3. The Girl
Chris discovered his daughter with her calf wrapped in cloth and stroked it tenderly with a look of pity. Emily made no sign of pain, perhaps out of concern for her parents' worry, but the wound was wide and deep, promising considerable agony until it healed.
As her husband gazed intently at their daughter's calf with a troubled expression, Marie sat beside them with a sour face, peeling fruit.
"How can she be so careless? How's she supposed to handle tough maid work like that?" Marie muttered, clicking her tongue.
Chris started at her words. "What do you mean by that?"
Marie paused, setting the peeled fruit on a plate, and pointed at Emily with her chin. "After work today, the overseer's wife called me in and said she wants to take Emily on as a lady's maid. Apparently, the second daughter, Olivier, specifically picked Emily. She must've caught the young lady's eye while helping out on the second floor. For Emily, who’s never even done housemaid duties, to be selected for something higher up like that. Dear, it must be heaven's blessing."
"So she'll be working with you? Sounds like a great opportunity for her." Chris looked at Emily with warm eyes.
Emily perked up her ears; this was all news to her.
"It's not something that comes easy. Even Sarah, who got promoted to head maid thanks to her experience in Eliyum noble houses when she was young, never served as a lady's maid her whole life. And a baron's family at that! Real nobility. Serving a noble lady means she'll get exposed to all sorts of fine things, naturally."
"It's certainly a rare stroke of luck for folks in our position." Chris murmured.
Noble households were scarce even in a mining village like Exangciras. Aside from Count Mercier, the mine owner, the only one was the Baron Belpharos family, newly appointed as overseers. Even housemaids for noble houses faced strict hiring conditions—connections or recommendation letters were a must—so a personal lady's maid to the family was an unthinkable dream under normal circumstances.
Marie was thrilled at the prospect of Emily becoming a lady's maid, chattering excitedly. "Oh, and the pay! A lady's maid is a whole different league from a housemaid, they say. 80 sil a month! More than I make. And it'll go up after the probation period."
There probably wasn't another girl Emily's age in Exangciras who could earn that much. The little boys trapped in the mine shafts all day, toiling endlessly, got about 40 sil a month.
"Impressive. Truly impressive. With the whole family working, we'll be rich soon enough. Heh heh." Chris laughed, and Marie joined in.
Listening to her parents, Emily sank into deep thought. Was that why Baroness Belpharos had suddenly summoned her to her room during the day—to offer her a position as a lady's maid? Why me? Could it be because of what happened last time...?
The image flashed in her mind: Olivier collapsed in the guest room, unconscious after suffering that horrible ordeal. Lost in such heavy thoughts, Emily barely registered the rest of her parents' conversation.
"This means I might not have to prepare dinner every evening for you and Emily coming home exhausted. If everyone's working, I can't very well boast about feeding the family. It'd be too gracious to just sit and eat what's served. Heh heh." Chris chuckled modestly.
Suddenly, Marie's face hardened. "Dear, a lady's maid dedicated to the young lady is different from housemaids like me who only work days. She has to tend to her mistress constantly, so like the other senior staff at the overseer's residence, she'll have to live there."
"What?"
Chris scowled at his wife's words. It wasn't as if they were marrying her off—sending Emily away from home? He hadn't even considered it.
"Emily's still so young. We're not so destitute we can't put food on the table, and she hasn't even reached adulthood... Plus, she's our only child, our precious only daughter."
Marie sighed softly at Chris's furrowed brow and displeased tone. "That's why I told the madam we'd discuss it with you first and let her know. I figured you might not like it. But still..."
She trailed off, glancing at Emily before continuing. "It's too good an opportunity for Emily to pass up. A spot in a noble house like that won't come again for people like us. It'll look great on her record no matter what she does later, and being nobility, we could even get a recommendation letter."
