Will and Testament // Sequel to the Rosie Grey series

Chapter Thirty-Three

We didn't bother unpacking when we got home.

Instead, we gathered what we would need for the night and the next morning, mainly hairbrushes, toothbrushes, and nightclothes and left everything packed in boxes in the living room. Unpacking could wait, we were all too hungry and tired to care about the mess it made. Mrs Smith had made supper for us at our usual time, but since we had been gone for so long and it would not keep, she had eaten it along with Mary and Helen.

Father saw the funny side in it and asked if we could have some sandwiches made up for our supper so at least we had something to eat. We ate in the dining room surrounded by boxes with me reading through my notes for the debate and Mother and Father explaining to Mrs Smith, Helen, Mary, and Marsh, how we had succeeded in our mission to save the house. We felt like one large family rather than house owners and staff.

Even Miss Smith couldn't believe what had happened, although more in response to my behaviour than anything Grandmother had done. It seemed like she believed it to be something Grandmother would do.

"It sounds like you put up a good defence, Miss Isabel," Mrs Smith said.

"Mr Dietrich helped, and if I hadn't read Uncle Christopher's books, I never would have had a clue about what I was doing."

"You did it all on your own merit, Isabel, books or no books. Even Mr Dietrich believes you did a good job and he only caught the end of it. He never would have invited you to spend some afternoons with him if he did not believe you would do a good job," Father said.

"Well, it had to have been good if you're able to keep this house," Mrs Smith said. "I cannot imagine it if this house fell into the hands of Mrs Ealing."

"I don't think any of us can."

"Thanks to Izzy, that won't happen." Mother smiled at me.

I smiled and nibbled on the corner of my sandwich, wishing everyone would stop talking about what I did at Mr Greenway's office so I could read my debate notes in peace. They all acted like I had done something really impressive in the office, but I didn't feel like I had. All I did was state the facts that we knew with the backing of Mr Dietrich, there wasn't anything special about it and I knew that Uncle Christopher, or even Mr Dietrich, could have put forward the same case and with better wording.

For the rest of the evening, I read through my notes and tried to ignore the conversations going on around the table. Father had a more relaxed and laid back attitude to everything, and even asked Mary and Helen questions about their lives as a way to get to know them. We knew them as well as we could given the time we spent with them had been limited to time due to them working for Grandfather. Still, at least keeping the house meant no one would lose their job.

After supper, I hopped up to my room to go through my notes one final time before the debate the next day. Even after what had happened in Mr Greenway's office, the idea of giving that speech terrified me to no end. In the office, I had a reason to speak and something that pushed my anger a little more and meant that what I said, mattered more than anything. At school, I wouldn't have that feeling to grasp onto and I worried that I would never be able to speak if I didn't have that motivation.

All week I had been preparing for this debate but I had the feeling something would go horribly wrong the moment I stepped up to speak. My preparation could be for nought if I couldn't find something to push me into speaking from the heart and make sure I believed in what I said. Our families future relied on that meeting with Mr Greenway, whilst I didn't even know if we were being marked for the debate.

How could I find the right motivation for this project to make sure it succeeded?

A knock came at my door and I pulled my eyes away from my debate sheet and looked towards the door. "Come in!" I called.