Chapter 4

Will left Tessa to speak to Charlotte in private. As much as he'd liked to see her reaction when she found out about his world he couldn't bring himself to sit for that long while the women conversed.

It was still early and he doubted Jem would be awake yet so Will walked to his room to see if he could find something to entertain himself with. Will grinned at the thought as the face a young woman came to his mind. Yes, he definitely wouldn't mind entertaining himself with her. When he had seen her this morning, hiding behind the coats, he decided to have a little fun and chose not to say anything. But of course he had seen her. Not only did his Shadowhunter training require him to be hyper aware of his surroundings but there was something about her, he found that he was drawn to her presence as soon as he had entered the institute.

Watching her stumble down the hallways in the shoes that were clearly too big was enough to have him rolling on the floor with uncontrollable fits of laughter and let's just say that the thin nightdress had not gone unnoticed as the edges of his coat flapped open. He couldn't stop thinking about ripping the coat off her so that he could have a full view before pushing her against the wall and feeling her mouth on his. Luckily, Will had enough self control to keep his attraction in check, only allowing himself a couple glances at her body. Unlike earlier, when he was carrying her unconscious body in his arms and had the alarming sick-to-his-stomach feeling that he didn't understand, this attraction was one he was comfortable with; he had dealt with it numerous times before and thoroughly enjoyed himself each and every time. Will let a wicked smirk onto his face. If she chose to stay he was going to have the time of his life.


Tessa blinked.

And blinked again.

She could not do much else while her brain tried to process the information it had just been given. At first she thought it had been some kind of joke and that Will would burst back into the room and laugh at how gullible she was but one look at Charlotte's face and she knew that this was dead serious.

Taking a deep breath Tessa found she was suddenly able to remember things from her past that she had tucked away from everyone, including herself. She remembered the monsters that had lurked in the stables when she was a child, terrifying her horses and causing them to act jittery. She remembered the reason she wouldn't go into the woods that was adjoined to their estate alone. She had tried to tell Aunt Harriet about them but all she received was a beating before having to recite the words "Lies are the words of Satan" a couple hundred times. As she grew older she found that she had stopped seeing the creatures that used to haunt her dreams. She had chalked it up to childhood imagination.

"You never stopped seeing them," explained Charlotte, "you just refused to acknowledge them. There is a difference. Your brain rejected the Sight and would not process it as a result of your reluctance to believe what you were seeing."

Nodding, Tessa forced herself to listen although Charlotte's words were beginning to buzz together.

"Mrs. Branwell, may I be frank?" Charlotte nodded and gestured for her to continue, "This is all very interesting and it does explain quite a few things, however I do wonder why exactly you are telling me this. I didn't remember what had happened last night and you could have just as easily told me that I caught a chill. What has any of this got to do with me?" Tessa blurt out. It was the first time she had spoken since Charlotte had started to explain, mostly due to the fact that she had been quite speechless.

"Well, Miss. Gray, as it happens I have a proposition for you." Charlotte smiled warmly at Tessa.

"A- A proposition?"

"Yes. As you may have noticed from your little expedition this morning," Tessa looked down, her cheeks burning, "this place is rather large and to be quite honest we need a few more staff to properly tend to it. To be direct, I would like to offer you employment, effective immediately."


It was later when the other maid, Sophie, was helping Tessa into her new uniform that the gravity of what had happened finally hit. Work, a place to stay, isn't that all she had been looking for when she arrived in this dank, crowded city? But now the one person that had always been part of the vision wasn't here. Tessa had agreed to the proposition, but only on the terms that she would receive help and the time off needed to search for Nate.

"Ouch!" Tessa cried suddenly. The pins that Sophie was using to keep her white cap in place were poking into her scalp, her head felt sore after being scraped back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and the stabbing sensation of the pins were not helping. She felt uncomfortable and couldn't wait to tear out everything holding her hair in place just to feel a bit of relief.

"I'm sorry! Your hair has a mind of its own! It just won't. Stay. Put!" Sophie exclaimed while she tugged and stabbed at Tessa's scalp more. After a few more minutes Sophie sighed and gave up, leaving a few loose tendrils framing Tessa's face as they refused, to Sophie's dismay, to do as they were instructed.

Sophie took a step back and grinned while she admired her handiwork. "You know, I'm so glad you accepted. It's a relief to have someone of a similar age I can talk to."

