Anastasia looked at her palm and smiled. It was said hard work made a person's palm tougher. Most men would have theirs firm and rough, but a lady's palm was expected to be soft and smooth. After using the stone for years, sustaining a few cuts now and then, it was expected that her palms would be as rough as that of a man, but strangely, her palms remained soft.
It seemed that while others were getting good fortunes from God in heaven, all she received was her soft palm.
"I can't stand watching you get punished, " Anastasia refused again.
"There is only the old maid here; she would not report what happened, " Rosa said as she tried to get the stone from her. The old maid was kind to Anastasia; she did not look down on her like the others.
"No, you are still young and can take some beating or punishment. But on the other hand, Grater is old. We cannot implicate her, " Anastasia rejected.
Rosa pouted her lips but did not make another attempt. "Go on and do what you need to, " Anastasia waved her hands. She could not stand her accusing gaze.
Rosa knew Anastasia was right, so she turned around and left. "You should have let her help you. That witch does not dare find trouble with me, " Grater said after Rosa was gone.
"Yes, although Leah would not dare touch you, the Duchess is different. You are already helping me by allowing me to make some preparations in advance, " Anastasia said. Her hand moved as she spoke.
Greater nodded her head; she felt sorry for Anastasia; she knew secrets of the Thomason household that many did not, so she felt sorry for Anastasia.
It was just unfortunate that Anastasia did not have a brother who could protect her, so letting her know the secret might destroy her.
Anastasia finished her work quickly and got ready to leave.
"Here, take this, " Grater passed her a small pouch. Anastasia collected it. She wanted to ask what it was, but she noticed Leah coming from the corner of her eye, so she quickly hid it in her dress.
"Where is it? My lady is ready for her bath," Leah asked as soon as she was close enough. She knew that it was only an hour and a half and Anastasia would not be done; she just wanted to pick on her so she could delay her and make her late to meet her teacher.
Miss Maria was an upright teacher and would definitely punish her if she was late.
"Here," Anastasia said. She was very happy that Leah had come to pick up the spies herself. This would save her the trouble of making a journey to her sister's room.
"How can you be done so soon? Are you trying to destroy my lady's skin? " Leah questioned. She looked at Anastasia as though she was looking at a sinner.
"I watched her prepare the spices with my eyes; nothing was wrong. I can swear to that, " Grater said. She hated the way Leah spoke.
*Ahh! The spies should have taken at least two hours. It's only an hour and a half. How can that thing in her hand be anything good, " Leah said.
"Are you saying that I have joined forces with one young lady to hurt her sister? Have you forgotten that such a crime can cost me my head? I would not care about my head. After all, I am already so old, but such a scandal can cause my lord the Duke great disaster, " Grater glared at Leah coldly.
Leah swallowed hard; she just wanted to find fault with Anastasia, but she forgot that some things could bring a huge disaster to the family.
As a Duke, Thomason was not allowed to have such a family scandal. It was because of such scheming and plots that the emperor proclaimed that a Duke could not marry more than one wife. He was only allowed to have one mistress; if he could not keep his house united, then he was not qualified to be among the council of the royal court. He might even lose his position as a Duke.
If the situation was properly managed, then the Duke could push the blame to his wife, calling her a vicious stepmother. This crime was enough reason for him to divorce her or demote her to a mistress. So whatever the outcome, she, Leah, would not go unpunished.
"Don't twist my words, " Leah regained her composure. She knew that if her words spread, the Duchess would not spear her talk more of the Duke.
"Then what do you mean? " Grater asked. Leah felt that she could not make things difficult for Anastasia; she might end up digging a hole for herself. After all, if she said the timing was wrong, it meant that she was causing unnecessary trouble, and any other excuse would mean that she was saying that the Duke family was not peaceful. So she snatched the bottle from Anastasia.
"I don't dare keep my lady waiting," she said and hurried off. It was like she was scared that Grater would continue to ask.
"You should not have gotten yourself involved, " Anastasia was worried for Grater. She knew that Leah was very petty. Although she had run away today, she would definitely look for an opportunity to get back at her.
"You are welcome, " Grater smiled. She knew Anastasia was worried for her. "this old lady knows her limit, " she added not wanting her to worry all day.
"thank you, " Anastasia said.
Grater nodded, "you should smile more. Use the spies when you bathe. You are turning eighteen soon. You should take care of yourself, " she said.
Anastasia nodded her head. She knew that Grater was telling her the content of the pouch she had given her earlier.
"Thank you, " Anastasia said, surprised. She had to prepare her bath herself, so she had not added any fragrance to her bath since her mother's death. No one would make any for her, and she did not have the time to make one for herself.
"There is just a day's worth to use. Pick it under the stone tomorrow, " Grater said. She knew that Leah was fond of searching her room and taking away everything valuable.
Grater did not want Leah to take advantage of her.
"Thank you, " Anastasia smiled as she returned to her courtyard. Her mother was a mistress, so she did not live in the main building.
...
When Anastasia got to her chamber, she noticed that her bath was already prepared. She frowned, knowing that Rosa must have arranged it. She was worried that by helping her with these small things, she would end up in trouble. This way, she would not have any friends in the residence that cared for her.
Although she was worried, she was moved by her kind gesture. She hurried into the bathroom to have her bath.
She would have been late if she had to go and get the water for her bath. After all, she had woken up a bit late that morning.
Perhaps God did not hate her so much, so a few people still cared for her. After bathing, she changed her clothes and looked out the window. She would be late for her class if she had to go to the kitchen to get her food.
She was not worried about being left behind in her study, but she would rather stay back in her room if she had a choice.
The Duke resident had five children. Three sons and two daughters. The Duchess had birthed four of those children, so she was alone.
Anastasia hated that she would have to attend class with her sister. After all, if the class were for three hours, the teachers would sing praise about her sister for two and a half hours.
Although she did not want to go, she knew that if she stopped attending classes, she would make the Duchess very happy. Perhaps she would look for other things for her to do.
Maybe this time, she would ask her to work under the sun so that her completion would go darker.