She felt a tear run down her cheek. Quickly bringing her hand up to her face she wiped it away. Nobody should know how she felt. Nobody was allowed to see her hurt. Taking a deep breath she tried to clear her mind, knowing she had to carry on like nothing had happened. Or at least like what had happened didn't affect her in any way.
Hearing footsteps coming closer, she straightened her back and picked up a freshly washed towel and started folding it. "Emily, did you hear? Isn't that wonderful news?! Imagine all the guests arriving. All the food that needs to be prepared...and the rooms of course!" Angela came bursting into the room, buzzing as always. "Yes, Angie. Yes, I heard," Emily replied. But as always Angela was too busy with her own words, "Who knows who might visit. Oh, I'm already looking forward to the parties!" Angela was a forty-something year old woman that had been working at the mansion for years. To most of the staff she was known as Angie Ears. A joke at her constant talking but inability to listen, unless it was rumours and gossip.
Emily picked up a stack of folded laundry and left the room. Angela was still going on about the exciting news as she was making her way up the steps of the small staircase that was used by staff. She walked down the long narrow hall and entered one of the rooms at the end of it. The big bedroom was quiet, except for the sounds from outside that were coming in through the open window. After placing the folded laundry in one of the big drawers, she walked up to the window and looked out. It was a sunny day and the big lake seemed quiet apart from a few couples holding hands and feeding the ducks.
A few moments passed before she stepped back and closed the window. She'd seen enough, the happy people and the bright weather wasn't suiting her mood. Biting her lip in anger she turned around and headed for the door. As she reached for the handle the door swung open, almost knocking into her. She let out a soft gasp in shock and stepped back. It was the lord of the mansion standing in the doorway. His cheeks blushing red from being startled of the person in his room. It was nothing new, the staff would be all over the house during the week. Cleaning and tidying the place as always. "Oh, Emily...," He said in a kind voice, quickly composing himself. She politely nodded her head, answered a quick "Good day, sir," and walked past him, leaving the room as quickly as she could.
As she entered the big kitchen, Angela was still talking. Two of the younger maids listening close to her every word. Pretending to be busy Emily rushed on, heading for the back door. As always she went out to get the big bed sheets of the lines behind the house. They surely would be dry by now, stiff and crisp from the fresh air. "Ehm, Emily", one of the maids called after her, "The lord asked for you to take in the sheets. He wants the beds made before the guests arrive". Raising an eyebrow, Emily stopped for a moment, but without turning back to the others, she answered a simple "Of course" and headed out.
Picking up one of the wicker baskets she walked over to the area where the bed sheets were slowly swaying back and forth in the wind. She liked being outside, escaping from all the bustle in the mansion. There was hardly a room where she could just sit and enjoy the silence. The only place where she wouldn't be bothered by anybody of the Brown family or staff members was her small dim room in the attic. There she would read and write, thinking and dreaming about life, but only until one of the bells on the wall would ring again. The signal calling her back to reality, back to work in case her imagination drifted off too far.
As she was taking the sheets off the lines she spotted a figure standing on the balcony. Probably sir Steven, she thought to herself, needing a break from his wife's rambling every now and then. But as the man raised his hand and waved at her, she knew she had been mistaken. Acting like she hadn't noticed, Emily quickly turned her back towards the building, ignoring the voyeur and continuing her work. Making sure the person on the balcony had left, Emily picked up the basket full of linen and walked back towards the house. In the big kitchen, more staff had gathered, preparing the meals for the coming days. Emily was headed for the basement where the laundry room was. Pressing and ironing sheets surely would help to get rid of some bottled up frustration.
Taking a big sheet, Emily placed it on the big rolls of the pressing machine. As she started turning the handle Lily and Rose, two of the youngest maids came in, giggling and laughing. "I've seen her, she's very pretty," Lily said, filling a big tub with water. "I bet she's a bitch though," Rose commented, adding boiling water from the kettle. It must be Alexandria they were talking about Emily thought to herself. Trying to ignore them as much as she could she took the pressed linen and placed it on the big ironing table. Then she took the heavy iron and placed it on the corner of the sheet and started smoothening out the wrinkles in the fabric. As her hand slowly pushed the iron over the table she couldn´t help but listen to what the maids were going on about. "I think her name is Polly," Lily said while she added more soap to the tub of water.
Polly, a blond haired girl just a little older than Emily, was one of the maids lady Alexandria had taken with her the few times she stayed at the mansion. Though the lady was from a family that wasn't far as wealthy as the Brown family she had a good few people working for her as servants. They would probably be added to the Brown family staff in the nearby future. The mansion would be big enough to take them in and there would be enough work for all of them to stay employed. Though that thought would have reassured most of the staff members of both parties, Emily feared for the changes it might bring along. Polly was a threat for her position because she had the same tasks in Lady Alexandria's staff as what Emily fulfilled in the Brown mansion. The fact that Polly had been in staff from a very young age only made Emily more fearful of losing position.
-----
It was only since a few years that Emily was a member of staff for the Brown family. Before that she had helped in the bakery her parents owned. The North Street Bakery was well known for its fine pastry and breads. People from all layers of society came to buy the products and the Brown family was one of their biggest customers. Every other day one of the staff members, Nicholas would stop by the bakery to buy freshly baked bread and treats for the Brown family. Emily knew he liked her a lot. He always made sure that it was Emily behind the counter when he entered the shop and Emily always made sure to add an extra cookie to the order for him. Over the weeks and months he'd stopped by it was always small talk between them, but Emily considered him a friend.
It was that one cold morning in January that had changed Nicholas from being a friend into much more. It was early morning and as always Emily's parents had been up for hours already, preparing dough and breads for the new day. All of a sudden Emily was woken by loud screaming and when she opened the door of her room to see what was going on, thick black smoke filled her lungs. Coughing and gasping for air, Emily fought her way through the flames in search of her parents. The wooden ceiling was slowly crumbling and bits of burning material rained down around her. She cried out for her parents in panic, losing all sense of orientation as she kept spinning around trying to avoid getting caught in the fire.
