When Edith awoke suddenly in the morning, she was comforted to find Thomas asleep beside her. She shuddered, glad to be back in the real world, as she was sure she'd had a nightmare. It took a moment for her to notice that she could hear music from downstairs.

Not wanting to disturb her husband, Edith slipped out of the bed and went to the door. As she went out to the hall she heard the piano more clearly, and quiet voices down in the parlour.

Lucille was sat playing the piano, with Florence perched on the stool beside her. As Lucille hummed and played the main melody, Florence added a sweet tune with one hand. Edith stood quietly in the doorway, watching them together.

Lucille smiled at Florrie encouragingly whenever she glanced up at her, and Florence in turn was nodding her head as her little fingers flitted over a few keys. In Lucille's eyes, Edith could see pure adoration.

Edith stepped further into the room to examine the latin words carved above the fireplace, but Lucille noticed her and the music stopped abruptly.

"To the hills, we raise our eyes," Lucille translated. Embarrassed, Edith blushed.

"I'm sorry, I interrupted you. What was that music?"

"Edith!" Florence chirped happily. Edith smiled at her as Lucille smiled a little and ran a hand through her long hair.

"Not at all. It is the lullaby I used to sing to Thomas when we were young. I play it for Florence now," she said smoothly, continuing to stroke Florrie's hair. Edith smiled a little as she imagined it.

"I can just see you in here as children," she wondered softly, glancing around the room. "You, playing the piano. Thomas coming up with wild inventions..." Her voice was dreamy, and Lucille couldn't help but chuckle. She tapped Florrie's shoulder and she looked up at her.

"Why don't you go and wake Thomas?"

The little girl nodded and hopped off the stool, running out of the room and up the huge staircase. Edith watched her go with a chuckle, and Lucille smiled sadly.

"We were not allowed in here as children. We were confined to the nursery, in the attic. Mother played the piano, though. Sometimes we'd hear her through the floor." She sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. "That's how we knew she was back in the country."

Darting out of the parlour as Lucille had ordered her to, Florence ran all the way up the stairs and along the hall to her brother's bedroom. She was used to her sister sending her out of the room when they had other people in the house- Lucille was obsessive over keeping her safely out of reach. Some people did terrible things to little girls, she said.

Florence stopped to peek through the slightly open door, and saw that Thomas was still asleep on his side of the bed. Biting her lip to stop herself grinning, Florrie slipped through the door and crept across the room.

When she was close enough, the little girl threw herself onto the bed, where Thomas awoke just in time to catch her.

"Boo!"

He wrapped his arms around her and growled into her hair as she burst into fits of giggles, and rolled so as to trap her in his arms.

"Good morning," he said incredulously. "What do you want at this time of the day?"

His tone was teasing, and Florrie stuck her bottom lip out in a fake pout as she answered somewhat honestly.

"Breakfast. Lucille said I had to wait until you got up, and you were taking too long," she whined. Thomas chuckled and squeezed her tighter.

"Oh, you poor thing." He released her and pushed himself up against the headboard, before stretching and pulling her across his lap, where she curled up and closed her eyes. Thomas sighed and his smile dissipated as he ran a finger along her cheekbone. She was underweight, so it was too obvious under her skin.

"I'm sorry, my love, but I don't think we have anything more than what's left of Lucille's porridge. I know you hate it," he mumbled sadly. Florrie opened an eye to look up at him, and snuggled a little more into his lap.

"It's ok, Edith can have mine," she answered lightly. Thomas' heart melted; she was so kind, this little girl. He was both grateful and astonished that he and Lucille had managed to raise her into even a half decent human being, what with how useless their parents had been.

"Well then, you can have mine," he whispered to her, smiling once more. Lucille had planned on going to buy such things as eggs and milk soon, anyway.

Once Edith had washed and dressed, Thomas was already out working on his machine and Lucille had left to buy groceries. Florence was sat alone at the kitchen table scraping every last bit out of her bowl of porridge when Edith went in to find her, the little dog scurrying around at her feet. The little girl smiled when she entered and pushed a second bowl across the table towards her.

"Morning, Florrie," Edith smiled, walking to the table. Florence beamed.

"Good morning. We figured you wouldn't be long, so Thomas made your porridge too. It's still warm," she said brightly. Edith chuckled and sat down, picking up the bowl and taking a bite. It had the same bitter taste as the tea, but it wasn't quite as bad as when Lucille made it. Edith suspected that was just something she'd have to get used to.

"It looks like it's just you and me this morning," Edith said thoughtfully. Then she had an idea, and leaned across to smirk at Florrie. "How about you show me where you like to hide? I won't tell anyone, I promise. I don't even know my way around yet."

Little Florence's eyes seemed to sparkle for a moment, before she checked herself and frowned down at her now empty bowl.

"Lucille says I'm not to. She says sometimes the floor is too weak for anyone bigger than me, that it will break."

Her voice was sad, maybe even a tad frustrated. Edith wondered whether Lucille was a little overly protective of her little sister.

"Alright. How about we go outside? There's no snow yet, we can take our little doggy for a walk," she decided. Florence smiled and nodded, her eyes gleaming. Edith wondered if her siblings ever offered to play with her any more.

The young woman stood and smoothed her dress, then took their bowls to the sink and rinsed them. As she turned back to the table, she reached out and took Florence's hand, and smiled at her.

"Come on, let's fetch our coats."

For most of the morning, Edith walked around the vast expanses of the hall's grounds with Florrie's hand clasped tightly in hers as the little dog ran around them chasing its ball. The child giggled and sang and skipped along, clearly enjoying every second of being outside with someone less serious than her sister and less busy than her brother.

After some time, Lucille returned, and Edith couldn't help but notice how Florence seemed uneasy.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" she asked gently, looking at the child with kind eyes. Florence fidgeted, and looked over her shoulder at the house.

"Lucille will be looking for me. She doesn't like it when I leave the house without her knowing," she said softly. Edith frowned, but ran a hand through Florence's hair.

"You go on back, then. I will be fine out here," she promised. Florence looked at her and smiled, although the sparkle had gone.

"Ok. Don't forget lunch," she said sweetly, before turning and running back across the grounds towards the huge house. It loomed like a monster over her, a creature looking to devour her as she grew nearer, and Edith watched her vanish into a secret door somewhere near the back of it. Edith couldn't help but think of Thomas saying 'Florence knows this house better than anyone'.

When Edith found Thomas' workshop in the attic, she was taken aback. Drawings, designs and mechanisms hung from every wall, and the floor was a maze of workbenches and to-be-fixed machines that weaved around the beams that stretched floor to ceiling.

Edith could see Thomas at the back, sat at a desk with Florence on his knee, clearly showing her the workings of something. For a minute or two, Edith stood quietly, leaning in the doorway, just watching them together.

Thomas seemed alive, his voice bright as he pointed out every little moving part of whatever it was on the desk. Florence watched him with huge eyes, listening to everything he said and helping him to unscrew and deconstruct mechanisms- his other hand was on her waist, keeping her from falling as she leant over the desk. The tartan blanket Edith had seen in their bedroom was wrapped around the both of them, as it was freezing cold up here. She continued to watch them for another moment, enjoying the fact they hadn't noticed her arrival.

(Bit of a gap. Sorry!)