Chapter 124
Nichs’s mouth was so close. As I looked at it, he licked his lips. I licked mine in reply. We leaned
closer, closer, dangerously close..
Then the oven timer dinged.
We immediately straightened, snapping away from each other. Nichs turned, coughing into his hand.
I reached for the oven mitts and pulled the finished stuffed mushrooms from the oven.
With the tray safely on the counter, I couldn’t find the courage to look at him again.
He cleared his throat. “Nostalgia does tricky things to the mind.”
“It does,” I agreed, thankful for the safe retreat his words offered.
“I should go now.” He took a step, then paused. “Goodnight, Piper.”
“Goodnight.”
I didn’t move again until his footsteps disappeared from the kitchen. Even after he was gone, I needed
a moment to get my heartbeat under control.
Finally, I returned to putting the finishing touches on my stuffed mushrooms and preparing them for
storage.
I very carefully did not think about what just happened, or what it might mean.
The next morning, Charlotte and I were adding the finishing touches to the garden party dresses for me
and Elva. She was sewing on the ruffled trim with the sewing machine, while I hand–stitched some
sparkly gems onto Elva’s skirt.
“I have news,” Charlotte said, “about your other maid from the early days
The friendly one, I remembered. Though Charlotte had certainly opened up to me now, in the early
days, she had seemed to only barely tolerate me. The overly–friendly one had helped me feel more at
ease right away.
“I tracked her down,” Charlotte said. “They let her go from the pce staff, but she was able to find
another position in a noble household.”
I exhaled in relief. I had worried that she was trapped in a dungeon somewhere.
“She’s enjoying it. It’s less stressful.” Charlotte picked at a straw thread.
“Thank God,” I said. “I’m d to hear she is safe and well. I’ve been thinking of her.”
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“She’s both of those things. When I spoke to her, she seemed worried about you, though. It seems like
the whole of the pce might be against you”
“Not everyone is,” I said, giving her a smile. “And that’s what matters. With the support I do have, I can
oust any of these hardships.”
Minor humiliation and ruined appetizers were nothingpared to the hardships I had endured in the
past.
Here, I had a roof over my head, food for both Elva and me, and proper medical treatment for Elva. Any
adversity I had to endure was secondary to those basic needs, which in the past had either been
denied
to us or was incredibly difficult toe by.
Although, despite theck of physical turmoil of these minor hardships, they still made my staying here
more difficult. I had to be careful to make certain I seeded in every challenge. I wanted to stay here
as long as I could.
I held
up
the fabric, frowning at it. “I worry about this shade. I don’t know what I’ll do if it’s incorrect.” Having lost
my notes, I couldn’t be sure that I had guessed the color correctly. Even one or two shades different
would be noticeable under the afternoon sun.
“It’s correct,” Charlotte said, all confidence.
I lowered Elva’s dress back down to myp. “How can you be sure?”
“I double–checked before I ordered the color.”
That still didn’t exin it. “Double checked how?”
Charlotte offered a hint of a smile. “The servants, we talk to each other. I won’t touch on the specifics,
but let me just say that Linda is not kind to her own maids. They dislike her greatly, and were eager to
help you when I told them what happened.”
“I’m grateful,” I said, amazed by Charlotte and the other maids. They truly did work behind the scenes
to either make or break the contestants. It was a bit intimidating too. I hoped I always stayed on their
good
side.
Though, as someone who worked in the service industry, I knew that often all it took to earn favor was
to treat the wait staff as the people they were, and not asmodities that existed only to serve.