Tessa smiled back, she genuinely liked this girl who was unafraid to speak her mind. Her feisty, no-nonsense attitude was a comfort as it was something she was used to, for she had been told that she had one also. After being given a tour of the Institute, as the residents called it, Tessa was introduced to Agatha, the chef with the ability to make food that smelt almost as good as it looked. Sophie had seen her eyeing the apple pie on the stone counter and had nudged her with an elbow. Tessa looked down immediately, knowing from the experience of how her Aunt had once treated her own maids that it was not her place to admire such treats. Seeing her expression, Sophie ginned and immediately said, "Oh, don't worry about it! Charlotte is a very considerate boss, apart from the endless errands you'll be expected to run you'll practically be treated like family." She leaned in close before whispering, "that includes getting a piece of desert."

She winked and turned to grab two plates stacked with so much food Tessa looked full just looking at it. She shoved them at Tessa, who only just managed to keep hold of their weight. "These are for Jem and Will, they could eat the whole kitchen if Agatha would let them," Sophie snorted. She then picked up another three plates, one resting on her forearm, two had the same food as Jem and Will's in slightly smaller portions while the last barely held enough to fill half of the plate. Sophie caught her glance and explained in a tone with a slight edge, "Jessamine's. Charlotte told you about her, didn't she? A right bloody pain she is. Decided one day last week that she was too fat and gave me a shopping list of exotic vegetables that I needed to buy for her new diet. Now, all you need to do is put the plates down in front of the boys. It doesn't matter who gets which plate, they're practically identical although if one ever looks larger than the other, make sure you give it to Will or he'll make a fuss and resent you for a few hours while he turns his room into a bigger pig sty than usual just so you have to spend longer cleaning it. He's a terrible sulk mostly and almost as big a pain as Jessie but he's a man so you can't really expect much of a difference." Sophie said as if her conclusion about men were a scientific fact.

Tessa nodded through the run down of what she needed to do, only half listening. Her arms had started to tremble from holding the weight of the plates and she just wanted to hurry so that she could put them down. How Sophie could stand there with three plates and not break into a sweat Tessa could only guess came with experience. When Sophie finally made a move into the dining room Tessa was ready to throw the damn plates on the floor.

The dining room on the Institute was longer than it was wide, the main feature being the table that must have been made centuries ago; it was a masterpiece. Never before had Tessa seen such craftsmanship, the engravings that ran down the length of the table and up it's legs were delicate but defined. The room had such a warm, family atmosphere Tessa had to stop and draw a deep breath before she could continue. Everyone was already sat around the table but as soon as Sophie and Tessa entered the room Will groaned.

"Finally! If you'd taken any longer I may have fainted out of hunger." He exclaimed, throwing an arm over his forehead while he feigned faintness. Tessa saw Sophie shoot him a look of contempt before lowering her head in the act of professionalism.

Before she was able to move to put the blasted plates down, Charlotte cleared her throat. "Jessamine, Henry, I'd like you to meet Miss. Gray. She'll be working with Sophie for the foreseeable future." Tessa nodded at the red headed man that looked at her with a curious expression and the blonde girl, close to Tessa's own age, that glared at her for reasons that were unknown to her.

Will saw the look Jessamine was sending Tessa and chuckled. "Don't worry, Jessie. I doubt Tess here is going to steal your throne for Ice Princess. There's no need for the death glare." Jessamine just gave a little 'humph' before proceeding to examine her nails.

Sophie then moved towards the huge table and Tessa followed suit. Although Will was the closest to her she made her way to Jem first, quite deliberately. Lowering the plate down before Jem she ignored the bewildered look Will sent her made Tessa feel as if she'd just killed ten puppies.

"Thank you." Said Jem. Then he lowered his voice and added, "It is good to see you again. I'm glad you're feeling better."

Blushing,Tessa bobbed. "Thank you." She replied.

Will cleared his throat. "If you two are quite done getting reacquainted I'd like my dinner before I collapse from low blood sugar."

Sighing, Tessa made her way around the table. She tried to ignore Will's close proximity as she placed the heap of food before him. She was just about to step away when he grabbed her wrist. "Ah, Tess dear, would you mind pouring me a glass?" Shockwaves travelled up her arm as he gripped it under the table. She tried to pull her hand free but his grasp clamped around her thin wrist like a vice. She looked up from his hands to his face, where he was looking at her expectantly, not giving anything away to the crowd seated around him. Tessa gulped and reluctantly reached for the jug with one hand, it was heavy but she managed, it was only when Will moved her hand slightly and placed it on his lap while Tessa was pouring the glass that Tessa jumped and spilt the whole jug down both herself and Will, soaking them both.

He let go of his grasp on Tessa and she immediately brought her hand to her chest so quickly she may have looked like she had been electrocuted. Apart from Tessa's stuttered apologies, the whole room was silent, disbelieving eyes on her. She wanted to shout at Will, to scream that it was his own fault, but she had never felt more confused at how to behave. She had known it would take time before she could be as completely submissive as Sophie at the flip of a switch but at that moment she had never felt so embarrassed. Her very first job and he had ruined it.

