Emily woke up by the sound of rain pattering softly against the roof of the carriage.

She yawned and

stretched her arms like a cat, casting a glance at the once tall candle that was burning low in its
wooden holder. Mrs. Bassen was nodding off in the opposite corner, her small handbag slipping off
her lap.

Emily glanced down at her own fingers... they were cold and stiff, her nails ghostly white above the
raw red skin. They had been going in a steady up-gait as though they were climbing a steep hill, the
cold increasing gradually until her jaws had started clattering against each other.

Emily reached out and pulled at the thick black curtain on her side, and glanced out the window.

There wasn't much to see due to the misty darkness, but she could vaguely make out giant
silhouettes of fir trees. Their branches reached out towards Emily, water droplets glistening like
Christmas light on their needle tips.

Suddenly, she saw an orange glow fall across the glass, like a lamp being slowly lightened as they got
closer. Emily heard the neigh of the horses and felt the carriage come to a jerking halt. It successfully
woke Mrs. Bassen whom Emily had been reluctant to shake awake before. The old lady let out a
gurgled cough and smiled at her.

"We are here" she said, bending to pick up the handbag that had fallen on to the floor. "Welcome to
Ashkaham Manor Miss Harrington"

Emily heard the screeching sound of rusty iron gates being pulled apart. A moment later, the carriage
started slowly moving again. As they passed, Emily saw what had casted the strange orange glow... it
was gaslit lamps that hung on either side of the ivy-covered stone wall.

The wheels of the carriage hit the low cobblestone pathway with a thud as the carriage drove a full
circle towards the entrance of the Manor house. By now, all her sleepiness had been replaced into a
bone-wreaking fatigue. She could barely get down from the carriage without the help of the
coachman.

The first thing that caught Emily in her tired state was the calming faint scent of creeping roses. It
was a fresh, haunting fragrance... lingering against her cheeks in a welcoming sort of way. She
stepped lightly on to the cobblestoned pavement, her breaths coming out in misty puffs of smoke.
The massive wooden door in front of them suddenly burst open, throwing in a slash of warm, homely
yellow light.
Figures stepped out of the door and surrounded Emily. She felt someone draping a warm ironed
shawl around her shoulders. It was very comforting.

"Take her straight to bed Anna" she heard Mrs. Bassen talking, "Mr. Peters can take her luggage up to
the room"

Emily let herself be guided by a pair of pale slim hands. They were comfortingly gentle on her back.
Drowsily, she took one step after another until they reached a heavy wooden door. Her maid-Anna-
pushed open the door for her, and gratefully, Emily gazed at her new room that was half hidden by
shadows.

A cheerful orange fire was blazing away in the fireplace, its flames danced around, throwing light into
a huge four-poster bed that was covered with cushions, velvet covers, and flimsy lace curtains...
Emily glanced longingly at it.

"Let's get you out of that dress first Miss" Anna said, guiding Emily towards the guilt-framed vanity
mirror. Anna had a very lovely gentle voice, just like her name. "Then you can hop in right to the bed
and have a good night's rest"

Saying this, she started easing the buttons at the back of Emily's dress, tugging the cords of her
corset and yards of material over her head until she was standing there in her short, flimsy white
chemise. Emily thankfully slid under the warm covers of her bed, even forgetting to say her nightly
prayers in her haste.

But Anna didn't seem to mind her lack of manners... maybe she understood how exhausted Emily
was. Without a word, she bent to pick up Emily's discarded articles on the floor. She folded the
clothes and placed them in a neat pile on a nearby plushed chair. Then silently, she walked towards
the door.

"Anna?"

"Yes Miss?" said the girl, turning towards Emily, whose dark brown head was the only thing visible
under the torrents of cozy velvet sheets.

"Thank you... I'll promise to pray for your kindness tomorrow night"

Anna looked startled, but she smiled and bobbed a shy curtsey.
"You're very welcome, Miss, I... I hope you sleep well." she whispered, but Emily was already sound
asleep. Her gentle breathing giving life to the old, once abandoned room.

