Stepping out of the fog and mist, the dark shadow emerged. He was tall with sandy-blonde hair, piercing grey eyes and a small scar on his bottom lip. In his hand was the handkerchief that had been snatched from my basket, its previous pristine colour replaced by mud. Miss Jenkins was going to kill me. The man twisted the handkerchief over in his hand, examining the splattered mud and dirt that covered it. He didn't say anything else at first, just looked between me and the now soiled piece of cloth. There was something about him that looked weirdly familiar, but I couldn't figure out what it was, why he looked like someone I knew.

He wrapped the handkerchief around his fist and looked up, his eyes narrowing at me. Slowly, he took a step forward but still didn't speak, as though waiting for me to respond to his original comment. I watched him but didn't say anything. I didn't know who he was or what he was doing on the grounds, I certainly didn't feel the need to give him an explanation unless he told me who he was, though that didn't look as though it was going to happen any time soon. It looked as though he was going to stare me into submission.

"Who are you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. The man chuckled to himself slightly, a glint in his eye.

"Alexander Warrington, I assume you've heard of me?" he said.

"Yes."

"Don't take that tone with me, you're lucky to have a job. What Mr Ealing sees in you is a mystery to both my father and me, but no worries, I doubt you will see yourself through to the end of the week. Not at the rate you're going."

"Can I have the handkerchief back?"

"If you ask politely, I'm sure I could hand it back. Though I'm not entirely sure why you want it back considering the state of it. But if it gets you in trouble, I'll hand it over."

"Can I have the handkerchief back, please?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely." Alexander balled the handkerchief up and threw it \t me as hard as he could. I watched it fly through the air, reaching my hand out and grabbing it just before it hit the ground.

"Thank you."

"I would say I'll be keeping an eye on you, but I don't think you'll be around long enough for it to make a difference."

With that, Alexander turned on his heel and walked in the other direction, whistling a tune to himself as he went. I watched as he walked across the grounds and towards the front door, his hands knotted together behind his back as though he didn't have a care in the world, despite the threat he had just made. When the shadow of him faded out of sight, and his distant footsteps retreated up the front steps, I grasped the handkerchief between my hands and let out a loud sigh. Standing in front of him, I hadn't realised how anxious I had become. The palms of my hand were sweaty, my fingers shook, and my heart was once again thumping against my ribcage.

He reminded me so much of the foreman. The glint in his eye, the way he raised his eyebrow when he asked a question. Everything about him reminded me of the man I had hoped I had left behind, the man who had tormented me for seven years of my life. I twisted the handkerchief over on my hand, taking several deep breaths to calm myself down from the state of mind he had put me in. If I were to walk into the kitchen in a state, Miss Jenkins was more than likely to ask a string of questions and I wasn't entirely sure I could keep my mouth shut. Even as a gentle trickle of rain started, I stood in the grounds and faced the direction Alexander had just gone in.

Taking a breath, I untwisted the handkerchief and examined it closely, noting the mud that splattered across the material. The handkerchief was going to have to be washed for a second time and Miss Jenkins wasn't going to be happy about it. I had annoyed her enough already and this was going to be the tip of the iceberg. One thing I didn't want to do was go walking into the kitchen and announcing what had happened to the handkerchief and the threat made by Alexander. Standing the rain, I decided not to tell her about the threat. The handkerchief was bad enough. She didn't believe Matilda's theory that he was the one who locked me in the cupboard, I had my doubts she would trust me this time.

When my nerves had straightened themselves out, I turned and headed back towards the kitchen, the rain starting to fall a little more. It ran down the back of my dress and pooled on the top of my bonnet before running down the side of my face. Still, I walked at my regular pace, twisting the handkerchief over and over again in a repetitive motion until I reached the small kitchen side door. The laundry I had dumped in the doorway earlier had been moved, the door being propped open by a small brick rather than the heavy basket of laundry. Sighing, I pushed the door open and stepped into the kitchen, letting the door slam back against the brick with a loud crash.

"What on earth happened to you? One minute you're leaving the laundry on the floor and the next your returning dripping wet with mud all over dress and stockings," Miss Jenkins said when she caught sight of me standing in the doorway. The laundry I had delivered earlier had been draped over the brazier to fully dry, Esther still adding the occasional piece of clothing to the pile.

"The wind caught a handkerchief and threw it across the grounds, thought it would be better to have it then to leave it. It'll need to be washed again, mind," I said, holding up the handkerchief so Miss Jenkins could see the state it was in.

"If it was going to involve you getting covered in mud I would have told you to leave it. Your dress is going to need a good scrub before you can do any work in the house, maybe it's a good thing you're working in the garden for the next few days."

