โMabel? Mabel, may I come in?โ Elsie pushed the door open.
With the garret sealed up and an empty house, the maids had taken to sleeping in the guest bedrooms of the west wing, on the third storey. They were modest chambers, but pleasant. Blue carpet covered the ๏ฌoor. Small prints hung on the walls, giving it a homely feel. A washstand and a hip bath huddled next to the ๏ฌre. It was a ๏ฌne, comfortable place for a girl accustomed to the austerity of a workhouse, better than any maidโs quarters, but Mabel sat rigid in bed with the covers pulled to her chin. Her face was drawn, haunted.
โMabel?โ
โOh itโs you, maโam!โ she exclaimed. Her pupils shrank back to their usual size. โSorry. I got muddled and I thought you was . . . Iโd dozed off.โ
โPardon me. I did not mean to startle you.โ Elsie perched on a corner of the bed. โHow are you feeling?โ
Mabel grimaced. She ran a hand over her dark, tousled hair. โShook up, maโam. I donโt mind telling you, it gave me the collywobbles.โ
โI must admit, I felt a little strange myself.โ She looked down.ย Strangeย was an understatement. Unravelled, opened up, exposed: they were more accurate words. Fear pushed so much out of a person โ she had forgotten that. โI think that I will call the physician in. Your cut ankle may have become infected.โ
โTainโt an infection making me go queer. Iย sawย it.โ
โI do not doubt that you did.โ She paused. A memory ๏ฌowed back in liquid ๏ฌre. She saw it again: the red eyes and the parched, gaping lips. โMy mother, Mabel, had the typhus. Have you heard of it?โ
Mabel inclined her head.
โPoor woman. How she roasted. Once, I felt her head and I thoughtโโ Her voice caught. โI thought she was burning alive. From the inside.โ Mabelโs legs twitched beneath the bedclothes. โIt was bad enough being so ill in the body. But she was tormented more in the mind, by the things that she saw. I wonโt go into detail. The illness painted demons around the room. She saw them clear as day, but they were not there. I sat beside her the whole time. None of it was there. Yet to her it was very, very real.โ
โI ainโt going mad, maโam. I ainโt got no fever.โ
โNo.โ She folded her hands and tried to compose herself. The image of her mother remained burnt on the back of her eyes. โBut I would like to make quite sure, just in case. Until we are certain, Helen will do your chores and Sarah can assist where necessary.โ
โI canโt sit here doing nothing, maโam. All alone, thinking of themย things.โ
Elsie thought for a moment. Mrs Holtโs generosity must be
catching, for the ๏ฌrst idea she had was so wildly kind that it took her aback.
Should she give Mabel a chance to become something better than a workhouse girl?
She was still wary of putting Mabel around a young child. But perhaps, if Elsie invested time now, she could improve the maid before the baby arrived. Education โ that was what Mr Underwood said, wasnโt it?
She drew in a breath and took the plunge. โWell, while you recover, might you like to train in some gentler work? Something less strenuous?โ
โLike what, maโam?โ
It was like moving rusty ๏ฌlings in her mouth, but she managed it: she managed to put on her sweetest smile and say, โI am in need of a ladyโs maid.โ
โA what, maโam?โ
โA ladyโs maid. Someone to do my hair. Bring my breakfast, draw my bath. Washing and mending will be required too. Tell me, did
youย get that mud out of my bombazine dress the day I arrived?โ โYes, maโam. Mucky as a pigsty, it were.โ
She let that pass. โGood. It shows you have aptitude. Would you like to train up, Mabel? It will set you in good stead for the future. A girl with skills will not always need to stay at The Bridge.โ
Mabelโs eyelashes ๏ฌicked up and down. โLook after all your clothes and fancy things? Your diamond necklace?โ
โYes.โ
โA ladyโs maid,โ Mabel repeated with wonder. โThatโs one ofย them, ainโt it? The fancy sort Helen talks about?โ
โThe role is that of an upper servant, yes. Much higher than your current position.โ
Mabel grinned, all traces of fright evaporated. โAll right, then, maโam. Iโll do it.โ
