Only a Peasant

The Beginning

Traveling dress ^

England, 1710
  "I can't go back there," I insist, dragging my suitcase to the carriage. Andrea lifts her skirts and hurries after me.
  "But, M-" Andrea starts, but I cut her off with a swipe of my hand.
  "You may call me by my first name. You are no longer under my employ and I no longer have honor," I snap, blinking away the tears.
  "Delia, I refuse to leave your side. Though you may be unable to pay me, I will continue to be your friend. If you truly are leaving home, then I will come with you for we will both be without a home," Andrea says forcefully. Her words cause me to stop in my path and I throw my arms around her in a hug.
  "Oh, Andrea. What has father done? He has allied himself against England. He has cost us our honor!" I sob. Andrea rubs my back soothingly.
  "There, there, M- Delia. Dry your tears. We must leave before Lord- before your father stops us," Andrea says. I stiffen and pull away.
  "Quite right. We must go to London. We shall seek employment there. Let us hurry. Callan, please do me one last favor and take me to London. Please decide quickly, lest Father discover that I am leaving," I say worriedly, glancing at the door of the place that I no longer call home.
  "Delia, of course I will take you to London. Come, Miss Andrea, Miss Delia," Callan says, opening the carriage door. Moments later, we are on our way to London, England.
  "Delia, you still have honor. It is your father who is without honor," Andrea says quietly. I smile and thank her. I glance down at my dress. My favorite dress is packed away, but I like this one very much because it does not have gigantic hips. I like dresses with rounded hips, but some dresses have hideously wide hips.
  "We are here, Delia," Callan says an hour later. I bite my lip out of anxiousness and together, Andrea and I step onto the crowded London streets. We grab our bags and stand near a building as we take in the scene.
  "Good day, Miss Delia and Miss Andrea. I hope that I see you soon. Please write to me," Callan says before leaving us. 
  "Well, Andrea, let us find work," I say , picking up my bags and leading her into the crowd.

Percy
  "Come, Freddie, we must find ourselves two women, and we must find them at once!" I exclaim. Freddie catches up to me as we push our way through the busy streets of London. Why must we find two women? We have been assigned to the task of espionage. We must attend balls and travel the world gathering information for England and we must have two lady companions. We turn onto a far less crowded road and continue on. I stop Freddie as I hear a woman's loud voice.
  "Andrea, you are lucky that I glanced over at you, because had I not, we would not have anything! Now come along, we have to go embarrass ourselves at at least five other shops before we find ourselves work," a tired voice says. I spot two women. The one who was talking has her shiny black curls down, unlike most women who wear their hair up in annoyingly high stacks atop their heads. She is wearing simpler dress than most women that I see. She is also beautiful, with warm brown eyes and small, but full, pink lips. Her companion, Andrea, is wearing a similar dress, but with wider hips. She has blond hair that is pulled back into a high, curly bun. She has dark green eyes and bigger lips. I nudge Freddie and grin. Freddie's eyes widen.
  "Percy, you can't possibly be thinking of-" Freddie starts, but I approach the ladies.
  "I couldn't help but hear that you are looking for work," I say to the one with the black hair. She smiles politely.
  "You could have, but if you have any work for us, I don't mind," she says in a slightly high-pitched voice.  
  "Yes, we were looking for two women our age, such as yourselves. We can't explain the job to you here, but if you would come with us to my home, I could explain," I offer. Her expression becomes guarded and she eyes me suspiciously.
  "Miss- er, Delia- I think that seeing as we've been at this all morning and it looks like rain, we should take up this gentleman's offer," Andrea says in a timid voice. Delia (what a beautiful name) purses her lips and studies me.
  "I'll need to know your name, sir," Delia says finally.
  "Lord Percy Jeffries and Lord Frederick Fitton," I announce. Andrea curtsies, but curiously, Delia nods.
  "Delia, remember, you are no longer a-" Andrea starts and Delia hurriedly nods. 
  "Well, since you're no longer a, you know, you have to curtsy," Andrea whispers. Delia's eyes widen and her cheeks redden.
  "Dear God, I didn't think it was possible for me to hate Father even more," Delia mutters as she curtsies. The conversation baffles me, but I let it go and instead take them to my home.

  "-and that is why we are in need of two ladies," I finish. Andrea looks fearful, but Delia looks excited.
  "Espionage? Good Lord, that sounds exciting. This is far better than sewing dresses all day! Andrea?" Delia asks, turning her gaze to Andrea, who looks down at her dress.
  "Delia, this could be dangerous. They've said that it could be dangerous. I'm all for it if you are, but please make sure that this is what you want us to do," Andrea says quietly, offering Delia a small smile. Delia faces me with a mischievous smile.
  "We're in."