the haunted mummy of perdeaux manor, episode 2
The laundress and the maids, footman, and porter, all bowed, curtseyed, nodded, and waved when they saw her. Rebecca greeted them all with a silent friendly smile. The newer staff were initially alarmed to see her come below stairs, fearing she was on a mission to play Lady of the House. They soon came to understand Rebecca was not interested in exercising her privilege over them, especially after they saw her wrapped in the arms of the housekeeper the day after she returned from boarding school. They became used to her taking breakfast in the kitchen and escaping into the garden before the rest of the family rose for their tea, coffee, and repast in the small dining room. They saw Rebecca was a lonely child with the deprivation of her school friends. Her heartbroken mother and sickly sister were poor substitutes.
She entered the kitchen to find the cook, kitchen maid, and housekeeper. Though far away from the sleeping family, the staff kept their voices low and quiet. It seemed right to speak softly out of respect for the morning and whoever might have been too deep in their cups the night before.
Mrs. Chessick and Rebecca were more like niece and aunt than lord’s daughter and housekeeper. Some might comment that Rebecca was too friendly with the Help. Some others may accuse Rebecca of wanting to feel superior to others. This accusation could be correctly attributed to her older brother John, and she had been accused of this when she befriended Eva who was the daughter of wealthy tradespeople in London. Her school friends had thought she didn’t feel equal to her own class, and that her kindness and friendliness was weakness. She insisted it was because she wanted to be in the company of people she enjoyed and admired, but that protest had sounded so stupid and weak coming out of her mouth. Though it was an uncommon opinion-- uncommon was how her schoolmates thought of themselves-- but it was not the popular opinion of her peers. They had laughed savagely, but Rebecca soon learned to disregard their cruelness and ignore them almost entirely. However, at home she made all the appearance of conforming to the separation of the classes. While her parents couldn’t send her back to school if she continued to flaunt the social structure, they send her to other places.
“Rebecca,” Mrs. Chessick sighed, shaking her head but smiling. Rebecca managed a chastened grin in reply. Mrs. Chessick was a broad woman in shoulders and hips with gray eyes and graying hair twisted in a simple but stylish bun. She took her hands off her hips, dusted off an already clean chair in the kitchen, and indicated Rebecca sit down. While Rebecca pulled on her shoes, the cook prepared a lovely piece of toasted brown bread.
“I do wish you could find it in yourself to arrive when the tea cake was out of the oven,” she scolded playfully, even as Rebecca made a happy face while biting into the brown bread. The housekeeper batted at Rebecca’s hands when she tried to pour her own tea. Rebecca hrumphed at being so fussed over. “I know you can pour your own tea, dear, but if your mother should ever come down stairs and catch you pouring it yourself--”
“Ah, but she won’t,” Rebecca grumbled. “Because she’s too busy mourning that idiot man--” Rebecca said and took a bite of her toast slathered with clotted cream and jam.
“Hush, child. We all know about it, but speaking aloud of the affair is the very definition of impropriety.” She then covered her mouth, realizing she had done the very thing she warned against. “We are English after all, though the house has a Norman name. What did they teach you at school?”
“How to pour tea,” was Rebecca’s sardonic reply. “But Mrs. Chessick! Really though. Mother spends all day in that green study of hers, weeping, and looking sickly. Did she eat anything yesterday?”
“No.” Mrs. Chessick’s brow furrowed. “I think that room is making her sick. I’ve been hearing things said in town about Scheele’s Green wallpapers. Without a doubt, it is gorgeous. She raved about and had to have it. But that room never feels good to me. Better when the windows are open, but then the Mistress complains of the cold! We should both suggest she go outside today. Fresh air and sunlight would do her good.”
Rebecca made a soft noise of agreement in her throat as she sipped her tea. Her mother seemed to be suffering two ailments; heart and health. Rebecca would probably be spending more time with her if she would ever leave that beautiful, toxic room, because she suspected they shared the same heartsick loneliness.