Chris still looked unhappy, lips pressed tight. "And they say a lady's maid has it easier than a housemaid. Regular live-in maids start their day at 5:30 a.m., ironing everything down to their mistress's lace ribbons, then slaving away in the kitchen nonstop until they're dead on their feet by evening. Lady's maids only handle their lady's affairs, so they have free time and it's not as physically grueling. Truly a golden chance. And if she gets a kind mistress, she'll be treated well. Luckily, the Belpharos young lady Emily will serve is a beauty with a pleasant demeanor."
Eyeing her husband carefully, Marie pressed on. "I'll be at the overseer's every day anyway, so I can keep a close watch on how she's doing... And on days off, she can come home and rest."
At the mention of days off, Chris asked sharply, "What about holidays?"
"One day off a month, they said."
"What?"
Chris's face darkened further as he repeated himself. "No wonder lady's maids get paid so well. But it's still the best opportunity out there. You won't find better in our village—or even far-off Eliyum."
Marie did her utmost to persuade him, but Chris only scowled more. "We don't need Emily earning money. We're not so desperate we'd put her to work."
Marie fell silent, merely staring at him with pursed lips. The room grew quiet.
No one could say for sure if becoming a lady's maid was good or bad for Emily. After a moment's reflection, Chris turned to gaze at her.
Marie had always said she wanted a bigger, better house if they had a second child. Miners earned decently, but she squirreled away a hefty sum for the future. Even so, their only daughter had grown up in hand-me-down shirts and ragged pants, never properly dressed in fine clothes—which tugged at Chris's heart whenever he looked at her. She'd grown up untroubled so far, but lately she'd grown quieter, shadows haunting her face. He worried it was adolescence making her despair over their lot. He'd been about to chide Marie to pay more attention to her, but now this maid offer might take Emily away from home altogether. His feelings were a tangle.
Emily, lost in thoughts of the day's horrors, avoided her parents' gazes. If they knew what had happened at home today... If that vile Mark ever breathed a word of that shameful, humiliating ordeal to her father... A chill raced down her spine, raising gooseflesh.
Emily bit her lower lip to halt the painful reverie. Seeing her distress, Chris reached out and clasped her small hand firmly, his eyes full of compassion. To him, it looked like she was torn about the maid position.
"Emily..."
At her father's gentle call, she lifted her head.
"Emily, it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Good pay, too. Don't you want to see how the fancy nobles live?"
Marie chimed in abruptly, urging her on. Chris shot his wife a warning glance for pushing the child so thoughtlessly. Marie shut her mouth at his cold stare.
"Emily, to your father, money and that future recommendation letter from nobility matter less than your own feelings."
Her father—whose familiar face mirrored her own—spoke softly and cautiously. "What do you think about becoming that young lady's maid? It means leaving home to live there..."
What? Leaving home? Emily's eyes widened in shock—this was the first she'd heard.
"...Pardon?"
Marie quickly summarized the perks of being a lady's maid for her, casually tacking on at the end that the only downside was living at the overseer's residence.
Emily pondered. The reason she'd started following her mother to work in the first place was Mark. Thinking of that snake-sly, bear-scary man lurking, waiting for her to be alone, left her blood running cold—she could barely sleep or eat. Helping with housemaid duties had let her forget a little, but today, seizing the moment her mother was away, he'd done it again. Her whole body trembled at the memory.
She stared at her bandaged calf. If her mother hadn't come back when she did, it might've been even worse... If she were left alone at home again in the future...
Emily shut her eyes tight, then opened them, shaking off the dreadful imaginings.
"Emily... you don't have to decide right now..."
Chris's kind words were cut short by Marie. "Dear, we told the madam we'd let her know by tomorrow."
Marie fixed Emily with a pressing stare. Under her mother's gaze, Emily thought again.
What did it mean to become Olivier's lady's maid? Why had Olivier, after enduring that atrocity from her own brother, chosen her? The baroness in the room today seemed oblivious to Olivier's circumstances. But setting aside all the complications, one fact stood clear: home was no longer safe.
"...I'll do it."
Emily spoke quietly.
"What?"
At Chris's startled repeat, she said more firmly, louder: "I'll take the lady's maid job."
"Good girl. That's our daughter."
Marie nodded, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.