Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach because I am not Tite Kubo.

Summary: She was the new maid and he was the butler. Sort of.

Their ages are mostly in the 20's. I wish I portrayed them as they would when they are mature [enough].

N/A:

I wanted to change the names and I would have but for so that they would be easily recognized, I dumped that urge. Set in the 18th century so a little trivia for you all; a pocket is bag-like that is not sewn into the clothing, rather they are to be tied around the waist, worn over or under the petticoats; a slit would be made in the gown so one could reach into the pocket.

Chapter 1.

She had to stop and re-think her strategy. If she wanted to finish dusting all of the furniture on the second floor for the day, then the tiny feather duster would have to be improved.

She stood up and straightened, patting her skirt hard enough to send the dust that managed to cling on it flying off; she frowned, the other maids were not doing their jobs well enough for there was dust on her uniform. And this uniform was new! She was appalled and yet, she had no heart to tell Orihime that she did not deserve the florins she received as wages for she had seen how hard the maid cleaned the soft carpet just a few minutes ago. On second thought, she might have gotten the dust on her way here to the Sun Room.

Indeed, thinking of Orihime gave her an idea to her predicament. She turned around, took a deep breath and used her charm on the other maid with her.

"Orihime, will you please come here for a second," the sad look she plastered on her face did her proud when she saw the big-breasted woman approach hastily to check upon her.

"Why, Rukia, is something the matter?" the young woman eyed her with concern apparent in the soft brown eyes. She coughed a bit, and managed to look defeated, "I can't reach the other furnishings. I'm too short."

"Oh, is that so?" Orihime took the feather duster from her hand and placed a small rug on her hand, "Here, Rukia, let's change places. I'll finish dusting the furniture and you give those windows a shine. Do not worry about how high they are. I always did start wiping them from the top anyway."

Hiding the delight she felt under the pretense of brushing off an errant tear of gratefulness, she thanked Orihime and made her way to the tall glass windows. Somewhere in the background, she heard Orihime telling her to go straight to the kitchen and fetch herself a glass of milk somehow after her chores.

"I fancy you look rather pale today, Rukia-chan. Has Kurosaki been giving you too much work?"

An eyebrow went up at the unexpected question. And speak of the Devil, there was the orange-haired man appearing at her view right between her swipes of best effort to shine the glass. "I don't think so, Orihime." But he would want to, don't doubt it for a second. She sent a glare to the direction of the man currently discussing something with the gardener.

"Well, maybe I'd talk to him later for you. You know he is so kind, and he is just taking over some of the housekeeper's work because she is somewhat old and can be quite forgetful that is why he has placed on himself the responsibility of hiring new help from time to time and assigning the jobs…."

Her ability to listen to Orihime's musings was lost at some point. Ichigo was now scowling at her general discussion. The little bit of annoyance that bloomed in her heart heated her efforts to make the glass look extra-shiny.

Six months of this has not been enough to make her forget why she has to keep doing this and why she is relying on the good nature of someone like Ichigo. For her, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make and feeling grateful to him was troubling and disconcerting. Those six months might have gone without a hitch (well, except for the times of her adjustment where she was really clumsy but that has come to pass now) but the danger was still as present as ever. Right now, this sprawling medium-sized manor of a country Baron might not be enough and she might have to move on.

No, actually, she should have moved on months ago. Staying too long in one place wasn't going to do any good, but it just felt like what she needed.

With renewed vigor, she started attacking the glass windows until the glare from the sun's early morning rays made her squint her eyes, and therefore, lessened the scope of her vision; the bright crop of orange hair was annoyingly standing out in the green scenery of the gardens though that no amount of squinting and sunlight erased it from her sight.

Ӂ Ӂ Ӂ

Ichigo realized he must be scowling enough to scare a lion upon clearly seeing the wary expression on the gardener's face. He fought back the urge to sigh and tried to soften his expression but it was no use for the man stopped in his discussion on the possible improvements that could be done to liven up the garden for the coming of spring. It might be better to finish off the conversation and make the man continue breathing. He did look like he was holding his breath.