Her new room looked dainty and very pretty. At first it had taken Emily some moments to remember
the previous night's events. She had been so drowsy and fatigued; that by the time her head had
touched the soft, cloudy pillows, she had sunk right into a delicious sleep.

Now she lay in her warm, comfortable bed; blinking up at the ceiling, waiting impatiently for her
mind to catch up with what her eyes were seeing. She was no longer in London! She was no longer to
be taken to a horrid orphan school... she had done it! She was here!

There was a timid knock on her door, and Emily heard Anna's voice announcing that she had brought
the morning tea with her.

"You may come in Anna!" said Emily, hastily whipping of the random stray curls that had spread over
her face during sleep.

Her maid walked in, looking starched and neat... with her hair tied up with a white lace cap that
matched her white apron and black maid's dress. She was carrying a tray of steaming scones and tea
which she put down gently on the table.

"Good morning Miss Emily" she chimed, while hurrying forward to help Emily get up.

Emily yawned a good-natured greeting and eased herself up, resting her back to the high headboard
of her bed. Two white lace curtains hung down from either side of it, where they cascaded down in a
pearly richness to the wooden floor...

Emily's beauty loving eyes took in the aesthetics of her room hungrily. Pale rays of sunlight were
filtering through the small gap between the thick curtains. Anna drew them back dutifully, making
the whole room suddenly rush in a riot of soft pastel colors...

A stubble powderd blue wallpaper that had a pretty pattern of small pink flowers decorated the
room. It matched quite tastefully with the pale gray flower patterned curtains and their shimmering
lacy white sub layers those hung from guilt brass poles. Opposite to her bed, stood an enormous
dark wood wardrobe that had a floor-length mirror in between its carved doors.

A dainty Chinese screen stood next to it with a ceramic wash basin in the corner. Emily glanced back
at the window where a small table was placed with a set of vibrant, well plushed chairs. All these
images looked so much like a dream that Emily did not dare breathe for a moment. It was as if the
fairy tales her nanny had read to her had suddenly sprung into life.

"Breakfast is waiting downstairs Miss Emily" said Anna, rummaging through Emily's luggage to find
something for her to wear. At last, she picked up a pale-yellow chiffon dress and placed it carefully on
her bed.

"Miss Bassen is waiting for you. Do you need me to wait for you?"

Emily drew back her covers and got up, almost having to do a few staccato steps to get her feet used
to the chilly wooden floor.

"It's alright Anna" she grinned, while seizing her dress from the bed and disappearing behind the
screen. "I can quite manage myself"

"But Miss-"

"It is alright!" panted Emily, still struggling with the dress over her head, "I... am... used! ... to
dressing myself!"

Anna sighed. Smiling faintly, she quietly went out the room and closed the door behind her with a
soft click.

"So??" questioned old Mrs. Delacour, the formidable but kindhearted French cook of Ashkaham.
"What is she like? Does she look like the General at all?"

Anna slipped to a vacant chair of the servant's table back at the Kitchen. Most of the chairs were
already occupied by the members of the household staff. Mr. Peters headed the table, and on either
side of his grand figure stood Mrs. Bassen, the cleaning girls (Paige and Lara) and even their first
footman and the Gardner... all of them eager to hear about the new soul that arrived at the steps of
Ashkaham late last night.

"She's..." faltered Anna, a light smile still playing on her lips, "She is awfully kind, but she is very
stubborn too... not in a bad way though," added Anna quickly,

"Miss Emily just likes doing things herself."

"Like the General." confirmed Mr. Peters, nodding sagely. "Yes, very much like him."

"I do not know..." said Anna thoughtfully, looking around the enthusiastic faces surrounding her. "Her
politeness seems to come from being so constantly friendless and lonely."

"I wouldn't be surprised" said Paige, "poor soul, and Ashkaham being no different"

Anna gazed thoughtfully out of the window as Mrs. Bassen went up the stairs to greet Emily
Harrington to breakfast, and after some time, to Master Robert as well.

'But she will not be alone', thought Anna fiercely... 'She will have me!'