I’m so glad I managed to finish washing the sheets in time!
Standing before the maids with Arnold’s attendant Oliver at her side, Rishe was panicking on the inside. She’d had so much to do this morning that she’d put off the laundry to the last minute. She took deep, controlled breaths, praying no one would notice that she’d raced here at a dead sprint.
Oliver was none the wiser as he spoke to the assembled girls. Rishe took the opportunity to look them over. She locked eyes with Elsie, who was gaping at her. It was a nice change—usually her face was as blank as a rock wall.
I’m sorry for the deception. I figured blending in would give me the best picture of your working conditions.
The new maids wore similarly shocked expressions, while others watched her with delight. Meanwhile, the veterans, including Diana, had all gone pale. They trembled, stunned into silence. One seemed locked in a terrifying trance, while another looked on the verge of tears. All of them had spoken to Rishe with derision. As the ringleader, Diana was covering her mouth with both hands, like she was holding in a scream.
Oliver had finished his introduction. “Your Highness, if you would?”
Rishe stepped forward. “First, I must apologize to you for what has transpired prior to this meeting. My deception, that is. However, it has granted me insight into how each one of you works.”
Oliver’s face creased in confusion. The newcomer maids began to panic, whispering among themselves.
“Doesn’t this mean that she helped us out with the laundry?”
“We’re going to be fired!”
“If I lose my position, my brother will have to quit school!”
Noticing the commotion, Oliver glanced at Rishe. “Your Highness, two-thirds of these maids are newly recruited from the city. Since the majority of the castle maids were elderly, His Highness assumed you would prefer maids closer in age to yourself.”
Rishe was startled. She had found it odd that most of her potential servants were new hires, but she hadn’t expected this to be the reason.
“While the prince has entrusted the selection of your maids to you,” Oliver went on. “Hiring someone with no experience will not do. Despite Prince Arnold’s views, I urge you to reject the newcomers.”
“Oliver.”
“I have a list of their names here. Elsie—”
“Elsie, Nichole, Hilde, Marguerite, Rosa.” Rishe began listing the names of the newly recruited maids. She’d made a point to memorize them in the washhouse. “Elke, Amelia, and—”
Oliver looked at her wildly. “You know them all?! Even though they’ve never served you in the past?”
“Yes, of course I do. Servants are essential to the maintenance of our lifestyle, why wouldn’t I get to know them?” Rishe listed the remaining names for good measure. “All twenty of you, listen to me.”
The new maids stiffened. Diana and the other maids whose names hadn’t been called were getting their wind back, wearing increasingly triumphant looks.
Rishe said, “The twenty names I just called will be my maids.”
Time seemed to stand still a moment, and then Oliver broke in with an astonished, “B-but, my lady! They are all inexperienced—”
“Yes. And my palace will be the perfect place to learn.”
The new recruits were completely speechless, unsure of exactly what was happening.
Rishe smiled at Elsie. “I hope you’ll serve me well, Elsie.”
Elsie was still frozen in place. “Huh? Y-yes, my lady, but—”
A shaking Diana cried out, “But why, my lady?! You’ve seen their work! They’re useless, the lot of them! The rest of us get so much more done in a shorter amount of time!”
“Watch your tongue, girl,” Oliver said sharply.
Diana ignored him. “We’re hard workers! Any job you assign us, we can do it! Please, I beg you, my lady!”
“Step back,” Oliver warned. “Do not take a single step closer to Lady Rishe.”
Diana spoke in a rush, words pouring out of her. “I-I freely admit that I was impolite before, but I didn’t know who she was! I’ll take any punishment, so please, give me the chance to show you how well I can work!”
Rishe said, “Diana, I have a request.”
“Th-thank you, my lady!” Diana heaved a sigh of relief. “You mean you’ll—”
Rishe cut across her. “As of today, you are no longer a maid in this palace.”
“What?” Her face, usually so fixed with determination, paled. “But why? I’m so much better than any of them! I’ll do a perfect job no matter what task you set before me. Please don’t dismiss me, my lady!”
“Listen to me, Diana.” Rishe dropped her lofty tone, speaking as one woman would to another. “You have noticed it, haven’t you? No matter what you claim, these new girls aren’t worthless.”
“I…I don’t understand.”
“Can you remember your first month in service? How difficult it was?”
Diana looked completely bewildered. Her gaze darted around as if looking for help.
Pulling herself together, she forced herself to follow Rishe’s directions. She thought back and finally alighted on a response. “I…I didn’t know how to do the job. Before, when my family was still prominent, I’d washed shirts and bedsheets. Never gowns or military uniforms.”
“Perfectly reasonable,” Rishe said. “Only natural for someone just starting out.”
“The older girls were so busy, they told me to just watch them since they didn’t have time to teach me. When I had questions…well, there was nobody to ask.”
“I bet. And did you have any other problems?”
“Well, yes. There was a lot to learn. Different kinds of soap and washboards depending on the cloth. You use different tools for different materials. I had to learn how they worked and how to put them away. I was…punished if I didn’t get it right the first time.”
The newcomers were exchanging surprised looks. Rishe understood why.
Everything Diana said was familiar to them. They spent valuable time searching for their materials and the proper ways to use them, but they shrank from asking for help. Everyone always looked so busy. This was a universal problem.