looking out for you- joy again

florence's pov-

enola and i walk through the woods that tewkesbury-

the woods that are next to basilwether hall.

i see a large branch on the ground as i remember what he had said to me that night.

-flashback-

"

as i was collecting wild mushrooms."

-end of flashback-

"that's it!" i exclaim as enola looks at me in confusion.

"that- when i was with tewkesbury, in front of the fire. we were talking, and he told me that a tree branch broke above him as he was collecting wild mushrooms." i tell her, suddenly remembering every little detail about that night that i had spent with him.

enola bends down to feel the tree branch, though it didn't look like it had broke. it looks more like it had been chopped.

"did he tell you how big the branch was?" enola asks.

i remember, but he never told me if i was allowed to tell anyone about it.

he was hesitant to tell me...

but it's only right if enola knows.

with her smarts she'll find the truth.

i'll make sure to tell tewkesbury i had to tell her when i see him again.

if i ever see him again...

"hellooo? earth to flora!" enola shouts at me, snapping her fingers.

"sorry sorry, i was just thinking." i inform her.

"yes of course. let me guess, about tewkesbury?"

"he said it should've crushed him." i tell her.

well what was i supposed to do?

tell her she was right?

absolutely not.

"well, it couldn't of been this one. has a clean slice, must've been chopped." she tells me.

"that's what i was thinking..." i trail off as i see a much larger branch behind me.

i walk towards it as enola calls my name.

"i think this is it." i say softly as she appears next to me.

i look towards her and all around as i hear a wind chime tinkle.

"tewkesbury?" we both say at the same time, looking up at the tree house.

as i attempt to climb the rope up the tree, i desperately fail.

"that's what you get for never doing exercises." enola says, laughing from the ground.

"oh you hush, i've climbed plenty of trees before, to pick different flowers." i tell her. "and we're the same size, it's not like i sat around and ate all day." i say laughing.

i continue to struggle up the rope, as i finally reach the top.

i push the small hatch open and climb up onto the platform.

"wow." i whisper in awe of this beautiful place.

who knew i'd finally meet a boy with an incredible hideaway?

"it's beautiful." i tell enola as she looks around as well.

"it's just dirty nature." she shrugs.

"i swear, if you don't stop-"

"i was only joking! calm down flora!" she defends as i just roll my eyes.

i walk around analyzing every little aspect of the place.

i see a rope ladder leading from the tree to another, as enola peeks out the opening.

i can only imagine how much better it would be with tewkesbury himself here.

i wish i knew how it would be, truly.

i see a collection of pressed flowers, something i love to do.

i remember how he looked so intrigued and joyful by a flower, that evening in the large field.

i feel along the swings fabric, as it begins to slightly move.

i look at a newspaper he had set on it, as i feel along the edges.

i remember how truly beautiful he looked with the golden sun shining on his face.

his dark brown eyes looking almost like a bowl of honey.

i follow behind enola, thinking too many thoughts, as she opens an orange trunk i believe.

it's filled with different things, but on top are a saw, a small knife, and a fabric that looked just like the one in the train.

i pick up a blue book titled

'a labourers life at london dock'

as i open it, i happen to open to a page filled with a drawing of

limehouse dock.

enola just follows behind me as i look at different things he had stored.

i pull out a map.

i look down at the map and run my pointer finger over the black circle he had made around london dock and limehouse.

i look at enola as she looks at me with shock.

she must not be used to me deciphering things too.

i pick up a book with a marvelous pattern on the front and look on the spine for the title.

'london as it is to-day'

i run my thumb over the gold lettering.

i lift the book to eye level as enola takes a seat next to me.

i gently flip through the pages to see beautiful blue flowers he had inside, in the process of pressing.

i chuckle as i carefully take one out.

enola looks at me with a soft smile and chuckles to herself.

"it's not as stable as you think." a woman says, scaring the living daylights out of us both.

i let out quite a high shriek as enola just gasps.

i quickly set the book back down and fall onto enola.

she pushes me off as we both stand up.

"some of those branches are extremely capricious." it must be his grandmother.

i begin to walk forward as enola follows behind me.

"good morning." she tells us.

"good morning." i reply back with a smile.

"i believe we've already met, though you were both dressed differently then."

"you'd already discovered this, hadn't you?" enola asks the elderly lady.

"we found it a few days ago. would you care to come down?"

i look at enola as she just begins to open the latch back up, climbing down the rope.

"did you see anything to report to your... "employer"?" she asks enola as i begin to climb down as well.

"oh. no. sherlock. uhm... he'll probably want to come by." enola tells her as i jump down.

"what did you say your name was?" she asks us.

"may. may beatrice posy." enola says, nudging my shoulder as a way of telling me to speak.

"cordelia posy ma'am." i say taking my hat off.

"and how old are you, miss posy?" she says looking at enola.

"21. and cordelia here is my daughter, she's 17. my dear husband, he had her before we became married."

the lady looks at us for a moment before speaking again.

"i'll have to let the gardeners go for lending you their uniforms."

"no. no, we forced them." i tell her, not wanting the men to loose their jobs.

"tied them up. i know jujitsu." enola says, moving her hands oddly to show.

the lady smiles as enola continues. "it's a martial art."

"you are most intriguing, miss posy. you as well, cordelia." she tells us. "or should i say 'missus'?" she sadly asks. "my condolences, by the way."

we all three walk down a dirt trail, surrounded by hundreds of beautiful tall trees.

"beautiful, isn't it?" she asks us.

"absolutely." i tell her with a smile.

"it always felt an honor to me that my family was given this part of england to protect." she tells us.

"to protect?" enola asks her.

"that is what it is to be an ancestral landowner." she informs us. "as the world becomes increasingly unstable, it feels more important that these ideas of england are preserved for the safety and security of the future of our country." she finishes, as we continue to walk.

"it is lovely here." i say looking around.

"but you're both probably one of those new thinkers. my son was a new thinker too. never could focus on what was, it was always about what could be. i suspect my grandson is the same." she says.

even the slightest mention of the boy makes me smile.

what in the bloody hell is happening to me?

"england's true glory... is what it is." she says, stopping her walking and looking around. "do you see?" she asks us.

i look around spinning in a small circle as enola just looks over her shoulders.

"i can see much beauty." i tell her.

"very sensible answer. you seem like you would get along rather well with my grandson." she begins as i look down and smile.

that darn smile again.

what is this boy doing to me?

"now go. if my son or daughter-in-law finds you two here, they'll have you arrested." she informs us as we begin to walk away. "if you see my grandson before i do, will you tell him that i care about him a great deal?" she asks us.

"we will." enola says.

"of course ma'am." i add on.

"off you two go." she says as we walk away.