“Despite all that, I got better!” Diana protested. “I only needed to be taught once. Unlike them! They’re useless!”
“Yes, well. There’s a difference between you and them,” Rishe told Diana. “You can read and write.”
“Oh!” Diana started in surprise. Elsie looked at the floor.
The literacy rate among commoners was low no matter where you went. Very few families had the means to afford an education, especially for daughters. Diana had been born to a merchant’s family—she’d received formal schooling. The maids she was close friends with were likely from similar backgrounds. The majority of those in service were not so fortunate.
“What if you only received instructions on how to do a job once and weren’t able to write it down to remind yourself later?” Rishe asked. “Would you be so confident?”
“I-I don’t—” Diana reflexively thrust a hand into her apron pocket, where she had a list of daily tasks recorded in her neat handwriting to reference throughout the day. Hopefully now she would understand how much of an edge her privileged literacy gave her over the other maids.
“Everyone else works as hard as they can, just like you do,” Rishe said. “Remember how it was for you at first? They all have to start somewhere. I hope you’ll keep that in mind.”
“They’re no different from me,” Diana mumbled begrudgingly, glancing around the room, looking at the less experienced maids. As if coming to a decision, she said, “I’m sorry.”
“Diana?”
Like a child enumerating her regrets, Diana went on, “I’ve done you wrong, all of you. It’s just, I had nothing. Or so it felt like. No money, no title. I thought I had to make my way in the world on my own. That I had to start from zero.” Her shoulders trembled as she buried her face in her hands. “But I was wrong! I wasn’t starting from zero. I had everything that I learned growing up. I didn’t realize how fortunate I was. I let it all go to my head.” Her voice rose to a wail. “How could I have said all of those terrible things?! Even though you were all working so hard—trying your best even while feeling as helpless as I did all those years ago. I should have understood what you were going through. A-and I failed you.”
“Oh, Diana…”
“I’m sorry,” Diana sobbed. “I’m so, so sorry.”
The new maids stared at her, stunned. But then they clustered around her.
“It’s okay, Diana. We’re sorry for not being faster learners.”
“My lady, please reconsider! Diana scared us, but she’s always flawless with her work. And that goes for the other maids with more experience than us too.”
“It’s fine.” Diana scrubbed at her eyes. “It makes sense she wants nothing to do with us. Don’t beg—”
“Diana.” Rishe smiled and held out her hand. “Didn’t I say that I had a request?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want you as a maid. I want you as an instructor.”
A murmur rose among the maids. Even Oliver looked surprised.
“I want the inexperienced maids to come to this palace to learn. And not just by observation alone—with thorough demonstrations and explanations. Come up with a system to allow girls to ask their questions, to perform the tasks again and again until they learn them. And once they have all they need, they’ll be promoted to work in the main palace for the royal family.”
Rishe recognized these problems—they were rampant the world over. Those with work didn’t have the time to train those who were new to the same work, rendering the amateurs stranded at sea, forced to learn on their own or quit before they even had a chance. If only someone had sat them down to teach them what they needed to know. When you learned from observation rather than foundational skills, mistakes were more far more likely.
If the palace couldn’t afford the staff or the time to train its servants properly, Rishe would take it upon herself.
“You can’t lose a skill once you’ve acquired it, whether that be reading and writing, how to do a job, or how to teach a job. Knowledge is a weapon you can wield wherever you go, not just here. You can apply your new skills elsewhere—wherever you want.”
The maids listened to Rishe, wonder in their eyes.
“That’s why I’ll be taking the twenty newcomers as my maids. Diana, you and your friends shall teach them. You’ll be their tutors.”
“Their tutors, my lady?”
“I would like all my maids to be able to read and write. One hour of study a day should be sufficient. You and your friends will be their teachers. I expect you to come up with materials for them as well as a handbook for new maids.”
Diana was utterly stunned. “You want us to teach reading and writing? And…and write a book?”
She could never have imagined this sort of opportunity. Rishe drew something from her breast pocket. It was one of Diana’s pages of notes. “I took a look at this.”
“Where did you get that?”
Rishe ignored the question. She didn’t want to say she’d specifically joined the maids this morning to swipe it. “Your handwriting is neat, and your steps are logical and succinct. You have a gift for transcription. I believe you’ll make an excellent teacher.”
Diana’s cheeks flushed. “You would praise me so? After all of those rude things I said to you?”
“Hah! I have no idea what you mean.”
Diana bit her lip and took Rishe’s outstretched hand, then bowed deeply. “I will do my utmost to live up to your faith in me. Thank you.”
“Excellent.” Rishe turned to Elsie and the other new maids. “As for the rest of you, you’ll have your hands full with your new duties. Let me know if you have any problems or find the workload too taxing.”
“Yes, my lady!”
And thus came about the formation of Lady Rishe’s School for Wayward Maids.
✦ ✦ ✦
Upon his return to the main palace, Oliver made straight for his master’s office.
Arnold was sitting at his desk. Without looking up, he asked, “Has Rishe decided on her maids?”
“About that…” Oliver hesitated. “Were you aware we had a retention problem? Our turnover is so high, we’re chronically understaffed.”
“Yes. We raised their wages, if I recall.” He tapped his pen to his mouth. “I think it’s been better than it was.”
“Well, Lady Rishe may have fixed it altogether.”
Arnold raised his head.
“She’s picked out literate women and asked them to draft teaching materials. She declared a brand-new system for training maids.” He gave a little amazed shake of the head. “On top of that, she managed to endear every one of those girls to her, while at the same time figuring out exactly how each one could be best utilized.”
Silence.
“The maids are all excited to begin. There’s always been a huge social divide between old and new workers, but Rishe dispensed with it. They’re allies now.”
“I see.” Arnold’s mouth twitched, and he went back to writing.
“Did you predict this, Your Highness? You don’t seem very surprised.”
Arnold snorted. “How could I predict something like this? Well, I knew she would do something odd.”
“Using your future wife’s eccentricities as entertainment is unbecoming, you know,” Oliver chided. Then he grinned. “I honestly can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.”
“Oliver.” Arnold cast his eyes down, voice dropping as he said, “I did not choose Rishe for the benefit of the country or for my family.”
Oliver paused. “My apologies, Your Highness.” He then sat down to see what work needed to be done.