𝘊𝘖𝘕 𝘖𝘍 𝘙𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘕𝘎𝘌 | ᴘʀᴇ ʀᴅʀ2

Chapter Sixteen

A few days passed and it was nearing the end of the week. Rosalie had been true to her word and spent most of her time at the St. Vincent's Orphanage, visiting daily. While there, she became familiar with some of the other children, but most of her hours were devoted to Annie.

Annie attached herself to Rosalie like a leech, hanging off her arm and eagerly pulling her around to play or show her the flowers in the backyard. She would throw herself at Rosalie with large grins and giggles as soon as she stepped through the door. Her excitement was contagious, and it was hard for Rosalie not to form a soft spot for the little girl.

It wasn't as though Rosalie could blame Annie for her excitement. She couldn't communicate with anyone else, as she only spoke German and understood very few English words and phrases, so she probably felt the most seen in years by having someone who could understand her.

During their time together, Rosalie would play dolls with Annie or just listen to her ramble about various things in German. Rosalie liked to listen to her speak, as it reminded her of how her father used to talk in German. He wouldn't often, and most wouldn't know he spoke it at all if it weren't for the very, very slight accent he had, and that his German would only come out as random curse words or phrases.

The memory of him and Annie's limited communication skills made her want to relearn and brush up on the language, as the girl would sometimes say things that had Rosalie racking her brain for how to respond. Communicating with Annie helped as a refresher, but she also picked up a book on German linguistics at the library to help.

The book seemed very old and as though barely anyone had touched it. She was grateful to find anything in the language at all, since most people in the area spoke English, Spanish, or French. German was more of an odd one in comparison, but she slid it into her satchel the moment she spotted it with no intentions of giving it back.

The thievery was for a good cause. She knew it wouldn't be missed anyway.

Rosalie did like to practice her German with Annie, but she was also trying to teach her English. Rosalie wasn't a teacher and never had been, but she wanted to try. It was the least she could do for the little girl as it seemed no one else could. The mistress, Eloise, didn't know a lick of German, so Rosalie seemed like her only hope.

It started with simple things: when Annie talked about the flowers or her doll, Rosalie would repeat what she said in German, but in English. Annie found certain things difficult to pronounce, like her 'th' and her 'r' sounds, but she was making progress, and Rosalie could see that she was trying.

Rosalie took finding the book on German in the library as a sign that she was meant to find Annie and help her. She may have stolen it, but it was done with good intentions in mind... so that made it okay. Right?

Rosalie hoped Henry would have been proud of what she was doing.

Rosalie returned to camp later that afternoon after spending most of her morning at the orphanage with Annie. As soon as he spotted her, John darted over and begged to do something fun. He was eager to come up with anything for them to do together, whether it was to go riding, hunting, or just doing errands in town.

Rosalie was surprised at first, but his eagerness made it apparent to her that John was feeling neglected. Or at least somewhat left out. She hadn't spent much time with him recently, and it seemed he was feeling the effects of it. Rosalie didn't mean to make him feel that way... but it just happened. She had only just hitched Blitz when John came up to her.

"C'mon, we can do anythin'. I don't care what. I just wanna get out of here. It's so boring! Miss Grimshaw has got me washing Dutch's old union suits and I'm tired of it." He complained, looking up at her through his messy brown hair with big puppy dog eyes.