For the first time in as long as I could remember, luck looked as though it was on my side. Neither Miss Jenkins, nor Robert had any reason to be concerned about the fact that I was a little paler than normal as it amounted to nothing more than a sniffle. I had avoided the Influenza epidemic at the factory, and it didn't look as though getting soaked to the bone was going to cause anything that would lead me to avoid work. Relief was the only thing I felt when Robert told me that there was absolutely nothing wrong with me, even though I was still pale. After dealing with the burn and the bruised wrist, it felt as though I was finally going to get to do some work without any interference.

Although there was nothing wrong with me, Miss Jenkins insisted that I needed to spend more time in the garden and around the grounds of the house to try and get more colour into my cheeks. I didn't mind too much. Most of my life had been spent working in a small, hot room with very little light, I relished the idea of spending time outside. Back in the factory, we used to dream of spending a day in the sun, either working or just relaxing in the courtyard, but it never happened. Those few minutes a day during our break was all we had, and at the time, it was enough. The idea of spending a whole day outside in the sun was the best thing I had heard in a long time.

"You are to do whatever Samuel says whilst you're working in the grounds, Dr Ealing took a fair bit of convincing to allow you this opportunity, so don't do anything to risk it. You will work outside for three full days and if your time here is extended, you will spend one day a week assisting in the garden. Do you understand?" Miss Jenkins said when she returned from Dr Ealing's office.

"Perfectly. This is an opportunity I am not going to mess up," I said, fighting back the smile that threatened to show itself. I wanted Miss Jenkins to know I was serious, I couldn't well do that if I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Good, you've done well so far and your first week is ending. If you keep up the momentum, you're sure to stay here. This is the perfect opportunity for you to show some versatility which will make you look good towards the Ealing's."

"I understand. I'll be careful and do everything that is asked of me when it is asked, I promise."

"Very well, Samuel will be waiting for you outside. From what I know, your first task will be to wash the windows, so nothing too strenuous."

"Let's hope," I joked

"Off you go, I'll ring the bell when it's time for lunch."

Nodding, I slipped Miss Jenkins a warm smile and slipped out of the backdoor, stepping into the pale morning sunlight. Behind the trees, the sun was just starting to rise, turning the sky a light pink that almost looked as though it had been painted. Small, white clouds dotted the morning sky, all tinged pale pink with the changing colour of the early morning sky. The sun was just starting to peak over the tallest trees, shining a light on the back of the house and casting my shadow along the path as I made my way down the garden in search of Samuel.

The gravel crunched beneath my boots as I made my way along the path and towards the vegetable patch, where I hoped to find Samuel. Only he wasn't there. I continued along the path, following its winding direction until I reached a small wooden shed, the door hanging wide open, the padlock swinging as though it had just been opened. As I approached, Samuel appeared from the doorway, sending me a small smile as he placed a metal bucket on the ground and shut the door behind him. Closing the padlock tightly, he turned around and dropped a key into his pocket. On the ground next to bucket was a broom and several cloths and sponges, the pile looking rather intimidating.

"Simple job for you this morning, just wash as many first-floor windows as you can. Don't worry about reaching the top, I'll do that when you've finished," Samuel said, gesturing to the bucket.

"Alright, sounds easy enough," I said, though I wasn't too sure. Cleaning rooms I could handle, but windows were something new altogether.

"If you need any help, just come and find me, I'll be tending to the vegetables. You can fill the bucket up using that pump." Samuel gestured to the metal pump off to the side of the shed and then back to the bucket.

"Okay."

"Good luck."

Samuel sent me a reassuring smile before heading down the gravel path and towards the vegetable patch, collecting a rake from the side of the shed as he went. Sighing, I grabbed the bucket and took it over to the pump, filling it as halfway so I could still carry it to the house but have a fair amount of water to complete the task. Once the bucket was full, I picked the sponges and cloth off the floor, tucking as much of it as possible into the pockets of my apron whilst the rest I carried in my left hand or draped over my arm whilst I carried the bucket in my other hand. Either I was weak, or a bucket only half-full of water was remarkably heavy.

By the time I had made it to the front of the house, the metal handle had dug into my hand, leaving a red mark and my arm ached so putting the bucket down on the ground was a welcomed relief. I dropped the assortment of items onto the floor and grabbed the nearest sponge, soaking it in the water and squeezing out any extra. The moment I lifted my arm to start to clean the window, water from the sponge ran down my arm and up my sleeve, a sign that this wasn't going to be the easy job I had expected it to be. Sighing, I pushed my sleeves up my arms, ignoring the fact that I had just soaked my sleeves more than I would have liked.

