A Victorian Secret

Chapter 5

Constance sighed. She had just got downstairs into the maids chamber, and into her room, when a little servant girl, maybe 9, gave her a letter. James wanted her to make sure the maids are getting ready for his little event with his neighbors tonight. "Couldn't he have told me?" She asked the servant girl.

The girl shrugged. "Dunno, miss." She took a match from her pocket, lit it, and put it on the candle that stood in the candle stick. "You don't know much' bout' master do you?"

"Mr. Mags? No, I just started!"

"Well everybody in Bath does." The servant walked in the hall, and came back with a bucket of water, which she poured into a wash basin. "You might as well wash up."

"No soap?" Constance asked.Though she truly detested the hard piece of soap, like a jagged rock, when it was gone, she felt odd with out it. The servant girl laughed.

"No. We don't have soap. Where did you use to work, miss?" She sat on the edge of the bed. She had grimy clothes, looked like an old potato sack maybe, and it had blood seeping from the knees. Constance was disgusted, the girl sat on her bed like she was nothing. Even as a housekeeper, she was higher class than the servant girl, who helped serve the maids. "By the way, miss, my name's Hannah. I don't really remember my last name, haven't seen my family since I was about five."

Constance felt pity for the girl, and decided not to mention that she did not want her on her little bed. "Oh...I worked as a school teacher for a charity school, I didn't get paid much more than I do now." Constance smiled a little. "And my name is Constance."

"How old are you, err, Constance?"

"Oh, you ask lots of questions for a servant girl. I'm old enough, let us say that."

"Alright, well, I'm off to me' duties, I help Mister Mags in his laboratory!" She stood proudly. Constance smiled sweetly, but inside she was jumping up and down. He does have a laboratory!

"Oh, a laboratory? What kind of things has he made recently?" She tried to be vague, but by the bizarre look on Hannah's face, she was asking wrongly. "I mean, like what kinds of things does he make? What kind of scientist is he?"

"A chemist, and an inventor, he's working on a-" Hannah stopped. Her left eyebrow shot up. For a servant she was pretty cocky. "Are you some sort of a spy Constance?"

"What?" Constance asked as if it were the most peculiar thing to ask...but it was. She felt her palms sweating, and wiped it on her dress. Thunder shook the house.

"Never mind, I have to go!" Hannah ran out just as thunder struck again, shook the house, and Constance's little light blew out. It was dark, pitch black, quiet, and she was afraid. She closed the door. Her work could wait. She sat on the bed, and sobbed. Even on her other missions, she had minor, minor parts. Sneaking into an office at night, interviewing a pub, visiting a dead body at the morgue to check for scars. But on this, she lost her class, respect, and dignity. She sobbed more, and wiped her nose, when she heard her door squeak open.

"Miss?" She turned around. To her surprise, it was a man. He was only about twenty-five, working as a first footman? it was odd. He was tall in height, like most footman. She wiped her face.

"Yes?" She stood, straightened her dress, and sighed. The man watched her, oddly, and glanced at her up and down, as if sizing her.

"Mister Mags wishes you to do your duties now." He bowed. She nodded a quick thank you, took a match out of her own pocket, found the candle, lit it, and carried the candlestick in the hall. It was quiet and dark and their was no shadow or any sort of show, saying that somebody had been here. She didn't hear whispers,or water, or talking, or laughing. No pages turning in books, no light flickering under doors. She finally just picked a door, and opened it. A girl sat there, in the bed sleeping.

"Excuse me?" Constance asked. It was odd. She was actually in a sitting position, while sleeping. The girl popped up. "I'm the new housekeeper. You're duties are needed." The girl was about, fifteen, and by the way she was sleeping so late, she must be a chamber maid.

"Oh, yes, hello. I'm...well, that doesn't matter." The girl left. Constance continued down the hall and told everybody they needed to begin their duties.