"Right. So jot down everything that you told me, and some more of what could be done, Jenkins. You know how the Baron likes to pretty up the place." He patted the man on the back and continued his way back to the manor.

His hands were sweating and itching within his white gloves but he ignored the urge to take them off as he inspected every window he could see on the short walk to the front door. Mentally, he took note of what should be accomplished by now; all rooms should have been done being cleaned by the maids, beds made, all furniture without a hint of dust, and…

The Dining Room!

He bolted straight into a run to head for the kitchen. It was undignified to run, definitely not benefitting a stoic butler as he should be but the Dining Room had to be prepared and several dishes made for the Baron was to return today before lunch. As of now, he was sure he only had few hours, three or four hours at most to have everything done and preserve his job. The Baron could be a big headache at times like these.

The cook was begrudgingly writing down his orders for lunch as he looked around the kitchen. There were five children chopping spices and vegetables, and the older ones were set to keeping the fire, cleaning the fish and doing other menial jobs. Everything was in order. Without any mishaps, he just might be able to pull this off.

"If it was not for you, Kurosaki, we would have been in trouble."

His mouth twitched a bit in a smile at the off-handed praise the rather large and bulky cook threw at him without a moment's notice.

"Is that a compliment, Tessai?"

"It is not. Why would I praise you? But it's not your job. It's Ms. Nellie's. Where is the old bat anyway?"

He shrugged. "I imagine she is nursing the plants in the greenhouse. Are you lacking in anything here in the kitchen?"

He saw the cook's dark eyes widen in appreciation. "Mighty good of you to ask! I was just thinking of telling the errand boys to go get several but I kept forgetting these past few days. You could easily get these in the village." A large, callused hand handed him a soot-covered piece of parchment. Good, that saves him time from inspecting the store room.

After clearing everything in the kitchen and getting assurances of a finely-cooked meal for the Baron's arrival, he exited the kitchen and marched up the stairs to the Sun Room. Some giggling maids he passed paused to give him a greeting, and he absent-mindedly greeted them in return. He finally located the Sun Room and burst through the door without any preamble.

"Rukia, Orihime, still not done?" The gruff in his voice was clearly audible. They weren't severely lacking in maids but Orihime was the only person he can trust Rukia not to rile up. For some reason, they got along amazingly well. He wasn't surprised that much, Orihime was just the sort of person to whom everyone seem to feel affinity. The other servants seem to steer clear Rukia, for some uncertain reason.

"Ah…well…" Orihime started to stutter and he felt his mood darken when he saw her dusting the furniture and Rukia wiping the windows to a shining perfection. That was clearly not what he had told them before.

He directed his scowl at Rukia who looked back at him with as much gumption. "That's quite alright Orihime, please finish your job and call someone else to help you. Someone ought to be finished with their job right now. Rukia, follow me."

"But I'm not yet done," her tone suggested she was probably gritting her teeth.

"Follow me. Now."

With as much dignity as one wearing a maid's uniform and a light smudge of dust on one's face could have, she rose to her feet and started to approach him. He heard Orihime say a goodbye and see you later to Rukia and stepped back out of the room.

Shegot out of the room and looked at him. For several moments they stood there together. He then belatedly realized that she expected him to close the door. A sly chuckle went out of his mouth and Rukia looked at him questioningly, albeit, a little irritated. In a low voice, he asked her, "Do you expect me to close the door for you?"

A slight blush came to rest high on her cheeks as she realized that she actually did until he implied the obvious: she was just a maid and maids don't have men to close their doors for them. She mentally berated herself for her mistakes, cursing old habits that die hard and closed the door slowly and quietly while she willed her composure back.

He handed her a piece of parchment as soon as the door was closed. She took it and quickly skimmed over its contents.

"You have to go the village and get me those. We are almost running out of some supplies for the kitchen, so the cook tells me."

Rukia eyed the various items and narrowed her eyes. "Ichigo, how do you expect me to carry all of these? Will you lend me a carriage or a horse perhaps?" There were a lot of items she needed to buy and even was she dreaming, she couldn't quite possibly take all of these in one trip by hand, and on foot.

