Mathias looked completely different from the last time I had seen him. His hair was rid of dirt, exposing the bright red colour that had always been covered, his face no longer covered in dirt and ash, instead, he was pale with red cheeks. He was no longer in the uniform of the factor, trousers that were too short, a white shirt that was no longer white and a small jacket. Instead, his trousers fit, he was wearing a shirt that looked freshly washed and a jacket that was folded just past his elbow. On his left arm, it looked normal. His right, it didn't.

Just under the folded sleeves of his jacket was a white bandage. It wrapped around the top of his elbow, continued a little further down and then came to an abrupt stop, wrapping around the small piece of arm that was left below his elbow. There was nothing beyond that point, it just came to a stop. I hadn't seen the injury after it had happened, but even knowing about it wasn't enough of a warning. It was strange, seeing how it just stopped with nothing else. I got lucky with just a burn that required nothing more than constant attention. I'm not sure what I would have done if it had been anything serious.

"Wha' happened to you?" he asked, gesturing to the burn.

"I could ask you the same question! We all thought you'd." I paused. "You know."

"I thought I was a goner too. He threw me out those gates quicker than I could process what 'ad even 'appened. I was lucky. Someone found me the next morning, near the bakery. She took me to see Doctor Ealing and, well, let me live with her. 'Course, I ain't told her the truth, she wouldn't believe me." He shrugged. "Now, wha' happened with you?"

"There was a fire, in the storeroom the day after your accident. He dismissed me in the middle of the night and that was that. I never got a chance to say goodbye to the girls." I took a breath. "Doctor Ealing's son, Robert, found me the next morning and took me to see his Father and they offered me a trial position in their household, it lasts until next week. I'm hoping I've done enough to stay. They don't know the truth, either, I told them I came from the workhouse."

"I said the same thing, it made sense at the time. We both did pretty well, considerin'."

"Hm, the lucky two."

"I don't feel very lucky," Mathias said, moving his right arm as though he was trying to move fingers that weren't there.

"It'll get easier."

"Tha's what Doctor Ealing says." He shrugged. "Did you say a fire in the storeroom?"

"Yes. The foreman asked me to put some of the completed cloth away, the fire had already started."

"A fire, in the storeroom? Didn't tha' seem a bit odd to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"We worked in a cloth factory, Rosie. Fires didn't jus' start. I migh' be wrong, but did you ever think he migh' have set it? You know, to get rid of you?"

He had a point. I had been so caught up in trying to figure out a way to survive after the fire, to keep the secret about the factory and stay on with the Ealing family, I hadn't even thought about it. Minor burns weren't unusual. Sometimes people would get friction burns from working with the cotton, or they would fall against the brazier if they didn't get enough sleep the night before. There had never been a fire. All of our machines worked with manpower, there was no chance of a spark or flame that could lead to a blaze within the confines of the factory. Unless someone knocked over the brazier and the coals fell onto the wood floor, fire just didn't happen.

Of course, the thought of someone setting the fire deliberately and causing that much damage to property was ludicrous. The factory needed the money the cloth provided to remain in operation, losing that much stock would be a risk to them so the idea didn't sit right with me. Although there was no logical reason for the fire, no reason for it to have started in the first place, I didn't the foreman or Mr Thompson would set it on purpose. They wouldn't risk their workers, their own stock to get rid of me, I wasn't worth that much to them. At least I didn't think I did.

"Doesn't that seem like too much work? I doubt the foreman would have risked losing everything to get at me, that was never his way of working," I said, trying to brush it off.

"Still, migh' be worth thinkin' about. Jus' keep it in mind. If we're goin' to tell the truth about the factory we need the whole truth, otherwise, no one will believe us."

"Alright, I'll think about it."

"I'm glad. You should get goin' or Doctor Ealing will think you've run off. I might see you later, I'm supposed to see him to have my bandage changed."

"It was good to see you again, Mathias, I'm glad you're doing alright."

"You too."

With a small smile and wave towards Mathias, I continued on the walk down the road and towards the bakery, the coins jingling in my pocket. When I glanced back, Mathias was leaning against the railway next to a set of stairs, clearly waiting for someone. It was odd seeing him outside of the factory, I had always pictured him within the confines of the brickwork, heard his voice from the boy's dormitory. I never thought I would run into anyone from the factory when I left, we all assumed those who were dismissed never survived. They were alone, injured and afraid. None of us wanted to be dismissed for an injury because we didn't think we would survive the night. Mathias and I got lucky, we couldn't say the same for anyone else.

Leaving him slumped against the rail, I pushed open the door to the bakery, ignoring the little bell that dinged above my head. Entering a bakery in order to purchase a cake was something I never would have seen myself doing back at the factory, it was nothing but a fantasy. But standing in that bakery, smelling the bread and the cakes as they came out of the ovens and were placed on the counters or in the windows for someone to buy. Before I was in the factory, I used to love standing in the doorway to the shop just to smell the different types of cakes and bread that were made. Stepping into the bakery reminded me of all those times, and all the things I had missed during my time away.

