Ten years earlier

Amelia opened her eyes and breathed in the cold air. She made sure she didn’t wake up Nelly, who still slept soundly. It was still dark but Amelia thought it must be morning already. She slipped out of the bed, tugging Nelly in so her little sister would not be cold, and put on her clothes hastily. The room was cold as always. She knew that the only truly warm room would be the kitchen where the breakfast would be cooked. But it didn’t matter, nothing mattered. Jane would be coming today home, she was sure of it.

She ran downstairs as if Jane was already waiting for her there. Yet, the whole house was still asleep.

“Miss Amelia, you didn’t need to hurry so much,” Mrs Leary welcomed her, smiling broadly at Amelia. To Mrs Leary, Amelia was almost as dear as she was her very own daughter. After all, she was with her her whole life. She never got married, partially, as she said to Amelia once when asked, in her opinion, it was simply hard to find a proper, hard-working man in today’s world. Amelia never questioned Mrs Leary’s opinion - after all, she well travelled, having grown up three hours away in a little fishing village. She didn’t come into their service until she was twenty. And so, in Amelia’s opinion, she was probably the most travelled person in the whole household.

“That’s all right, Mrs Leary. Jane is coming back today and I wanted to make sure I would not miss her coming so I could properly welcome her back.”

“Miss Amelia, I am very sure that Miss Jane will come for lunch at the earliest. The coaches from London never come earlier than that. They always stop on the way,” Mrs Leary laughed.

“But you can help me if you wanted?” Mrs Leary offered her, as she could see Amelia was simply very restless. Amelia just nodded eagerly. She loved spending time with Mrs Leary cooking, even if her Mother didn’t approve it. Mrs Thomas Edwards had big plans for all her four children. She wanted her daughters to marry to not only good families, but also to those whose income was significant enough so they could have more than two servants - an achievement she sadly failed. To her defence, she couldn’t have known Thomas Edwards would inherit estate ridden with debt. In given circumstances, they were doing well, even if it meant scrutinising every expense.

Amelia loved baking, she loved how the smell of fresh scones filled the kitchen and then crept out into the house attracting the family in. It was better than an alarm. Of course, her Mother would expect Ginny to deliver it upstairs. She kept Ginny as sort of a maid, a symbol of her aspirations, yet, given Ginny’s age and skill set, it was just yet another proof that things didn’t go according to her plans.

Soon after the scones were ready, Ginny hurried to set the table in the dining room for the family. She would set all five plates for the family and then take a tray upstairs for Mrs Thomas Edwards.

Amelia was not hungry anymore, yet she sat down at the table, waiting politely for her father and Mother to join her. It was the custom, her and Nelly waiting for the head of the household. It used to be all three girls waiting to see if their parents or William would join them so they could start eating. It was considered highly impolite to start before that.

The breakfast started as usual. Amelia was sitting patiently, watching over Nelly who was trying her best to keep still. They were pretending to wait for Mother, when they knew she was not coming. After some time, Mr Thomas Edwards joined them. He sat down, taking into account what was for breakfast as if Mrs Leary prepared anything else than the scones. He would then make a sign just to stop the girls before biting in.

“Where is William?” He would not then even wait for an answer. He would simply ring a bell for Ginny to fetch their brother. He was the youngest, just ten years old. The reason, why Mr Thomas Edwards had three daughters. Once William was born, there was no more reason to pretend any interest in his wife, for which she was eternally thankful.

Ginny would then usher William in as if it was him who was the head of the family. And in some ways, given the meagre prospects of marriage his sisters had, it was in a way true.