Stalemate

Chapter 15

Ashtin had been scrubbing her uniform on the washboard when Mistress approached her. She was sitting on the lawn, listening to the birds, watching the well-stocked pond burgeon with ripples. The woman coming up so fast startled her. Ashtin paused, her hands still submerged under the soapy water. The sun blocked her view of the woman's face, so she couldn't see if she was angry or sour—those seemed to be her only two expressions.

Her stout frame towered over her. "I need you to run Lady Gwendolyn her tea. Thisis' a one off thing. Her maid's busy gettin' ready for the party."

Ashtin's hands went limp, and she felt as her calico floated away. "But I don't—"

"Get to it, then," the woman said. She turned to go.

Ashtin didn't budge. She tried to remember overhearing the other servants talk about a Lady Gwendolyn, but the name came blank in her mind. But suddenly she realized. It didn't matter who she was. Ashtin would get to go upstairs. Quickly she raised her dress from the washbasin, letting all the water trickle out of the folds. Several times she rang it out before she finally settled on it and slipped it over her calico. The dampness brought her shivering, even in the hot sun. She scrambled to her feet and started towards the house, leaving the washbasin behind. She was never meant to do this. Mistress stressed never to leave a job unfinished.

But in the last few days she hadn't been so picky. It almost seemed she'd forgotten about Ashtin and Maud. Suddenly there wasn't so much work to be done. There's so much to do! Don't be idle! Move on, move on.... She was always fretting. But lately her attention had been occupied with preparations for Master Budrene's party. Ashtin had listened to the other servant girls talk about it. It seemed to be important enough that it occupied all of the other servants, which worked in favor for Ashtin and Maud. The others had been at work for days, leaving the both of them to busy themselves. Ashtin did not mind. She took extra walks to the well and sat out by the pond.

Soon as she entered the house, the sounds of nature receded into servants scuttling about the kitchen, barking orders to one another and fervently kneading dough on any sliver of counter space they could find. The young servant boy stacked firewood faster than usual. And Mistress stood halfway between the kitchen and the corridor, her piercing eyes watching all of it happen. As Ashtin expected, Maud was nowhere to be found. How many punishments had it been this week? Three? Four? Ashtin could hardly keep count anymore.

She spotted a bare place on the island, where a beautiful tea set sat on a silver tray, the kettle already steaming. Tentatively, Ashtin approached it, dodging the other servants who scowled at her. Other than the tea kettle and the teacup, the other contents were foreign to her. There were two sets of spoons and white cubes stacked in a small bowl. A silk napkin—one that she'd probably washed ten times over since yesterday—lay neatly under a saucer.

Ashtin gripped both sides of the tray firmly and turned towards the staircase. It was heavy, teetering slightly in her trembling hands. Mistress grabbed her shoulder before she crossed the threshold into the stair room. "You do not speak to her. You do not look at her. You set the tray down and leave."

Ashtin nodded as she spoke her orders. She fought to suppress a grin. "Ma'am, where do I—"

"Up the grand staircase, to the left, all the way down the mezzanine to the east wing. The main door will be propped open—if it isn't it's the wrong corridor." She paused to take a breath. "Follow the corridor down to the first terrace, then take a right past the courtyard. Follow that corridor to the end. Her door is the last to the left."

Ashtin did not understand.

"Well, go!" Mistress barked.

Ashtin hastened toward the staircase, her shaking fingers making the chinaware clatter on the tray. She bit back her smile. Her heart was fluttering as she climbed the first few steps, so giddy she nearly sent the tray flying. The wooden steps creaked below her. She didn't know whether she needed to throw up or scream and jump about.