'
The nearest post office to Varykino was situated in a small hamlet named Dockray, over a mile away.
When Rey asked for directions, Poe offered to take her, kindly claiming he had to go anyway and that Lord Ren wouldn't mind him taking the pony and trap.
It was a bright sunny early spring day but Rey was still glad that she wasn't on her own, she was still nervous in an environment so strange compared to London and unable to forget the unexplained animal noises she heard nightly.
"When you have an afternoon free, I'll have to show you Aira Force," Poe offered as they drove up a steep, winding road, "Aira beck runs through Dockray, and becomes a fine waterfall farther downhill, but you can't see it from the road as its in a ravine."
To Rey, the idea of free time was a novel idea, whilst she had been with Mr Plutt the only time she wasn't working was when she was asleep or in church. She had discovered, to her surprise and a little shock, no one in Varykino attended church on Sundays, or at all. The nearest church was in Matterdale, higher up on the hill or 'fell' as they were called here, past Dockray.
When she had asked about it during dinner with Dopheld and Poe one night, they'd both frowned and shifted uncomfortably in their seats before Poe had explained that the vicar there, a Reverend Snoke, hated Varykino and its owners. So much so that he spread rumours about Lord Ren, Lady Solo and her late husband, but most of all, about Lord Skywalker whom he loathed above all else.
It seemed so very unlikely, but Rey knew they wouldn't lie about such a thing, and the warnings told to her on her journey to Varykino had seemingly come to nothing.
To her shame, she found she didn't miss church, the staid, lifeless atmosphere had never held much divinity in her eyes, the robed men who warned her of hell and damnation, had never felt believable, they were more interested in beating you down than lifting you up to god.
The only holy man she had ever liked was the priest who had found her in the workhouse, who had helped her out of it. But he had never lectured her on the state of her soul, he saved her himself, in the name of the Lord Jesus of course, but it had been him, not some divine being that changed her life and gave it meaning.
So Rey pushed down her shame and had used the extra time to get on with her tasks, until now anyway, did Poe mean that she could have that time to herself perhaps? She mentally shook her head and refocused her eyes to the world around her, green and budding with new life.
"I've never seen a waterfall," she admitted as she soaked in the sunlight.
Poe gasped but she knew he was teasing as he replied, "That is truly sad, Rey, I shall have to take you there soon!"
While Dopheld made her feel very comfortable, Poe made her slightly nervous, but the idea of seeing a real waterfall meant she didn't hesitate to agree to his offer, but then as she opened her mouth to accept, she suddenly realised how improper that would be. At that moment she couldn't seem to think of a way to politely say so, so she didn't reply immediately, which Poe didn't appear to notice.
They parted ways in Dockray once Poe had shown her where the post office was, as he had to go off on some business of his own.
The post office was small and sold other things apart from stamps, eggs, milk and other sundries.
As Rey entered, a small bell tinkled and a woman stood up from where she had been petting a small brown dog with long silky looking ears.
"Good morning, miss," she smiled with genuine warmth, "Welcome to Dockray post office."
Smiling back, Rey walked to the counter and produced her letter to Lady Solo, "I'd like to post this, if I may and do you perhaps sell jam?"
The smaller woman nodded as she looked at the address, "You must be the new maid down at Varykino?"
Rey blinked, "Um, yes, I am."
"I'm Rose Tico," she smiled again, "We've already heard so much about you from Mr Dameron and Mr Hux." She picked up the letter, "Stamp is 1d and you may leave it with me as there isn't a proper post box. We don't sell jam, but my sister Paige made some excellent strawberry conserve last year and we have some left over."
"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly deprive you-" Rey started but Rose waved her hand.
"Please, call it a welcome gift! It's a pleasure to see a new face here, I'm sure you're on business now, but Paige and I would love to have you for tea one afternoon."
Rey stared for a moment in surprise. Rose was well dressed, not as befitting a lady, but she certainly wasn't a maid or in another form of service, so what could she want with Rey?
Rose picked up a bell which sat on the counter and rang it, it was higher and sweeter than the one at the shop door and another woman came in through a door behind the counter, taller and more slender than Rose but still clearly her sister.
