It had been almost two months since she had left the Banks family. No, no. That was all wrong.
It had been two months since she had last been in London. The toe of her sensible shoe touched lightly to the grass of a rather secluded section of the Park adjacent to the Banks residence–– to Cherry Tree Lane.
Being back in London felt right. She couldn't say that it made her happy because that would be admitting to allowing sentiment to muddle her thinking. Which was something that practically perfect people did not do. However, it was perfectly acceptable to say that it felt right to be back. It was, after all, something of a home to the nanny.
Cheers echoed through the park. Curious… Was there some kind of event taking place? Should she allow her curiosity to get the better of her and go to see what was happening? She wouldn't have to be at her new assignment's home for at least another hour… Perhaps there would be enough time to take a quick peek.
She made her way through the park, eventually emerging from the seclusion of the bushes and trees to find a large gathering of women. Mary would recognize those sashes anywhere. Winifred Banks was a suffragette. Though her sash had been turned into a tail for the kite George had repaired for Jane and Michael, Mary was certain that being an advocate for a woman's right to vote was a sentiment that wasn't easily given up.
Mary continued to walk, not stopping to listen to the speeches being given. She nodded politely when people noticed her, but otherwise kept to her own business and (though she wouldn't admit that she was) scanned the crowd for any familiar faces.
She could have sworn that she saw her. Somewhere in the crowd. But how could she be certain that it was… There was no way to know for sure without stopping to get a closer look to to confront the woman. And that would hardly be acceptable considering Mary was no longer under her employment and their family was supposed to be moving on without her.
Even though she couldn't be completely certain, she had that gut feeling that it was…
Mary did her best to avoid that park after sighting Mrs. Banks there. In fact, Mary avoided Cherry Tree Lane altogether if she could help it. Her time with the Banks family had come to an end and they no longer needed her. If they spotted her hanging about near their home, they might think she was coming back for them –– something she wouldn't be able to do. It was for their own good that she spend some time away from Cherry Tree Lane.
It wasn't because she didn't care for them. Quite the contrary, Mary loved cared for that family quite a lot. And it was because she cared that she knew she needed to keep her distance. The thought of simply leaving London for a year or two had crossed the nanny's mind. By staying away from London entirely, she would cut the chances of her running into the family almost entirely. But Mary couldn't bring herself to leave the city she called home for good. She couldn't bring herself to say goodbye to Bert –– her dearest friend. No, she needed to return. London was a part of her – as sentimental as that sounded, it was true.
She lead a pair of young children down the street, heading in the direction of Mrs. Corry's shop. The children, a brother and sister, argued quietly as they followed. Mary halted, turning to face her charges with a stern look set in place. She informed the children that they could continue their argument, but that they would be returning home at once or they could agree to disagree and go with her to purchase some gingerbread and conversation.
With the threat of their outing being ended before it had begun, the children immediately ceased their arguing and promised to be good. Mary knew their promises were piecrust ones, but she hoped that they would be good on their promises at least for the afternoon. Otherwise, she would never get to Mrs. Corry's and gingerbread would have to wait.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mary thought she saw a familiar face walking down the other side of the street. She didn't stop, nor did she look back to verify whom it was she saw. She merely continued down the street
However, it only took that quick glance out of the corner of her eye for Mary to be almost certain that she had just seen Winifred Banks. She looked well, Mary thought. She also thought that London might be big enough for herself and the Banks family. For now, they were dancing around one another, coming close to meeting again. For now that would have to do, but how long would it be until they actually crossed paths again?