Scorned [ONC 2024]

Chapter Three

A week later, we met again. It wasn't because of an accident, or fate, or even a coincidence. It was an occupational hazard. If I had it my way, I would have kept to the shadows and avoided Jacob Turner until he disappeared off on his next big adventure. My position, if I wanted to keep it, relied on doing the work expected of me.

Hiding was not an option.

Martha, the traitor that she was, came down with a cold that meant I couldn't hide in the laundry or the kitchens. Instead, Mrs Folkestone had me scurrying through the servants' staircase to dust, air out the rooms used less frequently by the household, and make sure the fresh flowers placed in the rooms weren't on the verge of death. I spent the week doing the work of two people.

When the family was sitting down to luncheon, I made my way up to Mr Turner's room to turn down his bed. In the week he'd been back, one might have thought a storm had spun through his room. Clothes lay strewn about the place, dangling off his still-open drawers, thrown onto his writing desk, and anywhere but the large wooden wardrobe. Mr Turner had strict instructions that no one was to clean his room. All we were allowed to do was make the bed.

I stood with my back to the door and tugged on the blankets that sat in a large heap in the middle of the bed. The quicker I made the bed, the last chance I would have to bump into Mr Taylor, though luck was never on my side. I was too focused on completing the task in front of me to notice the echoing footsteps in the hallway behind me.

"We meet again, it seems," a familiar voice said behind me.

I spun around, dropping into a curtsey and keeping my head directed to the floor out of caution. Martha did say to never look him in the eye. "Good afternoon, sir."

"I do not believe I caught your name the other day, although there was hardly any time for formalities."

"Lily, sir, Lily Rhodes."

"Well, Miss Lily Rhodes, it is a pleasure to meet you, since I do not believe we have met before. It seems you do a decent job at keeping yourself hidden since Father had no idea who you were and he usually prides himself on knowing the names of all our servants. You, Miss Rhodes, are a mystery."

I looked up. Mr Turner stared at me with a small furrow in his eyebrows, his arms crossed over his chest. The bruise on his cheek was gone, but remnants of the cut remained. He slumped against the door, his right shoulder pressed against the doorframe. His body blocked the door and any chance of exit I might have had.

"When did you start working for my father?"

"A few months ago, sir."

He nodded slowly. "You keep to yourself. Is that an appropriate assessment?"

"Yes, sir."

"I suppose you have the measure of me by now, or at least know the scandals and gossip that have followed me for many a year." He shook his head. "Let me attempt to offer my assurance that it is not entirely true. Of course, gossip must start somewhere, but a large majority of the stories you have been told are a complete fabrication."

"It is not my place to make any assessment of your behaviour, sir, nor do I listen to the gossip."

"Then you are the only one."

Mr Turner pushed himself off the doorframe and stepped into the room. He tucked his hands into his pockets, glancing around the room as though shocked by its state despite him being the one who caused it. I longed to get back to work and make myself scarce before I got into trouble with Mrs Folkestone for not completing my chores in a timely manner.

I watched Mr Turner approach the writing desk in the far corner of the room. He stopped in front of the large window that looked out onto the grounds and where we could see the tops of the buildings from the nearby village. The arrogance that Martha had warned me of, the bravado that made him a talking point amongst the servants, was gone.

He stepped away from the window and back to the writing desk. I watched him scribble something, then tuck a small slip of paper into an envelope and turn to face me. His fingers danced over a small white envelope as he turned back to face me, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Can you ensure this goes out with the morning post? If I hand it to my valet, Father will know. I will understand if you say no, but since you are good at going unnoticed, I thought you might be the best person to ask."

I eyed the small envelope. I'd always valued my skills at being unknown, at moving through the servants without calling attention to myself. The last thing I wanted to do was jeopardise that by helping Mr Turner. Yet his difference in demeanour intrigued me. There was a nervousness to him as he fidgeted with the envelope. He certainly didn't match the rumours that followed him around.

"Yes, sir," I said before I could take it back.

His shoulders relaxed. "Thank you, Miss Rhodes. You are doing me a huge favour in making sure it is posted. If there is ever anything you need, just say the words I shall carry it out to the best of my ability." He crossed the room and handed me the letter. "I am in your debt."

"It is just my job, sir."

"It is more than your job." He raked a hand through his black hair, turning to look at the bed, which still sat in the same chaotic state it had been in since that morning. "I shall let you get on with what you are doing. Thank you again."

I nodded.

Mr Turner offered me a small smile, crossed the room. He stopped in the doorway and turned back to face me. "Oh, I told Father that our meeting in the stairwell was purely my fault. You should not face any repercussions."

He tapped his hand against the doorframe and disappeared into the hallway without a second word. I listened to the sound of my heart thumping in my chest, my hands clutching the envelope. It was stupid of me to ensure it was posted. I knew that the moment I accepted the envelope, but I couldn't take it back.

Whether I liked it or not, my entanglement with Mr Turner had started and there was no way to escape it.

I glanced down at it, unable to help myself. Mr Turner's scrawling handwriting stared back at me, almost indistinguishable apart from the name printed across the front.

Miss Sarah Oleson.

~~~

First Published - February 23rd, 2024