"Annalise! Move quicker! These floors aren't going to clean themselves!" Mavis, the head maid, yelled from where she sat by the stairs. Her voice was hoarse from yelling at the maids since the sun rose.
'The job would finish faster if you stop yelling and grab a broom but sure, sit on your ass and do nothing,' Annalise rolled her eyes.
Contrary to her thoughts, Annalise replied to the head maid, "Yes ma'am."
"Don't make me have to get up!" The head maid yelled.
'I want you to get up,' Annalise sighed.
Mavis was the head maid, not the lady of the house. She sat by the stairs with one leg lapped over the other, examining her fingers while she occasionally overlooked the work the maids were doing. Grabbing a broom to help with the work shouldn't be difficult, or at least leave to inspect what the other maids were doing.
'Why does sweeping need to be supervised? If only I could give her a piece of my mind.'
Bite your tongue. Something one needed to do regularly to keep a good-paying job. Annalise gripped the broom to calm her anger before she could say what was on her mind.
"Psst."
Annalise looked up at one of the other maids helping her clean the foyer.
"Don't let her get under your skin so early in your time here," said Cara Miller. Annalise wasn't here for more than two weeks, and if she wanted to work for another two, she needed to get used to the head maid yelling.
"Too late for that. If I had a bucket of dirty mop water, I would accidentally spill it her way. Why must we be cleaning so late into the night and in this weather?" Annalise asked, tired of cleaning all day and now way past dinner.
She looked out the large open door at the sight of the rain still beating down on the entryway, the wind high enough to lift anyone off the ground, and the occasional strike of lightning.
It was a frightening sight to make one return to their bed and hide under the covers, yet, here they were cleaning the floors when this could be done in the morning. The head maid had a habit of working them late into the night and waking them as soon as the sun kissed the sky.
"You should see how different her personality is when the young master is here. She acts like a total angel," said Cara Miller, a maid who had worked here for over six months.
"Well, they do say the devil was once an angel," Annalise muttered, deciding it was the same for the head maid. "That is why she is so good at faking."
Annalise continued to sweep the foyer for a couple more minutes until Cara's words interrupted her thoughts.
"There is a person coming toward us," Cara alerted the group of maids present. There was a hint of panic in her voice since no one was to be coming to the house at this late hour.
Annalise looked out the front door to see that there was, in fact, a man approaching the door. The rain highlighted his large silhouette as it fell on what appeared to be armour.
Annalise had a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. One like when your life was suddenly going to be flipped upside down, and you had only this moment to run away before a series of either good or bad events would follow. Yes, she had been there before.
The head maid, Mavis Wiggins, sat up from the chair she was using to oversee the cleaning, annoyed with the visitor. She hoped it wasn't a beggar looking for a place to spend the night out of the rain. "You there-Ah!" She gasped as the face of the visitor became clear the moment he entered the door. "Y-Young master Rafael. We weren't expecting you so soon," her voice changed from harsh to sweet.
'The young master?' Annalise repeated, not believing he had finally made an appearance. It made sense how he was able to get past the guards at the gates. 'Her voice changed quickly,' she noted
Annalise stepped out of the way to give the young master space to walk directly to the head maid. She inspected his appearance as he walked by her, not giving Mavis a response. His long dark hair was glued to his body thanks to the harsh rain outside. He left a trail of water on the floor she was almost finished cleaning.
'He is lucky he is handsome,' Annalise mused as she inspected his beauty. She felt small compared to his large frame.
It was no wonder why he was such a catch among young women. She finally understood why the young women were so enamoured by him. From his well-built figure and chiselled jaw, he was mister perfect for what all young women dream of for a handsome husband. His wealth added to why he was so desired.
This was her first time being close to him to see his handsome features that bewitched her for a second and made her forget about the wet floor, but that second quickly passed. She frowned as she thought about having to mop wherever he would now walk.
"I wasn't expecting your return until a couple of days from now. Excuse the house not being cleaned. We have a lot of work left to do," said Mavis, her usual harsh tone changing to one as sweet as honey now that Rafael was here.
