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Chapter 7
When he awoke his second morning in the house, Robert discovered that he was already feeling far more ‘at home’ than he thought. However, this was not unusual as he’d never really felt at ease in his own home. Although he was pretending to be someone else while he was working here, everything seemed to be so much easier.
He dressed quickly and only looked at himself in the mirror for a brief moment, as he knew that he had to find the butler, Alfred, before he began going about his daily duties. Robert and George had talked at great length last night about what some of his duties would be, who he would report to, and what staff he would be managing.
When Robert had accepted the job, he had never thought that he’d be managing people, only properties. But of course, the job came with unexpected responsibilities, as every job does, and Robert had to simply rise to the challenge.
When he got out of his room, he darted down the stairs to the main floor and then made a break for the servants’ quarters downstairs. As he passed by a window, he noticed that the sun was threatening to come up over the horizon, and for a moment, he worried if he’d be able to catch Alfred. George described him as a very determined, stubborn man, so Robert could only assume that he would get his work started very early in the morning.
When he arrived downstairs, however, he discovered that there wasn’t another soul awake yet. He paused to catch his breath, looked around to ensure that he was not hallucinating, and then when he realized it was so quiet that one could have heard a pin drop, he took a seat at the table. He cursed himself for not having brought his book with him so that he would have something to do, but he hadn’t thought that he would have to wait around to see the butler.
But then he checked his pocketwatch and saw it was only five o’clock in the morning, and so perhaps he shouldn’t have been quite so eager in his attempt to meet the butler. Now, as he sat at the table awaiting the older man’s arrival, he decided that it might be a good idea to rest his head on the table, just for a minute. There was no way that he could fall into a deep sleep, as he was too energized for the rest of the day, and so when he closed his eyes, he was not concerned in the slightest that he’d be asleep for long.
However, when he felt the sun on his face when he awoke, Robert knew that he’d made an error. As he rubbed his eyes and slowly lifted his head, he knew that he was in even deeper trouble because he could now hear some noises coming from across the table. He jerked his head the rest of the way up and saw that Anne was looking at him pleasantly and was knitting away.
“I do apologize, Mr Austen,” she said genuinely, “I did not intend to frighten you. I simply thought that I would wait with you until you were awake and then ask you what business brought you downstairs.”
Robert ran his fingers quickly through his hair to ensure that it wasn’t jutting out at a strange angle or knotted in an odd spot. When he was satisfied that it was not, he cleared his throat and smiled back at Anne.
“No, no, you did not scare me, Miss Watkins, not one bit. I was more surprised at myself for having fallen asleep so easily. Could I trouble you for the time?” the young man asked the governess.
Anne continued knitting. “I believe it to be about thirty minutes past five. How long have you been out here for? Isn’t your bed slightly more comfortable than our hard, knobbly table?”
Robert chuckled. “It is, but only slightly. I am relieved to hear that I have not slept through the whole day. I came down here to catch MrBuxton before he started his daily duties. Has he awoken yet?”
Anne nodded. “He would be awake by now, certainly, but I do not believe he will grace us with his presence for at least another half hour. Alfred is a very hardworking man, but he does like to take the early mornings for himself.”
“Thank you for informing me. I suppose I shall just... wait here then,” Robert replied. He watched her knitting silently for a moment, becoming entranced by the swish swish swish that the sticks made as they wove the wool in and out.
“I’m making a jumper for Margaret,” Anne said, and when Robert realized that she had said that because she saw him staring at it, he looked away quickly.
“Is that right? That’s very kind of you,” he commented. He felt quite embarrassed that she had caught him, but he knew that he did not need to feel shy for any great reason because it was not as though she had caught him staring at her. If that had been the case, he would have bolted from the room without another word.
“It is her birthday next week,” Anne said quietly. “I do not have much time to myself, and although the Graham family pays me very well, I am trying to save up as much money as I can. This leaves me with very few options for purchasing gifts for the children, so I thought that the best alternative I could do was make them something. That is why I am up this early; ordinarily, you would not see me until far later.”
Robert continued looking at a knot in the wood on the table, pretending to be fascinated by it. But Anne’s voice was so heavenly and comforting that he felt his attention being pulled towards her. Eventually, he could resist it no longer and finally took a moment to admire her.
When he did, it was the briefest glance, but it made his heart skip a beat. She was looking at her project so intently, as though if she looked away for even a moment, the whole thing might fall apart. Her concentration was reflected in the way that she furrowed her brows, and the tip of her tongue was just sticking out of the side of her mouth. She looked so endearingly hardworking that it both broke Robert’s heart as well as mended it at the same time.
“What time do the children normally rise?” Robert asked, trying to gauge how long she saved for knitting each morning.
“Usually around eight. They, unlike most children, treasure their sleep, which is very lucky for me,” Anne replied.
Robert’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t resist making direct eye contact. “You wake up two and a half hours early each morning so that you can make a birthday gift for a child that you already give your everything to throughout the day?”
Anne stopped knitting and looked at Robert, surprised. “Not that long, you’re making me out to be a saint,” she said quietly. “I usually rise at seven, and so it is only an hour and a half early. I think that most people would simply stay up for longer in the evening, but I am afraid that I cannot. If I had it my way, I would be asleep before eight at night!”
Robert laughed. “That is extraordinary! I find the opposite with myself; whenever I can avoid waking up early, I do it. I would gladly stay up all night if it meant that I got to sleep in the next morning.”
Anne chuckled and returned to her task. “Perhaps they should have us on alternate shifts then: you take the night-time routines, and I shall be there for the mornings!”
They both laughed, and as they did, Robert realized how comfortable he felt around Anne. He had never spoken so easily with a young woman, and unless he was misreading the situation, he thought that she might feel the same way that he did.
When they were alone, she seemed far less guarded and rule-oriented than she did when there were other people around. This made perfect sense, of course, as it was her job to uphold the household’s rules and regulations for the children. However, Robert hoped that her ability to relax when they were together wasn’t simply because she was not expected to be doing her job.
Robert was about to get up his nerve to ask her something about herself when he heard a door open down the hallway. He turned around and saw a very well-dressed older man with white hair and matching bushy eyebrows come out of one of the rooms. When the man looked up and saw the two of them sitting at the table, he scowled.
“Veruca, so help me, if I catch you up this early doing things that you shouldn’t be one more time …” the man started to say, but Anne interrupted him.