And then Jem began to laugh. He'd noticed more than he'd let on and the look on Will's face when he had gotten what he deserved was priceless. After Jem, Henry let out a huge 'HA!' while Charlotte tried to hide her laughter behind the back of her hand. Jessamine just rolled her eyes and continued to pick at her food, however a small grin tugged at the edges of her lips. Will glared at Jem before his expression softened and he was also laughing at the turn of events. He stood up and said "If you'll excuse me." before walking towards the door. Tessa was still stood motionless, empty jug still in one hand when Will called over his shoulder. "Miss. Gray!"

Shooting a look at Sophie she put down the jug. Sophie cocked her head to the side and mouthed the words, "Go. I'll clean up here."

Tessa scampered from the room. Once the door was shut behind them she took a deep breath and brought the heels of her hands to her eyes, cringing at what had just happened. Her black dress was dripping and even though she hadn't thought it was possible, she felt more uncomfortable now than when she had first gotten dressed.

"I understand that you've been thrust upon the life of a working maid rather suddenly and so I'll give you two pieces of advice, Tess." Said Will, who was suddenly stood beside her. "One, I always get my food first, it's common knowledge. And two, it is not good practice to thoroughly soak the people on which you are waiting."

And then Tessa's patience shattered. Like a broth that had been left untended for too long, Tessa bubbled over. Everything she had held back saying in the dining room spilled out of her before she had any chance to catch it.

"I don't care if it was not good practise! I hardly asked you to take my wrist! You made a fool out of me Mr. Herondale, I let Mrs. Branwell down before I even had chance to prove myself! And it isn't as if this is where I particularly want to be right now! Oh, goodness, what am I even doing here?! Playing maid while my brother could be dead! How foolish I was to think that staying here would benefit the both of us, that by accepting this opportunity I would be helping him. There is nothing any of you can help me with Mr. Herondale! Not you, not Mrs. Branwell, not anyone! I accepted in a moment of weakness, I saw no other way to help my brother and the thought of finally having somewhere to stay was too tempting. I thought I was thinking about Nate, when really i was just thinking of myself. I was selfish." The last three words where said barely above a whisper. Tessa was looking down at her feet, her anger turned to confusion, hopelessness and self-loathing.

Will didn't know what to do. All he'd wanted when he called Tessa after him was to witness her fiery personality come through, and it had, but not in the way he was hoping. Usually aggression would turn into passion however his plan had quickly come to a halt when he looked at her. This beautiful girl that stood before him, whose expression was one of utter defeat, was in desperate need of comfort and yet Will could do nothing but stand there gormlessly. Comfort was not something he knew anything about. It was Jem that would help Henry when his inventions exploded, it was Jem that would pick up the trays that Sophie dropped occasionally, telling her that it was an accident and she was not at fault, it was Jem that would distract Will from his own problems and prevent him from seeking help from some of his favourite vices. It was always Jem. Will felt like running back into the dining room, grabbing Jem and forcing him to say something helpful to Tessa in his place. But he didn't get the chance for suddenly Tessa was smiling, a smile that didn't reach her stormy eyes.

She let out a single laugh that sounded more like a sigh, "It hardly matters I suppose. It's quickly become apparent that it'd be a better use of my time to look for Nate alone. I'll give my apologies to Sophie and Mrs. Branwell myself, but I think I'd best get changed first." And with that she turned to walk down the hallways.

"Wait!" Said a voice. It was a while before Will realised it was his. Tessa stiffened and slowly turned back to him. Will forced himself to say something. "You- you can't just leave." He said. Tessa was shocked, she hadn't expected Will to object to her leaving. In fact she'd suspected that he'd been attempting to get rid of her. She looked at him in bewilderment.

"Well- What I mean is-" Will stopped and tried again, he'd never been lost for words before. "Think about it logically Tess. You have a place to stay, food to keep you strong and you have Shadowhunters at your disposal. What else could you possibly want?! You feel guilty that you're here while your brother could be anywhere but you're on a far better situation now than you were yesterday. Your chances of finding him are so much greater should you stay."

"Oh really? And why is that?! I had no idea where to start looking for him, why would it be any different if I stayed? Do you have some sort of Shadowhunter magic that's going to tell you where he is?" Tessa's gaze was hard.

Will smiled, he was going to get his way, he was sure of it. He would convince her to stay. "No, but we have something better." He confessed.

Tessa's full attention was on him, finally very interested in what he had to say.

"We have Susan."


A/N: Sorry it took so long but Holy Shit Clockwork Princess. My brain has been mush for weeks. I'm barely the person I was before I read it.