The Factory Girl // Book 1 in the Rosie Grey series

Chapter Seventeen

"What on earth did she mean by that?" Esther asked after I explained to her just what Matilda had said to me.

"I have no idea. My conversations with Robert have always ben purely coincidental, it's not as though I actively sought him out," I replied.

Esther had joined me in the hallway not long after Matilda and disappeared up the stairs. Having no idea what she meant or why she may have said it, I explained everything to Esther, from the conversation we had had that morning to the figure in the hallway. Having worked for the Ealing family for so long, I was hopeful that she might have been able to shed some light on Matilda's attitude or what she may have meant in our previous interaction. Esther, however, was just as clueless as I was.

"Perhaps that was what she meant. Maybe it had nothing to do with actively spending time with Robert, but that you always seem to be working near him. Matilda is a complex person, maybe she just thinks you should spend more time with others," Esther said, shrugging her shoulders and barely glancing up from the floor as she scrubbed it with the brush.

"I suppose, but if that were the case, why did she not just say it? Why make it seem like I was doing something wrong?"

"I don't think I can help you with that one, Rosie. Even after working for the Ealing's for two years, I am nowhere near close to discovering the inner-workings of Matilda's mind."

Sighing, I went back to my brush, once again dipping it into the bucket of water and continuing to scrub at the floor. My conversation with Esther did very little to help solve the mysteries of Matilda's comment, but at least I had a direction to go in. What concerned me most of all, was why Matilda was watching me, why she had hidden out of view and watched me leave Robert's room after completing a task that was set for me. Had she been watching everything I did?

Something in my mind told me that she had been watching me ever since I had arrived, observing my every move so I didn't do anything wrong. Although I didn't think I had, everything I did appeared to annoy her, even simply doing my tasks. As I scrubbed the hallway floor, I resolved to try and rectify the things Matilda thought I was doing wrong, even if that meant keeping a distance from Robert. If it meant I could stay after my trial was up, I would do it, even if it wasn't something I wanted to do.

"I think we're done here," Esther said, dropping her brush into the water and leaning back on her heels.

"I'm sure Matilda would say otherwise," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Don't worry about her, Miss Matilda isn't the one who will decide if you stay on and I doubt Mrs Ealing will listen to anything she has to say unless she has proof. Just keep out of her way and you'll be fine."

"That'll be difficult, especially if she's the one following me."

"Just forget about her. Look, I'm needed in the kitchen, why don't you go upstairs and see if either of the twins need anything. Zachariah keeps saying how he wants to see you."

"Very well, I'll see you later on."

"Do your job and forget about Matilda."

I dropped my brush into the bucket and hauled myself to my feet, using one of the side-tables for support. Although the condition of my knees had improved drastically since leaving the factory, standing up after spending so long crawling around still posed a little bit of an issue. Dusting my hands off on my apron, I left Esther with the bucket to take back to the kitchen and started up the stairs towards Zachariah's room. It was one of the few rooms I hadn't been able to go into yet, but I expected it to look a little something like Charlotte's, with toys all over the floor.