Maid in a Strange Manor (1)
The first thought that came to me was: “Thank God this is not some creepy place.”
To tell the truth, I had suspicions that we would end up completely different from where we had planned to go. But as soon as I was inside the mansion, my doubts were dispelled. The impeccable interior confirmed that this place was lived-in and well-kept.
We arrived late in the evening, so we were immediately directed to our rooms. There were two beds in the small rooms, so we needed to be divided into pairs.
“I feel awkward around you, so let’s sleep separately.”
“I don’t mind, but are you sure you can wake up on your own?” We'll get up early.
-...
And so it turned out that we settled in the same room, which Alicia was clearly unhappy with.
- Don't bother me.
– I didn’t mean to. Do what you want. You still won’t listen to me, but soon you will understand that nothing in this world comes easy.
That's all that happened last night.
***
I woke up early, washed and got ready, putting on the uniform I had prepared in advance. I haven't worn it for a long time. The design was different, but the knee-length black dress and white apron brought back memories.
I fumbled a bit, smoothing the edges of the apron, and when I turned around, I discovered that Alicia was still sleeping without her hind legs. I can't believe I insisted that she stay with me.
“Hurry up and get ready, we’ll be leaving soon.”
– Mmm... Let me sleep a little more...
- Faster.
I shook her shoulder, but she curled up and buried herself under the sheet, turning over on her other side. I shook her again, followed by a sigh, after which she threw back the sheet. Alicia rubbed her sleepy eyes and got out of bed. Seeing me, her face became distorted.
“You scared me to death with your stupid face.”
- That's good. “Let’s get ready,” I answered calmly.
I turned away, continuing to get ready. Alicia started grumbling about why I cut off my bangs and how it annoyed her that she would have to see that face every morning. After that, she began to put herself in order.
It didn't take long to get ready, so I was the first to leave the room.
I went down to the central hall, where a line of workers had already lined up. There was a group of people gathered here, including the old lady we met earlier, as well as five women and men.
The elderly lady introduced herself by the name Audrey. As I expected, she was responsible for managing the female staff. Now she was organizing the gathered people, which was a common thing for her.
“Come one by one,” she commanded.
Starting with the person in front, everyone had to introduce themselves. Audrey asked several questions, after which, after assessing the person, she determined his further responsibilities.
Traditionally, to become a servant of a high-ranking person, a recommendation from an employment agency or from a noble family was required. This confirmed the origin of man. However, the people who arrived here did not have such documents. As it became clear later, we were kept on probation. Well, even so, it was a good opportunity.
When it was Alicia's turn, the manager, noticing that we were staying close, called out to me too. Standing opposite me, I reflexively straightened up and, unexpectedly for myself, tensed up.
-Are you sisters?
- Yes. “Nice to meet you,” I replied, bowing in greeting.
I nudged Alicia, who continued to stand motionless. She reluctantly followed my example, expressing extreme displeasure. Audrey looked at us carefully.
– What are your names?
“My name is Anne, and this is my sister Alicia.”
Anne is my fictitious name. This pseudonym was prepared by me in advance, and I could use it without hesitation, but now this lie gave me a pang of conscience, from which even my mouth went dry.
- Fine. Ann, do you have a last name?
- No.
- Hmm, I see. “Being sisters, you don’t look very much alike,” Audrey noted, writing something in a notebook. She also asked us about various things: where we had worked before, what we could do and what we were good at. I listed my past jobs and mentioned that I can read and write. Alicia, who has less experience, spoke about the difficulties she had recently experienced. Audrey listened to us, not ceasing to mark something on paper.
- Return to your seats and wait.
I thought that we would be immediately distributed somewhere, but that was not the case. I followed the order, after which I breathed a sigh of relief and was able to relax.
– Why are you so nervous? – Alicia asked in a whisper.
- It’s just...
Soon all the recruits introduced themselves to Audrey. Women and men were assigned to different roles and sent with other servants to assigned posts. There were four people left in the hall, including me and Alicia. Audrey glanced at us and told us to follow her.
We followed, in the opposite direction from the other servants. One of those who came with us was sent to the kitchen, and the rest headed up the stairs to follow the manager.
