11.
~ It was raining the next morning when Jeffery delivered Miss Stevens to the house. She quickly ducked inside the kitchen, hardly noticing Arthur was there at all.
"I'm so glad Arthur thought to have the driver pick you up this morning." Mrs. Willows was saying as the light rain made the whole house smell of freshness. "I was going to have Jeffery drive you home last evening, but you had left so quickly."
Ariadne tried to look nonchalant.
"Oh, I was fine." she said.
The pair of them were going over dress catalogs for the coming season. Mrs. Willows was talking about a trip to Paris as soon as winter was over.
"My husband and I went every year." she mused. "You know, I've been thinking that your place here has been working out very well. Maybe you should stay. Live here at the house. It would be more convenient for you."
Ariadne striated up and looked at the older woman in horror.
"Did Arthur talk to you?" she asked.
"Talk to me about what, dear?" Mrs. Willows asked.
"Nothing." Ariadne sighed. "It's just… well, he asked me why I'm not live in as well. I have responsibilities… to my sister… and her children."
"Well, if things change, as they often do, you'd be much more comfortable here in this house." Mrs. Willows said lightly.
~ Arthur had done his best to put that Miss Stevens out of his mind for the day. He left Everleigh in the care of Miss Nolan and noticed his mother was content with her ladies maid. The two of them going over catalogs and planning things.
He had Jeffery drive him, rain or no, to the law office of his old friend, Dom Cobb.
"Arthur, you know you can have a position here!" Cobb laughed. The two of them had always been close and when Arthur related how he needed fiscal independence, Cobb didn't even wait for him to finish.
"It won't be much, mostly working in the patent office and such, but it's lucrative." he had said.
"Thanks." Arthur breathed in relief. "I assume you've heard the rumors about why I'm home."
"That you've brought back a daughter from your travels and have no wife? Yes, I've heard." Cobb said with a little smile. "Would you mind terribly if I think you did the right thing by the child?"
Arthur smiled.
"It doesn't feel like I've done the right thing by her." he said sadly. "She never talks to me. Mother is always angry with me. Home… isn't exactly the comfort I was expecting it to be. I thought mother would be more of a help. Instead, she's threatened to disown me."
"Well, different generation and all that." Cobb said. "Once you've settled into a place here, you can rent out a comfortable home for you and the girl."
"Thanks, Cobb." Arthur said with relief, but didn't move.
"What is it?" the goon natured man asked.
"I have a female friend, who…" Arthur avoided eye contact at this. Cobb was already interested. "Well, she's in the same situation I found myself in. She has a small son, and is in need of support from the father. How can I make that happen?"
"Do you know who the father is?" Cobb asked.
Arthur shook his head.
"She refused to tell me." he said.
"Well, if she isn't willing to divulge the name, it means she doesn't know, or doesn't want others to know." Cobb said.
Arthur didn't think for a moment that Miss Stevens would have so many lovers as to not know the paternity of her baby.
"Why wouldn't she want the man held responsible? He needs to support his son." Arthur said tersely.
Cobb shrugged.
"I can investigate, if you like. What's her name?" he asked.
"Her name is Ariadne Stevens and the boy's name is Wesley. She lives in one of the new apartments not far from here. She used to work for the Dawson family." Arthur explained.
Cobb nodded.
"Well, I can check birth records. The city will have them all on file for the public. Once we find out his name, we can decide how best to proceed from there." he offered.
Arthur felt better and stood up.
"Thank you." he said shaking his old friend's hand.
~ Everleigh was hiding under the old man's bed again.
He was asleep and snoring loudly from his chair. That angry old woman was in the other room, and the rough looking woman, 'Nanny' she called herself, was looking for her.
Everleigh crouched under the bed when she saw Nanny's shoes storm into the bedroom in search of her.
"Miss, no one is above a good washing, now!" she said harshly and the old man snorted awake.
"What?" he asked weakly.
"Never you mind." hushed nanny to the old man. "I'm looking for the girl. It's bath time and I'm tired of playing games."
"Oh." the old man said weakly.
"Everleigh!" Nanny sang out. "Time to come out!"
To her horror, Everleigh saw Nanny's dress pool on the floor and a hand reach up for the bed skirt. Nanny's old, wrinkled face came into view and she was angry.
"There you are! Rotten girl!" she scolded and pulled Everleigh out by her arms.
Everleigh was used to rough treatment. She had been hit regularly her whole life at the orphanage, but not since she had come to live here. She had never been made to take a bath before either. That man, papa, simply ran a bath for her and trusted her to clean herself. Nanny insisted on being in the same room with her at all times. Never once leaving her alone until Everleigh was able to sneak away.