"I can give this a scrub before bed, it'll be fine in the morning."

"Hm, it better be, we don't have a spare. As for the handkerchief, just throw it with the other laundry in the other room and it'll be washed tomorrow. Do it quickly, despite the weather your work in the garden isn't over and Samuel will be waiting for you. Don't forget to take something to eat before you go, you barely ate anything at lunch."

"Okay."

I screwed the handkerchief into a ball in the palm of my hand and left the kitchen, heading into the small side room where I dropped the cloth into the basket I had left behind earlier on. Taking a breath, I pressed my back against one of the walls to try and calm my nerves, but it felt as though they were never going to return to normal, whatever normal happened to be. The event with the cupboard had put me on edge and the interaction with Alexander even more so, it felt as though nothing was going to work itself out no matter how much I may have wanted it to. The ongoing threat just kept changing and warping into something new, something that I couldn't fight back. It was a never-ending struggle.

Pushing myself off the wall, I pulled Esther's shawl tighter around my shoulders and headed back into the kitchen, grabbing one of the sandwiches off the plate, but not eating it. I stuffed the sandwich into my pocket, to give the illusion that I was going to eat it whilst outside, and left the kitchen, not even giving Miss Jenkins or Esther the chance to say anything. The rain that had been falling earlier had stopped, but the mist and fog remained, covering the landscape in a darkness that felt inescapable. I had no idea where Samuel was, but in a hurry to find something to distract myself, I crossed the garden towards the stables.

As I crossed the garden, I took the sandwich from my pocket and threw it into the woods, hoping a bird or animal would get it before Miss Jenkins found out I hadn't eaten it. It wasn't as though I wanted to lie to her, I certainly didn't want to upset her all over again, I just didn't think I could stomach the food. Whenever I got nervous, I couldn't eat. It had happened before the factory when I was a small girl living with my family, but at the factory, food was so scarce and infrequent that I had to eat it, even when nerves got the better of me. Since leaving the factory, food was once again in abundance and I was back to eating nothing when I got nervous and recent events meant I wouldn't be eating large quantities of anything for a little while.

When I reached the stable, Samuel was hanging around the entrance, placing an assortment of garden tools into a wheelbarrow and placing them just inside the doorway. He smiled upon noticing my appearance, his eyes running down my dress and lingering on the mud-splattered bottom. There was no doubt he was surprised, he didn't even try to hide it from his face, but the weather was a perfect excuse for the mud, and it was the truth. It wasn't as though I had thrown myself down on the mud as a form of entertainment.

"I was starting to wonder where you got to," Samuel said, leaning a pitchfork against the door of the stable.

"Sorry, I had to chase after a handkerchief," I said, laughing slightly.

"No worries. It's another cleaning job this afternoon, I'm afraid. Dr Ealing has asked for the carriage to be cleaned, no doubt for his ride into town tomorrow for work. It shouldn't take you too long, so you can finish your work early and have a break, it's been one crazy day for you, so I've heard."

"How did you find out?"

"I was cleaning the tops of some of the windows and overheard a conversation between Miss Matilda and Master Robert, they both seem to be under the impression that it was Alexander Warrington who had locked you in."

"Yes, he was Matilda's first assumption."

"Well, I'm sure Dr Ealing will find out who did it. In the meantime, the supplies you need to clean the carriage are already waiting for you. Just head around the side of the building and through the other door."

"Very well."

Leaving Samuel to the horses, I walked around the side of the stable and towards a smaller, square building tucked up to the side of the stables and close to the treeline. A giant, double door opened up onto a large, dark open space where the Ealing carriage sat, a sheet left on the floor. A set of buckets and brushes lay on the floor beside the sheet, the same brushes and buckets I had been using that morning to clean the windows. I was just glad that Robert wasn't able to scare me this time, seeing as there were no windows in the barn.

I pushed the sleeves of my dress and the shawl up my arms, leaving one of the large doors open as I plunged my hand into the icy cold water and seized up the sponge. The water was a shock, but after a while, I found the cold sensation somewhat relaxing. It calmed my nerves further than the deep breathing had and was also a constant reminder that, despite what Alexander of Mr Warrington may have said, I was still working for the Ealing's and nothing they did or said was going to change that. I needed that position, I needed a way to help my friends out and I wasn't going to let someone who resembled the foreman stop me from doing that. That man had ruined my life enough, I certainly wasn't going to allow anyone like him to do the same thing.

The atmosphere in the barn was calm, quiet, it gave me the opportunity to relax and think more than any of my tasks at the house had done. There was no one around to disturb me, only the sound of the window as passed through the trees, the creaking of the beams above my head and the splashing off the water as I washed down the exterior of the carriage. There was no bird song, no crashing of bodies or movement and no low conversations travelling from room to room to disturb me. It was just me, my thoughts and a giant carriage that needed to be scrubbed down from top to bottom in a matter of hours.

