The women walked up the pathway to the Sumter estate after returning from the market. Late.
"Uh oh… Betty is already outside waiting, and she looks upset." Vivian whispered to Crystal.
"Say no more," she replied, turning to walk back the way they came.
"Crystal!" Betty and Vivian both exclaimed in unison.
Crystal exaggeratedly turned back towards the estate and let out a loud groan.Vivian laughed at her friend's antics until she looked up and locked eyes with head housemaid Betty.
Betty ran a hand over her exhausted-looking face. The wrinkles on her cheeks went smooth and then back to their original form.
"I am too old to deal with this… why were you late? You know how Anna gets if she has her dinner late. I'd expect this from Crystal but not you, Vivian."
Vivian and Crystal replied at the same time. "But Ms. B-"
"Vivian Luke and Crystal Walker, I am not interested in hearing your excuses!" replied Betty sternly. "Get those items to the kitchen immediately!"
Stepping into the front foyer, they made a beeline for the kitchen.The wooden floorboards creaked with each step, and they soon reached the kitchen. Thomas, the head chef, walked over to the counter they'd placed the baskets on. "Might you both be aiming to get me fired? I can't start dinner without these items!" The women bowed and apologized.
Thomas shook his head. "Just don't let it happen again."
The two women hid in the maid's quarters, knowing their young mistress was on a war path.
"At least you won't have to deal with this much longer… you'll be free to do whatever you wish, Vivi. I'm so excited for you!"
Vivian smiled to herself and flopped down on the bed she'd slept in earlier that day.
"You mean WE will be free to do whatever we want. There's no way I'd go anywhere you couldn't follow; you're my best friend!"
Crystal smiled, and then a devious glint sparked in her eyes."Just remember to introduce your best friend to his best friend," She winked. "I'd love to be crushed underneath one of those fine knights too!" She fanned herself while Vivian threw her head back in laughter.
The two women were the same age, but sometimes it felt like Crystal had more life experience than her.
The following day a man showed up at the doorstep. A knight in shining armor… literally.
Sandy, another maid at the estate, answered the door and ogled the man that appeared before her. Unimpressed, he passed his gaze over her and looked into the foyer of the large home. "I'm looking for a redhead."
"L-let me go get her for you!" Sandy stumbled upstairs and down the corridor to Vivian in the bathroom.
She was cleaning alongside Crystal. The large bathing spa required at least two to clean. The light filtered through the mosaic windows, casting a blue glow on the all-white bathroom.
"Vivian!" Sandy shouted breathlessly.At the sound of her name, Vivian and Crystal looked up to find the maid breathing heavily while gripping the wall.
"Oh, dammit, is the young miss on the warpath again? We haven't even done anything yet!" replied Crystal.
When Sandy's breathing slowed, she spoke again. "He's here! The guy, he's...he's real!"
Vivian slowly stood up, clutching her chest. Looking over at Crystal, she saw a slow smile on the woman's face. "I knew Vivi wasn't a liar!"
Hearing the commotion, some other maids came to see what was happening. Sandy turned to them, stunned.
"He's real! And he's not ugly!"Some of the maids looked at Sandy with skepticism. The young woman was known to exaggerate sometimes. At the same time, some of the other women gasped in surprise. Some of them started believing Vivian was writing those letters to herself.
"What are you waiting for, Vivi? Go see your man!" Crystal gave her a slight push forward. Vivian's brain finally kicked back into action, and so did her legs.
She paused as she walked through the crowd of women and asked, "How do I look?" The older and younger women seemed to have mixed reviews, but Crystal stepped in and silenced them all.
"Vivi, you could make a paper bag look gorgeous. Now go!"
Vivian walked around the corridor and down the large spiral staircase, gripping the baluster for dear life.
She heard gasps of shock behind her as she slowly descended the stairs. The women hurried behind her and lurked on the staircase to get a view of the man.
Though he initially seemed displeased standing there, his gaze held interest when he locked eyes with her. His deep blue eyes seemed to go one shade darker as he raked over her body with his gaze.He held a sheet of paper in his hand, but after some time of standing in the doorway, he shoved the piece of paper into his pocket.
"Was that letter for me?"
He smiled. "What need do you have for such a petty letter when I'm standing here?"
Her heart beat so rapidly that she thought it might burst. She felt the tears stinging her eyes before they rolled down her cheeks.He opened his arms, and she leaped into them.
"I knew you'd be here. No one believed you would, but I did!"
The women looking on from the stairs placed their hands on their hearts, overwhelmed by the love story they had seen before their eyes.Everything moved so quickly after that. They'd prepared for her to leave, and he obliged after asking if she could bring her best friend along.
With their bags in hand, the women stepped out of the mansion. He had a wooden and iron carriage waiting for them to ride off.
"This is it, Vivi. You're finally going to be beside the man you'd fallen madly in love with," Crystal enthusiastically whispered.
She and her best friend walked towards the carriage. Edgar charmed the madam to let Crystal work in their new home, and it worked much to Anna's dismay.
He told her that day he fell in love with her from the moment he saw her and knew she had to be his. It was the best day of her life. If only she'd known then what she knew now...