Anny

 Every morning when I wake up in Blackwell Manor, I go to the servants’ bathroom and wash my face. Then I change to my maid’s clothes: A blue dress, white petticoat and a white apron. I tie up my mousy brown hair and wrap a bonnet around my head.

Sometimes I stand in front of a mirror, and check that I am presented well. But that’s only when there is an important visitor to the manor.

I leave the servants’ quarters and enter the servants’ kitchen. Already, my friend Jack the repair boy is up, buttering his burnt toast. I see he has already laid a piece out for me.

“Good morning, Jack,” I say in my British accent, “Lovely weather this morning, ain’t it?”

Jack looks out the window, where it is absolutely pouring down with rain. He laughs, “Yes, Anny, I guess,” he says in his American accent.

I look him over. His face is still covered in dirt; His blond hair all ruffled and untidy.

“You should probably clean up,” I say, “You don’t want the Lord to find out,”

Jack glared at me, his grey eyes cold and hard. “I don’t care. The lord can find out if he wants to,”

I sigh. I wish he would listen to me. For an American in Great Britain in the year 1895, he would find it very hard to get another job.

As I ate my toast, Jack sighed, “I know what you’re thinking, Anny. But don’t worry. If the Lord chooses to fire me, I’ll find something better to do. You can come with me though,” he looked at me with hopeful eyes, “I would really like that,”

He knows my answer; we have this conversation almost every morning. I don’t even know why he bothers, “Jack, you know my answer. I have to stay here, since I don’t have anywhere else to go,”

Doris, the gardener came in to get some seeds. When she saw Jack and me sitting at the table, she was furious.

“What are you two still doing in here?” she hisses at us, “If you don’t start your list, the lord won’t be happy,”

I get up and run down the corridor to the cleaning closet. On it is the list for the day;

Anny,

Please clean these so they are spick and span. I will be checking at four o clock. – The Lord

Below, it had a list of things and places I had to clean. I rip the note off the door and grab my cleaning cart. He is always checking earlier. It’s like he expects me to work faster.

First on my list is to clean the foyer floor. I move all the rugs and the furniture out of the way, so I can get a good cleaning. I go to the bathroom and fill up my bucket. Then I pour two caps of cleaning soap into the warm water. I try not to overdo it.

Then I kneel down, push my sponge into the bucket and started wiping the dirt and grime from the tiled floor. It takes me at least half an hour to fully clean the floor and another twenty minutes to rearrange the furniture.

Most of the things on the list are relatively easy, mainly making beds or wiping windows. Every now and then I get a job to clean a big object, like a suit of armor or a framed picture.

But the last thing on my list, I was not prepared for.

I had to clean and polish the trophy cabinet. I’ve never had to clean a cabinet, as I never had experience. I can clean dressers, easily.