He looked at her as if she was out of her mind. "Of course not, some of those items are available at Chad's store so you can simply tell him to help you. I've been meaning to talk to him, it would be convenient for him to be coming here since I could barely leave my job here at the manor."

She merely nodded, placed the parchment into the pocket of her apron and walked off without another word. In truth, she had gone to the village a number of times for the past few months and quite knew the way but she had never gone there alone before. Still, maybe she could bribe one of the footmen or stable boys to accompany her just in case, after all, old habits do die hard and ladies are never meant to go anywhere outside alone. With that decided, she trudged on determinedly and felt comfort at the weight of her pocket containing a few of her jewelry and coins.

Ichigo stared at Rukia as she determinedly walked away from him. Maybe he should have told her that he had already ordered a stable boy to accompany her on her way to the village…but then he decided against calling her back, she could be obstinate so she would probably scoff at the idea. Let her worry for a while. He knew she was a bit unsure of going to the village alone.

The quiet screech of the door opening beside him almost caught him in surprise as he stared at Orihime's head. Nonchalantly, he thought the door needed its hinges oiled.

"Who was that lady you were talking to, Kurosaki-kun?"

He opened his mouth to answer then closed it again. Orihime appeared not to notice as she continued, "I thought His Lordship was back with a Lady. You did mention he would be back today."

"Well, not before noon at the earliest. You probably heard Rukia's voice muffled by the door." He hit the door with his fist to emphasize his point, "It's rather thick."

"Oh. It sounded very much like a Lady's." She actually looked disappointed and a suspicion made itself known in his mind. "Although, what an amazing door to be able to do that."

Nodding his head in absent-minded assent, he left Orihime to check on other parts of the manor. Silently, he began to replay the events of the first time he saw Rukia over and over again in his mind just as he had countless number of times already. It was an amazing stroke of coincidence, luck or whatever you might want to call it that they met. Never in his wildest imagination could he have thought he would meet someone like her.

He lifted a gloved hand through his loudly, orange hair. The worries were never far away and he wasn't even sure what it was that he was worrying about. Almost desperately, he thought of Chad and the favor he had asked his friend to do. "Bloody hell," he cursed the empty air and his impatience.

It must have been almost six months ago, yet that memory stayed clear in his mind…

'What a bother', he thought as he sat down on the too short bed that came along with the rented room. His height of a little over 6 feet certainly made sure that almost half of his leg would be hanging by the bed's edge and scraping on the floor. In truth, sleeping on the dirty floor actually seemed quite feasible. All that needed to be done was that he placed his coat over the floor. He preferred that than to having to decide whether to sleep curled like a newborn baby versus hanging half of his legs over the short bed just to get a goodnight's sleep.

When he sat down on the bed, he groaned in defeat as he felt the lumps of the bed on his bum bruised from several days of nonstop travelling on the back of a horse. He released several days of frustration in a long, loud breath. He was even hungrier now to boost and yet, he had tasks that needed to be done in a jiffy.

Such as seeing his sisters and paying for their school and several other things.

He stood up none too slowly and bent over when a single hiss of pain traveled across his lower back. He really needed a rest. And a long, good bath.

A single glance at the window told him there was only one or two hours before evening fell so he comforted himself that he needed a whole day to accomplish what he came here for so why not put it off until tomorrow? Now, the only decision left was to order a bath or to take a rest on the floor.

Taking a long dip in a bathtub won over the rest.

Moments passed in silence as he surveyed the small room. It was going to take the innkeeper a long time to bring him his desired dip in warm water so he might as well make use of the time to check on the money he brought. The small table near the bed caught his eye and he made a beeline towards it. Setting his rather heavy bag on it, he took the chair near the window and dragged it to the table where he promptly sat and started accounting for his monies.

He was nearly absorbed into his little activity when a groan echoed in the room. He sat up straight and looked around for he was damn sure that wasn't him. The rustling of clothes, the sound too soft to hear if he wasn't paying attention, soon followed.

