one of the trees whilst others examined them by running their fingers over the branches of the tree and inspecting every inch of it before they purchased it. Queen Victoria had been the first to have a Christmas tree and everyone wanted theirs to be just as perfect as the Queens.

"See any you like?" James asked as we got closer.

"They're trees."

"Where's your sense of fun?"

"Come on, Rosie, let's have a look and leave James to try and haggle," Kitty said.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to the piles of trees so we could get a closer look. Even from a few meters away, there was a strong smell of pine needles that filled the street, blocking out the smell that usually lingered on London's roads. I ran my fingers along the branches of the trees when we walked past them, they were a little spiky against my fingertips, but I continued to trace my way through the trees as we walked. There were loads of them leaning against the wall and every now and then the man would take another tree from the cart and add it to the wall.

James approached the man and begun to discuss the price of the individual trees even though we hadn't chosen one yet and they were all priced differently. I watched Kitty shake her head slightly as he tried to find a way to lower the price and get one of the decent trees for a cheaper price. He had tried the trick before, but it didn't have a lot of success unless he was at a market looking for a discount on fabric. If he managed to get a discount on the tree, I would have eaten my bootlaces.

Kitty and I looked at the different types of trees until we landed on one that we both thought would be a good fit for the house. The branches were fully and stretched out, there were no gaps in the branches and the top didn't bend like some of the others. We weren't too sure if it would fit in the house without brushing the ceiling, but James or Christopher could trim it if it happened to be too big. The tree was perfect.

"Have you ladies chosen one yet?" James asked.

"I think we like this one," Kitty said.

"Agreed."

"Excellent. I might be able to knock a few pennies off the price." James rubbed his hands together and went off to talk to the seller for a second time.

"We could be here for a while," Kitty said. "He does this at the market, and it can take a long time before he either gives up, or the seller gets sick of him."

"Has he ever been punched?"

"Not yet, but there is always time." She smiled slightly and folded her arms over her chest as she watched James attempt to lower the price.

I turned my attention to the few people that were passing by. Many of them stuck their nose up at those asking for a few extra coins to get them through the next few days or at least through the cold weather period. It reminded me the way people looked at me when I had been kicked out of the factory, how they dismissed me so easily simply because I didn't look the part and needed to beg for coins just so I could eat. People were so quick to judge those who were suffering but they would attend church and say grace before dinner like it meant something.

If it hadn't been Robert's kindness that day, I would probably be one of those people in front of me. One of those shivering and hunting out dropped scraps or rooting through the rotten food being thrown out. He had saved my life in more ways than one and I had never repaid him for that. Instead, I had left the sanctuary he had given me with nothing but two words on a slip of paper.

"Whilst James is trying to get the price down, can I go and look at the shops and market stalls?" I asked Kitty.

"Of course. Take this and buy anything you want, within reason." She placed a few coins into the palm of my hand.

"I know."

"Alright, we'll come and find you when we're done here."

I tucked the coins into my pocket and set off across the road to the line of shops and market stalls that lined the street. There were people selling small trinkets for Christmas trees or gifts, there were posy sellers and those who sold hand-made jewellery. Of course, there were some out to scam or con those naïve enough to fall for it but with the constable lurking nearby, they kept to themselves and the darker corners of the streets.

Some of the vendors approached me when I passed by, but I ignored them in search of something that fitted just what I was after, although I didn't know what that would entail. I knew it had to be special, but I had never purchased a gift for anyone in seven years and especially one that meant a great deal to me. This wasn't something I could talk to James about because I knew he would be less than pleased with me wanting to buy Robert anything. He would have thought I was wasting my money, although it wasn't actually my money.

My eyes scanned every single window and market stall that I passed by in the hopes of finding something that Robert would like. Nothing seemed particularly interesting and I wondered if I would find anything to get him or if I would have to go home empty-handed and that was not something I wanted to do. I continued to look at each stall and shop window until I came to a stall selling an assortment of jewellery ranging from bracelets to cufflinks. I twisted the bracelet Charlotte had given me months before I ran my eyes across every little thing on the stall.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a pair of cufflinks with snakes intertwined across the surface. I had never seen anything like it as James' cufflinks were rather ordinary in their pattern and I knew Robert owned cufflinks, but none like these.

"Ah, somethin' caught your eye, young lady?" the woman behind the stall asked.

"The cufflinks," I said.

"Quite a popular design that one. For someone special?"

"My brother," I lied. There were rules when it came to gift-giving between a man and a woman, regardless of their age. Although Robert had gifted me the toy a few months ago, I doubt he told anyone who it was for.

"A good gift. I'll tell you what, you seem like a sensible girl, so I'll knock the price down for you. How much have you got?" I showed her the coins in my hand. "Beggars can't be choosers. I'll give you the cufflinks for a half-crown and two shillings. Seem fair?"

"I suppose."

"Good."

The woman took the cufflinks off the stand and wrapped them up in some brown paper before handing them over whilst I gave her the money. After the exchange, I only had a few coins left, but I planned on giving them back to Kitty anyway. I tucked the wrapped cufflinks into my pocket and headed back in the direction I had come from to try and find James and Kitty.

They were both still loitering by the Christmas tree farm when I returned but James had stopped haggling the seller and was trying to get a grip in the tree, but it looked as though he was talking to someone as I approached. From the angle, I couldn't see who it was but I slowed my pace, so I didn't interrupt them and instead turned my attention back to stalls. I had no intention of buying anything else but it worked as a distraction until I could no longer put it off and crossed the road to join James and Kitty. James appeared so distracted that I crept up behind him.

"Boo!" I whispered in his ear. He jumped and swung around.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because it was funny."

"Did you get anything?" Kitty asked.

"Yes. Here." I handed her the left-over money.

"I managed to get us a ride home, this tree will be near impossible to lug home and I don't really like the idea of having my arms cut up by the branches."

James gestured to the side where the two people I had seen him having a conversation with stood. Robert and Doctor Ealing stood beside the tree and looked back at me, but they weren't alone.

~~~

A/N - We are back!  Chapter Twenty-Five is here which means we have about ten chapters left before the end! Personally, I'm about to start Chapter Thirty-Three so the end is near...

I'm still debating a potential prequel, purely because I'm not sure if it's right to keep the series going after TAG. I'll let you guys know what I end up deciding. 

Questions! What do you guys think of Rosie's gift?

Comment below.

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to eelliso1 who went through and voted on all three books! It means a lot!

First Published - June 30th, 2020