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"Do you want to have a rest before gettin' into your chores?" Hannah asked, opening a door, motioning for Eugenia to enter.
Stepping into the room, Eugenia saw a great mahogany bedstead heading a thick, plush mattress covered by an embroidered bedspread. Her eyes traveled around her, seeing the white cotton curtains, also lined with embroidery trim. A mahogany nightstand stood beside the bed with a rounded globe covering a kerosene lamp.
"This is very nice," she said, walking on around the room on a green braided rug. To her, it was almost as magnificent as what she had seen in the house that Dawn was now in charge of, except the colors had been toned down. Not bright reds, but pale greens, so soothing to the eye.
"While you're workin' here for me, you can have this room as your own," Hannah said, straightening a fold on the bedspread. "And also while you're in my keep, I'll feed you three well-rounded meals a day."
Eugenia could feel Hannah's eyes settling on her middle, and seeing the look she knew that Hannah was thinking that Eugenia had already eaten more than her share. Eugenia's eyes settled on a gilded mirror that hung above a vanity. She could see her unpleasant waist-line and she vowed that she was going to get her waist to match the women's that she had seen today. She knew that she could also be as lovely, if she had the willpower to keep from shoveling the food in. Back at her parents' homestead, that had been all she had to do for a pastime. Eating her Mama's homemade butter, the many pancakes that her Mama had made for her in the mornings, before she left for the chores, and drinking the fresh milk that Eugenia had personally squeezed from her cow's filled udder.
But now she had other things to take up her time, and she knew that she would most definitely keep herself from thinking of food. When she met up with Drew once again she wanted him to be proud of her. She wanted him to take her as his woman, not run away from her as he had already done once. Seeing herself so closely in a mirror she knew why he would do such a thing. She had been good for his manly needs. But for hitching-up with her, she had to make him want her.
"Do you need some rest before startin' with the chores?" Hannah asked once again, starting to leave the room.
"No, ma'am," Eugenia said, placing her travel bag on the bed. "I'm ready to start. Whatever you want me to do. Just tell me."
Eugenia was directed to a closet at the end of the hallway. Inside it were shelves filled with sheets, pillowcases, and towels.
"Each day, we change the beddin' on the beds," Hannah began, lifting sheets into Eugenia's arms. "Now, you make sure you knock before enterin' any room. If no one is there, go ahead and change the sheets and check to see if the hand towels are fresh. If not, place one beside their washstand."
Eugenia stood listening, her gaze leaving Hannah on occasion when a man or woman brushed by them. She couldn't help but let her eyes linger on the men. They were so sophisticated, with their suits of twilled worsted, and freshly brushed felt hats. She noticed that none of them gave her a second glance, making her feel more aware of her appearance, making her grow more determined than ever to make a change in that area.
"And dustmop around the rugs and dust the furniture," Hannah continued, showing Eugenia where the dustmop and dustrag were stored.
Hannah slipped her hands inside her front apron pockets once again, studying Eugenia with a tilted brow. "Do you think you can handle these chores without assistance?" she asked.
Eugenia looked down the long hallway, looking for some girls who might be doing the same chores, but none were in sight. Only the elegant ladies in silk and satin walking gracefully to and fro. "No, Hannah," she answered quietly. "I don't need nobody to help me. I can take care of it all by myself. Don't you worry none 'bout it. I sure will do it good for you."
Hannah laughed good-naturedly. "Okay, darlin'," she said, patting E
ugenia on the cheeks. "I'll leave you to your busy day. Dinner will be served at twelve noon. You can eat with the other workers in the back of the kitchen."
"Yes, ma'am," Eugenia said, then remembered that Hannah wanted to be called by her name. But Hannah had already begun her descent down the staircase, now in her own world of businesses to attend to.
Going to the first door, Eugenia tapped on it lightly, then entered, assured that no one was there. Once inside, she looked around slowly. This room resembled the one that Hannah had so generously given her, except for the curtains and the bedspread. They were of cheaper cotton, without the embroidered trim on its edge. But the furniture was just as expensive, and elegant. She went to the bed, her eyes settling on its disarray. Hating to touch where other bodies had slept she cringed, wrinkled her nose, and began her task. She had to do what was asked of her. She had to make some money to make herself a beautiful lady, so she could have her own way with the world—have her own way with Drew, if she ever did see him again.
