Chapter 7

A/N: Oh look another chapter! :P I'm feeling really generous today. XD

I walked over to Ross's study room. He was inside, probably planning on doing something with his mine. He had been mentioning it for a while now. I have been keeping track for how long I've been here. It's been nine days.

I knock on the door and wait for him to tell me to come in. Once he does, I made my way in his study room. He was doing exactly what I thought he was doing.

"I brought you something to eat and drink." I say with a smile.

"Did you make the food?" He asked with a small smirk.

"That's my secret." I replied with a wink.

Ross gave me a small smile before he replied. "Just leave it on my table over there. I'll eat later." He said and went back to work.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you working on?" I knew, I could read. I don't think he knew that though.

"Stuff about my mine. Nothing you would be interested about." He spoke, keeping his head fixed on his paperwork.

"Lately, you haven't been around much." I admitted with a small frown. "It's been boring without you."

"I have things to do and places to attend. I cannot take you with me. You are not my wife." He stated before looking up at me.

That last sentenced stung a little. It was true, I am not his wife.

"I'm sorry if I spoke out of line to you." I said, trying to hide the hurt I felt.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to have it sound poorly. It's been stressful, trying to figure out this mine paperwork." He said and stood up. "I'll make it up to you."

"No need." I said before putting down his food and drink. "You're already forgiven, Ross." After I spoke I made my leave out his study room, closing the door.

"Yer in love with 'im." Demelza spoke out, kneading dough.

"I don't know. I've never been in love before." I smiled softly. "I do know that he is very dear to me."

"He be havin' eyes for ye, don't worry." She said and went back to her dough.

I was making my way out of my room when I heard Ross and Jud speaking to each other in the kitchen. I paused my steps, listening to their conversation. I knew I shouldn't do it, but I did.

"Minin' tis in the blood. She's yer salvation and yer downfall. Tis a fools game and will end in tears." Jud spoke with a serious voice.

"I admire your optimism." Ross replied.

"Yer father died before his time." Jud spoke.

"In his bed." Ross added.

I leaned up against the wall of the hallway. Ross had such a tough life. He still does. I being with him would make it even harder. He and I would have no idea when I'd leave and come back.

I was outside with Demelza, washing and scrubbing at her hair. The water was ice cold. I felt horrible doing this, but she had to be cleaned from the crawlers. Once we were done we looked up and spotted Ross staring at us through an opened window.

"Satisfied?" Demelza spat out.

"Shouldn't I be?" Ross asked as he took a bite out of his apple, leaning out the opened window.

"I better not stink! A body must scrub herself raw to please some folk!" Demelza said angrily, walking off with a dry towel.

I looked up at Ross and shrugged my shoulders. "I'm trying to be gentle with her, but I have to scrub really good to get rid of the crawlers."

"I do not blame you, Ali." He said before biting into his apple he held.

"Sometimes I feel like you do blame me or hate me for some stuff…" I admitted with sad eyes.

He looked at me with a questionable look before we spotted Jimmy coming around the corner. He looked to me and took his hat off.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. I didn't mean to bother you." He said to me.

I held up a hand and shook my head. "You're fine. We weren't discussing anything." I said without hesitation.

At that moment, I felt like I knew how to rule and control. I felt like I knew how to take charge. Of course I wouldn't though. It's wrong to control people.

"What happened?" Ross asked, still by the window.

"It's the mine, Ross. They closed it." Jimmy said, looking to Ross.

I looked down and then up at Ross. I curtsied before I spoke and left.

"I must go find Demelza." And I did go search for her.

I was in the kitchen, cleaning dishes. Ross came in and was walking to his study room. Prudie was right behind him, her face angry.

"So, we be hiring everybody now?" She scolded.

Ross didn't say anything. Instead he just shut his door to his study room, with him in the room. I was confused as to what was happening.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Prudie looked over at me. "He hired the lad to be a famer boy."

"Well good…we need one." I said before going back to the dishes.

"Ross can't afford 'im or us. We be gone in a month." She said before leaving the room.

I sighed, knowing she was right about Ross not being able to afford the help. I wished there was something I could do. I was powerless.