"No!" cried Everleigh in a feeble, wilted voice. She tried to kick away from nanny who simply took a firmer grip on her arms and hauled her into the bathroom.
"No arguments!" nanny said roughly pulling her.
Everleigh kicked at a side table and tried to escape.
"No kicking! You naughty thing! I'll tell your papa on you!" Nanny said and closed the bathroom door on the both of them.
"No!" Everleigh shrieked when she was alone in the bathroom with this mean woman. "No! No, bath!"
"Take your dress of, young lady. You're filthy!" Nanny ordered and started to undo the back of Everleigh's dress.
When nanny's fingers caught in Everleigh's hair and gave a hard tug, she had to cry out in pain.
"Now, this is what happens when we don't brush our hair out!" Nanny said sternly. "All tangles!"
"No!" Everleigh cried real tears now. She wasn't sure why she didn't want a bath. Normally, her bath time was nice, and relaxing. But they were always private. She didn't want to take a bath on nanny's terms.
"Hold still!" Nanny said. The older woman ripping out her hair bows.
Nanny's hand tried to cover her mouth as she pulled at yet more snarls and Everleigh saw her chance at retaliation.
She bit the woman, hard as she could and was rewarded with being shoved into the wall.
"You vile little witch!" nanny shouted and before Everleigh could cry out, nanny slapped her hard on the face.
~ "Jeffery, wait here for Miss Stevens." Arthur said solemnly. "She needs to be taken home."
Jeffery only nodded as Arthur jumped free of the carriage and marched up to the house. His mother beat him to the door. A look of utter anger flashing across her face.
"I want you to know I've sent her home, Arthur. That woman had no business being in this house." she hissed.
Arthur took a step back.
"Mother." he started to explain. He hadn't breathed a word about Ariadne or her son to anyone but Cobb. How had his mother known? Did Ariadne tell the old woman?
"Mother, I can explain. Times are changing." he said feebly.
"Times have not changed that much, Arthur. I've sent that evil cow away without a reference and next time, you'll ask me before hiring an Irish woman to be nanny in this house!" she spat.
Arthur looked at his mother stupidly.
"Miss Stevens?" he asked. He still didn't understand what was happening.
"Miss Stevens is in the girl's room with her, trying to give the poor thing some comfort after that so called Nanny attacked her. That girl is barely four years old and doesn't deserve that kind of treatment, Arthur. I'm all for a firm hand with child rearing, but the Irish think nothing of beating a child and I won't have that. Why, if Ariadne hadn't heard the girl screaming and intervened, she might have done the girl real harm."
His mother looked angry and still Arthur wasn't sure he understood.
"Miss Nolan… hit Everleigh?" he said at last. His heart started to race. How dare anyone lay a hand on his child?
"Where is Miss Nolan now?" he said angrily.
"I just told you." His mother snapped. "I've sent her on her way and she was lucky I didn't call the authorities. I know the girl bit her, but the way she handled it was totally uncalled for. I won't have a child abused in this house, Arthur. You were the one who hired her, and you did a poor job of it." she said hatefully.
Arthur shook his head.
"Is Everleigh alright?" he breathed.
"She's fine. She didn't want to take a bath is all. Miss Stevens was kind enough to look after the girl after I dismissed that Irish cow." his mother said.
Mrs Willows was about to say more about the Irish and Miss Nolan in particular, but Arthur wasn't there to listen. He quickly bounded up the stairs to Everleigh's room.
Without knocking, he opened the door to see his daughter cuddled neatly in bed with Miss Stevens reading to her.
Both females looking shocked at the intrusion.
Ariadne was laying next to Everleigh when he opened the door and she quickly, remembering her place as a servant, stood away from the girl.
Arthur caught her eyes, worried as always before he spotted his daughter.
"Everleigh, what happened?" he asked striding over to her bed.
The girl cowered away from him and pulled her blankets up tightly to her chin. He noticed the child smelled good and her hair was shinny and neatly combed. Everleigh smelled of washing soap and ladies perfume. Arthur could only guess this was Ariadne's doing.
The girl cried slightly and avoided looking at him.
"Everleigh." Miss Steven said softly. "Remember how we talked about using your big girl voice to get what you want? How we must always tell the truth? We won't get in trouble if we tell the truth."
Ariadne's voice was soft and sincere and Everleigh looked to her for help instead of Arthur.
"I didn't want to take my bath. I bit nanny." she said weakly.
Arthur nodded and waited for more.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Nanny punished me." she offered sadly.
Arthur noticed the dark bruising on the girl's face and had to keep his anger in check.
"Well, there will be no more punishment's like that. Not ever again. Nanny is gone." he told her.
"I'm sorry." Everleigh said. "I just… I didn't want a bath."
The girl started to cry and for the first time in her life, reached out for her father.