Ichigo jumped to his feet, held his hands behind his back and walking softly, surveyed the room. On other occasions, he might have an idea what groaning/moaning and the rustling of clothes might mean but he wasn't renting a room in some sleazy red light district so that sound was definitely not because of it. Also, the sound seemed close, almost as if they shared the same room.

His gaze fell on an old, wooden closet in the corner. It was just big enough for a kid to fit in and there were nothing else in the room that was big enough for someone to hide. Contemplating if he should surprise the intruder or would be thief, he scratched his head and went back to returning his money in the bag. The intruder could be no more than a kid, and even if a knife was brought, he was still bigger and more powerful.

A knock on the door interrupted his musings and a small smile inadvertently appeared on his face. Finally, the bath had arrived so the intruder would have to wait a little more time in that cramped closet for their reckoning. He opened the door and two lads came in bringing a huge wooden tub and promptly went down the stairs to fetch some water, the innkeeper's wife trailed in behind them bringing a pail of warm water then dumped it into the tub.

Soon, the tub was almost half-full with warm water and he thanked the old woman. Stripping himself of every article of clothing, he eased himself unto the water and sighed on the pleasure of being clean. He could definitely doze off like this even with his knees folded so. But not just yet. He picked up the soap he had brought himself, it was one of the scented soaps his sister Yuzu had made for the family, and it wasn't as coarse or as rough as inns tend to provide.

Lavishly, the bubbles covered almost every inch of his body although he tried to work as quietly as possible and make unnoticeable little splashes in the water. He had already told the innkeeper's wife for dinner to be brought up at seven and to make it for two. She had not batted an eye at that strange request.

Sleep was already beckoning his eyes to close and he welcomed it, thinking he can have a few minutes to spare for a little rest.

The water had gone cold when he snapped out of his stolen rest because of a heavy feeling on his crotch. The sun had gone down and when he opened his eyes, the small ray of light provided by the lone candle he had set on the table was enough for him to see that someone else was in the room. And that particular someone was already halfway out the room's only window.

Water splashed around him and onto the floor as he quickly rose to his feet. A small towel fell to his feet and he recognized it as the cause of that heavy feeling in his crotch. He wondered why the intruder would even think about modesty in such a situation.

Noticing that half of the intruder had gone outside the window, he quickly caught the would-be thief around the waist and felt the soft quality of satin and velvet. His recognition of expensive cloths raised his suspicion a notch.

"Awww!" The little shite was hitting him on the head with curled fists.

"Stop it! You-!"

"Unhand me, you bastard! Now!"

If he had any doubts on 'its' gender, all of that had just gone out the window, as a matter of fact.

Out of anger, he dangled the little miss over twenty feet from the ground. That effectively stopped the hitting and started on the muted screaming. "D-do not let me go! You hear that! Do not let me go!"

The hands holding on to his wrists were soft, and delicate. For someone who knew of hard work all his life, it was apparent that those hands were the hands of someone who've had others under her beck and call. And there was the subject of her fine speech, perceptible even with her muted shouting.

"Then tell me, brat, just what were you doing in this room?" The hands tightened and for a minute, he thought he saw the brat's face but the candlelight was too weak and there was no moon in the sky. It was just too dark. "Go on", he dangled her several times again, she was light enough that it was easy for him to do but not for a long time, "my hands are getting tired, you know. And it's a long way down."

He thought he heard her swallow but then he heard her speak clearly, "Alright, promise not to let me go. Then I'll tell you."

He grunted a reply then slowly took her inside the room. As her feet touched the wooden floor, he remembered he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing and it seemed like she finally noticed it too when her hand shot off his shoulders like she was scalded.

"You reprobate! Put some clothing on! Immediately!"

The girl turned her back on him and he could clearly see her long dark hair.

"Alright, I'm dressing up."

He quickly grabbed his breeches, and buttoned it up. That seemed acceptable enough. While he tried to dry his hair before the cold air started to freeze his brain, he stared at his dilemma. She was short, she would barely reach his chest and her height told him she was probably really young. Her long, dark locks that followed her impatient movements shone in the flickering candlelight. His eyes fell on the rich clothing. He have seen enough dresses to know which were made out of fine quality cloth. And hers was made out of silk with a full skirt and lots of tiny bows and ribbon that eventually highlighted the narrow waist. If it was sold at just the right price, someone could live comfortably off for a year or more.