I knocked on the door to his study. I heard nothing in return so I called out to him, saying who it was. After a moment he allowed me to enter the room. I opened the door and smiled when I saw him. He was sitting at a table, staring at some object in his hand and some papers. The object was so tiny; it looked to be a ring.

"What you did was very kind of you, Ross. Don't beat yourself up for it. We'll-….you'll find a way to fix everything." I said hoping to encourage him.

He looked at me after he put the tiny object away. He grabbed his coat and hat, putting them on. He wasn't looking at me, and it started to make me wonder if I had said the wrong thing.

"I apologize if I said something wrong. I'm only trying to give you words of encouragement, hoping you will at least have a smile on your face." I walked closer to him and he finally looked at me. "Don't hate me for trying to make you happy."

"I don't hate you." He said finally. "Thank you for your words. I'm going to go now; I need to go visit my uncle." Ross kissed my knuckles before leaving the room. "Oh and can you teach Demelza how to clean and do other things around the house?"

"Yes…" I said and then heard his footsteps lead him to the door.

I went outside to find Demelza. She was carrying firewood. I went up to her and tapped her shoulder. I think I spooked her a bit because she dropped one piece of wood on the ground.

"Oh, hi!" Demelza said before going to bend to pick up the wood.

I grabbed it first and smiled at her. I took some of the wood she carried and we walked to the firewood pile. We brushed off our sleeves to get rid of the dirt and wood chips.

"Ross is gone. He has things to attend to. He wants me to help you learn how things go around here." I paused for a moment. "Don't worry, I'm not like Prudie and Jud, I won't make you do all the work."

Two or three hours passed by, I wasn't for sure. Ross had returned home but he was accompanied with Verity. I waved at her with soapy hands. Demelza and I were washing and drying the laundry.

"Demelza, this is my cousin Verity." Ross called out to Demelza.

Demelza stood straight before she awkwardly curtsied. Once she did that she took off. I think either being embarrassed or shy.

"Has she settled?" Verity asked.

Ross got off his horse as he replied to her. "Still somewhat an outsider I feel." He helped her off her horse and slightly grunted a bit. I looked over at him, a bit worried.

"Do your wounds still pain you?" She asked.

Ross frowned slightly before replying. "Best that it did…"

Verity and Ross walked a few steps before she spoke up again. I started to fold the dry clothes and put them into a basket.

"Ross, I want to ask you the greatest favors." Verity spoke and turned to see me watching.

I bit my bottom lip before returning to my duties. I could no longer see them, but I could hear them.

"Before I ask you for the favor, how are you and Ali getting along?" Verity asked.

I couldn't see what Ross's expression was, but I imagined he looked over at me.

"We are friends." He said simply.

"I feel that it's not that simple. You live with two beautiful and young women."

"And?"

"I fear people will talk."

Ross's voice became cold. "I don't want to have this discussion. Please tell me of this favor and I will see what I can do."

I heard a door shut and I turned around. They were no longer outside.

"Only friends…" I whispered to myself. "I guess that's fine."

It was almost dinner time. Verity had left long ago and Ross was in his study, as always. He was sitting at his desk with a troubled look. I wondered what Verity had asked him to do.

At that moment, Ross stood quickly and grabbed his coat and hat. He walked out of the house before any of us could say anything to him. I leaned the broom onto the wall.

"Where he be goin'?" Asked Demelza, drying the dishes.

"To the dance." Prudie answered.

"Dance?" I asked.

"He don't look too glad about it." Demelza said as she started to put the dishes away.

"He probably doesn't want to go. I don't imagine Ross being the kind who enjoys dances." I said and looked towards the door to the house. "He's probably taking Verity to the dance."

Demelza and I were scrubbing the floors. Prudie and Jud were just sitting around and drinking. It annoyed the hell out of me. I was tired how they treated Demelza and I.

"It's late." I said to Demelza.

"Aye, it is." She replied.

"Ross should be back soon. Do you think he would have eaten yet? Should we cook him something?" I put the scrubber into the bucket and she did the same.

"We migh' as well. Case he hadn' ate yet." Demelza stood up and went to the kitchen to cook Ross something.

Now I was starting to worry. It was past bedtime and Ross wasn't home. Maybe he decided to stay over at his uncle's house.

