“I cannot do it,” Lydia whispered back.
“And why not? I’d do it fer ya, you know I would!”
“Have you seen what they want me to wear tonight? No pockets at all!” It was true; Lydia had been presented with a new black cotton dress of rather better material than her usual grey work dresses, and a snow white apron. There were, as she had stated, no pockets.
Lydia’s duties, evidently, consisted mainly of staying in the ladies’ retiring room and helping with torn hems and similar difficulties. An entire sewing basket had been provided, with pins, needles and threads of all colours. Lydia was not the seamstress her sister Jane was, but she was accomplished enough for simple tasks such as these. Occasionally, one of the ladies she helped slipped her a coin; having no pocket in which to put the coins, she hid them in her shoes.
***
The Countess of Matlock had been invited to the ball. Lady Eleanor had found Lady Greenfield to be a great help on one of her more important charity committees, and so she had decided to accept the invitation. Her husband, the Earl of Matlock, had to accompany her, of course.
“Remind me why we are attending?” he asked her, rather peevishly, once they were settled in the carriage. “He is not political, you know, not at all!”
“It is not all about votes, Henry,” she scolded him. “I have my own concerns, you know!”
“Oh, she is on one of your committees, is she?” he asked.
“She is, and doing a fine job of it.”
“Very well,” he sighed. “Another damned tedious evening, I expect.”
An hour later, the Countess hid a yawn behind her fan. It was, as Henry had predicted, a tedious evening. She had been besieged by ladies hoping to make her acquaintance since the moment she had arrived, and she deserved a break from it.
“I hope you will excuse me,” she said to a matron who was surrounded by three adoring – and quite unattractive – daughters.
“Of course!” the three of them twittered, curtseying.
The Countess made her way to the ladies’ retiring room,. She would not be alone there, but there would be far fewer people. There were, in fact, only two other ladies, and a maid who was pinning up torn hems. The maid was quite young, but she seemed quick enough with the needle, as she finished the two hems in short order. The young ladies the maid had helped rose and swished out of the room without a backward glance.
The maid sighed, rose and turned to the Countess. “How may I help you, ma’am?” she asked with a very proper curtsey. Her accent was not that of a maid, and she looked oddly familiar.
“Nothing whatever; I am here to rest,” the Countess replied.
The maid chuckled. “I understand, ma’am. I will not disturb your peace.” And she sat down in one of the chairs and closed her eyes, looking suddenly weary.
The Countess was then free to study the maid’s face. She was a pretty girl, perhaps sixteen or seventeen, with blond hair. Her complexion was good, though her hands spoke of a good deal of housework. Despite how familiar the girl’s face looked, the Countess could not place her at all. She could not imagineaddressing one of the maids, but she was curious enough to finally blurt out, “Do I know you, girl?”
The maid’s eyes opened and she shook her head, hard. “Oh, no, I hardly think so, ma’am!”
“Hmm,” the Countess mused. “I have seen your face somewhere, but where?” She tapped her chin, considering.
The door burst open and a young lady popped in, demanding help with the heel of her shoe, which had broken off. The maid slid down to the floor to look at the slipper, and the young lady turned to the Countess, saying, breathlessly, “Oh, Lady Eleanor! How wonderful to see you!”
The Countess spoke briefly with the newcomer and then left.
Not long after, Mrs. Hudson entered the room. She scowled at Lydia and told her to run down to the kitchen for something to eat. “But come right back, do you hear me?”
Lydia rose and began to leave, but then turned back. “Mrs. Hudson, the ball will last until the early hours, will it not?” she asked, tentatively.
“Yes; what of it?”
“Well, I shall not get much sleep if I am expected to rise at five in the morning after not going to bed until two.”
Mrs. Hudson thought this over. “Just this once, you may sleep in until eight. The family will doubtless all sleep late, so there is no need for the upstairs maids to be up as early as usual.”
“Edith as well?”
“Yes; but just this once, mind! Off with you now, and come back as soon as you’ve got something in your belly!”
