Chapter Text
“No!” Alma slams the door hard, and Alice jumps where she sits on the window sill. She knows she has just been in to see Miss Avocet, which usually was pleasant for her. They'd drink tea and play chess and though they would never admit it, it often made the other girls jealous. While Alma got personal meetings, the others got sharp critique and reminders to keep working harder. It wasn't fair.
“Alma?” Scrambling off the windowsill, Alice decides to follow. “Alma what happened?”
“I don't want to talk about it!” Alma whips around, screaming right into her best friend's face. “I hate her! I'm never going back there!”
Alice pulled back, again shocked by the force with which Alma attacked. It was very unlike the typically quiet, withdrawn girl. The girl who loved Miss Avocet like her own mother.
“Woah, calm down! You can't say that about Miss Avocet!” She warns her, but Alma seems to have no plans to listen, because she continues on her way, leaving both Alice and Miss Avocet alone.
Her friend sighed. “I better find Miss Bunting” she whispered.
“She said what now?” Miss Bunting looked down at Alice and Catherine, momentarily distracted from the burnt batch of cookies she had just pulled out of the oven. “And are you sure she slammed the door?”
“Alice said she did!” Catherine claimed, pointing to her friend. “She said Alma said she hated Miss A, miss!”
Miss Bunting massaged a crease between her eyebrows. “And where is Alma now?”
“She ran off property” Roe came in from the garden, pulling her gloves off and streaking dirt across her forehead as she tried to mop off some sweat. “I saw her when I was getting the vegetables.”
Rosemary blinked. “Please tell me you tried to stop her, Miss Gannet” She said seriously.
Roe frowned, pulling back a little. “I called for her but she didn't listen. I figured I'd tell you” She excused herself, suddenly guilty that she didn’t do more.
Rosemary shook her head. She was being unfair, she knew, but having Alma roaming freely in the woods was a headache she had not expected, and it would've been far easier had she been kept on property by her older and physically stronger sister. “Nothing dear. You did what you could" she reassured her, trying to make a plan.
“Should we finish the cookies, miss?” Catherine asked quietly, looking between the burnt dozen cookies and the remaining dough in the bowl. “We can do it if you need to go.”
Rosemary blink, pulled out of her head by the offer. “Oh…yes, yes that'll be good. Just don't set anything on fire and don't let Eda help” she warned, pulling off her apron to leave. “I will be back to try them later.” She promised, hurrying upstairs.
“Esmeralda?”
Her calls go unanswered as she rushes down the hall, but once the door is pushed open there is a weak reply.
“Go away Rosemary.” Miss Avocet is curled up in the chair by her desk, holding her head in her hand. The sight is familiar but depressing, and she finds herself hurrying to her side.
“Don't say that. You know I don't go away” She insists, grabbing onto Esmeralda's shoulders to try and give her a comforting massage, which normally would work quite well. “Now tell what happened to Alma.” She surveys the room, and can see the teacups and biscuits still resting to the side of the chess set, which appeared untouched. Clearly, they had not gotten to begin their game before things went wrong.
Miss Avocet just shook her head, slowly shaking off Miss Bunting's hands and rising from her desk. “It doesn't matter, Rosie. She'll come around. I have more important things to do.” she sighed.
Rosemary placed her hands on her hip, frowning deeply. “So I'm going to go chase her in the woods, then, and you'll deal with the house?” She asked angrily, concerned that she didn't know where Alma had gone.
Miss Avocet's reaction was immediate, turning around to stare wide-eyed at her. “She did what?!”
Rosemary sighed. “Roe saw her go out the back garden. Whatever you did, she was very upset.” she said. “She didn’t stop her unfortunately.”
Miss Avocet jumped. “I'm going to find her. Right now. Just…stay, and keep things under control. Please.” She requested.
Rosemary stepped in the way of the door. “Not until I…” She paused, suddenly hearing someone yell downstairs. “This is not over!” She warned, hurrying out the door to see what was happening.
Miss Avocet didn’t listen, going the other way down the stairs to escape outside and find Alma, while Miss Bunting got into the smoke-filled kitchen. A pot of soup was burning on the soup and Miss Bunting grabbed some gloves to remove it.
“What is going on?” She exclaimed. “Please open the window!”
Alice nodded, running to pry it open.
“We were trying to make dinner, since you were busy.” Millie explained quietly. “But then we started talking and we got distracted…”
“And you nearly burnt the house down!” Miss Bunting admonished them, as though she didn’t often do the same thing when Miss Avocet permitted her to cook or bake anything. She was the worst cook anyone had ever seen, and yet here she was yelling at someone else for it.
Millie felt tears well up in her eyes. “We were just worried about Alma…” She mumbled. “Alice said she screamed at Miss Avocet…she never screams.”
“It's true though, she did! She said she hated her!” Alice argued.
“Yes, yes I know. Alma is a bit upset right now, but we are handling it. No need for any of you to be upset.” She insisted, trying to get the two girl to calm down. What they said brought her some anxiety, but she trusted her instincts that her partner could handle it.
The girls looked at each other, then nodded as they both closed in to hug Miss Bunting as tight as they dared. “We love you Miss B.”
Rosemary smiled weakly. “I love you too, girls.” As she held them tight, she looked up and out the window, where dark clouds where gathering in the sky.
“Please come back soon,” She whispered.