The Wards' Mystery

Chapter 2

I don't understand Lady Jannet. She's so happy to try out for a maid. Giggling, she asks the housekeeper to lend her an old ugly coat of hers and rushes to the corridor with me tailing behind.

"Do locals talk much about me?" Lady Jannet asks.

"No, m'lady. Most know nothing about you. I overheard Mr Ward's guests mentioning your arrival. That's how I found out about you," I reply.

"And what did those respected gentlemen say about me?"

"Those were not kind words, m'lady."

"Do not worry, Daina. People like me grow the thickest of skins. I would not be offended no matter what they said." Lady Jannet waves her hand dismissively.

"They called you a mad spinster with a bad temper and poor manners. They also believed you to be much older, m'lady."

I couldn't bring myself to say that they also described her as being as ugly as a sin. That itself was a thing not a single lady should ever hear about herself. Sure, Lady Jannet may have been too thin and too tall for a woman, and I may have never seen such a long and sharp nose as hers, but her bright smile and funny chestnut curls compensated for any imperfections. Actually, I think most people would find her charming.

"Wonderful! Just wonderful! They have no idea! It will be easier than I expected," Lady Jannet clapped her hands like a child eager to open her Christmas presents. At the orphanage every Boxing Day was special. A big box filled with donations waited for us in the main hall. After the signal, every child had a chance to race to the box and pick up one toy. Any fighting was harshly punished. I never participated in the race. Neither did Paul and many others who have been in the orphanage long enough to know that it was an exercise in futility. You could be fast, you could be lucky, but as soon as the night fell and the caregivers were asleep, the bigger and stronger took what they wanted, and you better had not resisted them. I bet Lady Jannet never had to race for her gifts.

"Daina, how do I look?"

While I was occupied with my thoughts, Lady Jannet had changed into a buttoned wool dress and now was desperately trying to tuck her hair under a modest bonnet. For some reason she hasn't called any of her maids.

"Here, let me help you, m'lady." I adjust the bonnet and tie it up. Lady Jannet is so happy. This irritates me.

"You are too happy for a maid, m'lady," the words escape from my mouth before I can stop them. What is wrong with me?

"You are right. How about this?" Lady Jannet frowns and sludges her shoulders a bit forward. I nod in approval. It's better, but her eyes betray her. They have this confident shine to them that only people of power have. The shine that I'd never have.

"I've to go now, m'lady. The housekeeper forbade me to leave the house. I've to get back before anyone notices my absence."

"It would do us no good if we are seen together anyway. I will make last preparations and follow you shortly. Oh, it is so exciting! It has been such a long time since I have been under cover," she says.

I hope her enthusiasm lives long enough to get us both through this. At the same time I can't suppress my irritation. Too happy for a maid, I said and Lady Jannet had promptly agreed. A maid couldn't be happy. No, in the eyes of the powerful she can't be.

The housekeeper guides me to the exit and offers me an umbrella. I barely finish my thanks when the door is slammed shut. I step into the cold heavy rain again, but this time with a red umbrella in hand.

***