The constable and Winterson had clearly put it on hold for now. I mean, Rose knew that you couldn't be married at the hospital, or in a romance with anyone, but still, Winterson was getting more and more irritable by the day.

Take that day. The boys were doing drill when the girls walked past, and despite Will not looking at Rose (they hadn't really talked since the whole Vince debacle) Mathias definitely looked at Harriet, and caused a whole load of boys behind him to trip up.

The old Winterson would've concealed a smile whilst politely telling them to come along.

But this new Winterson snapped. "Girls! Hurry up!"

Rose sighed. She knew what was wrong with Winterson, of course.

She just didn't know how to fix it.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

Rose knew that the boys were putting on an exhibition of building a cannon tomorrow, meaning she would get to see the boys, but she couldn't quite fathom any excitement for it, with Winterson acting how she was.

"We have to do something about her - she'll turn into Macclesfield," Harriet sighed as Winterson snapped heavily at Elizabeth before leaving the corridor.

"Well, she's heartbroken," shrugged Rose.

"Oh, Constable Clarke!" Harriet joked, holding her heart and acting lovestruck.

Rose scoffed. "Well, he can't exactly saunter in here with some flowers, can he?"

"I don't know, we could get him in here somehow," shrugged Harriet. "Say, something went missing, like Nurse Macclesfield's hat..."

"I'd like to know who stole her smile," said Rose, prompting them both into giggles.

However, Harriet had set Rose's mind to work.

She could get the constable in somehow.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

"Ooh, what's this?"

"Letter to Will, to meet me tonight," Rose said, over in the recipe-writing part of the kitchen again, writing a small, poetic note to Will. She figured their time apart had been long enough.

"There you are!" Cook's voice made Rose turn, seeing Ned and a couple other boys in the doorway. "These trays need taking up - no nibbling!"

"Ned!" Harriet hissed him over, and he came with not much prompting.

"Give this to Will," Rose said, folding up her small letter and holding it out to him.

Ned raised his eyebrows. "That all, Miss Green-"

"Give this to Will, please," Rose rolled her eyes at her brother.

Ned smiled. "Of course I will, Rose. That's all you had to say."

Rose rolled her eyes and handed him the letter.

As Ned left, offering his sister a small smile, Winterson snapped. "Rose, Harriet, the table will not set itself!"

"She's getting worse," Rose muttered.

"We need to save her," Harriet nodded.

"Yeah," Rose agreed.

She saw a window when Cook was talking with Sheila, and hissed. "Now!"

"Wha- Rose!" Harriet shouted after her friend, running out the kitchen with her.

Well, that was the easy part done.

But now came the hard part.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

Rose had seen Matron and Brigwell obsessing over this old, quite pretty, and quite valuable painting earlier throughout the week. It was getting put up in the governor's office. So that was what Rose was going to steal in order to get the constable into the hospital.

"We can't just steal a hospital painting!" Harriet warned her as they neared the governor's office.

"We're not stealing it, we're hiding it," Rose rephrased, heading inside the office.

"Rose..."

As soon as Rose got into the office, she saw the painting, stood up on the mantle.

"And where do we hide that?" Harriet asked.

"I'm sure we'll think of somewhere," said Rose, going up and taking it.

"And how do we get it back here if everyone's looking for it? You haven't thought this through, have you, Rose?"

As they left the office, this time with the painting, Rose shrugged. "No."

And she really had not.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

After hiding the painting in a basket of sheets to be taken to the linen cupboard, Rose headed through the corridors, only stopping when she came to a corner where all the nurses, Matron and Mr Cranbourne were gathered.

"We have had a theft," Matron was saying. "A valuable painting, stolen!"

"Well, I shall organise a search," said Cranbourne.

"We don't need a search!" Matron snapped. "What would a child do with a painting, hmm? Sell it at auction? Hang it above their bed?!" Her eyes then landed on Rose. "What are you doing idling about?"

