Rose Anderson arrived in Ballarat with a bright ambition no one could match.
She took some getting used to, but Jean openly welcomed Matthew's niece into her home. Rose was loud, abrupt, and didn't hesitate to voice her opinions - she and Lucien got on like a house on fire, Jean mused every time the two of them got into one of their debates over dinner. Rose kept Charlie on his toes, exasperated her uncle (and Patrick Tyneman), and got into all sorts of trouble and mischief (usually following after Lucien).
Jean loved it.
Rose breathed a bit of new life into Ballarat and 7 Mycroft Avenue. They weren't as close as she and Mattie had been, but it was nice to have a younger woman popping in and out of the house again. Yes, Rose irritated her sometimes, and she rubbed people the wrong way, but Jean admired her headstrong passion and ambition. Rose reminded Jean of the headstrong and passionate young woman of her youth, who sought to travel the world - her dreams waylaid for decades after conceiving Abigail, a shotgun wedding, and then her life on the farm.
She saw herself in Rose in many ways, and that was why Jean pushed her (gently, subtly) to follow her dreams, to enjoy her younger years when Rose was still figuring out her place in the world, but to also that having a little more patience would smooth things out a lot. Settling down could come later (or not at all), Jean wanted Rose to live her fullest possible life. They didn't always see eye-to-eye, but Rose came to Jean (and later Alice) often for a bit of advice and a fresh cup of tea, and Jean gladly gave it. Her mind drew parallels to similar chats with Mattie and other young women of Ballarat who came to Jean with their troubles - and those thoughts always brought out the what-ifs of Abigail. Just as Jean imagined Abigail to be like Mattie, so she imagined Abigail with Rose's tenacity, her shining ambition to carve out a place in a man's world, her perseverance to climb as many workplace ladders as she could until her fingers bled and blistered. Jean brought Rose under her wing, but Rose taught her lessons too.
Rose taught her to speak up, to go for that seemingly unattainable goal high above her. Rose taught her a different kind of confidence - a confidence that stemmed from knowing her own mind and playing into other people's expectations. She taught Jean when to dig in her heels and fight for what she believed, and Jean was incredibly thankful for Rose's lessons. She held them close after leaving the church, after marrying Lucien, after campaigning for the Council, and after Lucien disappeared. They stayed with her whenever Council meetings were frustrating or the pitying looks in Ballarat got to be too much. Even after Rose left for Melbourne and left Ballarat, her presence lingered in Jean's mind - urging her on to keep at it when the going got tough.