🌸The Promise 🌸[18+]

Chapter 14

A loud clatter wakes me. "Oh no!" Streams through my door.
I get out of bed feeling sore and heavy. My arm is stinging, my head is pounding.

I open the door to find a young girl on her bottom, a tin bowl upside down and water soaking the floor. She's desperately trying to clean it up with a towel in hand, panic on her face.
She looks so sweet that I can't help but laugh.
My laugh makes her look up, and her cheeks go pink.

"I'm so sorry Miss, I slipped." She states looking back down to the mess she made.
"Not to worry, let me help clean it up." I answer.
"No No, you can't do that!" She moves and gets up. She's dishevelled and smooths out her maids uniform.
I can tell she's nervous.

"Why not?" I state confused.
Her legs shift back and forth as she meets my eyes again.

"Well, I'm here to help you, not the other way around." She replies, looking at me with her brown eyes. Her face is full of freckles, and she looks too young to be in a maids outfit.

"Well, we can help each other?" I ask trying to put the girl at ease.

She debates what I've said and looks down to the puddle on the floor.

"I've made a bit of a mess, haven't I?" her voice is gloomy.
I can't help but giggle, she really is so naive and doe-eyed.
She looks to me laughing, and a smile plays on her lips.

"Yes I believe so, but not to worry!" I say trying to put the girl at ease.

After helping her clean the water up off the floor as best I can. I start to feel hot and dizzy, so I let her finish up. My arm throbbing. She holds the metal bowl in her hands.
"I best go back and get some more water." With that, she bounces off happily in search of a refill.
I can't help but laugh again at her eagerness. She reminds me of a playful puppy. All sweet and innocent and full of life.

"Good luck." I reply teasing her.
I can hear her shoes squelch on the floorboards as she goes.

Soon she is back holding the bowl with more warm water, another white towel slung over her shoulder. She walks into the room and her eyes search for something to put it on, then she spots a dresser next to the wardrobe.

She turns around quickly and I can't help but smile at her. She's smaller than me in height. Her maids dress swallows her small frame. She seems all arms and legs. Her blonde hair is tied in a bun and her eyes are a dark brown. She has a little button nose, with freckles decorating it. They spill out over her cheeks and forehead.

"I'm Angeles Williamson. I'm your new maid." She states holding out her hand. I can see she's excited.
I smile at her kind gesture. Biting my lip in unease.
I have a maid?
Where's Trudy?
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts I reply to her.

"I'm Nova Anderson. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." I say shaking her small hand back.

"Is Trudy okay?" I ask feeling concerned for her.
Of course, she's not okay. Her love was killed yesterday.
Then tells me she's my Aunt.

Angeles looks slightly disappointed but then answers.

"Trudy is okay in health but ever so heartbroken, it really is very sad. So Mr Laywood has sent her to a place for rest and relaxation. But she told me how to get you ready for the day and your favourite hairstyles, so hopefully, I can be some use to you." Angeles answers, I can tell she's worried I won't want her and want Trudy instead.
Which makes a tightness in my chest. I hope I didn't hurt her feelings.

"Well, I'm glad your here." I say hoping that reassures her.

"When Mr Laywood said your name was Nova, I knew I would like you immediately." She beams.
"Because you have a unique name just like me." She laughs. Quickly looking up to make sure she hasn't offended me.
I'm not offended in the least. I look to this girl in amazement. She just says what pops into her mind and it's refreshing.

"Yes Angeles, is a unique name," I say copying her words.
"Where does it come from?" I ask.

"Well, my Mother's Spanish and my father is English. I'm the youngest out of thirteen.
My Father prayed for a son, as I have all sisters. All my sisters have nice normal English names you see. So my Father said to my Mother if this one's a boy. She can name him a Spanish name, in hope, she would produce a son." She muses.
"But I was a girl!" She laughs, with no hint of resentment.

"Oh" I start to feel sorry for her. But her laughing at the memory makes me smile too.

"So my father didn't speak to my mother for a week, and wouldn't even look at me." She says sadly, but her expression turns to humour.

"That first week I did nothing but cry, my Mother was beside herself! No matter what she did I cried. Till one day my father came home from work and saw how distressed my Mother was. So he took me out of her arms and kissed my little crinkled forehead and rocked me. The crying stopped and I fell straight to sleep!" A big grin on her face as she recalls the memory.

"After that, I would only settle in my Father's arms. He felt so guilty about not wanting me for the first week of my life because I was a girl. So he let my mother name me whatever she wanted.
I was meant to be called Angelo if I was a boy. So my mother called me Angeles." She says matter of factly.

"Since then I've always been a Daddy's girl. I resemble him the most with my blonde hair and freckles." She explains with a bigger grin than I thought possible.
"My Mother has dark almost black hair, as do all my sisters. Except for me."

Her face looks so innocent as she turns to me, finishing her story.

"I'm sorry, my Father says I talk too much." Her face unsure.

"Not at all!" I say.
"I was enjoying your story, gosh thirteen daughters! You have twelve sisters!" I exclaim.

"It was great though growing up with so many sisters, one by one they started to get married. Or got jobs and left home. Some are still living at home getting ready to marry." She says with sadness in her voice.

"My Father got injured last year at work, so money has been tight. I couldn't find a job even though I tried my hardest too. No one wanted to employ me, with my funny name and my freckles. I know I'm not the prettiest to look at. But the fact I can't read or write made it almost impossible to find any work.

That is till Mr Laywood knocked on the door yesterday and asked if I could be your new maid! For two pound a week no less!" She puts her hands together in delight.
"He knew I was looking for work and had no luck, so he thought of me. The Laywoods have such a good reputation here. That my Mother almost fainted on the spot when she opened the door to him." She chuckles.

"But it was too much of a good opportunity to turn down, even though my father didn't want me to leave, he said I was too young to leave home. But it means my Mother can leave her job at the laundry and stay home to care for my Father." She says wiping a small tear under her eye.
"Mr Laywood reassured my Father that I won't work too long hours and that I can visit home anytime I wanted. I also get my own room! I've never had my own room before or had a bed to myself. My room is next to yours!" She points in the direction of her room excitedly.
"I'm ever so thankful to Mr Laywood." she states and grins to me.

I grin back. Angeles has such a lovely heart. It seems she's come from a loving big family and my heart warms for her.
The money will really help her family and she seems delighted that she can.
I feel bad that no one wanted to employ her before now, over something as silly as her name and freckles. The fact she can't read or write doesn't matter to me.
Mr Laywoods generosity has no bounds. He hired this girl because he knew she couldn't find any work, and to pay her such a high salary was his way to help them all not suffer in poverty.
He really has a heart of gold.

"Anyway, enough about me." She says sweetly.
"Let's get you washed and ready for breakfast." She holds up the tin bowl and a teasing smile plays on her lips.
"I can't promise I won't drop this again though." She lifts the bowl towards me.
"But if I do, I will try not to soak you." she says looking down at her wet shoes.

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