Delilah and Collete

chapter one : new beginnings

Delilah (point of view)

i stared longingly into my mothers soft , round brown eyes " ill miss you terribly" i said , my bottom lip quivering , i felt my eyes fill with tears . "me too , but make us proud" she said with a gentle smile but i could tell she was making an effort to hold herself together , i glanced around the small ramshackle room , home to me and my three sisters , there as a thick blanket of dust over every surface and my siblings lay in the corner , in a cramped wooden bed . kitty the youngest was spralled across the end of the bed , her long , thick , black , curly hair trailed over the edge of the bed and her thin , frail arms were delicately positioned next to her bony , fragile face . she looked frail and ghostly as usual  but mother had assured me she would recover from this quickly , it had been six months since she first became ill and nothing much had improved, she only deteriorated .on the other end of the bed grace was lying on her side her curls fell over her sweet peaceful face . victoria was curled up next to grace under a thin brown blanket . i smiled at the sight of my sisters , i new going off to work would give them a better life. 

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a few hours later  i stared out of the carriage window , i was surrounded by  cobbled streets and small stone buildings , i had arrived in scotland , i smiled as i daydreamed about what my job , i had heard i was working for a wealthy family and the house would be at least double the size of our own back in london . i continued to daydream until i saw tall gold gates ahead of me , we were driving up a winding path that lead to a grand white house , covered in ivy , to either side of the house were vast meadows scattered with buttercups and violets . the carriage ground to halt , the door was opened for me by a girl a few years younger than me wearing a white dress covered by a brown apron , she smiled at me warmly and stood by the door as i examined by surroundings , fascinated . a man stepped out of the house , he was tall , he had a glare like a bird of prey and small eyes like black marbles  , he had  a stern expression , he looked me up and down blankly . "delilah" he utters "you are going to be working as a maid for my daughter collete , she is troubled, unladylike and sometimes hysterical, however you must treat her with the utmost respect , understood?"

"yes , sir" i said politely offering a small curtsey and an obedient nod 

"one of your fellow maids , Alice will show you to your room" he announced, walking back into the house

"nice to meet you Delilah" said the girl next to me welcomingly , i shook her hand and smiled , she had a rosy complexion and sweet blonde ringlets , she stepped ahead of me confidently and lead me through the large , white door , i heard the rattling of horses hooves behind me as the carriage left 

collete 

i was in my room reading as usual , father says i am becoming to masculine as i have too much knowledge of literature and politics , i know its not a bad thing to be an intelligent women but i can't seem to get my point across . there was a nock at my door "enter" i said . a girl stepped into my room and gazed at me with deep ,   round , brown eyes that glistened in the golden light they were accompanied by long dark eyelashes and thick brown eyebrows, she had radiant brown skin and full , defined lips , her hair was plaited into a crown with small bouncy curls hanging down perfectly framing her round  face . i had the strangest feeling , a thousand words could not describe how i felt, how she made me feel  . in defence of this feeling i blurted out "well don't just stand there" she looked slightly startled by my outburst but she smiled and said "I'm Delilah your new maid , nice to meet you ma'm" she curtsied as she spoke . "nice to meet you , you can leave now ," i flopped back onto my white silk bed sheets and felt humiliated even though i had authority over this girl i still felt like i had made a fool of myself and seemed rude, i was overanalysing everything i did at our first interaction . father says i don't need to worry about what staff think of me but truly i care about making a good impression on everyone , especially this new maid , its strange that i care so much however  her warm smile and deep brown eyes mesmermerized me .