The Secret Attachment

I

"It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being." John Joseph Powell, The Secret of Staying in Love

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I.

February 1806

Katy Fairchild was awake before the household, as usual. Her bed was made, her hair brushed and pinned, her plain, linen dress buttoned, and her apron affixed, all before dawn.

Katy crept out of her small attic bedroom, avoiding the floorboards that she knew liked to squeal, and quietly made her way downstairs.

She first entered the sitting room, where Mrs Banes liked to sit and read her letters. She laid and lit the fire so that it would be nice and toasty in an hour or so when Mrs Banes came in after breakfast. She followed suit in laying the fire in Mr Banes' study. He would be in a little later, which was why this fire was lit second. Mr Banes liked to sit at the dining room table for an hour or so after breakfast and read the newspaper.

Katy then made her way down the narrow, hallway towards the working rooms of the house. She lit the stove, put on some water, and collected a basket and some feed from the larder before making her way out to the chicken coop in the garden.

It was a cold February morning, and the fog was still apparent in the air. The dew on the grass dampened the hem of Katy's dress, but she didn't mind. Cold air was good air. It was fresh, and she filled her lungs with it.

As soon as they saw her making her way towards them, the hens started to cluck like mad.

Katy reached into the corn she had brought with her and tossed it on the ground, and the hens flocked to it in a frenzy. With the chickens happily distracted by their breakfast, Katy scampered inside the coop and began to collect this morning's eggs. The hens had done well overnight, as Katy counted four and twenty eggs.

Katy then fed the pig, milked their goat, and brought her spoils inside the house, where their cook, Mrs Meade, had just arrived for the day.

Mrs Meade was an older lady, with a plump, rosy face, kind, grey eyes, and greying auburn hair. Mrs Meade had worked for the Banes family for years and years. She was a widow, with grown children in London that she visited as often as she could.

"Good morning, Katy," greeted Mrs Meade kindly as she got to work on making dough for the day's bread.

"It is a lovely morning, isn't it?" Katy thought out loud. Now that the water was boiled, she took it off to steep the tea. She put on a fresh pot of water with several of the eggs inside to boil for this morning's breakfast.

"What are you and Miss Eliza up to today?"

Katy would have no idea what Eliza wanted to do until she impulsively thought something up. Eliza was very spontaneous, eager to try anything, and was always ready for an adventure.

"I have not the faintest idea," replied Katy as she collected some cold meats and cheeses from the larder.

Yesterday Eliza had wanted to go sea bathing. In February. She had been convinced it was romantic, and Katy had an inkling that she had read about a drowning rescue in one of her novels.

Katy's friend was a tragic romantic. Eliza's passion was one of her many virtues, though it could often get her into trouble if Katy was not there to pull her out of it.

"Knowing Miss Eliza," Mrs Meade said humorously, "she could have a plan to play on the moon."

Katy laughed.