Lady of Spirit by Edith Layton

Author:Edith Layton [Layton, Edith]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-03-05T13:21:06.468000+00:00

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Miss Dawkins received two letters all in a day, which in itself was enough to make that day a memorable one for her. One came by post, and though it had come a long way, she realized to her sorrow that, as with all the others she'd gotten since she'd come to the Manor, it had been read and reassembled before it had ever been given to her. The servants at the Old Manor had no more rights or privileges than their counterparts did when the place had originally been built. But then, Victoria thought resignedly, they hadn't been called "servants" then; "serfs" was more likely to have been their designation.

She'd been attempting to teach this, as well as some other points of history, to her younger charge, but at about ten minutes into the lesson, when she was just dipping into some simplified feudal history, Miss Sophrina developed the most exquisite headache from the strain of staring at the picture book she'd been shown. After warning her tutor that Mama would be outraged if she should develop squint lines from gaping at such fustian, she'd waved her away entirely, declaring that she would take to her bed immediately to prevent any such outrage to her beauty.

As Miss Charlotte had made it clear that she did not require a companion in the morning, those hours being devoted to sleep and relaxation, Miss Dawkins had set about her other chores. It would have been pleasant, she'd thought, to have a word with one of the other servants she passed as she made her way down past the kitchens to get some new threads and needles from the housekeeper's stores, though when she received her letter from the woman along with the sewing supplies, it chased all thoughts of conviviality from her mind. But then too, it hardly would have mattered if she'd cared for a conversation or not. Although there were nine other indoor servants at the Old Manor, the truth of it was that there wasn't one she could have chatted with. Precisely because these were no longer the days of feudal servitude that she'd tried to teach Miss Sophrina about, the sort of person who, although born free, nevertheless opted to work at the Manor, was perforce the sort of person Victoria had little in common with.

The butler and the housekeeper held themselves too high to speak civilly to any other but each other and their employers, Cook ignored everyone and was happy so long as she got her due respect and five round meals a day, and all the other unfortunates worked like drones, bypassing any possibility of unity with their fellows because they were terrified of giving offense and so losing their positions.

And, as Victoria soon discovered, if one were constantly fearful of uttering a word out of place, then one could never place a word right. It might even have been that some of the others had been forced to their employment through a

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