Edward Asher, Blythe’s husband, was not only the head of the Department of Institutional Maintenance but two other departments at the castle. It went without saying that he was a very busy man.
Yet no matter how busy Edward was, he was always calm. Ever since they had gotten married, Blythe had never once seen him lose his temper.
Before they were married, some young ladies used to complain about how composed Edward was since it was difficult to tell what he was thinking. But not Blythe. He was always polite and courteous to her. Every time they saw each other at a soiree, he treated her very respectfully.
When he proposed to her, she’d asked, “Why are you interested in me?”
“Your character, most of all. And the fact that you grew up in a happy family with loving parents.”
Blythe thought it was strange that Edward had known so much about her family. Her father had always acted domineering toward her mother in public, and her mother rarely socialized. The only people who knew how well her parents actually got along were their few servants, Blythe, and her sister. So how had Edward known?
As their wedding approached, Edward confessed to Blythe that he had scars on his back. When she first saw them, she was stunned speechless by how severe they were.
“My father was ruled by his emotions. Those scars are from when he beat me with a horse whip,” Edward explained calmly.
But Blythe burst into tears, overcome by sympathy for the boy he’d once been, and he ended up comforting her.
She’d grown up loved by parents who had a happy marriage, so acting the same way came very naturally to her.
She mirrored the way her parents had treated each other without realizing it, offering small gestures of kindness to Edward and taking care of her mother-in-law. Edward always made sure to thank her for it and praise her.
“I’m so lucky to be married to you,” he’d say. She had lost count of how many times he’d said it, in fact.
And each time, Blythe would think, I’m the lucky one.
Blythe and Edward had one daughter.
At first, Blythe thought they would have a son-in-law marry into their family to secure an heir. But Edward didn’t want to do that. He said he’d already chosen a suitable family for their daughter to marry into and told her they were a peaceful family with a strong marriage.
It was customary in the Asher family to have at least two children so one could carry on the Asher name. Fortunately, their daughter had three children—two sons and one daughter—so there was no fear of the family line ending.
One day, while Blythe was riding in her carriage, she spotted a familiar woman on the road. It was a maid who once served a friend of hers. Unfortunately, that friend had passed away from influenza, and her husband had also recently died from a heart ailment. Blythe vividly remembered sending flowers after his passing.
“Would you stop the carriage and bring that woman here?” she asked her driver.
Just as she thought, it was the maid from her late friend’s household.
“Oh, Lady Blythe! It’s been so long. I’m Bertha.”
“Bertha, what are you doing these days? Did you just come from that employment agency?”
“To be honest, after the master passed away and his eldest son became the new head of household, he dismissed most of the older servants, including me.”
“Goodness! But you’ve been employed by that family for such a long time!”
“Yes, I was the head maid.”
Blythe thought for a minute and then said, “Perhaps I could help you. Where are you staying now? At a hotel? I have a few ideas. Stay there for now, and I’ll get back to you.”
“Thank you, Lady Blythe, but why are you being so kind to me?”
“You were my dear friend’s treasured maid. She’d surely scold me once we saw each other again in the garden of the gods if I abandoned you,” Blythe said with a gentle smile.
Bertha was deeply grateful and thanked her over and over again.
Blythe told Edward about the situation later. “I want to find her a good position somewhere,” she said.
“That’s perfect! She can work at Jeffrey’s new estate.”
“Really? But you’ve never even met Bertha.”
Edward gave her his usual serene smile. “I trust your judgment. If you want to help her, then I feel safe leaving her in charge of my brother’s household.”
Blythe was both grateful and puzzled by the trust Edward placed in her.
Although he was very busy, and they rarely had time to themselves, she was glad she had married him. He respected her as a person and treated her with the utmost care.
And that was how Bertha was hired as a maid for Victoria’s family.
She worked diligently at her new job, but one day, intruders broke into the house, and she stumbled upon her new mistress’s unexpected secret…
But that’s a story for another time.