A Bride for the Prizefighter: A Victorian Romance by Alice Coldbreath

Author:Alice Coldbreath [Coldbreath, Alice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-24T18:30:00+00:00

14

Mina spent a good three hours scrubbing away at the porcelain tiles in the bathroom and was inordinately pleased when the black and white floor tiles shined up as well as the mingled green and patterned tiles on the wall.

She was exhausted by the time she turned her attention to the enormous roll top bath. Along the bottom lay a thick layer of dust and she could only guess that since the number of maids had so drastically reduced, no-one ever bothered to use it anymore as it would take an age to fill. Doubtless everyone simply used the smaller hip bath, as she had done also on that previous occasion.

Gritting her teeth, she finally turned to the pretty matching washstand and forced herself to finish the job. The palms of her hands felt raw from the abrasive suds and she was just swilling the last of the soapy water from the basin when the door squeaked open and Edna appeared with two buckets of steaming water.

“I’ve been boiling water for your bath,” she said, carrying them in.

“Oh Edna, you’re a treasure,” said Mina thankfully.

“You’ve made a lovely job in here, Mrs. Nye,” Edna responded looking around admiringly.

“Thank you. No, not in there,” Mina interrupted her when Edna made for the large bath. She pulled a face. “I can’t face the thought of how many journeys up and down the stairs that would take.”

Edna smiled grimly. “It’s a monster of a tub, and no mistake,” she agreed. “We all just tends to use this ‘un.” She emptied the buckets into the smaller hip bath.

“I’m not surprised.”

“I’ll fetch another two up and that ought to do it.”

“Are you sure, Edna? Did you finish stripping the rooms?”

“We only had two overnight guests last night,” Edna assured her before scurrying out.

By the time Mina climbed into her tub she wasn’t fit to do much more than soak, though she just about mustered the energy to wash her hair before the water turned cold.

She spent a quiet afternoon in the parlor, letting her hair dry before the fire with a bunch of mending at her feet. She had mended the tears in her skirt from her cliff mishap and was just darning the heel of a stocking when she heard the hurried knock on the door.

“Come in,” she called.

The door opened and Edna came in bearing a tray with a piece of roast beef. “The master’s taking supper with you this evening,” she said briskly, setting it down before hurrying on the dining table before disappearing again to re-enter with a bowl of roast parsnips and another of green beans.

“Oh?” Mina glanced at her watch and found it was already six o’clock. “I had not realized it was so late,” she said, climbing to her feet. “Is there anything I can do?”

Edna set the vegetables down and shook her head. “He’ll be delayed a minute or two,” she said. “Only he’s just had someone deliver a telegram from the receiving office in St Ives.”

“I see,” said Mina, taking a seat at the table.

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