She's back!"
"Who?"
"Madam. I saw Master bring her back home last night. It wasn't easy, they fought the entire way, and I heard their shouting carried on until the early hours."
The maids huddled together in the corner of the grand kitchen, their whispers barely audible over the clinking of dishes and the simmering of pots.
"You'd better be careful not to incur her wrath this morning," one of the senior maids warned, a stern look on her face. She waved her hand, signaling the others to get back to work.
As though her words carried the weight of a royal decree, the maids immediately dispersed, scattering like leaves in the wind. None of them wanted to be caught in their Madam Harlow's crosshairs, not after what they had witnessed during her first day here.