I sat there staring at the food Demelza and I made for him. It was a waste of food if I just threw it away. I took a bite of the bread and then watched as Demelza walked into Ross's study room.

Having no idea why she would even go in there, I stood up to see what she was doing. Prudie and Jud made their way upstairs. They were drunk off their asses and loud.

I walked into the study and saw Demelza holding up a copper ore. I think she saw me when she held it up because she quickly put it down. She kept her head down, not looking at me.

"I'm not going to tell on you, hell I'm not even mad." I bit my bottom lip before closing the study door behind me. "What are you doing in here?"

"Well, there be a lot of books and stuff in 'ere. I ain't never been in 'ere so…" Demelza tried to explain herself.

"Can you read?" I asked and she shook her head. "Well, I guess that's a positive thing for you if you want to be in here. Me, I can read. I would be in even more trouble than you."

"I don't want ye in trouble." Demelza said as she made her way around the desk, towards me.

"I won't…just don't tell Ross?" I suggested and then walked out of the room with Demelza.

Jud was standing right there, glaring at us. "What ye two been doin' in there?"

"Just lookin'." Demelza answered.

"Just lookin'?" Jud repeated.

"I already spoke to her, Jud. She won't do it again." I said, irritated.

"There ain't nothin' in there for the likes of we. Go home. Both of ye need to go back home. Ye don' belong 'ere." Jud turned around and went back upstairs.

He is so rude. I wished that I could have done something. I woke up to the sound of the door shutting. I had fallen asleep, leaning on the dining table. I rubbed my eyes before spotting Ross.

"Why are you sleeping out in my dining room? He asked confused.

"Well, good morning to you too." I said before getting up. "You didn't come home and I was worried. Here let me take your coat." I said and he handed it to me.

The smell of a woman's perfume filled my nose. Why was he wearing a woman's perfume? I bit my bottom lip before speaking to him. He was pouring himself some alcohol.

"Where did you sleep last night?" I asked, not looking at him. "Why do I care?" I thought to myself.

There was a moment of silence before he replied. "In a bed." Once he answered he took a drink.

"Where at though?" I turned to face him. "You have a woman's perfume smell...on you."

Ross looked down at the floor. "Why should it matter to you?"

"Because it does, I don't want to be up late worrying about you when you are just out dancing with women and fucking them!" I snapped in frustration.

He glared up at me before making his way over to me. "Don't speak that way to me."

"So it's true. Was it a whore or someone from the dance?" I asked and he took his coat out of my hands.

"That is none of your business!"

"Fine, so if I were to go out and fuck whomever I wanted to, you'd be fine with it?!" I argued back.

He glared at me for what felt like forever. I glared back at him with pain and anger in my eyes. He went to open his mouth before there was a knock on the door.

"We'll have no more of this discussion. If you wish to talk to me that way again, I will not have you stay here anymore." Ross said before going to his study room and grabbing his paper work.

A knock on the door came again and Ross put his paperwork down on the dining table. He looked at me and gave me a long stare before he spoke to me.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" He asked in a harsh tone.

"I'm not your maid." I said with tears in my eyes. "Why don't you call up your whore and have her do your bidding." I had enough and made my way up to my room.

Soon I heard an unfamiliar voice speak. I think he was in the kitchen with Ross.

"Uncle, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Ross asked as if nothing was ever wrong.

"Opening a mine?" The man asked.

"Exploring the idea." Ross answered.

"Won't take no for an answer, the curse of the Poldark's and our salvation." His tone of voice was proud. "I solute you, Boy. Take Francis with you. He needs to learn. When do you meet him next?"

"Tomorrow, if Pasco can show up any interest." Ross answered.

I decided to listen to no more. I shut my door lightly before walking over to my bed. I sat down on it and let a tear fall from my eye. I let myself grow feelings for a man that I just met and has none for me. How stupid was I?

A/N: Oh no! Ross and Ali are fighting! :( Don't worry though…the next chapter will make up for this one. ;) So Prudie and Jud's words are starting to rub on me. The other day I said me instead of my. My friend laughed at me and called me Prudie. XD (She watches Poldark too.) Have a nice day or night!