“I’m going to miss you,” Valeria said. “So very much. Perhaps there will be a need for servants in my aunt’s Manor.”
“No, you’re not to ask her,” Mrs. Paulson said sharply. “She’s doing you a kindness by taking you in, My Lady. And it’s enough that she’s allowing Charlotte to come with you. You won’t ask her to hire the rest of your brother’s household. She couldn’t possibly have any need of us, and it will make you seem ungrateful. That’s not the start you want to make when you first enter your new home.”
Valeria nodded. She knew that Mrs. Paulson was right. Having Charlotte, her lady’s maid, along with her as she began this new phase in her life would be a tremendous relief. She couldn’t think about what it would mean to her to have the other servants she had grown up with, the people who had all but raised her.
Just like everything else, she was letting them go today.
She looked around her room. It had belonged to her since childhood. She could still remember so many moments spent here. She remembered having tea brought to her here when she was ill, eating her meals with her governess when she was a child, standing before the looking glass and admiring the way a gown draped around her figure as she’d grown.
And every night—every night of her life—she had fallen asleep in this bed, listening to the familiar sounds of the birds that nested outside her window and the wind in the trees.
This place was home.
And now she had to leave.
A knock came at the door. Mrs. Paulson bustled over and opened it.
It was Charlotte. Her mouse-brown hair had slipped down in bits and pieces, framing her chin, and Valeria knew she had been working hard. She felt another pang of shame over her own reaction to what was happening. After all, Charlotte was leaving everything she knew behind. She, too, was leaving the Manor where she had worked all her life.
And now Valeria was remembering her childhood. She and Charlotte had been young together—Charlotte was the daughter of her mother’s lady’s maid—and they had been permitted to play together often. They had been friends.
She still considered Charlotte her dearest friend.
At least the two of us will be together. It’s better than nothing. At least I’ll still have something to hold onto for comfort as I start this new life.
“My Lady,” Charlotte said. Though she often dispensed with formality and referred to Valeria by her given name when they were in private, she knew better than to do so in front of anyone else. “The carriage is packed and ready to go when you are.”
“Thank you, Charlotte.” Valeria sighed. “I suppose there’s no point in putting this off, is there?”
“In fact, you would do well to get your journey underway,” Mrs. Paulson said. “Debt collectors will likely be arriving soon to go through what you’ve left behind.”
Valeria felt tears come to her eyes. “If only we could take more with us,” she said. “I know it’s silly to waste time worrying about possessions. There are more important things. I know that. But even so—”
“Of course, My Lady,” Charlotte said. “It’s only natural that you should feel this way. It’s difficult to leave the things we’re used to behind.”
“I always hated that ugly painting my father hung in the foyer,” Valeria said. “The orange flowers, you know the one I mean? It’s ghastly. But now… I don’t know. The idea that I might never see it again—that Iwillnever see it again—”
She broke off, shaking her head.
“I understand, My Lady,” Charlotte said. “But we’ll move on to other things. We’re going to have a new home, after all. Who knows what delights await us there?”
Valeria smiled at her friend. “You always stay cheerful, Charlotte,” she said. “I really don’t know how you do it, but I hope you know how much I value that about you. If it weren’t for your wonderful attitude, this would be much more difficult.”
“I’m glad I’m able to be by your side, My Lady,” Charlotte said.
Valeria got to her feet. “All right,” she said “I suppose you’re right, Mrs. Paulson. We should go before the debt collectors arrive. There’s nothing to be gained by delaying our departure.” She turned to her lady’s maid. “Come, Charlotte. Let’s take our leave of this place.”
Charlotte nodded and walked with her out of the bedroom. To her credit, she did not break her stride, did not stop to look back, and that gave Valeria the courage to do the same thing.
The carriage was waiting for them in front of the Manor. Valeria looked down at the chipped cobblestone, remembering how it had been damaged. Richard had been playing with a hammer when they were very young, and had struck the stone. He had been in terrible trouble with their father after that. That evening, she had gone to his room, wanting to bring him tea and cheer him up, and he had taught her to play chess.
Richard is gone now. Gone from my life. Just like everything else.
He hadn’t been the older brother she had thought him to be. Maybe, in her mind, she had been trying to make him fit that mold, because she had wanted it so badly. But he had always put his own interests and desires first.
“My Lady?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m sorry,” Valeria said. “I was just thinking.”