"This is Rey!" Rose beamed, "Would you find her a jar of your marvellous conserve? I am sure we have a few left."
Paige tsked as she smiled indulgently at her sister, before looking at Rey, "It is so nice to meet you, Miss Johnson," she put emphasis on the Miss Johnson and Rose blushed.
"Just Rey is honestly fine," she answered, feeling a little bad for Rose, whose expression became sunny once more, "It is nice to meet you, too."
"Well then, you must come for tea soon - Dockray is rather small and new company of our own age is always welcome."
This gave Rey a simple solution to her predicament, "Would you perhaps care for a walk one day? Mr Dameron has told me about the waterfall and I would dearly love to see it."
Rose clapped her hands, "We haven't been to Aira Force this year! The daffodils are out so we should go soon."
"Perhaps next Sunday afternoon?" Paige asked, looking at Rey, "If you can get away from the house?"
Blushing slightly as their obviously differing positions, Rey replied, "I cannot say for certain, but I will ask Mr hux."
Strictly speaking, she was employed by Lady Solo, but she couldn't easily ask her and was happy to be guided by Mr Hux instead.
'
She left the post office with a smile, her letter on its way to Lady Solo and a jar of beautifully red conserve. Mr Plutt's favourite sweet treat were Victoria Sandwiches - sponge cake with jam in the middle and Rey hoped that the other staff at Varykino would enjoy it as much as he had.
Paige had also given her some eggs, which apparently Poe had been meant to collect but had clearly forgotten. To her relief he didn't look disappointed when she told him of the Tico sisters enthusiasm to join them at the waterfall and they spent a pleasant drive back to Varykino.
'
If anything, when she asked Mr Hux about her going out for leisure on Sunday afternoon, he looked a trifle amused, it was barely there, but his lips definitely curved a little, "You may, although I urge you to be back before eventide or earlier if a mist descends, they can be dangerous."
"Thank you, sir. Mr Dameron will be with me, as will some ladies from Dockray."
Mr Hux's eyebrow rose, "So long as Mr Dameron has completed his tasks for the day."
Rey bobbed her head in answer and they parted ways. If Poe was unable to join them, she was fairly certain the Tico sisters would be happy to go without him, they didn't strike her as women who would be dissuaded from a walk merely because they didn't have a man with them.
'
Rey began tackling the dining room next. It was similar to the billiard room in that it wasn't overly crowded with furniture, there was just the long wooden dining table with chairs and two side boards. The walls were painted red, decorated with paintings with gilded frames and there was an impressive looking crystal chandelier along with gilded wall lamps and a stately marble fireplace.
Once more it seemed as if the heavy curtains had not been opened in an age and it made Rey wonder if Mr Ren ever saw sunlight, though judging by his complexion, if he did it was seldom.
Keeping a careful eye on the mantle clock, which definitely needed polishing, Rey working around Lord Ren's meals, managing to be gone before he arrived so she didn't inconvenience him or have the displeasure of his company.
It still made her want to kick herself when she thought about him seeing her damp and with her hair unbound like that, it was so very indecorous of her and he had clearly been furious.
Part of her was surprised he hadn't told Mr Hux to discipline her, but he hadn't even mentioned the incident, much to her relief. Now she worked extra hard on avoiding Lord Ren, and so far it had worked very well indeed.
'
Until it came time for her to get the chandelier lowered so she could clean it. It was covered in dust and spider webs and so was considerably dimmer than it should be, but try as she might, she couldn't get to it on her own.
Mr Hux, who was tall, was out on an errand, and she was fairly sure Poe would be too short,
while Dopheld came upstairs as little as he possibly could and Rey didn't want to worry him. So she stood on a chair, balancing precariously as she attempted to reach as far as she could with her feather duster.
She was getting a fair bit done, glad that she had covered the table in a dust sheet to catch what the feathers didn't collect, when a throat cleared behind her.
The sound was sudden and wholly unexpected as it was between mealtimes. She jerked in fright and fell, but rather than hitting anything, something caught her, something that felt like two strong arms…
Rey was utterly horrified to find herself in Lord Ren's arms, she gasped despite herself, and he cleared his throat again as he set her on her feet.