As I moved across the carriage, scrubbing the wheels and the body, my mind was spinning will all sorts of ideas about how I was going to come clean about everything. The Ealing family needed to know about the factory, it wasn't as though I could hide it forever, but admitting the truth was going to be a lot harder then I wanted it to be. Especially with Mr Warrington and his son out to get me. Scrubbing down the wheels, I wondered whether or not Robert would be the best person to admit it too. He had been the nicest to me, looked out for me when no one else did and was the one who had the suggestion for my placement despite only knowing me for a short time. Only, I wasn't entirely sure I could trust him.

Every time I had gotten in trouble, Robert had been involved in some way or another. He was continuously getting in the way when I needed to work, stopping me from doing the thing I needed to do. I doubt he was doing it deliberately, but it worried me. Would he hate me if I told him the truth? He had told me I could tell him anything, but this wasn't anything. This was the truth that I had hidden from him and everyone else for just over a week.

"If I had known Samuel would have you cleaning the carriage inside, I would have said no to allowing you the opportunity to work out here." I turned on the spot, coming face-to-face with Dr Ealing.

"I don't mind, I'd rather be in here than out there in that. Besides, it's quieter in here," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"There is no doubt about that. You'll be pleased to know that Mr Warrington and his son have left for the day, so don't feel as though you have to hide out here any longer."

"I need to finish this," I said, gesturing to the carriage.

"Of course, of course. I spoke to Matilda just now and she told me about her suspicions regarding Alexander. Do you believe he was the one who locked you in the cupboard?"

"I can't say, Sir, I never saw who did it."

"Well, the only people who were unaccounted for around the time were the twins and Alexander, so it may well have been him, but with no proof, there is nothing we can do. I will talk to Mr Warrington about the accusation, don't worry, I won't name names, though I expect he will deny it. In the meantime, if he is around, never leave the key in the door and if you see him, turn and walk away."

"Yes, sir."

"With any luck, we will only see them once or twice before they leave for India so you should be able to continue your chores without any hassle. If they show up, I'll be sure to let Miss Jenkins know so you can be given tasks away from them and I will find ways to keep them distracted in the meantime."

"Yes, sir." Dr Ealing smiled at me and turned to leave, before turning around to face me again, as though he had forgotten something.

"Oh, I saw the sandwich in the trees, I won't tell Miss Jenkins, but you should eat something. I understand that today has been a stressful day and that food in the last thing on your mind, but we don't want you collapsing out here where no one will find you for several hours." He fished around his pockets. "Take this, that way I know you'll have eaten something, even if it just a piece of toffee, it'll be better than nothing."

"I'm fine, sir, honestly."

"Take it, Rosie. You may be good at looking after the twins, but you need to take care of yourself as well." From the other side of the room, he threw a wrapped slab of toffee to me, smiling as I caught it and slipped it into my pocket.

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't mention it."

With a smile, Dr Ealing turned and walked away, pulling his jacket up around his head to shield himself from the weather as he returned to the house. As he left, I dropped the sponge I had been using into the bucket and pulled the toffee slab from my pocket. Taking a seat on one of the hay bails against the wall, I unwrapped the toffee and broke a piece off, placing it in my mouth and allowing it to melt on my tongue as I sat listening to the wind and rain outside of the barn. The toffee settled my stomach and, in some way or another, managed to calm me down considerably. It was a sign that maybe things would be okay, but I had thought that too many times for a piece of toffee to change my mind.

What it did do, was confirm to me that I needed to tell the Ealing's the truth. They were being remarkably nice to me and were looking out for me against people they had known for far longer, people they were friends with. Dr Ealing was looking out for me despite only knowing me for a short period of time, he trusted me when no one else would have. If anyone was going to know the truth about me, the reality of where I had come from and who I was, Dr Ealing was going to be that person. I just had to find a way to tell him, a task that was far easier said than done. 

 ~~~

A/N - A little delay in the update this week, I've been ill so it's been a case of writing the entire chapter tonight to hit the update date. Despite that, since last week, we hit 4K! This growth has been insane to me and I owe you all so much for this!

So, we have finally met Alexander! Bit of a creepy guy, don't you think? What do you guys think of Miss Jenkins at the moment, is she right to act the way she has been? What about that sweet moment between Dr Ealing and Rosie? Too cute!

Comment below!

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to Cookiecool_SaveW who went through and voted on every chapter of Dear Theodosia! I wasn't expecting such an onslaught of notifications, so thank you!

First Published - February 12th, 2019