Rose froze. "Sorry, Matron."

She curtsied and headed along the corridor, but not before she heard Macclesfield say. "Prehaps we should send for the constable, Matron?"

"Obviously! Do it now!"

Rose allowed herself to smile a little.

Their plan had worked.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

After carefully hiding the painting amongst sheets in the linen cupboard, Rose went to Harriet, who told her that Nurse Winterson was in the chapel.

Rose nodded and headed straight to the constable, who was in the hospital by now, walking with Macclesfield.

"Ah, and who do we have here? Rose Green, I believe," he said when she approached.

"That's me," nodded Rose.

"Why aren't you doing chores?" Macclesfield hissed at her.

"Well, I just wanted to tell the constable I heard some strange noises coming from the chapel last night," Rose said. "I think you should check it out."

The constable laughed. "Rest assured I will be checking the chapel, Miss Green."

Rose smiled. "Thank you."

𑁍𑁍𑁍

Rose couldn't hear much of what the constable and Nurse Winterson were saying as she and Harriet crept into the chapel balcony, but she did see how close they got throughout the conversation. And she did see how he gave her back the pin that Rose returned back to her the other day.

And she did see them hold hands.

And she did see him attach the pin to her and lay a gentle kiss on her hand.

She grinned, looking to Harriet who was grinning.

But then they notice something.

Nurse Macclesfield was at the door. And she had just seen them.

But Nurse Winterson and the constable hadn't noticed.

And Rose could only pray she wouldn't say anything.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

Rose had heard the news a couple of hours ago. A man (in fact, the man that had been helping the boys with their exhibition) had been 'found out' and arrested.

For stealing the painting.

"We can't just let an innocent man go to jail," said Rose, as she got ready for bed that night.

"If we tell Matron, she'll have us in the tench for the rest of our lives," Harriet warned.

Rose sighed. "I'll put it back on the way from seeing Will."

Harriet sighed. "Good luck."

And boy, would she need it.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And he never showed.

She thought he wanted to put things right.

But clearly, Will didn't care as much as she did.

So, heartbroken and sad, Rose climbed down from the tower and headed back into the corridors of the foundling hospital, getting to the linen cupboard in record time.

However, when she got in there and to the two sheets she had hidden the painting between, she saw that it was not there.

Someone had stolen the stolen thing.

And now it was really missing.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

"I never wanna speak to him again," Rose said to Harriet the next morning after explaining how Will stood her up.

"There must be a reason," her friend said sensibly.

"What does it matter, anyway? Matron'll have us in jail," shrugged Rose.

"Or hanged as thieves," shrugged Harriet.

"Are you talking about the painting?" Sheila came over and asked them. "Don't worry, it's been sorted."

Rose frowned as she stood up. "Sorted? What do you mean?"

"I mean sorted," Sheila snapped, heading back off down the dorm.

Rose and Harriet exchanged a glance.

What was going on?

𑁍𑁍𑁍

"Where's Will?" Rose asked Harriet, frowning as she noticed that he wasn't a part of the display.

"What, they guy you're never going to speak to again?" Harriet smirked. "He's- wait, where is he?"

"I know, he's not doing the display," Rose nodded, fear creeping into her stomach.

There, she noticed that the seargant, the man who had been accused, out with Brigwell and Cranbourne.

Well, Sheila did say sorted.

She did get a chance to talk to the girl, a little while later.

"Thank you," she said. "For saving me from Matron."

"I didn't do it for you," Sheila mocked. "I did it to her."

Rose frowned as Sheila walked off, saying to Harriet, who appeared at her side. "I'm not surprised she hasn't got any friends left!"

"Well, she's only got herself to blame," shrugged Harriet.

"Right, I need to find Will," she told her best friend, abandoning all pretense and heading straight over to where Ned and Mathias were.

She didn't miss how as soon as they saw her, their faces dropped.

