Promises Unkept

Beginning Anew.

One month later,

The kitchen was glowing sepia in the light of lamps and furnace.

The bronze sink was brimming over with ghoulish looking, cabbage- smelling grey water and needed be cleansed. The whole kitchen counter and table was a mad mess of potato peels, cake crumbs, strawberry left-outs and unidentifiable mash of other food stuffs but there was no time to scour them off just yet.

It was late in the night now. Much more late than the usual hours of the closing stages.

But  the whole Ashleyton was awake and buzzing with work.

Eden was panting in exertion.

Despite her aching finger, she painstakingly clenched her fist again and pummeled the dough for the bread that she was doing at. She flinched when one of her finger cracked uneasily but there was no time to respite. And while this was already the sixth batch of the loaf she was preparing, there were four more of it that needed to be done before the dawn. She could just not stop.

And not just her, it was the same tale for everyone. Beside Eden, Maggie and Carol too were industriously occupied in the kitchen.

She dusted the shreds of dough pieces off her finger and started kneading them together when Bella rushed into the room in great haste, "The wrench." She demanded, barely glancing over at anyone in the room. "I need the wrench please. And the screw driver too."

Maggie, who was busy with the countless rounds of strawberry chopping looked up at her with a scowl and cried, "Why, pray, do you need a wrench now? You were cleaning the crockery, as far as I understand."

"Oh, its not I who wants it." The intruder informed. "Devin asked for it. He needs it in the stable."

Maggie mumbled something incoherent and resumed her work ignoring the other maid who stood impatiently at the door.

"Well?"  Bella prompted edgily.

"I have no idea where the thing is." Maggie shrugged off and looked over at Carol who was washing distinguished leaves of cabbages. "Carol? The wrench?"

"How would I know?" came the annoyed response from Carol. "I don't even remember when, I saw it last."

"Am I to_"

"Bella, check the third drawer over there." Eden interrupted the scheme. "I believe I saw it there a few days ago. Both of your instruments."

The girl hurried to the drawer and thankfully, the things were indeed there. "Thanks Eden." The last of her voice remained as she ran out of the room.

Maggie sighed throwing her head up.

"Oh Heaven! Am I to get any slower with these berries?"

"And me with these cabbages." Carol remarked. "I shall be avoiding these leafy loafs for next one month at the least."

All this while, Eden kept quite not wishing to say anything that could bring out her inner helplessness. She was too disturbed at this point to take part in general dialogues.

It had been a month now, since her marriage with Lord Stephen Adelwood, since the day it had been arranged for her to comply a fate as a servant at Ashleyton without letting anyone know what she really was to Lord Adelwood; his wife.  Since, she had learned that she had lost her previous world of onslaught only to achieve this new world of faux and disgrace.

He had granted it to her, that request.

Then, on the very following day of this, of their wedding, he had left Ashleyton for London.