Antonia stood in the drive that led to what one might consider in this part of the country, a smallish manor house. The sky was overcast, making the gray stones and slate roof of the structure appear even more somber than it was. Clutched in her hand, a small suitcase with all her worldly possessions.
At 5' 3" she was slender in build. Hazel eyes she regarded as too large, mousy brown hair most often gathered in a single braid, lips she found a little too plump, modest, but well formed breasts concealed behind wool dress and cotton apron, she was to be the new maid.
She was greeted at the door by the other servant. A woman who appeared to be perhaps 8 to 10 years her senior.
"You must be Antonia. We've been expecting you." The woman said, her English, bearing just a lilt of an Italian accent. Just a hint of the exotic.
"You can call me Toni." Antonia said modestly. Surveying the woman before her. Straw blond hair and piercing deep blue eyes. Overall, a handsome woman probably 3 or 4 inches taller than herself, wearing the same wool dress and apron of the housemaid.
"I'll show you to our quarters. Once you settle in, I'll introduce you to the Monmouths and instruct you as to your normal duties. My name is Sydney, but you can call me Syd." She said, leading Toni inside.
Leading her through the entryway and down a central hallway to the rear of the house they entered the kitchen. Everything was neat as a pin, while also appearing well used. At the back of the kitchen was a narrow staircase, steep and ill lit. Heading for it, Syd waved for Toni to follow her. It led to a servant door on the second floor and then turned and continued upward to the third, emerging in an attic that took up most of the space.
A small room was partitioned off at one end of the floor, a clear aisle leading to it. Most of the attic was a clutter of steamer trunks, crates, and old furniture. A couple of racks of old clothing, and piles of leatherbound books amongst decorations that had fallen out of fashion. Syd led her into the room. It was furnished simply, a reed seated chair, washstand with ewer, against the knee wall next to the single window that looked out over the verdant grounds.
A mirror over the washstand, reflected ambient light into the room. A single bed and a dresser with four drawers completed the accommodation.
"The bottom two drawers are yours. I sleep on the side of the bed that's against the wall." Syd said.
Despite having come from a fairly large family, Toni had never shared a bedstead with another person. She found herself a bit anxious about the arrangement, but knew it was something she would just have to get used to. She distributed her meager belongings in the dresser and turned to Syd. "There. What's next."
"Next, I'll introduce you to the Master and Mistress of the house. Lord and Lady Monmouth." Syd said closing the door behind them, then resuming the lead as she headed back toward the stairs.
The Monmouths, were pleasant folks. Unassuming for Lesser Royalty, in their late 60's by all appearances. They had one son who still lived with them, their eldest. The other children had since married and moved away. Bryant was a barrister, and pretty much took care of the minutia of running the household. Like a younger version of his father, he dressed conservatively, but comfortably.
"Well, Syd. Good to see we're back up to full staff again. Here's hoping the two of you get along as well as you did with Agnes, though I admit, I still miss the old girl." Bryant commented.
Toni noted that Syd's face softened somewhat at the mention of her predecessor and mentor.
In fact, when Agnes left to assume the role of head cook, at the Drowery estate, she'd been devastated. For the first two months she'd cried herself to sleep most nights, missing her, and there still was a bit of an emotional bruise where she was concerned.
Syd had come to the household via an aunt, her mother's sister. Her mother had been British, her father, Italian. Syd had spent her early years in Italy, until her parents had died during an epidemic that had swept the countryside, somehow sparing her.
Her aunt had brought her back to Great Britain. There had been some money left over. Enough for a rather modest boarding school. When school was not in session, her aunt had set up a cot in the workroom at the back of her dress shop. Syd helped out doing repair work to earn her keep. She was competent but hardly gifted with needle and thread.
The dress shop had some customers of high regard, and that's where her aunt had learned that the Monmouths were in search of a housemaid. Some enquiries were made, and a week later she had been taken on. That's when she met Agnes.
A woman in her mid-forties, dark hair, streaked with gray pulled back in a bun, she was the sole of propriety. A sorceress in the kitchen, she soon had Syd involved to the point that the Monmouths couldn't tell the difference between the elegant meals they nearly took turns presenting.
And so, they had grown close. And then winter had come, and Syd would awaken in the small hours to find Agnes' hands cupping her rather prominent breasts. They would lay as such like two spoons, until on a Spring night, Agnes had reached beneath the hem of Syd's nightshirt and touched her. Syd was lost, wave after wave of conflicting feelings, but one emerging above the others. Pleasure.
From then on, it was almost a nightly thing. Once the lamp had been doused. They found themselves on the pathways of discovery, and Agnes had learned every inch of Syd's body, where and how to touch it, how much pressure to apply and when. Syd had at first been passive, but was soon unable to withhold reciprocation. She learned to do the things that Agnes did to her, to her older mentor.
It had been a golden time. Their nightly lovemaking fueled by their naked desire. Wantonly embracing every new discovery, nothing was too far, and the smell of Agne's sopping bush in her nostrils as Syd fed on her moist hole eliciting low moans until the older woman once again, came.
When Agnes had taken the position that Lady Drowery had offered. Syd was crestfallen. Agnes had emphatically promised to bring her over, but it made no sense. Leaving the Monmouths in the lurch like that was not only mean, it was the type of thing that could follow her around for the rest of her career. No, Syd realized she had to stay.
Toni listened for Syd's soft breathing. They were laying back-to-back, the lamp extinguished. It was still awkward, but it was gradually getting easier. She was always self-conscious, and so, Syd would let her don her nightshirt and shawl alone. This meant Syd had to change in front of her young protégé, but she'd long ago lost any sense of shame or discomfort in another woman seeing her nakedness.
The first few nights, Toni had averted her gaze, giving Syd as much privacy as she could. But gradually the gremlin of curiosity had slipped into the room with them and at first with furtive glances, and then with more direct looks, she found herself watching Syd change in front of her to be the most captivating part of her day.
Even with the rather bulky clothes, Toni could see that Syd had such a figure as you might see on a statue of a Roman Goddess. She couldn't help but be just a little jealous of the older woman's curves.
Syd on the other hand, was anything but nonplussed. In her mind, that which had grown between Agnes and herself, was a once in a lifetime thing. Still, looking at the younger woman, she found herself wondering what she looked like with her braid brushed out. A thought she found herself returning to time and time again. Syd had to admit to herself that Toni was handsome, in a more diminutive way, than Agnes had ever been.
Summer was waning and the weather had become wet and unpredictable. Rain thrummed on the slates of the roof above their bed like a billion drummers marching into battle. Syd had managed sleep, but it was a fitful one. She felt suddenly cramped. She rolled over to face Toni's back. That was better.
Toni had been in a light sleep. A clap of thunder and a flash at the window had awakened her. Gradually as she got her bearings, she became aware of Syd's breasts, through the cotton of their night shirts, against her back and her hips against her ass. She felt them shift in time to Syd's breathing. Somehow, it felt good. Somehow, it evoked a tingling feeling she was quite sure she'd never felt before. Maybe they'd discuss it in the morning. Maybe not.
A couple of nights later, it happened again. This time though, Toni had broken her silence.
"Syd. You feel good against me like that." Toni whispered.
Syd shifted ever so slightly, rubbing against Toni's back. Toni's voice sounded so sweet... so innocent.
