A murmur rose among the maids. Even Oliver looked surprised.
"I want the inexperienced maids to come to this palace to learn. And not just by observation alone—with thorough demonstrations and explanations. Come up with a system to allow girls to ask their questions, to perform the tasks again and again until they learn them. And once they have all they need, they'll be promoted to work in the main palace for the royal family."
Rishe recognized these problems—They were rampant the world over. Those with work didn't have the time to train those who were new to the same work, rendering the amateurs stranded at sea, forced to learn on their own or quit before they even had a chance. If only someone had sat them down to teach them what they needed to know. When you learned from observation rather than foundational skills, mistakes were more far more likely.
If the palace couldn't afford the staff or the time to train its servants properly, Rishe would take it upon herself.
"You can't lose a skill once you've acquired it, whether that be reading and writing, how to do a job, or how to teach a job. Knowledge is a weapon you can wield wherever you go, not just here. You can apply your new skills elsewhere—wherever you want."
The maids listened to Rishe, wonder in their eyes.
"That's why I'll be taking the twenty newcomers as my maids. Diana, you and your friends shall teach them. You'll be their tutors."
"Their tutors, my lady?"
"I would like all my maids to be able to read and write. One hour of study a day should be sufficient. You and your friends will be their teachers. I expect you to come up with materials for them as well as a handbook for new maids."
Diana was utterly stunned. "You want us to teach reading and writing? And…and write a book?"
She could never have imagined this sort of opportunity. Rishe drew something from her breast pocket. It was one of Diana's pages of notes. "I took a look at this."
"Where did you get that?"
Rishe ignored the question. She didn't want to say she'd specifically joined the maids this morning to swipe it. "Your handwriting is neat, and your steps are logical and succinct. You have a gift for transcription. I believe you'll make an excellent teacher."
Diana's cheeks flushed. "You would praise me so? After all of those rude things I said to you?"
"Hah! I have no idea what you mean." Rishe chuckled.
Diana bit her lip and took Rishe's outstretched hand, then bowed deeply. "I will do my utmost to live up to your faith in me. Thank you."
"Excellent." Rishe turned to Elsie and the other new maids. "As for the rest of you, you'll have your hands full with your new duties. Let me know if you have any problems or find the workload too taxing."
"Yes, my lady!"
And thus came about the formation of Lady Rishe's School for Wayward Maids.
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Upon his return to the main palace, Oliver made straight for his master's office.
Arnold was sitting at his desk. Without looking up, he asked, "Has Rishe decided on her maids?"
"About that…" Oliver hesitated. "Were you aware we had a retention problem? Our turnover is so high, we're chronically understaffed."
"Yes. We raised their wages, if I recall." He tapped his pen to his mouth. "I think it's been better than it was."
"Well, Lady Rishe may have fixed it altogether."
Arnold raised his head.
"She's picked out literate women and asked them to draft teaching materials. She declared a brand-new system for training maids."
He gave a little amazed shake of the head. "On top of that, she managed to endear every one of those girls to her, while at the same time figuring out exactly how each one could be best utilized."
Silence.
"The maids are all excited to begin. There's always been a huge social divide between old and new workers, but Rishe dispensed with it. They're allies now."
"I see." Arnold's mouth twitched, and he went back to writing.
"Did you predict this, Your Highness? You don't seem very surprised."
Arnold snorted. "How could I predict something like this? Well, I knew she would do something odd."
"Using your future wife's eccentricities as entertainment is unbecoming, you know," Oliver chided. Then he grinned. "I honestly can't wait to see what she'll do next."
"Oliver." Arnold cast his eyes down, voice dropping as he said, "I did not choose Rishe for the benefit of the country or for my family."
Oliver paused. "My apologies, Your Highness." He then sat down to see what work needed to be done.
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