I pulled the coins from my pocket and addressed the worker, watching as he took three small buns from a tray in the window and placing them in a small brown bag. He handed the bag over whilst I placed the coins into his hand, thanking him as I left the small room, again ignoring the bell that rang above the door. As I headed back towards Doctor Ealing's office, I noticed that Mathias was no longer standing by the railing. With the back in hand, I returned to the office, pushing open the door to the sound of voices coming from the main room.

"Rosie? Is that you?" Doctor Ealing asked, his voice carrying from the other room.

"Yes," I replied, stepping into the room.

"What took you so long? The bakery is only down the road," Robert asked. He was standing in the corner with his back to the door, but he turned his head to look over his shoulder as he spoke.

"Nothing, I just took my time."

"Why don't you get a plate for those?"

"Yes, sir."

Leaving the two of them alone to continue their discussion, I took the bag of buns to the small room off to the side and placed them down on the bench. From the draining board, I took one of the plates I had washed earlier that day and quickly dried it with a towel. Once it was dry, I took the buns from the bag and placed them on the plate, throwing the empty bag into the rubbish bin in the far corner of the room. Grabbing the plate, I returned to the main room where Doctor Ealing was rearranging the cushions on the chair that Robert had been laying across earlier that day.

Robert, upon seeing my return, grabbed a sheet of paper from Doctor Ealing's desk and crossed the room, snatching one of the buns from the plate and stuffing at least half of it into his mouth. A small chuckle escaped my lips and I found myself resisting out-right laughter at the sight of him. His cheeks were full of the doughy bread whilst icing was spread across his mouth, he looked like a child who hadn't been taught the proper manners for eating. Shaking his head at his son, Doctor Ealing took one of the last two buns, nodding his thanks as he took a small bite from the corner of it.

"You're supposed to set a good example for your younger siblings, Robert. Now I know where Zachariah gets it from," Doctor Ealing said, shaking his head.

"Zachariah isn't here and I'm hungry. I missed breakfast." Robert shrugged slightly, stuffing the last half of the bun in his mouth.

"That is your fault, Robert. Clean yourself up, Mrs Ainsworth will be here soon with that young man, you know we have to look presentable. Rosie, if you wouldn't mind going through that cupboard for me. I'm not entirely sure what's in it, so just go through and Robert will tell you if it is needed or not. You can eat as you work."

"Very well, Doctor Ealing."

I placed the plate onto his desk and walked over to the cupboard at the far end of the room, my eyes scanning over the assortment of jars that filled the shelves. Inside were a variety of pastes, liquids and bandages with small handwritten labels describing what they were. Even with my limited reading ability, I was able to read a few of the labels to find out what was in the jars, some were impossible to read due to the handwriting. Sighing to myself, I opened the cupboard door and started grabbing jars and lining them along Doctor Ealing's desk, reading the labels as I went. Although I could read the labels, I had no idea what some of the things were, apart from the obvious such as the burn paste and smelling salts.

As I lined them up, Robert was wiping his mouth and hands on a cloth and peering over my shoulder, reading the labels and watching me put the jars down. He said nothing, just stared. By the time the cupboard was empty, Doctor Ealing's previously cleaned desk was covered in small jars of medicine and bandages. All my previous work had been ruined because Robert felt the need to peer over my shoulder rather than help as his father had requested. Whilst I set about cleaning the inside of the shelf, Robert started to pick up the jars and move them around the desk without saying a word. I took the opportunity to nibble on the bun, savouring the sweetness of the dough and the icing.

"The jars on the right side of the desk can go back in the cupboard, the rest are either empty or useless," Robert said.

"Right. Thank you for the assistance." I nodded my head and put the rest of the bun back on the plate. As I started to put the jars back on the shelves, lining them up in alphabetical order so they looked neater, there was a knock at the door. When I turned around a few seconds later to grab another jar, Mathias was standing in the centre of the room with a woman I didn't recognise.

"Mathias? Isn't that the girl you were talking to earlier?" the woman asked, gesturing to me.

"Yes, Rosie and I knew each other back at the workhouse. We bumped into each other outside," Mathias said, giving me a small smile.

"I thought boys and girls were kept separately?" Robert said, not looking particularly pleased with Mathias' arrival.

"They were, we just happened to bump into each other on occasion."

"This workhouse should be investigated, especially if both of you were injured under their supervision something needs to be done about it," Doctor Ealing said.

"It was rare for anyone to get injured," I lied, "we were just unlucky."

"Hm, still, it might be worth getting the police involved, to stop anyone else getting hurt."

No one else said anything whilst Doctor Ealing sat Mathias down and started to undo the bandage that was wrapped around his arm. I watched as the bandage came away, the first few layers being a lot cleaner than the wrap underneath. The bandage closer to the skin had changed from white to a dark red colour until it was peeled completely off the end of his arm. What was left of Mathias' arm was almost the same colour as my burn, only a little darker in colour. It looked ragged and raw, as though the job to remove the damaged part of his arm had been butchered, not that there was any doubt in my mind that that hadn't been the case. The foreman would have removed it with a rusty saw without even flinching.

