Excerpt from The Governess -- Chapter 17 continued:
As the children and Carly entered the house through the kitchen, they immediately noticed the stillness of all the servants present. Doris , upon seeing Carly, sobbed into a dishtowel and ran from the room in a flurry of tears.
Suddenly anxious, Carly said to the children, “Jonathon, Elspeth…please return to the schoolroom, and I will be with you shortly.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they both said, exiting the room, curiosity upon their little faces.
When they were well away, Carly asked, “What is going on? Why is Doris so upset at seeing me?”
May said, “Please sit down, love.”
Now she knew it had to be bad. Nervously, Carly sat at the table as Penny served her a warm cup of tea. Nodding her thanks, she waited.
May whispered, “George and Ethel have been let go.”
Carly’s eyes grew wide as she took the information in. Confused, she said, “Oh, dear. I did not realize.” Uncertain as to how this connected to herself, she asked again, “But, I am at a complete loss. How does this relate to me?”
Buford, the matching footman said, “George was to be watching you today with Henry. But he wasn’t, was he?”
Shaking her head, she said, “From what I gathered…I suppose he was not.”
Carly listened as Buford continued. “The master searched him out and found him and Ethel, together…” he left it at that.
Understanding dawned upon Carly, embarrassedly. “Oh, dear. So it is my fault that George was caught, and because he was caught, Ethel was...” The situation unfolded in her mind. “Goodness sake.” Shaking her head, Carly thought of the master’s anger when she had last seen him. Surely, these servants had not benefited from his mood. “I should talk to Lord Huntington immediately.”
Mrs. Thompson, who had entered the kitchen moments before, said, “You shall do no such thing, young lady. They are to be an example to the rest of you,” pointing to the servants in the room, she continued, “to attend to your duties and not to falter.” Nodding her head in approval, she said, “It was only a matter of time, my lady, before this happened. Ethel was on delicate ground with me and my mister, as it was.” Shaking her head, she added, “George, on the other hand—now, there will be a loss. But not so much if he puts lives at risk. That will never do.”
Carly worried as she absently stirred her tea. Would the rest of the servants resent her for the loss of their friends? Admittedly, she felt great relief at the thought of Ethel being gone from this house. Disturbing images of her face cut into bloodied mirror fragments came to her remembrance. Dark stairwells. She shivered.
Was it indeed Ethel that had been so cruel? She had always seemed to be watching Carly, and she was sure it was Ethel that she had seen at the windows watching her, especially after their last meeting in the attic. Carly shook her head worriedly.
“Now, now. You must not feel badly about these things, my lady,” crooned May. “Mrs. Thompson is right. Ethel was on her way out, and Doris was well on her way too. Doris knows this now. This situation has scared her into reality.” Nodding her head all-knowingly, she continued, “Doris would do well to learn from this experience.” Peeling the carrot in front of her, May added, “George was stupid enough to follow those silly skirts around.” Suddenly pointing the carrot at Buford, she added with fervor, “You would do well to learn from this situation, Buford. Keep your head on straight, my boy.”
Nodding his head vigorously, he continued to pace the floor, nervously biting his nails.
“You might as well bring that tall friend of yours over to see if he can get the job straight away.” Suddenly bright-eyed, Buford reached for his hat and quickly left the kitchen.
Mrs. Thompson said, “Penny will take luncheon to the children, Lady Blakemore, if you are ready?” Her comforting hand patted Carly’s shoulder in reassurance.
“But of course. Thank you.” Carly and Penny took the trays of food up the many flights of the servant’s back stairway to the schoolroom.
All the way, Carly worried about the ruckus she had caused and what the fallout would be.
Yes! A ruckus! Carly always seems to be involved somehow. Join me on Monday for another squabble between the master and his governess, and a secret letter. Thanks for reading with me today.
Ellise
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