"We?" Annalise accidentally spoke out loud. She pretended to cough when Rafael looked over his shoulder where she stood.
Cara tapped Annalise on her arm to get her to shut up. Now was not the time to be fooling around when their employer was here. 'I hope he is in need of a lady tonight,' she touched the top button of her dress. She was silently waiting for her chance to end up in his bed.
Cara heard of how men like Rafael would shower the women who warmed their beds with gifts. She was tired of always having a broom in her hand. Cara only needed one night to show she was quite handy at other things.
"You are in need of a warm bath after being out in the rain. Ladies!" Miss Wiggings clapped her hands to get the maids present to listen to her words. "Make haste to prepare a warm bath for the young master. Run the warm water, get the soap, and bring out the towels quickly. Move ladies!"
"Come with me," Cara said, tapping Annalise's shoulder. "You and I will deal with the towels but wait until," she paused, waiting for Rafael to walk ahead with the head maid. "Now we can go. You must always wait for him to get a head start on getting undressed while we prepare his bath. Miss Wiggings will have your head if you do not follow her rules."
'I shall have her head first,' Annalise scowled at Miss Wiggings.
She walked with Cara and the other maids behind the young master, who had not said a word, and Miss Wiggings, who spoke more than needed. Annalise wondered when the young master would snap and embarrass the woman who was a devil a moment ago but now wore white wings.
"What is he like?" Annalise asked Cara since she had been working here much longer than she was.
"Quiet. You can never know what he is thinking. Soon this place will be swarmed with young women trying to marry him. The maids will grow competitive these days. We have a bet to see who he will bed first. Do care to join or…" Cara gave Annalise a look over. "Do you when you've already lost?"
Annalise was pretty and different from the other girls in town, with her features foreign to the town which some of the men would like but you needed to know how to use your looks to elevate your status. Then there was Annalise's tongue she could never hold back. It would make her less desirable for men who like women who were quiet to help hide their affairs.
Annalise scrunched up her nose, not fond of finding her way into Rafael's bed for gifts or money. "I have no intention of joining your mistress games. I like making my money through honest work, but good luck with getting in his bed. You do not have to worry about me competing with you."
"Sweety, I never did, but I am warning you that if you get picked to work close to him some of the other women will pick at you."
"Thank you for the warning. I'd stay clear from the young master since I cannot afford to get into any more arguments. Miss Wiggings is looking for any excuse to fire me," said Annalise.
"She is looking to fire all of us. As long as you don't speak of her behaviour to the young master, her threats will be empty," Cara said as she was used to the threats of getting fired. "I truly believe she is just jealous of the younger girls. She is not loud with the older women. Keep quiet and make sure your head remains lowered," she whispered.
When they entered the bedroom minutes after the first group had gone ahead with Mavis, water splashing could already be heard as Rafael had gotten inside his tub.
"There is no need for all of this when I need to bathe. I am not a young lady who needs to be tended to."
Annalise lifted her head for a moment after hearing Rafael speak for the first time. His voice was surprisingly calm with a bit of roughness to it. She lowered her head before anyone could notice as she entered the bathroom to get his towels.
"I will make note of it tomorrow," Miss Wiggings replied. "Girls place the towels down and get out quickly. They will return to mop the floors-"
"Ah!" A gasp and a couple of screams filled the bathroom.
Annalise once again raised her head to see the source of the screams and was confused by the two maids who had picked up his armor with their eyes closed. She shifted her gaze from them to Rafael in the tub and quickly noticed why they were flustered.
Annalise tilted her head as she got a good look and accidentally spoke her thoughts out loud, "It is only a penis." Annalise smacked her hand over her mouth. Her father always said her big mouth would get her in trouble.
Given the size, she understood why they might scream. She too would scream if such a thing was presented to her and perhaps if they were compatible she would scream for another reason.
Annalise's eyes widened when Rafael looked in her direction and shifted his foot to block her view of his body.
Annalise folded her lips, knowing she just got herself fired.