Briar scrubbed the dishes from breakfast for the second day in a row. She had volunteered for every duty that kept her downstairs and away from the nobility ever since her run in with Lady Cora. It wasn't that she was afraid of the Lady. But she was reminded of how necessary it was to remain hidden within the relative security of this estate when she had feared she would be forced to leave it. Now, Lady Cora represented another threat that sought to take that protection away. So she would have to appease her, do as she says, or risk a dismissal from the only Lady of the house. Her survival depended on ensuring she made no one of importance angry and that especially included the Lord's own sister and Queen of Gossip, Cora Huntington.
"Briar, Elsie will need your help with he ladies tea this morning," Mrs. Woods said simply as she turned to her preparation of lunch. Briar left the dishes in the trough and headed over to her, wiping her wet hands as she went in preparation for what she hoped would be a successful confrontation.
"Mrs. Woods, I've been meaning to ask you," she started. "It's just that... well, I'm so terrible with the cooking. I haven't had much experience in preparing the level of fine cuisine that you prepare for the nobility here and I was really hoping I could learn. I would appreciate being taught by the best. You, that is. I know the other girls prefer the serving to the preparing anyway so, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to be given kitchen duty from now on so that I may learn."
Mrs. Woods stopped working then and looked up at her. She looked her over with a scrutinizing eye and Briar thought desperately that she hadn't succeeded. But she stood her ground anyway, holding her head high and smiling surely at the old cook. Finally Mrs. Woods broke into a grin, beaming at her.
"I'm delighted to hear it dear!" She crooned, excitedly. "Oh I've been hoping for one of you girls to show an interest in the cooking! But I thought you all believed it to be such a chore. I am so in need of someone I can teach what I know to. This kitchen will need someone to take over for it once I'm gone. You could do that, dear! Oh, you'd do it so well! Would you like that? Serving the Huntington's in the comfort of this estate for many years to come?"
She nodded in what she hoped was fervent alacrity and Mrs. Woods beamed again, grasping her hands and leading her over to the hearth. She began talking very quickly then, explaining her plans for lunch and why she had chosen them, how lunch needed to be light as dinner was always so heavy. She talked about how much the Lady Cora enjoyed her vegetable soups and fruits and how the Lord liked his meat peppered just so. She nodded along and tried to remember as best she could, considering grabbing a pad of paper to jot down notes but then remembering she wasn't sure if Mrs. Woods knew she could read.
"Mrs. Woods," Elsie was calling from her place by the tea trays.
"And then you'll want to make sure you stir it regularly, my dear," Mrs. Woods was saying. "Otherwise it will burn to the bottom and you'll have to throw the whole batch out and start again. Oh, and the carrots! You see how the skin-"
"Mrs. Woods!" Elsie shouted.
"Oh, Elsie!" Mrs. Woods gasped. "Dear, I practically forgot. Change of plans, then. Brenna will be helping me in the kitchens, you'll take Kitty to tea with you."
Kitty sighed and went to carry the trays to ladies tea time with Elsie. Briar sighed in relief, having dodged yet another duty upstairs, and returned to listening to Mrs. Woods review the various vegetables grown locally in the estate garden and those which they must send away for in the town. Briar did her best to listen but found herself resisting the urge to yawn. It wasn't that what Mrs. Woods was telling her was boring. Truly, she found it rather interesting. She had always admired those who cooked well and, judging from the fragrances that came from the meals they served upstairs, Mrs. Woods was a wonderful cook indeed. Unfortunately, the servants were only fed modest porridges and stews, sometimes the older produce or the burnt bits of bread, anything deemed imperfect enough to avoid the upstairs arena. But Briar was tired for another reason altogether. She had been waking early to clean the parlor and the lord's study in an effort to avoid the noble family. When it came to cleaning Lady Cora's rooms, she was always on the lookout for an opportunity to do so whenever the Lady was busy with something else and away from her rooms.