“Where are they taking us?” – I thought, when I suddenly felt a tingling sensation on my cheek. I turned my head and noticed a young man looking in our direction. More precisely, he did not take his eyes off Alicia.
- Yes, well... again?
I turned my tired gaze to Alicia, who was walking with her head held high. I was just starting to wonder why they were staring at us like that, but I quickly understood everything from the guy’s eyes. Alicia's attempts to expose herself, even in such an unfamiliar environment, seemed comical.
Continuing on the way, the young man patted me on the shoulder. I looked at the wide smiling face.
- Glad we met again.
- Oh, we know each other?
- What? Why do you pretend it's not so?
Who is this? I blinked, puzzled. It would be difficult to forget a person with such facial features.
I quickly tried to remember where we could have met before, but I couldn’t. I didn't answer and the guy started to look disappointed. The silence dragged on because I really didn’t understand who he was.
The guy came closer and opened his mouth, about to say something, when suddenly...
Bang!
Suddenly there was a loud noise in the distance. Everyone turned their gaze towards the sound. The door at the end of the corridor opened wide, after which someone jumped out of it, but then, very strangely, fell to the floor.
- Oh...
- Oh God! – Alicia screamed, covering her eyes with her hands. Even so, she spread her fingers slightly to give herself a clear view.
I calmly watched the unfolding picture.
Why is he naked? It was awkward, but I didn’t even think about turning away. The man in what his mother gave birth to appeared before the eyes of several people.
The naked man hurriedly rose to his feet, but tripped over the clothes he was hastily trying to pull on, and fell to the ground again. I felt kind of sorry for him.
We stopped right in front of him. Only then did the stranger notice our presence and panicked. He hurried to stand up and put on his footman's uniform. Why is he here like this? I glanced at the back of Audrey's head. Her face was not visible, so it was difficult to say what emotions she was experiencing.
Covering himself with clothes, the man bowed to Audrey and hurried away. He tried to run away as quickly as possible, but his unbuttoned trousers were almost falling off. The man pulled them up and disappeared from sight.
Unlike the three of us, who were watching in shock, Audrey calmly moved forward. We followed her into the room.
There was complete chaos inside.
There we found several men, and all of them were naked. Two of them lounged on the bed, and another one settled down on the floor next to it. Thin sheets barely covered their most expressive parts of the body.
One of them, sensing our presence, looked up, but was not the least bit surprised and only yawned tiredly. The other two seemed not to notice us, as if they could not move.
We were in complete shock, unlike Audrey.
“Lady Joely, it’s already morning,” she said calmly.
There was silence for a moment.
Soon there was movement between the two men on the bed. The sheet dropped slightly, revealing a girl with golden hair. Beautiful, young, and of course, naked.
- Oh! – someone’s sigh was heard.
I looked back at Alicia, but it wasn’t her, then I looked at another member of our group, and saw how he covered his face with both hands and even turned away. His ears glowed red.
“God, what a cutie,” Joely grinned. - Who is this?
“New servant,” Audrey answered.
- He's such a charmer. What is your name?
The servant she liked seemed unable to answer because of the nakedness before his eyes.
The girl moved, which caused the sheet to roll down even lower. It didn't seem to bother her at all.
Joely sat on the edge of the bed while the man lying next to her draped the sheet over her shoulders. She crossed her legs, smiled and thanked him.
- So who are they?
“From today on, they will serve you, Lady Joely,” Audrey explained.
It finally dawned on me why Audrey brought us here.
- Hmm... What happened to the old ones?
- I kicked them out.
“Oh, my God, what a pity,” said Joely, tucking a stray strand of golden hair behind her ears with her well-groomed fingers.
Contrary to these words, her face did not betray regret; on the contrary, her narrowed eyes shone with amusement. I looked straight at her, noticing how mischievously her eyes shone.
- OK. I want to wash myself, so get out of here.
After these words, the men, who had not moved before, immediately jumped up from their seats. They appeared completely naked, picked up their clothes from the floor and began to dress. The sequence of actions was similar to the previous man: having covered only the main areas, they proudly left the room.
I followed them with my eyes, and then turned around again. Unlike us, Audrey looked calm, as if she was used to such shocking situations. Are they all like this? And Isabella, whom I knew, and all the other managers were truly distinguished by their unshakable self-control.