As I started to wash the window, I listened to the sounds of the birds in the trees as the sung to alert the world of the rising sun. Bird song travelled from the tops of the trees, across the grounds and towards the house, adding an air of calm to the morning. There was always a sense of calm surrounding the Ealing house, as though we were in a bubble and the rest of the world didn't exist outside of the grounds. It was a different type of bubble to the one that surrounded us in the factory. There, we were secluded from everything, from everyone. Nothing could reach us beyond the walls and gates that surrounded us. Here, there was no feeling of entrapment, no feeling of confinement. I wasn't trapped.

Slowly, I moved around the side of the house, whipping down and drying the windows I could reach and to the point at which I could no longer reach. It felt odd, leaving the job half finished, but even standing on my toes I was unable to reach the top of the windows. Knowing that Samuel was going to finish the job later in the day, I didn't have too many reservations about leaving the job unfinished, though I did move remarkably fast from each of the windows after they had been partially cleaned. Not that that would have done anything since it was my job to clean them.

Moving around to the back of the house, I set about cleaning the window that faced into the parlour. At first glance, the room looked to be entirely empty, though it was hard to tell with the shadows that filled the corners as a single strip of sunlight filled the middle of the room. I put the bucket on the ground and once again rolled my sleeves up before diving in and grabbing the sponge, squeezing out a small amount of water before turning to face the window once again. Humming slightly to myself, I went to start washing the window and dropped the sponge back in the bucket when I was with Robert's face staring back at me.

"Sorry! I couldn't help myself," he said through the glass, his voice muffled. I glared at him as he failed to suppress the smile on his lips.

"You are so annoying," I muttered, knowing he couldn't hear me.

"Wait there!" Robert held up a finger and quickly scurried out of the room, almost jumping over one of the chairs to leave the room as quickly as possible. I stood outside of the window, listening as I heard the creak of the front door and the sound of footsteps along the gravel path. Turning, I watched Robert come sprinting towards me, the grin still on his face. He looked like Zachariah.

"Don't look so pleased with yourself, or you'll be the one cleaning the window," I said, glancing down at the bottom of dress which was spotted with water.

"Maybe you were right the other day, about staying away from any forms of water. You seem to end up covered in it," Robert said, laughing.

"Hm, and only once was it by choice." I fought back a smile, though I was still annoyed at Robert for scaring me. His smile was infectious.

"How about I make it up to you? There are still a lot of windows to clean and I have nothing to do since I've finished my lessons for the day so, I am here to offer my assistance!"

"I doubt your parents would like that, it is my job after all."

"Well, I'm volunteering so it has nothing to do with you, Besides, the job will be finished far quicker if we did it together and then you can go off and do whatever else Samuel wants you to."

"I suppose there is nothing I can do to stop you."

"Exactly," Robert said smugly, grabbing one of the spare sponges off the ground and throwing it in the air.

Shaking my head, I grabbed the sponge back out of the bucket and started to clean the window, Robert copying my actions. Together, we cleaned the large window that looked into the parlour. Although Robert was standing beside me, I couldn't help but find myself glancing into the room through the water droplets, checking to make sure there was no one on the inside who was going to scare me the way he had. The chance of someone else doing it was slim, but that didn't stop the fear. It didn't take all that much to leave me on edge, watching over my shoulder for something bad to happen. It had been my life for seven years.

With Robert's assistance, we managed to clean the parlour window in half the time then I would have taken, and he managed to reach further up the window then I could. Neither of us spoke as we completed the task and that was just the way I liked it. Matilda's words from the previous day still hung over me, though I still wasn't sure what she had meant by it and I doubted I ever would. The idea that she thought I was using Robert to get out of my chores hung over me as we moved to the next window, but there was nothing I could have done to stop Robert from helping me. He could tell me what to do, but I couldn't do the same thing to him.

I was worried about Matilda watching me, being the one who possed the biggest the threat to my long-term position, but the more time went on, I started to wonder if it was Robert I needed to watch out for. He may have been the one who suggested I work for the family, but he was always there when I was working, always sneaking up on me and pulling me away from the task I had been set. Although the idea was ludicrous, I knew that much, it didn't stop the idea from creeping up on me, embedding itself in my thoughts. It felt as though my trust in the family was fading. With that trust, went the possibility of finally revealing the truth. 

"If you scrub that spot any harder, you'll break the glass," Robert said, laughing. He had copied my actions and pushed his sleeves further up his arm, though the cuffs of his shirt were soaked through.

"Oops, I was too caught up in my thoughts, I guess," I said, re-soaking the sponge and trying to brush off his comments.

"I think we have earned ourselves a break, don't you?" he said, dropping his sponge into the bucket. "Don't look so concerned, it will only be for a little while and no one will know."

"I suppose it cannot hurt, as long as it's only for a little while."