It was an exhausting effort, staying in the shadows, avoiding the people who were simply going about their daily lives, unaware of how hard she was trying to remain unseen. So far, she had been successful. But she knew that would not last forever. She knew that, eventually she would come into contact with one of them again. All she had to do was remain the servant and keep the peace until such time that she could leave this place. She had never found herself looking forward to that day before, not in all of her time in Northbrook, but now she found herself wondering how much longer she would have to pretend to be Brenna the servant. She knew, however, that in order for her to leave, it would mean her uncle had died. So, as much as she was struggling with this new life, she would live it forever if it meant her uncle recovered.
"Brenna, did you hear me?" Mrs. Woods was asking and Briar brought herself back to reality and turned to face her. "I said we need to start on the pie crusts for this evening."
"Pie?" She asked and Mrs. Woods smiled wide.
"Yes, dear. The youngest Huntington child has returned home. Mr. Theodore. Pies are his favorite. I used to make him an apple pie every Sunday when he was younger and he would eat so much he would fall asleep at the table and his father would have to carry him off to bed."
She chuckled at the memory.
"Such a sweet boy," she said with a contented sigh. Briar smiled. It was a sweet story and did much to remind her that these people she served were just people, like any others. They were a family with times of trouble and times of celebration just like any other family. And Briar did not doubt that Lady Cora believed herself to be doing what was best for her brother but Briar had since decided that was not her decision to make.
Of course, Briar and Lord Huntington had not been doing what Lady Cora thought they had been doing when she caught Briar leaving her brother's chambers late at night but, even if they had, who was she to decide they couldn't? Lord Huntington was a grown man and the lord of this estate. If he wanted to bed a servant, he would be well within his rights to do so and his sister had no authority to do anything about it. Of course, Briar now knew that Lord Huntington had not so much as kissed a woman and so she knew very clearly that he was bedding no servants but that wasn't the point. Lady Cora had just as much authority to tell Lord Huntington what to do as Prince Lucien had to tell Briar what to do.
She had been thinking about this a lot lately. Her uncle had never finalized the proposal between her and the Prince of Baliene. He had left that open ended for a reason and he had told her that reason clearly enough during their last conversation together in which he had told her to marry for love. And she certainly did not love Prince Lucien. Perhaps she would never fall in love. Perhaps she would never marry. But either way, that would be her choice. And who were people like the rebels and Lady Cora to tell her otherwise?
She slammed the flour down a little too hard in her rage and a little cloud of powder puffed into the air in front of her. She coughed and waved it off with a hand and then got to work on the pie crust while Mrs. Woods stood over her shoulder, giving her instructions every step of the way.
It turned out to be a rather fun project, making the pie, and it took most of the afternoon since they were preparing lunch at the same time. She shadowed Mrs. Woods closely and took over some of the tasks she felt more comfortable with for herself. She made most of the pie herself, if not all of it, with nothing but spoken instruction from Mrs. Woods. As it went into the oven after lunch, she felt proud of her accomplishment, of the thing that she had created. It was an odd feeling, something that royalty very rarely got to experience.
"Finish the dishes from lunch and then take an hour break, Brenna," Mrs. Woods told her with a smile. "You've earned it."
She nodded and turned for the dish sink.
"Meet me here to prepare for dinner this afternoon," Mrs. Woods called after her and she nodded again as she plunged her hands into the soapy water and scrubbed away. The dishes were done soon enough after Lucy volunteered her help, and soon Briar was drying her hands on a rag and hanging her apron on the hook by the door.
She decided that today she'd like the view of the lake. So she set out for the Waters edge beyond the stable. There was a small knoll there where one could have a good view of the water and the gentle breeze from the lake would blow through your hair, lifting it from your sweltering neck in a gentle sigh. That was what she enjoyed most, the breeze. She reached up behind her, pulling the band from.her hair and shaking out her caramel waves so they fell loose about her shoulders. It was always considered inappropriate for a woman of title to be seen with her hair done. Perhaps that was why she had always enjoyed it so much. The breeze blew through it now, lifting it from her neck as it swirled behind her in streaming waves.
