Tobias stood by the cart eating some bread and cheese. Alice was already seated on the cart again, eating her own piece. "Was beginning to worry you'd lost your way." Tobias commented when he spotted Abi, entirely unaware of her recent breakdown. He handed her some bread and cheese as well. "Here. Best eat summat while we're drivin'. Jenny will have some soup ready when we return, but there won't be time for an elaborate dinner. We start early at t' farm." He gestured for her to get back on the wagon, gobbled down his own food and climbed back on. And on they went.

Abilene thanked Mr. Appleton gratefully for the food. She hadn't wanted to question about food, but she hadn't eaten since noon that day and it was many hours later by now. At his gesture, she climbed back into the cart and curled up as she'd been earlier, nibbling away as the cart jolted back into motion. If the night hadn't been so cold, she might have drifted off to sleep, as she felt quite weary from the endless up and down of the cart and the frigid wind, not to mention the length of the journey.

After what must have seemed like ages, the cart finally came to a halt. They had reached a farmstead, although Abi might not be able to make out much of it in the dark, other than the front of the house, lit by a lantern by the door and the glow of a fire coming from within. The core of the house was made of grey, bleak stone and seemed at least two centuries old, but on the right, a single floor attachment had been built up against it, which looked much newer, its windows larger and more elegant than the small, paneled windows of the main house. The older, main part consisted of two floors, not counting the attic, but did not seem very large in surface. Behind it, however, lay the shadows of other buildings, which Abi could probably barely make out in the clouded night.

Tobias hopped down, opened the gate and led the horses and cart in. Then he helped Alice down. "Show t' cook..." he looked at Abi "Will Abi do?" he asked her, not waiting for an answer before turning back to Alice: "... Show her in and tell Jenny to take her things up to her room. Have yer dinner already, so you can go to bed after."

Alice merely nodded, before turning to Abi. "This way," she said in a voice that, though not hostile, did not sound particularly friendly or welcoming either. If Abi took her things and followed, Alice led her into the house, while Tobias led the horses and cart away.

The inside of the house seemed even more haphazardly collected than the outside. There was no hallway - rather, one stepped immediately into a large room. Although there was a grand fireplace on one side, and a fire was burning merrily, the room seemed dark, its wall boards covered with a dark green wallpaper, which came off in some corners to hint neglect. There were two matching lighter green sofas by the fire, but the wooden arm chair, deprived of any upholstery, looked old and worn and rudely disrupted the harmony of the prior. On the other side of the room was a dark wooden table with several upholstered chairs, suggesting that this room functioned both as drawing room and as dining room. There were several drawers with china plates and cups, as well as several bookshelves with old leather-bound books, interspersed by newer, cheap station editions, once again creating a topsy-turvy appearance. On the right there was a door, and on the left a straight staircase. The air in the room was thick with the smell of the hearth fire and the enduring stink of burnt tallow from candles, although none burned now.

As soon as they entered, a young girl of about thirteen, dressed in a black dress and white apron, came through the door on the right. The smell of food that trailed behind her as she opened the door betrayed that the newer part of the house was the kitchen. "I was beginnin' to worry, ma'm!" she said. "I'll have yer soup heated in a moment." Her face was round, and her small nose somewhat flat. Her sandy blonde hair was tied in a long loose braid. Small blue eyes landed on Abi curiously.

"Jenny, this is our new cook, Miss Kildare..." said Alice, blushing a little as she spoke with a light tremor in her voice. She turned to Abi. "This is Jenny. She's our maid. She'll assist ye where ye need it..."

It might have just been Abilene's relief to finally arrive, but when she looked up at the Appletons' home, she thought it looked quite welcoming. Staring up at the house, she climbed out of the wagon, shawl still wrapped tightly around her shoulders and chest. At the question as to if 'Abi' would do, she nodded, willing to go by whatever name would ensure her employment here. She didn't much like how Mr. Appleton ordered his wife around like that, but she wasn't about to voice this opinion. "Thank you," she said softly as Mrs. Appleton led her inside, her tone sincere, a stark contrast to the neutral but nearly sharp tint of Mrs. Appleton's voice.

Entering the home, Abilene's first thought was not, as one might expect from a middle-class-raised girl, 'Oh, how humble', it was 'Oh, how lovely'. She liked the eclectic interior, it felt more homely than anywhere she'd ever lived, and she shifted on her feet as another person entered the room. It was a girl, and Abilene immediately thought of Linnie. A sense of sisterly protection swept over her and she resolved to be whatever sort of friend this girl wanted and/or needed during her employment here. Jenny was the girl's name, according to Mrs. Appleton, and Abilene offered her a warm smile and curtsied at the introduction. "Lovely to meet you. You can call me Abilene, or Abi, if you'd like."

The child curtsied to Abi. "Yes, Miss," she said, clearly a little intimidated by the new servant who was her senior both in age and rank.

"We can tend to the soup... Please take Abi... Miss... Abi's things to her room. I'll show her the kitchen..." said Alice. She blushed deeper at her own blundering. Even after almost a month of living as Mrs. Appleton, Alice felt unsure of herself when talking to servants, always uncertain of how to address them, and feeling out of place ordering them about. And around women of 'her own rank', she felt inferior and even more out of place. It wasn't solely the fact that Tobias, as a small landowning farmer, had a somewhat fluid status, which Alice now shared. Her own move up the social ladder had thrown her awkwardly between the classes, and she struggled to find her place and manoeuvre the new expectations. She was above the servants now and could not engage with them as equals. But she felt no connection with the wives of the shop keepers and other farmers in town.

"Aye ma'm," said Jenny, and before Abi could do anything, the girl had taken the bags and carried them up the stairs with an ease that suggested hard labour from an early age.

"This way please..." said Alice, and without waiting to see whether Abi followed, she made her way to the kitchen and immediately sank down on a bench by the table. Two candles on the table illuminated the room, which looked more exclusively modern, although it was in need of some refurbishing. There was faded navy blue carpet on the floor, with several stains, burns and holes. Near the cooking range in the fireplace, the wallpaper had gone dark and dusty, and again, in the corners it was coming loose, revealing mold. The large table in the middle had several cuts and burn marks on it. However, the place was well organized, with a wide variety of pots and pans and other utensils hanging from the walls and open, well-organized cupboards revealing polished bowls, plates and cups. Despite the wear and tear on the table, it was spotlessly clean. The cooking range looked like it was cleaned, blackleaded and polished daily, for it shone, and the carpet in front of it was more faded than the rest from extensive cleaning. There were two large, though high windows in the wall, but the shutters were closed.

In the back of the kitchen was another door. Alice gestured at it from the bench. "T' scullery is there in the back. The storage room underneath." She pointed under the table, to a large trap door. There was a soup pan on the table. "Do you mind heatin' the soup?" Alice closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She was weary from all the impressions of the day and the long bumpy ride in the dark and felt dizzy and out of breath.