"Your mother wouldn't be pleased to hear you threatening someone young miss. You are digging yourself a deeper hole the more you speak. I will run and get the butler for him to tell you the same thing," Sarah smiled, appearing composed on the outside but on the inside, she was a bit scared. She had heard some gossip about how cruel the youngest sibling was but she had never seen it for the few years she started working here.
Rachel Hamilton paid her a good amount to watch her daughter and Aurora. There was no way Sarah was not going to report this back. Regina might be the young miss of this house and had authority over Sarah but the information she provided to the wife always kept her safe.
"Being two things that get on my nerves isn't good for you. Fine, since you like reporting things back to my mother, how about I do it for you this time? I have some secrets about you I would like to tell my mother. What do you think? Shall we find out what she would be more upset about?"
Sarah was sure Regina did not have anything on her that she could tell her mother. The young miss must only be trying to scare her. She wasn't around Regina that much for the girl to know much about her. Instead of trying to intimidate her, Regina should use her common sense and pay Sarah to keep quiet. Money was the only thing Sarah thought about. Surely the young miss could not be this dense.
"That lingering smile on your face tells me you don't believe I have something on you, doesn't it? Let me ask you this one question. How do you think my proud mother who views people in society by their status will react to her maid trying on clothes and jewelry when she's not around? To hear that she's been wearing clothes you secretly tried on, I wonder how she'll react to it. Don't you also want to know Sarah?"
"Y-You… How did you know?" Sarah stuttered, surprised that someone knew what she did when everyone was away. She made sure to lock the doors when she entered Rachel's room and placed everything back to the way it was before she left. How on earth did Regina find out about it?
"I have my ways of learning interesting things about people because I love to observe them. You have no idea how amusing it was to see a maid pretending to be someone she wasn't in my mother's clothes. How hilarious," Regina covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter. "I remember when my mother had a maid punished because she touched her favorite dress with dirty hands but you were wearing them. What do you think your punishment might be? There are no laws to the extent of how she can punish you."
Regina enjoyed the trembling face of Sarah after realizing how much trouble she'll be in. It was different from her stance when she was talking about calling the butler. Regina understood a little bit more why Minnie enjoyed showing her power and wealth over others. It was amusing.
"But don't worry. I am a kind person," Regina reassured her.
Sarah sighed feeling relieved the young miss would keep it a secret but what Regina said next made her worried again.
"I will be kind and help her choose a quick and painful punishment. The slow ones are not fun. What is with your shocked expression? Did you honestly think I would let you off the hook after you have been so bold? I won't go easy on people who mess with me or my sister. If you know what's good for you, turn around and pretend you never saw us here. If you spill anything about this to my mother, I will tell her many things about you. Go!"
"Yes young miss," Sarah bowed, retreating from in front of Regina. Regina had never retaliated before which was why Sarah underestimated her. She was backed in a corner today but she planned to get back at Regina for this. This was a good job and she was not going to let some spoiled brat ruin it for her.
Regina watched Sarah disappear from her sight, most likely plotting something. It was at times like this she noticed the hierarchy in the house. Who the workers listened to the most in the family members. As of right now, Aurora and Regina were the only ones who did not have any type of authority in the house. They were always told what to do and the workers recognise that. Everyone wanted to work for someone they could benefit from.
Many of the workers here were no different than Sarah. Looking for the opportunity to do work for someone who could offer them a lot of money. "If something were to happen to Aurora how would I be able to help her even with Samuel's help? I am useless right now."
Aurora had always shielded Regina when they were younger and so she planned to return the favor. She hated to admit it but the only way to have a say in this house and be able to protect her sister was to marry a man with an influential background. She was against being married just for the sake of money and influence but she had no choice.
"Regina! I found something."
Regina broke out of her deep thoughts and went inside the attic to find her sister. "What did you find? Is it something about you? Where are you?" she asked then coughed because of the dust. No one was allowed to be in here so it wasn't cleaned.
"This," Aurora said, holding up a portrait that was torn in half.
"What's so special about it?" Regina questioned not finding anything odd about the young girl who looked about her age smiling in the portrait.
"Look here," Aurora said, pointing to long strands of white hair just like her own. Because the portrait was torn down the middle, only a few strands of hair could be seen from the person who was missing. They were holding the hands of another young woman. "The person missing had white hair just like me. There aren't any other people with my strange here so this person must be related to my mother. And we know who this other person is. Don't you remember seeing them all over the walls?"
Regina's eyes widened after releasing who the young girl was in the portrait. "It's Minnie."