Didn't miss how guilty they looked.

"What's going on?" She decided to ask.

"Rose-" Ned started.

"Where's Will? Why wasn't he in the display?"

Both boys glanced at each other, before looking down.

Then Mathias delivered it.

"He's in the hospital. One of the cannon wheels fell on him in the practise."

Rose had to take a step back due to the shock. Will was... he was injured? Was he okay? Would he be able to go into the army with the others? What on earth was going o-?

"Winterson's here," Ned told her, cutting her thoughts off. "Meaning there's no one in the infirmary that's gonna care if you go up there-"

Rose was already running.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

"Will!" She yelled, as soon as she saw him. He was lying on the only occupied bed in the infirmary, leg all bandaged up, a cold press pushed to his forehead. "Will! Are you alright?"

"Go away, Rose," was the only reply she got.

Rose shook her head, posing a different question to him. "Where were you last night?"

Will turned to face her. "What's the point? You'll be going to wherever Matron sends you, and I'll be here another year, held back from going into the army."

His face was bitter; disappointed. Rose shook her head. He was... staying here? He'd be here another year, recovering from his leg in time and then getting shipped off into the army.

"And then what?" Will asked sarcastically, bringing her back to him. "You'll wait for me?"

"Forever!" Rose snapped.

"Yeah, it will be," Will scoffed, looking back up at the ceiling. "That is, if you haven't ditched me for Vince by then-"

"Stop it!" Rose yelled. "You think Vince compares to you?"

"I'm an army boy now," Will changed the subject. "Well, once I've spent another year without you in this miserable place. So you go live your life, meet someone. Raise a family."

Rose started forward, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "Don't give up on me, Will Burton! Just like I've never given up on you!"

Will shook his head at her, looking into her eyes. "Rose, I'll be going overseas with the army, and you've got no idea where you'll be going-"

"So we have to fight!" Rose shouted. "But I'm not giving up on the boy that told me he loved me through the tench door. The boy that has always, always made my safety priority and protected me against anything. The boy that's lying in front of me right now and that I'm asking to love me as much as I do him-"

"You don't need to ask me," Will's voice was softer now. "Because I already do. Rose Green, you know how much I love you-"

"Then why are you abandoning us?" Rose asked. "Will, listen, we will always come back together-"

"But you won't know where I am," Will shook his head. "I'll be here and you won't be. Then I'll be in the army. We'll be separated for years-"

"So I'll wait for you," Rose said. "Forever, Will, forever. I promise."

Will looked at her, then down at her lips, then back up at her eyes.

Then he leaned up kissed her.

Rose didn't really care if they were properly hidden, or if anyone saw them. All she cared about was him, and how his hands on her cheeks and how hers were round his neck and how their lips were connected.

When they pulled away, Will said. "I'm sorry about yesterday, as well."

"Don't be," Rose told him. "I should've trusted you."

Will smiled slightly. "Never in my life have I heard Rose Green admit she's wrong-"

"Shut up!"

"Make me."

Rose smiled and kissed him again.

She knew they would have problems.

And that there would be more fights in the future.

But right now they were happy.

And that was what mattered.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

Sheila was sitting, crying at the kitchen table, when Rose came in, sitting next to her. She had just said goodbye to Elizabeth.

They waited in silence for a second before Rose said. "But still... the look on Matron's face."

She did an impression and Sheila chuckled through the tears, both of them collapsing into giggles.

Rose still didn't like the girl.

But she had to admit, it was nice being around her.

Just this once.

𑁍𑁍𑁍

Rose watched the boys' cannon exhibition with a sombre smile. Will wasn't there, and just to see that meant the full truth was hitting her. She'd always known they'd be separated eventually, but she thought they'd at least be leaving together.

She even spotted Vince in the crowd, and he caught her eye, giving her a small smile. She tried to return it.

But her attention turned back to the other boys eventually.

Her heart belonged to Will.

As it always would.