The next day followed without much change to the slow routine of the house, the master had his breakfast in bed which Mr. Eugene took up. For most of the day the master was stuck in his room while Mrs. Hall went through the kitchen books to pay off vendors, the master did not as much make a peep and I wondered what kept him in one attitude for so long. The same followed day in and out for the coming weeks and no one talked of why the master spent so much time tucked away in his room.

"Alice? Alice where are you?" I heard my brother's trying to be quiet while shouting my name in the kitchen as I walked in from cleaning the master's dusty library.

"Daniel? What are you doing here?" I was lightened by his presence after being stuck in a sad house for so long.

"I saw the cook had left with the mister that don't like you, and thought it'd be alright to come see you."

"Of course it is, it is always good to see you Daniel, how are you?"

"I miss ya 'round the house."

"Let me tell you a secret, I do too, especially here, this house is so..."

"Old, ugly, haunted?"

"There is no such thing as haunted Daniel," I pulled his hat up to fix his hair.

"That's not what people say of your employer, just this afternoon I was sweeping the chimneys over here and they were talking of him and it weren't nice things they were saying. They said the last maid who passed away haunts this house because she was ill-treated and wants to protect other maids from the same fate, and your master well they say..."

"You needn't pay any attention to gossip and I have instructed you not to eavesdrop into people's private talks when working have I not? It is not a proper thing to do," I grabbed by him the ear and kissed his dirty cheek to stop his gossiping for I needn't any stories to make me more afraid of the master of the house.

"But Alice what if it were true? What if you are in danger? What if..." Daniel wanted to get something out when the master shouted.

"Miss Stewart!" The master's voiced echoed and Daniel fell off the chair, bam! My brother hit the floor scared of the man I worked for.

"Miss Stewart!"

"Daniel are you alright?"

"Yes but are you?"

"I am not in any danger Daniel; I say the Lord's prayer every day before bed like mother taught us to protect me. So forget about all this nonsense you've been hearing and do not mention it to mother got it?"

"Take care Alice, visit us soon," Daniel hugged me goodbye running out the back door of the kitchen while I stood in place waiting for the master to walk in to the kitchen at any moment.

"Yes sir?" I had my hands neatly folded in front of me.

"Who was in the kitchen? I heard a voice."

"It was my brother sir," the master took notice of everything that happened in his house.

"A brother or a gentleman caller?"

"Uh..."

I tried to not feel insulted for no one had ever regarded me as the type of girl to have secret gentlemen callers or any secrets; it was simply not in my nature to stray. I still remember my aunt and the cook at the other house laughing at my surprised face when I received a valentine from the footman. They knew it well before me which only made me feel as Mr. Eugene treated me, like a fool, and after that I would not go near the lad until he had all but forgotten he ever had eyes for me in the first place. It was the only valentine I ever got while working there and I made sure to root it out until there was nothing left, and did not regret it even when he moved his silly flirting on to the next maid.

"Miss Stewart?" The master brought back my attention while I pondered on past things.

"It was my brother sir, he was sweeping a chimney nearby but it won't happen again, forgive me master" I bowed.

"Hmmph," he turned with a grunting noise unsatisfied with my explanation and went back into his room like an animal waiting for winter to pass by though his winter looked long.

Until something that could not be overlooked not even by the ill-mannered Stanley household took place one morning after I had come back from praying at the local parish with my mother, Joan and Daniel.

"Here mother, take it, I have no need for anything while I am there," I gave the money into mother's hands.

"No Alice, half will do, the other half you must keep with you, this is from your work."

"I know but I have far more comfort there than I have ever had in my life, buy yourself a warmer coat, or food to share with the Howletts, we know how much they need it after being chased away like a pack of animals."

"For the Howletts then," mother put the money in her dress.

"Blessings mother," I kissed her hand before going back into Mr. Howard's house.

"May God bless you child," she patted my head and I saw a curtain was waving from the master's room.

"Bye Joan, bye my little girl," I kissed her soft pink cheeks, "bye Daniel, keep an eye on mother, you are the man of the house now" I brushed his hair and fixed his hat.

"I will, bye Alice," Daniel said goodbye.

I waited for them to part before going inside the house I had the favour of residing as a maid when the smile almost turned into tears to think my own family would go back to another reality altogether.

"Dear Lord take care of them," I mumbled and opened the door when I passed by Mrs. Hall on my way to my room.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Hall," I nodded.

"Good afternoon Lady Alice, there is tea for you to deliver to the master once you put your uniform on and hurry for Gertie has been in a mood today."

"Yes Mrs. Hall," I nodded and kept my head down thinking it was best to be quick to not set a fire with Gertie's hot temper towards me yet once I opened my closet.

"Oh Lord!" I put my hand over my mouth as to not call further attention to the state of things.

"How did this happen?"

The brand new uniform was ripped into pieces, could Gertie in her mood have done such a thing? Did she really me despised this much? Why? What had I done to her? How was I to serve tea without the uniform? I searched all the cabinets in my room and when I could not find any I went out downstairs to where the laundry was.

"Oh good," I opened a cabinet and found not one but about fifteen different uniforms.

"What is this?" I began to open the uniforms and noticed none of them were of the same size so it could not possibly be for just one maid.

"What are you doing here Mrs. Hall!" Mr. Eugene frightened me and I almost fell back when he slammed the cabinet door.

"Oh I... Need one sir, may I have one please?" I asked Mr. Eugene.

"You have one already."

"Yes sir."

"Then go put it on."

"Yes sir," I could not lie to Mr. Eugene so I waited for him to leave and ran back inside to get me the one closest to my size and then went to get the tea.

"Oh look at you," Gertie said lifting her eyebrows as if to notice my new uniform. "Is the tea supposed to wait for you or should you be waiting for the tea milady?"

"Forgive me Gertie."

"I am telling you we are better off without a maid, no sooner one comes they end up leaving all the same, ain't it right Miss Alice?" Gertie asked but I bowed with a smile and walked off with the tea for the master, was this how she had gotten rid of the other maids? Was it really her doing this?

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Copyright: All Rights Reserved to A. Sena Gomes.