Whoever this girl was, she would bring nothing but trouble. The circumstances were strange and he was certain they would get stranger before the night was done.

"Alright, I'm decent."

He stepped forward and she stepped back to turn her face upwards and looked at him straight in the eye. Her calm face belied the sting of her next words, "Are you a savage?"

Dumbfounded, he stared at her blankly. "What?"

"I heard of men who like to strut around with their bare chests. They're savages. I will not be talking to you any more than I already am in your state of undress."

"What a bother…I probably should just call the authorities– "

"No! Just put on your shirt and I'll be fine."

He knew he shouldn't follow this midget but he bent to retrieve his shirt from where he hung it on the chair, then the midget's voice broke through his thoughts, "-oh, and how about some stockings, while you're at it? That, I think, would be much more acceptable."

Irritated, he threw a sharp look at her. "Fine, no stockings but your boots will have to do so put them on."

"You talk too much brat," tucking the shirt under his breech while slipping his feet into his boots, he asked, "why aren't you escaping?"

She fixed him with a glare, "Didn't you want to hand me over to the authorities? Or am I mistaken? Because I am willing to take a risk falling from the window of a two-storey inn."

Somewhere, a volcano exploded with the same intensity as Ichigo's temper. He took deep breaths before settling his sight on the midget again. The girl's cheekiness was slowly getting to him. To be sure, he had never been this annoyed for as long as he can remember since few people tried to cross with him after seeing his 'scary face always set in a scowl' (the village's gossipmonger's words, not his). It was no surprise that the first words out of his mouth were nothing short of an insult.

"You cheeky brat", he approached her and instead of backing down, she stared at him eye-to-eye, "I have half of a mind to throw you out and call the authorities, but I have a feeling that's the wrong thing to do, so better tell me why you are here in this room that I rented and am kindly being hospitable. Do, please, tell me."

There was no hesitation as she answered, "I ran away," she straightened an errant ribbon on her dress, "from home".

"And why did you run away, brat?"

"Don't call me a brat. I…I just had to. If I didn't run away, my - a very important person to me could be sent to prison and I just can't allow that!"

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want to! And," he gave a very sound stress on that, " I find it hard to believe you."

"That's the truth!" to emphasize her point, she slammed her right hand on the table causing the candle to sway precariously on it.

"Then that's more the reason why you should just go to the authorities! Judging from your clothes, you're probably nobility or something though hell if I care-"

"I'm not."

"What?"

"I'm not…nobility. I'm just a merchant's daughter." He saw her release a pent-up breath, and straighten to her full height which wasn't very impressive, mind you, but it did give off an air that she was looking down on you at her nose.

"Okay, I amend my earlier statement, an extremely wealthy merchant's daughter," he knew quality when he saw one and maybe she was just a merchant's daughter even when her features could blend in well with nobility, "however, you should still go to the authorities and not run away. Stupid."

The midget raised an elegant eyebrow at him, "Believe me, I'm much smarter than I look and if I deemed it prudent for authorities to handle my predicament, I would have done so but this is out of their reach now."

"What's so big with your problem? Anyway, your family would have hired Street Runners after you so-"

"And that is the reason why you found me in a closet in this room."

"What? Street Runners? Street Runners actually running after you brat?"

Feeling amused and annoyed at the same time, he chuckled to himself and placed both hands on his hips.

He spared a single glance at his unwanted guest and got a glare as she fairly shouted, "That would be the last time you'd be calling me brat, carrot top!"

Distinctly, he might have felt himself pop a vein, he haven't been called that ever since he punched the living daylights out of the last person who ever called him that when he was a kid. "A brat is a brat! How old are you anyway? You must be ten at that height!"

"YOU! You dull giant! I'm nineteen and certainly old enough to know a-"

A knock and a voice calling out, "Mr. Kurosaki, your dinner" at the door interrupted their verbal spar.

