A day to relax and potter, what a rarity. The family in Argyle Street would have some other menial task for her to do to occupy her. Add to that the fact that Christine was going to teach her how to cook a dish to improve her skill there too.

"Yes, Miss."

Christine looked at her sweetly as she thought on how she had wished she could have enjoyed such simple pleasures at her age. "If you need anything, come find me downstairs. And feel free to snack in the kitchen if you're hungry. Welcome to your new job, officially." She gave her a huge smile then left the girl alone to enjoy her room.

"Thank you, Miss." Ellie answered cheerfully giving her the tiniest curtsey.

Then came the making of the bed. Not a task that was too hard. The family in Argyle Street had insisted their beds be made the same way as the fancy hotels in London, so had taught Ellie how to do it from one of those books on proper housekeeping.

First a sheet to cover the mattress. Then came the top sheet. Most sheets had a wide strip of fabric at one end to help tell the top from the bottom. This was the part of the sheet that went under your chin when you were in the bed. You could also tell by the pattern of the stitches. So that end at the top, then lift up the whole mattress at the bottom and tuck the sheet under, so only two floppy 'ears' of fabric remained, one on each side.

With a practiced hand, Ellie took an 'ear' and folded so that it formed a perfect triangle, like the sail of her father's cockle. Whatever fabric remained was tucked under the mattress. Easy. Repeat other side and with the blankets too. If she did it properly, you could bounce a shilling off the taut bed.

While Ellie was performing a magic trick to make the bed look like a million bucks, Christine had finished writing her letter and called out. "I am going to the post office, I shall return soon!" She then hummed in a good mood as she went out.

While she'd be happy to meet someone new that was as interesting as her last discovery, she didn't want to get distracted and delayed coming home. If lovely men were common, she'd leave her book store more often so she wasn't too worried.

Ellie was too busy making the bed to hear Christine leave. The sound of the door closing jolted Ellie back into the moment. "Miss?" she called out. There was no answer. Ellie went downstairs to the shop. "Miss?" Nothing but empty stacks. A quick check in the back.. nothing except that white fluff ball lay dozing on the desk. Ellie put her hand on the back of that chair with the rich dark fabric. Just one day ago, she was sitting in it hoping for a chance at a job, and now look at her. She had the place to herself for a moment. Filled with joy, Ellie twirled about on the spot before laughing aloud.

Christine had been gone for a short while, leaving Ellie alone in her book store. Luckily, it rarely had anyone browse its wares so she was free to explore or simply enjoy the silence save for the occasional snore from the large white fluff. When she returned, the woman had a small bundle under one arm and looked around. "Little Ellie? Did everything go alright while I was gone?"

Ellie moved slowly through the stacks, running her finger along the shelves. She even picked out books with intriguing titles or brightly coloured letters on their spines, and tried to read the pages. Some of them had ornate letters and words that Ellie's tongue didn't want to wrap itself around. She was still browsing, when the bell rang and the door opened. Oh no! was that a customer? But Ellie was just the maid, not a shopgirl! It was just Miss Christine.

"Oh it's you, Miss. Everythin' is alright. No problems." Ellie noticed she still had a book in her hand and looked sheepishly at Christine "I poked around the books, Miss."

Christine looked over and glanced at the book title and smiled. "Don't apologize. Books are for reading. And you might as well enjoy them until someone buys them." "Feel free to look and read." She patted the top of her head light as she passed Ellie to take her seat.

Ellie shook her head and waved of her hand. "I'm not much of a reader, Miss. They just looked pretty on the shelves."

Christine gave her an innocent smile. "I understand. I read books out of boredom, I do end up enjoying myself sometimes though. I love a good adventure. What do you like to do for fun?" She asked her maid honestly.