"These are the ones that we use. As the help, we're supposed to keep as unseen as possible. You especially since you are Cook's help. Mr. Ridgewater is usually out most of the time. Mrs. Ridgewater is quite a nice lady. She has Cook make an extra dessert every Sunday just for us."
"What are the children like?"
"There's little Tommy, whose three, Jane, whose ten, and Isabelle, she's fourteen," Abbey grimaced.
"What's wrong?"
She sighed and whispered, "Well, Tommy and Jane are nice enough, but Isabelle... she's at that age." Abbey rolled her eyes. "Do you have any siblings?"
I nodded. "I have a younger brother and three younger sisters," I said.
"So you understand how the girls can be."
I thought back to the number of days this past spring my sister, Katie, had come running back from the school house in tears. "Do the children go to school?"
Abbey shook her head, "They have a governess coming from down South within the next few days. I wonder what she's like. I'm supposed to ready one of the rooms right down from here. This is our room." We had stopped in a short hall on the third floor of the house. Three doors lined each side of the hall.
I peered closely at the wall and touched it, "Wallpaper?"
"Yes even for the servants! Mind you, our rooms are whitewashed, but back home, everything is white washed." She pointed to the door next to us, "That's for the new governess. The last one on this side is for Miss Lawson. She gets her own room, on account of how late Mrs. Ridgewater can stay up. Cook is across from her on the right. Then it's Mr. Brown, and George the stable hand.
She opened our door and I stepped inside. The room was bare, but clean. Two small beds had been placed on either side of a large window. The walls were whitewashed, like Abbey had said. Her things sat on the left side of the room. I sat my bag down on a chair.
"You probably should get changed into a work dress. I'm sure Cook will want you to get started soon. I'll be down the hall airing out the governess's room if you need anything. Once you're done dressing, come find me and I'll show you around the grounds," Abbey smiled and left the room, closing the door behind her.
I let out a deep sigh, glad for a moment alone. Quickly, I unbuttoned my Sunday dress and slipped on one of my three work dresses. The other two, I folded, along with my spare undergarments and winter petticoat, and placed them into an empty drawer of our shared dresser. When I finished, I walked down the all to find Abbey.
She was in the governess's room, like she had said, but a young man was with her and I paused before entering. He was sitting on a wooden chair, identical to the one in our room. "Come on, Abbey! What's she like?"
Abbey rolled her eyes and continued making the bed. "Quiet, George, she'll hear you."
"But-."
"Oh there you are, Mariam," Abbey looking up to see me standing in the doorway. "This little pest is George. He's the stable hand."
George's ears went bright red with embarrassment. "Hello," he half heartedly waved a hand in my direction.
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