Wrestling with the corners of the sheets, Eugenia finally got her first bed made. She stood back and looked at it. She saw deep wrinkles here and there, but she knew that she had done her best and so went on her way to the next room, deciding to leave the dusting and changing of towels for later. She wanted to get the most undesirable chores done first. Then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe, it could even be fun to remove the dust from such beautiful furniture, to see it shine once again like mirrors. But the beds seemed to mount before her, having ten rooms on this one floor that had been assigned her. By the time she had them completed, she was exhausted. And she hadn't run into any pleasant company either. The people who inhabited the rooms were cool to her, even snubbed her, when some had come to the rooms before she had finished with them. And she still hadn't seen any other hired help. She felt alone in the world, noticing that even Hannah had ignored her at dinner. Hannah had went on her way, eating with a large group of well-dressed people in the dining room. And the one cook that still worked for Hannah only spoke in Japanese, so Eugenia had to eat alone in silence. This made the rest of the afternoon seem very long. But she finally made it to the end of the day, completely tuckered out and hardly having the energy to take a bath.
Walking heavy-footed, she carried her change of clothes and a washcloth and towel to the small room at the end of the hall and stepped inside, locking the door behind her. It in no way resembled the bathroom that she had bathed in the day before. This porcelain bathtub was yellowed with age and was perched off the floor on squatty legs. And the washbasin wasn't in any better condition. Curling her nose, Eugenia tried to not inhale the unpleasant aroma of the room. The toilet reeked of dried urine. This was nothing like she remembered having seen, or smelled, at the Old Homestead Parlour. But she caught herself, ashamed for making comparisons with the house of evil.. To have those extras that one would find there one would have to pay with her body. No, she would do without. She was ready to even climb into any washtub, if she had to, to keep herself clean—clean from the touches of evil men.
Knowing that this bathroom was used by all the boarders on this one floor, Eugenia hurried through her bath. After climbing out of the tub, she pulled her one other fresh dress over her head, wishing that she could go shopping to pick out several new ones. But she would do that after she lost the fullness of her waist. She would find only the prettiest ones, ones that dipped in at the waistline, ones that would make men turn and stare in her direction.
A tapping at the door pulled Eugenia from her thoughts, making her jump with fright. "Who's there?" she whispered, grabbing her towel, wash-rag, and soiled dress.
"Ma'am, will you please hurry out of there," the deep growl of a man's voice boomed. "You have been in there for way too long. The hotel houses more people than yourself."
Eugenia pulled the plug from the tub and waited and listened as the water gurgled downward. Then she checked her appearance in the round mirror on the wall above the wash basin. She hadn't yet had a chance to brush her hair, but opened the door anyway. What met her eyes caught her by surprise. It was a man larger than she had yet to see in her entire life. His form filled the entirety of the doorway as he stood attired in a black suit, with the white lace of his shirt billowing out from the front of his suit jacket. His black hair was sleeked down flat and framed cleanshaven cheeks puffed out in red over a wide mouth. When a smile erupted his facial features, Eugenia inched her way toward him, but found it impossible to get past him.
"So who do we have here?" this man asked, lifting a walking cane up, touching Eugenia on the shoulder with it.
"My name be Eugenia Marie Scott," she mumbled, clutching her towel and clothes closely to her, in an effort to cover her body, which he was very boldly assessing with his dark eyes.
"Are you staying here in the hotel?" he asked, lifting a brow.
"I work here," she answered.
"You work here?" he said, frowning. "You're much too much of a woman to be working in a place of this standard," he added, taking her by the arm, turning her, studying her.
"Please don't," she said limply, hating the touch of his thick fingers. And she felt as though he was mentally undressing her. She knew that the cotton of her dress was thin from age but was glad that the dim lighting of the hallway helped disguise this.