Surprised at the unexpected visitor, they looked at each with wide eyes. Ichigo recovered first and quickly carried a flailing midget under his arm (the flounces of her skirt and petticoats nearly tripping him twice) on the short distance to the closet where he then proceeded to shove her unceremoniously back inside it. With that accomplished, he proceeded to open the door and met the curious eyes of the young girl bringing a single tray of food.

With palpable curiosity, the maid asked, "I heard rushed whispers while I stood outside on your room knocking, there a problem?"

"No problem, and I ordered that there be food sufficient for two persons to be brought in; that doesn't look filling enough for one, let alone two."

The young maid actually looked like she was a fish out of water with his unexpected question. Inwardly, he sighed.

Settling his scowl a little deeper and a little darker, he opened the door wide and the young girl walked in, all the while casting nervous, prying glances around the room. His nervous heart pounded a beat in his chest at every step the young girl took as she placed the trays on the little table and lighted a new candle as the old one was a few minutes away from puttering out; she also checked the lantern set across the room, right near the closet. Almost bulging out of his sockets, his eyes widened in shock as he spotted a teeny, tiny bow peeking out of under the closet's doors.

It took a while for him to register that the young maid had turned around and just as suddenly grabbed his duffle bag – the duffle bag which contained the hard-earned money for his sisters' education - and had dashed out of the door before he, too, made a mad dash to run after her down the stairs. Scaring the people eating and drinking in the first floor of the inn, he followed the real thief out unto the street where the yellow lights of the lamp posts guided his sights to the maid. Once again, he thanked the good Lord for gifting him with speed and long legs but as he was about to have his hands on the thief, a small, heeled foot tripped the young maid.

Being only a few steps away from the two, in a long stride he was already reaching for the young maid who, of course, was a young girl barely out of her childhood. He felt pity for her, and felt sadness at the thought of such young hands committing a crime like stealing.

"Ow! That actually hurt!" That annoying midget. The loud voice brought him out of his reverie and his head snapped to the owner of said loud, voice who was nursing her wounded ankle by leaning on her good side. It also distracted him from completely noticing the faint glitter of the knife the young maid held in her hands.

He would have told her to shut it for they were attracting unnecessary attention, damn, several passer-bys had already expressed their dismay quite loudly over the small crowd that had gathered around them if not for the attempted knife attack that caused him to loosen his hold on the young maid to protect himself. Of course, the young maid used that to her advantage and easily freed herself.

"Dammit!" He cursed and easing out of the crowd made another wild dash to run after his stolen duffle bag containing every piece of hard-earned money that he intended to give to his sisters. But the thief was smaller and nimbler and was much more able to blend into the crowd. He managed to follow her in a run but as he ran after her through several turns and alleys, he soon lost her in a thickening mass of men and women going about their business in the early evening. Ichigo mumbled an apology when a small boy collided with him in his run for a sight of the thief but he soon decided it was over when he ran into a dead end.

He let out a string of curses that would have made a seasoned pirate blush to his toes several times. He cursed the onlookers more for not attempting to help him in any way.

Anger flaring inside of him, he walked on the familiar road back to the inn where he barged into the door. The loud slam of the door banging open announced his arrival and startled the other tenants along with the innkeeper and his wife. Angry, he walked closer to them with the intent of telling them how sloppy they could have been that a thief had slipped into their help and everything else he could say when he put his mind to it, never mind that there could be words he'd later regret. He traveled many miles not to be thieved!

But before he could do so, a small, unfamiliar hand had effectively stopped him in his tracks. When he looked at the owner of those hands, he saw the black-haired girl much clearer with the multitude of lanterns and candles lighting the small lobby of the inn. Disgust briefly painted his face as he saw too, the rich trappings of said girl, who looked fairly more indecent than him with her long, black hair left untied and flowing freely down her back, and truth be told, her fair skin fairly lighted up. To hell with how they looked, he was almost undressed without his stockings, his cravat and greatcoat, and her ungloved hands, unkempt hair and disheveled gown; on other days he would have jumped in denial immediately at the picture they presented yet the situation this time was fairly pressing and definitely more important than his (or her) reputation.

