Chapter 13: A Grueling Workday
“What… did you just say?”
Mrs. Charlotte, like Mr. Greig, came from a family that had served the Cheister household for generations.
Their parents, and their predecessors before them, had all devotedly served members of the Cheister dukedom.
As such, just like Mr. Greig, Mrs. Charlotte’s loyalty to the Cheister family was as natural as breathing, deeply ingrained in her being.
If a member of the Cheister family gave an order, no matter what it was, she would follow it without question.
But even for someone like Mrs. Charlotte, the order just given by Cecilia von Cheister was of a kind that was hard to accept easily.
In an uncharacteristic slip for Mrs. Charlotte, who would never normally question an order, her action caused a faint crack to form on Cecilia’s delicate brow as she sat in a picturesque pose on a plush sofa, sipping tea.
“I said, I want Deborah, one of the newly hired parlor maids, to be assigned as my personal maid.”
Her sharp tone carried a thick layer of displeasure at having to repeat herself to Mrs. Charlotte.
Normally, Mrs. Charlotte would have quietly retreated to avoid upsetting Cecilia, but for some reason, after a moment of hesitation, she spoke up.
“I’m sorry, but… you already have a dedicated lady’s maid, and there’s a strict hierarchy among the female staff. It would be difficult to arrange that.”
At Mrs. Charlotte’s words, the maid standing nearby looked flustered, unsure of what to do.
Knowing full well Cecilia’s capricious and prickly nature, the sight of Mrs. Charlotte unexpectedly opposing her orders seemed nerve-wracking.
As feared, Cecilia’s expression turned fierce in an instant.
“What did you just say, Mrs. Charlotte?!”
Her sharply raised voice cut through the air of the drawing room.
The maid’s shoulders flinched at the sound, but Mrs. Charlotte, as if resolved, spoke calmly with a composed expression.
“…It hasn’t been long since you ordered a large-scale replacement of parlor maids. Ignoring the hierarchy and arbitrarily changing their roles has already caused many to view me unfavorably. The resentment from the former parlor maids, who were suddenly demoted to housemaids, is considerable.”
“And so?”
“In such a situation, if I were to suddenly promote a parlor maid to your lady’s maid… what standard would I use to manage the maids going forward?”
“Who said anything about making that lowly maid my lady’s maid?”
At Cecilia’s heated retort, Mrs. Charlotte momentarily wore a stunned expression.
“…Didn’t you just say to assign that girl as your dedicated maid to do your hair?”
“I said that maid has some skill at styling hair, so while she works as a parlor maid, she should come whenever I call to do my hair, not that I’m making her my lady’s maid! Honestly—did you think I’d put a country bumpkin like her in the position of a lady’s maid, someone who needs the refinement to converse with me and attend to every detail from dresses to accessories?”
“…”
“Do you understand now? So, you have no more objections to my orders, right?”
Seeing Cecilia irritably wave her hand, signaling her to leave, Mrs. Charlotte could no longer protest.
* * *
“…”
Mrs. Charlotte let out a long sigh as she looked at Deborah, who was struggling to respond with a troubled expression.
“I feel ashamed. I tried to stop it on my end, but Miss Cecilia was so insistent that I couldn’t say any more.”
A look of distress crept onto the usually stern face of Mrs. Charlotte.
According to a fellow parlor maid, Miss Cecilia, the young lady of the Cheister family, was said to have an extremely demanding and capricious personality.
No matter how much authority Mrs. Charlotte held as the head of the female staff, in front of such a young lady, she was merely a servant who had to comply with her orders, whatever they might be.
Deborah hadn’t forgotten the kindness of Mrs. Charlotte, who had approved her hiring when she had nowhere else to turn due to her dire circumstances.
Of course, it was Miss Helena, her former teacher from the orphanage, who had connected her to the Cheister household through her acquaintance with Mr. Greig—but without the final approval of Mrs. Charlotte, the ultimate decision-maker for hiring female staff, Deborah might still be wandering the streets.
Deborah raised the corners of her mouth, smiling at the worried housekeeper.
“It’s not a difficult task, ma’am. I’ve been skilled at doing hair since my orphanage days, so styling one person’s hair when called upon while working as a maid isn’t a big deal. So please don’t worry too much.”
“…Deborah, you haven’t been here long, so you may not know, but Miss Cecilia’s temperament… well, it’s quite sensitive, so it might be challenging for you to handle.”
Unable to openly speak ill of the family she served, Mrs. Charlotte used the mild term “sensitive” to describe Cecilia’s personality.
Understanding her concern, Deborah nodded with a slight smile.
“It’s alright. I’ll do my best to make sure there’s nothing to worry about.”