What should she say? Before she could think of an apology he spoke first.
"That was a dangerous position, you are lucky I caught you," his voice was oddly warm and gravelly.
Her cheeks reddened even further, partly due to anger now - if he hadn't startled her, she would have been fine as she was!
Biting her tongue, she restrained herself and only replied, "Thank you, Lord Ren. Did you wish to use the dining room?"
The hands at his sides briefly fisted and she finally looked up, his eyes were dark, fixated on her, and she felt the strangest flipping sensation warm in her belly.
His jaw clenched slightly, "I will tell Hux to finish the chandelier," his eyes roved over her face for a few more seconds as his nostrils flared, then with an inexplicably angry wrench, he whirled away from her and exited the dining room, door slamming shut behind him.
Rey abruptly sat down in the chair she had fallen from, uncaring that she was probably covering her skirts in dust.
Although she hadn't actually hurt herself, she felt slightly winded and confused - Lord Ren did not seem to follow any normal behaviours of the upper class, at least in her admittedly narrow experience, yet she was absolutely sure that anyone else would agree with her.
Once her heart had slowed down and she regained her equanimity, she decided to finish the chandelier, Lord Ren was not her employer after all and Mr Hux had better things to attend to, plus, she had made a good start and wished to finish it herself.
To guard against any more surprises, she wedged the dining room door shut then continued cleaning.
The task was completed before Lord Ren's dinner, and she quickly cleared up the mess and slipped away so the table could be laid.
On her way downstairs, she met Mr Hux, who frowned at the dust sheet in her hands, "Please leave the sheet upstairs, Rey, Lord Ren has asked that I finish cleaning the chandelier later."
Bobbing an awkward curtsey, Rey kept her face smooth as she said, "It's all finished it, sir."
Mr Hux's frown deepened, "I know he is not your employer, Rey, but he is still your superior. From what he told me it was a matter of your safety that he asked me."
It was a near thing, but Rey held her derisive snort inside her, "I understand that, sir, but I can assure you I was perfectly safe," she bit her lip briefly but she wanted to explain herself, "It was because Lord Ren startled me that I almost fell."
"Ah," Mr Hux sighed, "Even so, in the future, please follow his orders."
It irked her, but she knew she had to give way, "Yes sir."
"Good girl," he smiled slightly, "Go and have your supper then."
'
That night, she wasn't woken up by howling or other mysterious sounds, but by a dream so absurd it pulled her from slumber.
The vividity of the dream didn't fade either, she had been in a man's arms, they had held her to a broad chest as he murmured nonsensically into her hair, lips occasionally pressing against her forehead or ears. It had been an achingly tender moment, the sensation of being so close to someone, so cared for, had left her quite breathless. After a while a hand had cupped her face to tilt it up and Rey had eagerly allowed it, hoping to experience her first kiss, only to recoil at the sight of Lord Ren.
That was what had woken her, mortified and furious - how dare he invade her dreams! That dream in particular, it had been so wonderful to feel loved like that, and he had ruined it!
Even if he didn't know it. Damn him!
She immediately felt guilty and took her damn back, but the fact remained that if he hadn't surprised her she wouldn't have fallen and he wouldn't have caught her and she wouldn't have had suffered the indignity of that dream.
Rising from her bed, she splashed some cold water over her face, patted it dry and went to stand and look out of her window. It was still full dark, dawn perhaps two hours away, but she wouldn't be going back to sleep now.
So she got dressed and went downstairs to clean the scullery, down there she wouldn't disturb anyone save the spiders and there was no chance of meeting Lord Ren.
'
'
A/N: The river name Aira is derived from Old Norse eyrr, a gravel bank, and Old Norse á, a river, hence The river at the gravel bank, a reference to Aira Point, a gravelly spit where the river enters Ullswater. The Old Norse word fors, waterfall, has been adopted into several northern English dialects and is widely used for waterfalls, with the English spelling 'Force'. Thus, The waterfall on gravel-bank river.
After a walk along this part of Ullswater, Wordsworth wrote his most famous poem, 'Daffodils' ('I wandered lonely as a cloud') and Airey-Force Valley – a short lyric about the waterfall.
