How did I miss her there?
Her eyes were downcast, and she was doing her very best to look anywhere but at my exposed breasts and legs.
“My name is Pip and I’m here to, uh, help you with your, uh, dress,” she squeaked out.
I cocked my head at her, not loosening my hold on my clothing.
“Pip? How is it that I’ve never seen you before?” I liked to think that I knew, or at least knew of, all the servants in our home. Though, now that I looked closer at Pip’s face, she seemed somewhat familiar.
“It’s, uh, my first day on the job, miss,” she said, “I’m here to replace . . . uh,Talunda, for a bit.”
I sighed involuntarily and the girl, Pip, flinched.
Of course Mother would place the youngest and most inexperienced maid with me.
Though I also knew that the servants had very little autonomy over where they served and were directed by the head of staff, Bern—a stout, angry woman in her late sixties. What Bern said, the servants did.
“Pip, would me putting on my undergarments make this conversation easier for you?”
She nodded vigorously. “Oh, yes, miss, please.” She slammed her eyes closed, her little pointed nose scrunching up at the movement, and her limp, mouse-brown hair fell in front of her face.
I quickly set the nightgown on the bed and grabbed my underclothes, putting them on as I made small conversation with Pip.
“How old are you, Pip?”
“Twelve, miss.” Pretty spot on with my guess, then.
“Why aren’t you in school, Pip?”
“My mom works here in the manor, and I was needed to help bring in money for our family. There’s quite a lot of us, miss.”
Mom?
“Who’s your mom, Pip?” I asked as I finished dressing in my underwear and pulled the nightgown over my head. “I’m decent, you can look now.”
The girl raised her head and met my stare head-on for the first time. Her eyes were a dim brown, nondescript and bland. The lack of interesting physical features left her parentage to best guess.
“Eloise, miss,” Pip said, unblinking, “she works in the kitchens.”
I chewed my lip in thought again and absentmindedly fiddled with the hair framing my face.
“Do you know how to properly secure buttons on a dress like this?” I crossed to my armoire and pulled out a dress with what looked like a thousand buttons. Pip nodded her head and I set the dress back down. “Okay, then. Can you sweep and manually light a fire?” More nods accompanied my questions. “Can you empty a bath and refill it when necessary?”
“Yes, miss, my mom taught me a lot of things at night when she would come home.” At least the girl was more confident in her words now that I wasdressed.
I sighed and rubbed my brow. “Very well, Pip. You may assist me. But you’re going to have to get over your aversion to a naked body.”
Pip’s cheeks stained a deep shade of red. “Of course, miss. I’ll do my best.”
I patted her shoulder again before straightening up to my full height. “You go on to your family’s quarters now, Pip. I’m going to turn in for the night. Make sure you’re here just after sun-up to help me in the morning, okay?”
Pip nodded vigorously, her hair falling in her face.
I smiled despite the situation; Pip was just too endearing to be displeased with. I ruffled her hair lightly before scooting her out the door and climbing beneath the heavy covers on my bed.
I expected sleep to evade me after the surprises of the day, but I drifted easily, my eyelids fluttering and limbs growing heavy the minute I settled in bed.
Chapter 11