"Of course. It's as though you don't trust me." Robert smiled and took a seat on the grass under the window, bringing his knees into his chest and crossing his feet at the ankles. "Come on, take a seat. It won't kill you."

I shook my head in response and followed suit, dropping my sponge in the bucket and sliding down the wall until I was sitting next to Robert, my legs straight out in front of me with my dress carefully tucked around my sides. Crossing my ankles together, I rested my hands on my lap and stared down at my boots, clapping them together as a minor source of amusement. My boots were worn after years of use, the toes scuffed down after years of being dragged along the factory floor. I may have gotten a new dress when I started working for the Ealing's, but boots were a whole other matter. They may have been falling apart, but I doubt I was going to get any others unless my position was extended.

"So, it's been almost a week since you started here, how are you getting on?" Robert asked.

"Okay, I think. It's hard to tell, so much has happened in such a short space of time."

"And you have handled all of it brilliantly. I doubt anyone would have done as well as you have given everything that's happened. All we have to do now is hope that the next week passes without incident, as I'm sure it will."

"I'll be crossing everything to make sure that's the case. I don't know if I can handle another crazy a week."

"You'll be fine, there are no birthday parties planned or parties of any sort and as far as I know, Zachariah has no desire to go into the river. Everything should be fine, trust me." Robert lightly bumped his shoulder into mine.

"Right, I think that's a long enough break. We should finish these windows."

"Of course, yes Ma'am!"

Robert jumped to his feet, holding his hand out to me. I took his hand and pulled myself to my feet, dusting off the back of my dress before grabbing the sponge from the water, squeezing it out and slapping it against the window. Small beads of water spurted out of the sponge and hit Robert who glared at me before pulling his sponge out of the bucket, not even bothering to squeeze any water out before he copied my actions, more water flying off the sponge and hitting me in the face. I shook my head at him and then started to wipe down the window, watching out of the corner of my eye to see if Robert was doing the same or if he had just taken to watching me. Luckily, he was also washing the window, but he had a stupid look on his face the whole time he was doing it.

Ignoring him, I set about finishing the task that had been set, completing it a lot quicker with the help of Robert, who didn't shake the look of his face as we moved from window to window. By the time we reached the last window, I was concerned with the grin that looked as though it was continuing to grow. Although the grin concerned me, the fact that he was sticking around to help me finish a job I had never done before made me wonder if my previous thoughts were nothing more than my own brain playing tricks on me. Trying to convince me that there was no one left I could trust, no one who was genuinely looking out for me when that was far from the truth. Maybe, just maybe, there was someone who was looking out for me, someone I could tell the truth to.

As we finished the last window, one thought was continuously going through my mind. Robert had to know the truth. I had been with the Ealing's for a week, been away from Isabel for a week. Even though I didn't know what was going to happen, I didn't know how he was going to react, someone needed to know the truth, someone had to know just where I came from. He needed to know the truth.

"I think we're done!" Robert exclaimed, gripping onto his sponge and stepping back from the window.

"I think so too, Samuel said he would clean the top of the windows for me later on since I can't reach," I said, laughing slightly.

"Right. Maybe we should get you a little step ladder for next time."

"Ha. You're hilarious." I swallowed the feeling of fear that was building up inside of me. "Actually I wa-"

I barely even finished the sentence before a soaking went sponge slapped me in the face. As the shock registered, I turned to look at Robert who was grinning from ear to ear, water dripping from his hand. The idea of telling him the truth slipped my lips and my mind as I re-soaked my sponge in the water, my eyes focused on Robert as the grin slowly slipped off his lips. I knew I was going to get in trouble for it, I knew I was going to punished for it, but I couldn't help myself, I flung the sponge at Robert, watching as it hit him square in the face.

Robert looked from me to the sponge for a second before picking it up and throwing it back, water flying through the air. With two sponges at my disposal, I grinned at him, picking them both up and dipping them into the bucket, my eyes fixated on him as the grin slipped from his face at the realisation of his mistake. Keeping my eyes on him, I threw both sponges at him, struggling to contain my laughter as both of them hit him, one in the face, and one in the chest, leaving a damp mark on his shirt.

"What on earth is going on here?"

  ~~~

A/N - I did it! Even with the laptop scare on Sunday, I managed to get the chapter written! (Honestly, I deserve a medal for this xD) Chapter Twenty if underway and it will be up this time next week, so keep an eye out!

Anyway, Rosie's not sick! I wouldn't do that to her, I'm not that evil. What did you think of Robert helping Rosie out? Was their sponge fight a good thing or not? Do you think they're in trouble?

Comment your thoughts!

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to FireAlwaysReturns because she's another one of my good friends over in the Community and I love dedicating chapters to friends :D Go and follow her!

First Published - January 29th, 2019