"Well," someone spoke from behind her. "Who do we have here?"
She turned to see a man she had never seen before. But the family resemblance was plain enough. His hair was not as golden as his brother's, nor were his eyes as blue or arms as muscular, but he shared many of the same basic attractions, the alluring smile, the easy stance, the intriguing manner. It was clear that this was the visiting brother. Theodore, Briar believed she remembered Mrs. Woods say. This was the boy who they'd baked a pie for. He didn't look to be a boy anymore.
"Brenna," she said, looking up at him. "My name is Brenna."
"I would sit but these are new trousers," he said. "Perhaps you could stand so I can get a better look at you."
She didn't care for his tone. She had a quick retort on her tongue but it died when she remembered her pledge to lay low and not upset a member of the Huntington family. So she stood, brushing off her dress and flipped her hair over her shoulder, to look at him. He smiled when their eyes met.
"Tell me, when did my brother start hiring such intoxicating young maidens into his service?" Theodore asked. She restrained the urge to roll her eyes.
"I've been here a few weeks, Sir."
"Really? My brother doesn't usually take on new kitchen maids very often. Or new anything, really. Tell me, did he take you on for perhaps... Another purpose?"
He raised an eyebrow and she frowned. She really didn't like where this conversation was headed.
"No, Sir," she said, too abruptly. "I'm no harlot."
And I would appreciate your family no longer calling me one, she added in her head.
"Of course not dear!" He said, a hand on his heart as if he were shocked at her statement. "I only meant, you're quite beautiful. I can't see why a woman of your stunning appearance should be slopping through the kitchens. You were made for much more."
He drew closer to her then and she could smell the faint hint of brandy on his breath at midday.
"We could have a bit of fun you know," he breathed quietly. His face was only inches from hers but his eyes were not on her own, they were aimed down the bodice of her dress. "Here, in the grass."
How romantic, she scoffed internally. He raised a hand to the thread tying her corset together in the front and began to pull gently on the string. She reached up and pushed his hand away. But he placed a hand on her back and pressed her up against him. She could feel his manhood on her thigh.
"Unhand me, Sir," she snapped through clenched teeth.
"I'm offering you a romp with a noble," he purred in her ear. "When will the likes of you ever get another chance at that?"
His fingers touched her chest, just under her collarbone. That skin to skin contact made her see red. Without thinking of the consequences, she brought her knee up into his groin. Hard. He shouted in pain and fell to the ground, holding himself as he fell. She stood over him, every inch of her training wanting to continue the fight, but then she heard a familiar voice call out from behind her.
"What's happening here?"
It was Lord Huntington. By the looks of it, he had gone to the stables to get a horse and had seen the commotion by the lake. Now he stomped toward them, looking angrier than Briar had ever seen him. She knew she should leave, knew she should run back to the kitchens and pray she wouldn't be fired for assaulting the lord's brother. That's what another servant would do. But, try as she might, she wasn't a servant. And she would not allow herself to be accosted in such a way.
She approached the lord then, knowing that she looked angry as well. But Lord Huntington's face was contorted in rage. His cheeks were red and there was a thin vein throbbing in his forehead. His clenched jaw twitched. It was a fearsome sight.
"What happened?" He asked her as she approached him, making a noticeable effort to appear calmer.
"Your brother made an unwanted advance toward me," she told him. "He touched me."
Lord Huntington's mouth dropped open slightly and he shot the most terrifying glare she had ever seen at his brother before he turned to her with only concern. He placed his hands on her arms and looked into her eyes.
"Are you-"
She didn't let him finish. She wrenched herself from his grasp and spat. "He comes near me again, I'll gut him."
And then she turned and stomped out of the yard, back towards the servants quarters. Not the wisest choice of words perhaps. Not the calmest way to handle the situation. And maybe she would pay for her actions towards the lord's brother later but a woman had to have her boundaries and Theodore Huntington had most definitely crossed them.