“…Thank you for saying that. If you encounter any difficulties while attending to Miss Cecilia, don’t hesitate to come to me right away.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Deborah responded in the brightest voice possible to Mrs. Charlotte, whose worried expression didn’t fade.
* * *
“Ah…”
Hanna, about to go to bed, was startled by a sudden groan and turned to look at the bed next to hers.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Pulling back the covers and getting out of bed, Hannah approached Deborah.
Deborah was sitting on the edge of her bed, clutching one wrist.
“Is your wrist hurting?”
Hanna, with a worried expression, looked at the wrist Deborah was holding.
“No, I was reaching for a glass of water… I think I tweaked it a bit. It’s been a little stiff since earlier today…”
Deborah rubbed her wrist a few times and smiled, saying it was fine.
“Ugh… be careful. They say a lot of maids who don’t know better when they start end up with wrist inflammation from overworking.”
“It’ll be fine. It’s not that bad, so don’t worry and go to sleep.”
“Alright, but if it feels even a little off, make sure to tell Mrs. Charlotte and get to a doctor. If you ignore it, it could become chronic.”
“Got it. If it gets worse, I’ll definitely do that, so go to sleep.”
She’s so naive, it’s hard to trust her, Hanna grumbled with an uneasy expression as she returned to her bed.
“…”
Though Deborah had said it was fine to reassure Hanna, in truth, her wrist had been bothering her since earlier that day.
The occasional sharp pain felt like the wrist inflammation she had often experienced during her orphanage days.
Her wrists had always been weak, and repetitive manual tasks, whether big or small, would inevitably cause issues.
Recently, the spring cleaning, which involved constantly holding a rag, had weakened her wrists, and the accumulated strain seemed to be catching up, with the throbbing becoming more frequent.
Turning off the lamp and lying in bed, Deborah massaged her aching wrist.
‘It’ll be better tomorrow… If I’m careful, it’ll get better soon…’
Deborah prayed that the sharp pain in her wrist would subside by tomorrow.
* * *
“Deborah! They say Lord Leicester and Sir Edward will be arriving soon, so you need to hurry to the entrance hall, escort them to the first-floor drawing room, and attend to them!”
At the loud voice, Deborah, who was about to pick up a tray with a teapot, froze mid-motion.
The words came from a parlor maid who had rushed over, abandoning a silver tray of desserts she was about to carry out.
“…Me?”
“Yes, originally Kitty was supposed to handle guest greetings at the entrance, but we just got word they’re arriving unexpectedly. Someone needs to go out, and right now, it’s just you and me here.”
“How am I supposed to do that…?”
Greeting guests… It was something she had never done before.
Of course, she had briefly learned about it during the expedited training, but guest greetings were supposed to be handled by Kitty, who was calm and sociable.
“What, you think I should do it with my loud voice and rough accent? We can’t exactly pull Kitty away from the tea party she’s already at.”
Frustrated by Deborah’s hesitation, the maid’s irritated tone left Deborah with little to say.
She was right.
Mrs. Charlotte had repeatedly said that, being from the countryside with a strong accent and loud voice, the maid was the least suited among the six maids for guest greetings.
“Ugh… Stop standing there looking lost and go! They’re arriving soon, so hurry!”
The parlor maid, placing a dessert plate on the tray Deborah was about to carry, shouted as she rushed off.
Deborah, in turn, began hurrying her steps.
After all, it would be a disaster if no one was there to greet the guests when they entered the hall.
* * *
Arriving at the entrance hall just in time, Deborah let out a sigh of relief, realizing she had narrowly avoided trouble.
As she caught her breath, the entrance hall bell rang right on cue.
Deborah steadied her breathing, straightened her posture as Mrs. Charlotte had taught, and opened the door.
Beyond the open door stood two gentlemen.
Both were quite tall; one had dark curly hair and a stern appearance, while the other had light brown hair and a gentle yet slightly roguish demeanor.
Deborah recalled from her training that the dark-haired man was likely Lord Leicester, and the light-brown-haired man was Sir Edward.
“Welcome.”
Deborah politely clasped her hands in front and bowed.
The men looked at Deborah, the parlor maid greeting them at the entrance, with curious gazes.
In particular, Lord Leicester’s dark-haired gaze lingered, meticulously scanning Deborah from head to toe.
“This way, please. I’ll escort you to the drawing room.”
Trying not to let her trembling voice betray her, Deborah spoke as calmly and quietly as possible.
As the men followed her lead, Deborah let out a small sigh of relief, feeling she had managed the task successfully.
So focused on greeting the guests, Deborah hadn’t even considered who might be waiting for them in the drawing room she was leading them to.
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By Anna 💓
