The loud rhythmic metallic sounds of the approaching train drowned out the annoying squeak of his baggage trolley's tiny wheels as Joe shoved it down the platform ahead of him.  Kicking the trolley upright with practiced ease, Joe's eyes followed the train with disinterest as it slowed to a crawl and eventually stopped.  Nothing new there.  He didn't feel in too much of a hurry to receive or give parcels to the guard, so he decided to just people watch for a bit.  Which fine Whitby gents or ladies would he see today? What strangers?  Any friends?  

Friends?  Don't be daft!  They're all at work! He scolded himself silently as his gaze drifted down the length of the train from First class to the cheaper carriages closer to him.

Rose sat in one of those cheaper carriages. Her family could hardly afford the unnecessary expense of a train journey, and so she had taken the third class option. She hadn't traveled by train since she had been fired from her position in York, almost a year ago, and in the morning, she had enjoyed the sights of the forest, the rivers, the moorland, the hills and valleys, that made up the area around her town, yet that she usually saw so little of. On her way back, she had tried to catch glimpses, but it had been getting dark, and by the time the train noisily approached the station, she could only make out the street lanterns and lights coming from windows.

She had gone to visit her sister and her brother-in-law that day. She had not seen Alice since the wedding, and with her own wedding approaching fast, Rose knew she had only a small window of opportunity to visit. Surely once she was married there would be all kinds of chores to attend to in the bakery, not to mention making the home more... well... homely, and other wifely duties. And Alice could use something to cheer her up. The girl was nearing the end of her pregnancy and was clearly feeling quite miserable and alone. Yet Rose wasn't sure whether she had managed to cheer Alice up today. Her sister had been rather cold and distant in her manners and had seemed irritated by her presence, and for the whole journey back, this had sat in the back of Rose's mind.

As she picked up her linen bag and made her way to the door the conversations and images of that day replayed themselves once again in her mind and she hardly paid attention to what she was doing. She stepped out onto the platform, turned and looked along the length of the train without really seeing it. She didn't pay attention to the people passing by hurriedly as she stood there, apparently frozen in time.

Joe's attention was captivated by that young female passenger who had just stepped down from Third class and now simply stood there. She was quite pretty, in that honest hard working way, but more than that, Joe thought that he knew her. Her looks and something about how she carried herself sparked a memory in him. The boiler that powered his brain wasn't quite up to steam at the moment, so her name wasn't right there, so there was nothing for it but to ask. He approached.

"Apologies Miss," Joe touched the brim of his cap with his fingers out of politeness. Joe's mother had insisted that her sons treat women - any woman - with respect. "I feel like I know you. Are you local or just visiting?" Joe asked, trying to give his brain a chance to catch up.

Rose snapped out of her stream of consciousness, and turned to the young man, taking a small step back. She knew there were shady men out at night ready to approach girls like her. OH GOD WHAT A CREEP TO PULL THAT HEY DON"T I KNOW YOU CARD!!!!

"Get away from me you creep!" she shouted. And it was only after she had raised her bag and dealt him a sound blow with it that she realized she did actually know him. "Joseph Blacke, oh my goodness, is that you!?" she said, he voice suddenly full of excitement.

Rose snapped out of her stream of consciousness, and turned to the young man, taking a small step back. She knew there were shady men out at night ready to approach girls like her. OH GOD WHAT A CREEP TO PULL THAT HEY DON"T I KNOW YOU CARD!!!!

"Get away from me you creep!" she shouted. And it was only after she had raised her bag and dealt him a sound blow with it that she realized she did actually know him. "Joseph Blacke, oh my goodness, is that you!?" she said, he voice suddenly full of excitement.

Her shout and the rapid assault with her bag caught Joe completely off guard, causing him to stagger back a step and somewhat raise his arms to protect himself.  He braced his body for the third blow to land, but it didn't come.  Instead, the attack must have jolted his brain into working because Joe put the face and the voice together to remember just who she was.  Rose Ward.  That was a long time ago... She was more grown up now in every sense of the word.

"If I say yes, are you going to hit me again?" Joe ruefully rubbed the top of his head.

A light blush appeared on Rose's cheeks and she held her bag tightly in front of her with both hands. "Aye, I won't. I'm sorry about that," she said embarrassed. "But you shouldn't go about approaching young ladies like that; you gave me a start!" Rose had learned blame shifting at her mother's knee.

"Sorry.." he mumbled, she was probably right. It was his fault, it was dark after all.

How do you fill a gap of years since speaking to a person? That she had changed was obvious; she was no longer that young girl who didn't need to be told twice to come on some adventure. The two of them had grown up together and then apart. Now they were both adults trying to make their own ways in the world.

"What 'ave you been up to? 'ave you been busy as Rose the Pirate Queen?" he asked, recalling a fantastical title used long ago.

She smiled at that suggestion, but sadly. She had not thought back on her schooldays often. After leaving school, there had always been so much work and so much had happened. But now that she did, she felt a pang of nostalgia. They had been so optimistic and life had been so much simpler. She had probably been a worse person for her mischief and lack of self control, only hidden from her parents because her older brother was worse, but she had been a great deal happier.

"Not exactly. They tried to kidnap me to become their queen, but I fought them off bravely," she joked, though in a quiet voice. "I became a maid-of-all-work... I think I should have liked Pirate Queen more after all." She considered telling him about her engagement, but hesitated. Her schooldays and her approaching marriage seemed two different worlds. And she seemed two different persons. "What have you been up to? Are you working for the railway now?" It seemed odd talking to someone she had once been so at ease with, but who was practically a stranger now.

"Aye. My old man works on steam engines 'ere, so after school he got me a job at t' station.  I mostly work with t' goods, but I do help passengers, like you, if needs be."  

Joe paused a moment to reflect just how long had passed since he had last Rose.  The last time he had seen her, she had been much happier, much younger, more alive. But growing up tended to dull that sort of thing, and Rose had grown up quite up nicely, in his opinion.

"A maid-of-all-work, well it's not visitin' Zanibar or the South Seas like you said you would, but it's 'onest work.  How's family?  Are you back for a visit?"

"That's neat," Rose commented, when he told her about his job, but when he asked about her family, she avoided his eye and felt a knot tie somewhere around her stomach. "We've had some ill fate. Lost me mother and two older brothers. Hence why I went into service."

She didn't know if he had heard about Simon at the time. The murder and Simon's sentence had been all over the local newspapers and had been the topic of local talk for months of course. But either was, Rose was not keen to touch on that topic if she didn't have to. Instead, she quickly steered the conversation away from the tragedy.

"I worked 'ere in Whitby as a maid up til last week. For a dreadful grumpy goat of a man, I'll tell ye that. But I finished me contract. I'll be a baker's wife as of next week!" Suddenly the impending marriage was a perfect topic for conversation. It did suddenly make a lot more sense as well, against the backdrop of her family's tragedies and their struggle for survival. As a baker's wife, Rose had done quite well for herself.