Chapter Two – A New World
“Whose house is this?” Beth asked, brushing her hands down her new uniform as she followed Sally down the upstairs corridor toward the bedchambers.
Snorting, Sally gawked at her. “I forgot you only just arrived the day before.” Shaking her head, she pushed open the door to a large, expensively furnished room. “The Earl of Radcliff lives here with his wife and son and daughter as well as his mother, the dowager countess.” Moving over to make the bed, Sally gestured for Beth to step around and pick up the blanket from the other side. Then she glanced around to assure herself that they were indeed alone and leant forward, whispering, “This is Lady Adelaide’s chamber. She’s a sweet one, but rather shy. Her brother, Lord Braxton, is his father’s image, loud and hot-tempered. While the women of this family are quite pleasant, the men are the opposite. Do not get on their bad side or you’ll regret it.”
Hurrying to straighten the room, Sally quickly moved on to the next, all the while instructing Beth how to help and what to pay attention to. Soon, they were both out of breath, rushing up and down the stairs, from one room to the next, carrying laundry as well as vases with fresh flowers. The whole day flew by in a flurry of instructions, and soon, Beth felt the strain of such unfamiliar work in her arms and legs as well as her lower back.
“Ellen?” Sally’s face scrunched up as she sat on her bed, pulling off her shoes at the end of a seemingly never-ending day. “Ellen Walker? No, that name doesn’t sound familiar. Why are you asking?”
Pulling on her nightgown, Beth shrugged, reluctant to explain but knowing that there was no way around it. “She was my mother, and I believe she used to work here.”
“Truly?” Sally’s eyes went wide. “Is that why you came here?”
Beth nodded. “I never knew she lived in London, and now, I cannot ask her about it.” Fresh grief claimed her heart, and Beth quickly turned away, placing her few belongings in the small cupboard by the door. To her great relief, she had been assigned to share a room with Sally, welcoming the young woman’s easy attitude and cheerful disposition.
All her life, Beth had thought of herself as a happy person, generally content and looking on the brighter side of life rather than regretting that which had been denied her. However, since her mother’s passing, moments of sadness, depressing and dark in their intensity, continued to catch her off guard, and she realised that the smiles which she generally shared so easily with those around her were a lot harder to come by these days.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sally said, her voice ringing of compassion as she slipped under the blanket. “If you want me to, I could ask around tomorrow.”
Turning around, Beth smiled. “That’d be wonderful. Thank you.”
“Don’t think anything of it.” Snuggling deeper into the coarse mattress, Sally closed her eyes and a moment later was sound sleep.
Sighing, Beth stretched her weary limbs, feeling her muscles ache, demanding rest, and slipped into bed herself. It had been a hard day, physically as well as emotionally, and more were to come.
And so, Beth pushed all thoughts, all questions, all uncertainties aside and decided to take life one day at a time. Right now, she needed nothing more than a good night’s sleep, and so she closed her eyes and was within minutes lost to the world.
However, the next morning began much too soon.
With sleep still clinging to her eyelashes, Beth forced herself out of bed, oddly annoyed by Sally’s cheerful humming as she put on her uniform.
“You’re not a morning person,” Sally observed, watching Beth’s slow gait as she hobbled toward the cupboard.
Beth groaned, “I ache everywhere.”
“It’ll pass,” Sally assured her, then stepped toward the door. “Hurry! Mrs. Hill doesn’t look kindly on tardiness.” And then the door closed behind her.
Although Beth did earn a rather stern expression full of disapproval from Mrs. Hill when she finally stumbled into the kitchen, the rest of the morning passed in quiet activity. Assigned to dust the downstairs parlour, sitting room and drawing room−who on earth needed all these rooms?−Beth enjoyed the solitude as it gave her ample opportunity to take in her surroundings, imagining her mother with the same feather duster in hand, doing the same work…twenty years ago. Had she truly worked here? So far, Sally’s enquiries had not produced any results. No one had known her mother or a woman named Clementine. In the case of the latter, Beth didn’t even know her last name.
Somewhat discouraged, she proceeded down the corridor toward the next room when the front door swung open and a tall man stepped across the threshold.
Quickly, Beth slipped into the sitting room, peering around the corner at the stern-looking man with greying hair. His lips were thin, pressed into a tight line as though something had greatly displeased him. Anger coloured his cheeks and narrowed his eyes, and he tossed his coat at the footman, who scrambled to catch it, mumbling, “My lord,” under his breath, not daring to look up.
So, this was the Earl of Radcliff, Beth thought, remembering Sally’s warning and deeming it appropriate. This was not a man to be trifled with.
With hard eyes, he glanced around, then strode onward and down the corridor. The moment he disappeared, the footman exhaled a breath.
After finishing her work in the sitting room, Beth quickly moved on to the next, remembering Mrs. Hill’s stern reminder that they were short-staffed and there was a lot to do before the masked ball.
Again, footsteps echoed to her ears. Only this time they were lighter and accompanied by soft voices, melodious and harmonic, as they chatted and laughed, proceeding toward the large staircase in the foyer.
Peeking through the gap in the door, Beth saw two women, one older and one younger, presumably mother and daughter judging from the resemblance. Their simple, clear-cut features spoke of an honest character as did their emerald eyes, clear and open, and an easy smile shone on their faces.
Lost in conversation, they headed upstairs, followed by two footmen carrying large clothing bags as well as large boxes and small cartons.
Beth sighed, wondering what it would be like to live in a house like this…and not merely work here. It had to be quite the dream come true to spend her days walking the streets of London, choosing the loveliest gowns and accessories and return home to find it had been cleaned in her absence and the table set for a nice luncheon.
And the masked ball!
From the moment Beth had heard Mrs. Hill’s voice remind them of their duties regarding the preparations as well as the night in question, Beth had been imagining herself in a lovely, flowing gown, a decorative mask hiding her face as she twirled around the large ballroom on a gentleman’s arm. It was exactly the kind of fairy tale her mother had told her so often when she’d been a child.
A wonderful fantasy.
Nothing more.
Returning to reality, Beth continued her work day after day, keeping her ears and eyes open, hoping that Sally might find out more…something…anything that would help her unravel the mystery her mother had left her. However, every night, Sally shook her head, an apologetic look in her warm eyes. “I’m sorry. But no one’s ever heard of a Clementine ever working here,” she said, slipping into her nightgown. “And the only Ellen that used to work here until five years ago was an Ellen Parker.” Sally shrugged. “Are you certain your mother worked in this household?”
Beth sighed, pulling the blanket up to her chin. “As certain as I can be. All I found was a letter addressed to a Clementine with this address written on the front.”
“Hmmm,” Sally mumbled, stifling a yawn. “That is truly puzzling, and yet, it was twenty years ago. Not many servants have remained from back then.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Beth agreed, disappointment weighing heavily on her chest. What would she do now?
Leaving her hometown, Beth had never thought beyond making her way to the address on the envelope. It had been luck indeed that she had arrived when she had and been hired out of sheer lack of personnel without any recommendation at all. Everything had seemed so promising, only to end now with none of her questions answered.
Sighing, Beth glanced at Sally, whose chest moved up and down with the soft breathing of deep slumber. “Should I just return home?” Beth wondered out loud, feeling a sting of displeasure at the thought of giving up. It was as though she’d failed her mother, and although Beth couldn’t help but feel a certain anger and betrayal toward the woman who had raised her, she wasn’t ready to simply write her mother off as a liar just yet.
There had to have been a reason.
A reason that would explain…everything.
If only Beth could find out what it was.