"What are you doin-?"

"I've already handled this," she said and his narrowed eyes alighted upon the innkeeper and his wife whose faces were filled with worry and concern, he closed his mouth to listen to the rest of what the girl would say, "no one knew the thief, apparently, no one have noticed her snuck into the kitchen and the innkeeper is willing to let us stay for how long we would have wanted, meals free, and are also lending a horse if you would want. They are really sorry."

His clenched fists fell to his sides and he bowed his head in understanding and defeat. The usual practice of these inns were to put out guests when they lost their money or got it stolen, it was far too kind to let guests stay for free and to even lend a horse. Still, he could not wrap his mind around how to get the money to give to his sisters. He couldn't just go back home and tell his father, 'Dad, I'm sorry but someone stole the money and I need another five thousand pounds.' They are not poor but they aren't that rich either, what his father earned as the local doctor and local apothecary owner barely made ends meet now that his sisters were in boarding school and his job as a butler could only help so much.

The now familiar voice once again broke into his thoughts, "Let's get you back into the room," she held his arm, the warmth seeping into his skin and boldly reminding him that this was reality, and almost dragged him into his rented room, far away from the other guest's curious glances.

Once they were in the room, he looked down at the girl who barely reached his chest. Come to think of it, he didn't even know her name. It was strange to hear his voice echo across the room when he asked, "How'd you do it?"

She looked up at him, "Do what?"

His ears could still hear that perceptible voice of the upper class, indeed all signs from the full gown to the stockinged feet and dainty, bejeweled shoes pointed to that single conclusion however, he ignored it. If this person didn't want to be recognized as such then he would respect that.

"The innkeeper, this room…what did you tell them?"

She waved her hand in the empty air to signify it was nothing important, "Don't mind about it. I only told them we were on our way to Gretna Green, was to meet here but the thief briefly broke our reunion. It also somehow explained why we were a tad late at attending to her."

A chuckle escaped from his throat and his eyebrow rose by itself. Who was he to complain about what got him his board and lodging for free? What silliness, for that tale to be believed by sane people.

"What in the world would have given you that idea, chit?" He strode to rest on the bed and place his head on his hands. There was no way he could get five thousand pounds so easily in a few days.

"That is what I hear. Obviously, it is quite common enough for them to believe it. It is quite clever, isn't it?" There was a hint of pride in her voice and he made a note to himself to remind her some other time that Gretna Green was located somewhere on the border of Scotland and beloved England. Right now, they were in a little inn near the border of France.

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"Right here, of course. I'll be alright in the closet and you can get the bed."

"No. You're getting the bed, I'll be on the floor."

He waited for her reply but when none came, he lifted his head and quickly realized what she was about to do when he saw her getting what looked like several thousand pounds worth of jewelry from her pocket. He hastily rose from the bed and clamped his hand around hers.

Her large eyes looked back at his stubborn brown eyes and narrowed determinedly. "You got your money stolen through no fault of yours. We'll be pawning these tomorrow to get you the funds you need. There must be a thousand pounds here," how wrong she was, there was more than a thousand from the glitters that managed to shine between their hands, "enough to reimburse you. I'm giving it to you, you clearly need it and I was really planning on pawning them away anyway." Her lips pursed in determination as they stared at each other in a battle of wills.

Ichigo knew there was no other way to get the money back. And his mind tried to process it slowly, but he knew he would have to just accept it if it meant protecting his sister's education and the family don't even have to know.

Gradually, he loosened the tight grip he had on her hand and sighed in defeat, "I don't see any other way but to accept that offer," he stepped back and ran a hand through his hair, "You ran away didn't you?"

"I did. If you're offering to give me to the authorities then you can forget the offer. "

"I was not. I'm sure you would want somewhere to hide away so my offer is, if the idea is acceptable to you, I can give you a job at the manor where I work as a butler."

"You're a butler?"

"Yes, and I know I'm a bit young but I came highly recommended," he tried to keep the smugness out of his voice, "it's in the country, far from London and the Baron is rarely ever gone. We don't even have those parties nobles do in the country."

