Made From Roses

Thorns

Annabelle swore that as soon as her body left Mr Shelby's office she could feel her heart erratically skipping beats. Remembering the way his stare singed her soul she quickly realised what she was up against.

If her last post had been difficult this was beyond that. Having only spent a mere few hours in arrow house she was already wishing she was back at her old post being scolded by her overbearing boss.

As Annabelle began to recover, returning to Mary she began to wonder about the blonde woman that was framed on the stairs and wondered what exactly had she done to Mr Shelby. An attractive man like him could surely have anything he wanted and surely no woman would be stupid enough to leave him. It was clearly obvious that he was succeeding in life so this made no sense to her.

Mary caught the forlorn stare on Annabelle's face and cringed behind her strong facade. Deciding to keep this to herself she asked Annabelle to join her in the garden where there was work to be done.

As their gloved hands began to work in the garden Annabelle found pleasure in the spring sun beating on their backs. It was nice to be outside and in the open, away from cold eyes of her new boss.

"Mary" Annabelle started, her tone light as to not give her away so quickly.

"Yes?" Mary asked as she pulled out a pesky weed from the flower bed, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Is it true that I am the fifth replacement in the past month for Mr Shelby?"

Mary instantly snapped her head up to look at Annabelle, amazed that she knew this information but also full of dread. Was this the moment she would decide to tell Mary she wanted to leave.

"It is" she answered shortly, hoping that there would be no further questions.

Annabelle nodded "I'd like to be prepared Mary. I take pride in my job and I understand that this is going to be difficult. May I ask that you don't keep me in the dark? So that I can succeed?"

Both ladies stopped to stare at each other as a mutual understanding passed between them. If they where to both survive Mr Shelby's torturous temper they would have to work together.

"I'm sorry Annabelle-"

"Call me Anna, please"

Mary softened "Anna, I won't lie to you. I am completely counting on you to stay, to be braver than the rest. Mr Shelby is a kind man, deep down he is but he's going through something that we cannot understand. Are you able to be patient here?"

Annabelle bit her bottom lip and continued pulling the soil away towards her to create a hole for the next plant.

"I'll try Mary" she said as she placed the deep red rose into the hole and began covering the roots with fresh soil.

"I wouldn't ask anymore of you"

——

As the sun began to dip below the long open fields Annabelle worked alongside Mary to prepare Mr Shelby's dinner which she had been warned about. The man didn't like to eat but they would do this facade every day without question.

As Annabelle waltzed around the kitchen collecting things for her tray she soon began to fit in with the rest of the staff.

There was Henry the chef who was sought by Mary herself after they worked together as teenagers. Henry had his son George who was his fathers helper and part time errand boy for Mr Shelby.

"She's to chipper. The chipper ones never last" Henry said to his son as they watched Annabelle place matching salt and pepper pots down on the tray.