Doctor Ealing took a cloth and a bowl of water he had set off to the side and started to clean up the end of Mathias burn, gently washing off anything that may have gotten through the bandages. By the time he was done, the injury looked remarkably better and although that may have been the case, what he had been left with made me feel sick to my stomach. Countless others had lost limbs in the factory and the aftermath was never pretty, especially if the machine tore it off rather than it being removed by the saw that had become infamous among those who worked within the walls of the factory.

Once it had been cleaned, Doctor Ealing took a small wad of cloth and pressed it to the end of Mathias' arm, quickly wrapping a bandage around it to keep it in place. He then handed over a small jar he had kept on a table over to Mrs Ainsworth giving her detailed instructions as to how it was to be used. Mathias had barely shown any emotion as he was being treated, he hadn't even flinched as Doctor Ealing cleaned the wound. It was as though he had become used to the pain, used to dealing with what had happened, though that didn't sit right with me. The idea of someone becoming used to the pain someone else inflicted was odd, but I suppose that was simply Mathias.

"It certainly looks better then it did, but there is still room for improvement. Continue to put the paste on it to help heal the injury and remember to clean it and replace the cloth every day so it stays clean and doesn't get infected," Doctor Ealing said, pushing the bowl of water away from him.

"I keep telling him, but he refuses to listen. He's a stubborn one," Mrs Ainsworth said.

"Hm, well, it won't get any better if you ignore me, Mathias, you know that."

"Perhaps your maid can help convince him, seeing as they know each other."

"Rosie? Can you talk to him?" Dr Ealing asked, turning to look at me.

"I'm not sure I will be much help, but I can try."

"Thank you. Mrs Ainsworth, why don't we have some tea whilst they talk?"

"Very well."

Doctor Ealing and Mrs Ainsworth stood up from the sofa and left the room to go to the side room where the kettle was kept. Robert remained behind me, putting the jars that I had abandoned back on the shelf. Out of the corner of his eye, I could see him watching Mathias who sat on the sofa, unmoving. I could tell he wasn't the biggest fan of Mathias, but I didn't know why. There was nothing about him that would suggest he was a threat, especially as he had done nothing but sit on the sofa and not say a word to anyone. Robert had no reason to distrust him or dislike him, but it was clear there was something about him he didn't like.

As Robert had started to take over my job for me, I took the plate containing my partial nibbled bun and carried it over to Mathias, taking a seat beside him. Picking up the bun, I tore it in half and handed one half of it over to Mathias who looked at it for a second and then taking it, nibbling on the corner. I turned my half of the bun over in my hand and took a bite, sitting in silence with Mathias as we both ate our halves of the bun. Robert, although still stacking the shelves, continued to watch us from the corner of his eye, as though expecting Mathias to lash out and attack me. A ludicrous idea if ever there was one, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"Why don't you ever do as your told," I said, joking slightly.

"I never have, I'm not goin' to start now," Mathias replied, shrugging slightly.

"This is your life, though. If you don't look after the injury you could die." I lowered my voice. "The foreman already thinks you're dead, do you want that to be true before you get a chance to tell people the truth?"

"No one will listen to us, anyway."

"They will, we just need to approach it cautiously and we can't do that if you refuse to take care of yourself. The others are still there, our friends are still under his grip and we need to help, I can't do it without you, no one would believe me if you're not there to back me up."

"Do you really think we can help them?"

"We can try. This has gone on too long, Mathias. You know it, I know it. How about we make a deal? You take care of your arm and I won't say anything to Doctor Ealing about the factory until you're ready."

"You were goin' to tell him?"

"I was going to do it today."

"Okay. I'll do as I'm told, you hold off from sayin' anythin'. We need more proof and I ain't ready to tell anyone yet."

"Good."

When Doctor Ealing and Mrs Ainsworth returned, they were surprised to know that Mathias had decided he would finally take care of his arm and Mrs Ainsworth could not have been happier. Even Doctor Ealing was impressed, but Robert just looked relieved that Mathias was leaving. Whilst Doctor Ealing was seeing them out, Robert turned to me.

"He's hiding something." Was all he said as he continued with what he was doing.

He wasn't wrong, Mathias was hiding something, but so was I.

~~~

A/N - We are back! Took a little longer to update today because I've been focused on hitting the 8K wordcount for my ONC entry (which you can find on my page!) but I did it :D Our introduction to Mathias has begun!

What did you guys think of Mathias? Was Rosie right to refrain from telling Doctor Ealing for him? What about Robert? Is he onto the secret?

Comment below!

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to MessySpaceINeedAir who went on a voting spree on this book :) Thank you so much for all the love!

First Published - January 26th, 2019