"That's fortunate of me, how convenient." He saw her with her hands around her arms, deep in thought and contemplating.

"It's your decision," he extended a hand and tried to give a small smile, "Though, I guess that's the best we can get at such a late notice, don't you think?"

She returned the smile and clasped his extended hand, "It's Rukia, by the way."

"Ah, call me Ichigo."

Ӂ Ӂ Ӂ

Rukia looked up at the midday sky and squinted her eyes. Being the middle of summer, it was so blue with nary a cloud in sight and the trees gently rustled their leaves in the breeze. All around her were houses built so close together one could practically talk to their neighbor from a window, and everyone was busy with their own work. A year ago, she would have been reading under one of her favorite tree or practicing fencing with her friend who also happened to be her brother's man of affairs; how different from the life she was living now.

She looked around her to search for Jinta, the stable boy she had hired for a few coins and saw that he was leading the mare not far after her, then she went straight inside the musty-smelling store. The first thing she saw was the huge person of Chad. Fetching the parchment from her pocket, she approached him.

"Chad."

"Ah, Miss Rukia." It was a surprise when she had first met Chad that he actually called her, 'my lady'. She had almost panicked and so had insisted that he call her by her given name but to no avail. He had merely settled for a 'Miss Rukia' with no explanation whatsoever as to why.

"I see you're quite busy stocking up."

He looked at her through his thick hair that almost fully covered his eyesight and asked, "How's Ichigo?"

"Fine, as always. Running about the manor this way and that and doing his job. Anyway, I was ordered to get these things for the kitchen." She eyed a particularly good piece of cloth, not as expensive as hers used to be but good enough. At least, good enough for her to realize that she can never ford it with her maid's salary. And that dampened her mood, it could have been made into several nice shirts since she now could make a decent attempt at sewing.

Chad looked at the list and nodded his head; she guessed that was his way of telling her he had all of the stuff in their store? As the big man moved around the store, she walked to the various shelves and merchandise freely since it was midday and therefore people were eating their lunch and not quite as active at any other part of the day. At any other times, the store would have been several costumers buying his goods.

Rather vaguely, she remembered that this store was handed down to Chad by his grandfather, someone who had come from the colonies but settled in this place. There were still some who disliked the dark color of their skin, and sometimes, she wondered if she would have looked twice at the guy if she had met him six months ago but then again, that was an empty point to consider; there would have been no way she would have met someone like Chad had she not run away. A small smile tugged at her lips at the thought. Her life before had been extremely sheltered, she might have realized just how privileged she was upon seeing men and women moving about their daily business in London or at home but never had she known just how much of their hardships they had to endure everyday until she actually lived with them. It all seemed too far away when seeing through a window of a comfortable, horse-driven carriage.

Chad came to her and told her that everything was ready. Apparently, he had anticipated this and so had readied what the manor's kitchen might have needed. Needless to say, she was quite impressed. However, upon seeing the amount of things she would have to bring, she immediately regretted the single horse she had persuaded Jinta to bring. Oh, why haven't she thought to bring a wagon along with the horse?

She felt her eyebrows furrow as she stared at the mountainload of items she needed to bring. There was no way she could bring all of that in just one trip, she thought when windows closing brought her attention back to the other person in the shop. Chad was currently closing the windows.

"What are you doing? Are you closing the shop this early?"

"Yes. I'm going to the manor with you, Miss Rukia. Ichigo and I…will talk."

"Oh, he did mention that," she saw him place in his arms all the things the manor needed. Awkwardly, she thanked him and he grunted his welcome. "Wait a moment, let me call Jinta, he should help you with those."

She rushed to the door where Jinta was waiting for her, fiddling with his hat and doing nothing else. Immediately, she ordered him to go help Chad with the stuff. And then she was left standing alone on the shop's front door, the horse softly neighing its impatience.

Suddenly, the small weight of her pocket disturbed her as if it weighed the whole world.

My longest chapter ever! I hope it set the pace and made you want to come back for more.

The 2nd chapter is in the works! If anyone wants to beta, please volunteer.

And please do review, I'd very much like to hear your feedback.