Young Writers Society

The Manor

Chapter 2

The sun was rising in the east and as soon as I stepped outside I could tell it was going to be a hazy day. I took in a deep breath. I hadn’t been outside for many days; not since the funeral. The cold was creeping so I shuddered and stomped my feet driving it away. A sniffle came from behind me and I turned to face my new head maid.

“Ma’am, the carriage is ready for you.” She said confidently with a quick little curtsy and then stepped back with her head down. Her blond locks shone in what little sun there was contrasting with her standard black outfit. This girl was much better.

I took one last long look at the decrepit estate I was to leave behind and turned on my heels making the old, tattered white dress flow out around me. It was the same dress I put on after the funeral three weeks ago and someone was wise enough to have it washed before I left on the trip. It’s once happy Easter meaning was long gone and instead it served more as a statement than anything else. Let Cousin Albert squirm in my presence before I have to go back to normal clothes.

The driver of the cart nodded down to me as I went up the steps. The five or so footmen hovered around me trying to offer me a hand up but I defiantly refused to acknowledge they were even there. Settling down into my seat the new head maid and ancient butler to my late father joined me in the seat across from mine. This was looking to be a very long and arduous journey to Cousin Albert’s.

At first my interests were focused mainly on the colorful insides of the carriage rather than the murky outside and dark shadows it currently displayed. Old Wilbert was quickly asleep and snoring quietly in the corner grasping a seasoned black cane with a small silver stud up at the top. The new head maid who was either called Talia or Tekla, I wasn’t sure which one, was stitching a scene of a river onto a white clothe as her red nose sniffled every so often. Even though she was quite pretty none of that really mattered to me so long as she was good at her job. The presence of the new head maid had me thinking I had better replace most of the staff. They were old and long retired of their duties choosing instead to pass the work off to younger and less experienced workers. That just wouldn’t due.

The luggage was strapped to the back of the carriage and one unlucky trunk had to go on top. Why Father couldn’t have bought two carriages was beyond my grasp and I simply settled to purchase a new one as soon as I was able.

After staring at every inch of the carriage and memorizing the curves of the faces in front of me along with seeing how long I could count the snores of Old Wilbert I turned my attention out the window. I watched as the fog was slowly but surely being burned off by the uprising sun and tried to write poetry in my head about the passing trees and dusk edging by. When I roughly estimated it was mid day I looked over to the new maid and nodded. She in turn nudged Old Wilbert who promptly startled awake and then used his cane to knock a few times on the roof of the carriage which started to slow down.

“Lunch,” I responded to really no question in particular yet I felt it needed to be said. The new maid nodded to me in understanding of my odd reply or just to the word ‘lunch’ in general I don’t know. The cart came to a complete stop the new maid flung open the doors and out she and Old Wilbert went. I slowly gathered up my dress around my legs and stepped carefully out of the cramped space.

Before me was a wide open glade ringed with mist and dew in almost a fairy tale setting. I stooped and ripped a flower out of the earth and held it up to my nose and smelled its sweet perfume. How nature thought it could go into spring without Mother and Father around was beyond my comprehension. I dropped the yellow bloom and marched to the middle of the glade and sat on the newly spread sheet and waited as the head maid laid out my food.

Cabbages and ham. I hate Cabbages and ham.

I frowned and looked up at the girl and she smiled almost wickedly down at me as she loaded my plate with extras. Why did she hate me so?

I slowly suffered through the meal and ate everything on my plate just to spite her. I glanced over a few ways off to where she sat and saw she had barely touched her plate. Ha! I had won.

While the servants loaded the settings back onto the cart I went right back to the small claustrophobic quarters just to be anywhere but that false cheery place outside that door. Perhaps this was why I hadn’t been outside all this time?

After everything was done the head maid jumped into the carriage and the old man wobbled in a few minutes later. We took off once again and I settled down leaning my head back. Perhaps a nap wouldn’t be so bad?

The snores came up again and I found myself counting once more. Last time I got up to two hundred and eleven. Perhaps this time I could get up even more…