Jenny's Heart

Chapter 12

The apartment was quiet when Jenny made her way towards the kitchen. It's been a few hours since that whole debacle with Mrs Jenkins, and she couldn't help but still feel a bit riled up by the whole thing. How some people could mistreat young children like that, she would never know. Although there was no sign of physical maltreatment, Rosa's body language spoke volumes. 

She had, without a doubt, been petrified of that woman.

Jenny made the poor girl a cup of camomile tea with honey to soothe her and sent her to her room to rest. Isabella had been rather tired from their shopping spree and was taking a nap of her own, and this left Jenny alone to dwell on her thoughts.

Rosa's curt, almost defensive, behaviour towards her finally made sense. 

Jenny initially thought that it was because she was the replacement of a 'beloved' nanny. How wrong she had been on that theory. It wasn't that Rosa didn't like her, just that she didn't trust her. The poor girl wasn't sure if she would be another Mrs Jenkins or not.

The young woman had felt a shift in Rosa's attitude towards her after the whole fiasco. It was slight but still there. She wasn't so hostile towards her and was realizing that she was on her side and there to keep her from harm. It wasn't very noticeable, but Jenny was quite perceptive when it came to emotions regarding trust. 

She knew that she was slowly gaining Rosa's.

Jenny was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't realize there was someone in the kitchen until the strong smell of spice filled the air. She blinked and noticed Alfredo heating up something in a pan.

"Oh, you're back, Alfredo."

The chef turned to look at her with a smile. He had been out for the morning, as Sunday mornings were his time off work. "Yes, Jenny. What can I make for you?"

"Nothing just yet, thank you," she replied as she seated herself at the counter. 

She wasn't used to eating so much. She's surprised that she hasn't fallen ill yet. 

"And how was your time shopping?" the chef asked, deciding to make light conversation as he placed a steak on a chopping board on the counter to begin dicing.

"Very nice. I found a few good fits for Isabella and myself," she answered but then frowned and grew silent.

Alfredo stopped cutting the meat at her sudden quietness. "What's wrong?"

Jenny paused for a moment before asking, "How well do you know Mrs Jenkins?"

She watched the chef's dark eyebrows pull together as he slowly placed his knife on the counter. He crossed his arms over his large stomach and took a deep breath. "She's a pain in the backside," he began. "Says she cooks better than I do. I mean, the nerve of the woman! She didn't go to culinary school for years and become one of the best chefs in the country! She didn't-"

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that, Alfredo," Jenny quickly interrupted when she noticed his face grow as red as a tomato. No wonder he put the knife down at the mention of her name. "I meant, how was she ... with Rosa?"

Alfredo quietened down and took hold of the knife once more to continue dicing. "I never liked her, Jenny. I thought her a 'nanny from hell'. Poor Rosa never had a moment to herself when that woman was around. She constantly pushed her to work harder than she already did. That woman knew no limits."

"Did ..." Jenny had to swallow the lump in her throat to say the next words, "did she ever hit her?"

Jenny understood disciplining a child with the odd smack or two. Isabella received her fair share when she was younger; however, there was a fine line between discipline and abuse. Discipline bred respect; abuse bred fear.