Charity hung back, knowing that it would be harder to hide with so many gone but she was starving. She seemed to always be hungry here lately. Sure enough she no more than entered than one of the Aunts called her over. Showing none of her feelings she went and took the seat next to her. The Aunt looked at her and nodded. "That is better dear. With so many gone there is no sense in you seating clear down there. We need to have a chat, this is the perfect time with the men folk gone. Now you might think it is to soon to be thinking of your future, but you are fourteen. You are a young lady now, after all we have been sending the servants to you for over a year now. I am sure you must have mastered their lessons. Not that I would check. That would be unseemly, it is not right to speak of such things of course. I do so only to point out that you are getting older. It is time you start thinking of the image you present to possible husbands. Men often look and measure before approaching your Father. They need to make sure that you are well behaved, the right person for their house. It is important, therefore, that you are always well put forth, and gentle in barring. You are too old to be loud of voice and movement. It is well you remember it. There are going to be a number of men around who will be looking to add to their family. It is all so time you started taking a hand with the littlest, it will be your place to once you are married."
The Aunt stopped talking, Charity smiled and in put the proper. "Yes Ma'am, it is just Sally enjoys the littlest so much I feel wrong to interfere. I am better with the plants. Surely there is a need for that as well?" Thinking lord don't put me in the nursery I would go insane in that windowless hole!
The Aunt looked at her oddly. "Well, yes but it is harder. Well not all are the same." Charity was saved from answering by the arrival of the food. But that caused more trouble. The Aunt watched as the servant put the food on the plates. "That is more than enough. Charity you should not let them give you so much. It does not look good. Remember a lady is delicate. You do not want to scare anyone away dear. A man doesn't want a lady who can not control herself. Never clean your plate, and never put much meat on it, salad is best for a woman. Our bodies do not handle the rich foods as well." Charity nodded and picked up her fork and went to get a bite. "Not so much dear, like this see." The Aunt pick up her fork and had barley anything on it. Charity sighed, and copied the Aunt. Looking up she saw Mother was eating the same way and was beaming at her. Charity ended up eating maybe a half a cup of food that meal. Not enough for a child that had grown as she had in the last month, and was still growing. Plus she was not one to set around the house, but it made the Aunt happy with her. "There now don't you feel better?"
Charity wanted to scream that she did not feel better, she wanted some food. She didn't though she had enough troubles as it was. "Yes Ma'am, thank you. I did not realize that I was scaring anyone away."
The Aunt nodded pleased. "Do try and remember you are always on display. Now we had best see to the guests. So good of you to take the north wing on. It is perfect as it is out of the way, but so hard for the very thing that makes it right." With that she left. Charity sat a bit longer then headed out, fully intending to double back and get some food. Plus Beth would know who would be willing to help get the north rooms turned out.
When she doubled back she found Uncle was all so heading to the kitchen. He smiled at her. "Sure is interesting how close he came to saying it was all a divine revelation. Bet anything in a few years it will have been. So where are the visitors to be housed?"
Charity laughed knowing he would not have said anything if there were ears around. "I thought it was just me, man did he make something out of it. To think he had no idea until he got woken up last night, and was outraged that the troops were on the move. No one would or could seem to come up with were to put them. So I suggested the North wing and volunteered to over see the setting up. As I knew it had been closed for years since it was so out of the way. That did it, well that and the fact of the separate entrance. I think they forgot that it is just as grandly furnished as the East rooms."
"Which is where dear old Lord Knight Heanric is to be." Uncle finished. "The North is perfect, the door make it easy for people to come and go unnoticed. That will help with the spies."
Charity nodded, and entered the kitchen. "I just hope that no one comes to realizes that I was copying notes that did not exist. Or there will be yet another problem." Turning to Beth she said, "I need food, pleases. I don't care what it is, just food." She sat in her chair at the table. Beth laughed and sat two plates of food down.
Uncle sat down in the front of the other plate. "So how is it you missed lunch?"
Charity said. "I didn't miss lunch I just did not get to eat. Instead I got a lecture on how a lady must always appear delicate. I apparently am capable of scaring away husbands just by eating. You see I should never have so much food on my plate and no more than this much on my fork at a time. Take no more then three such bites of any item unless it is salad then you may take four. So you see I am hungry." She then cleaned the plate and said shyly. "Now to be comply indelicate I am going to get some more, then a piece of that cake. I seem to recall that I sleep though breakfast."
Beth smiled and filled her plate before she could move. "Now that is what I want to see. It is about time you ate. I have Molly and Kate starting on the North wing Katrena and a few others will join in a bit. Just remember that you are to supervise them."
Charity laughed. "Is there any place you don't have ears? If anyone wants to learn any thing all they need do is have a spy among the servants."
Uncle sputtered and jumped. "That's it! His servants, of course." With that he ran out, calling back. "I trust you make sure there are none among us."
Charity looked after him puzzled. "I think it best that I don't know what that was about." Beth nodded and Charity finished eating then went to see how thing were coming in the North wing. She looked around a bit then saw one of the maids. "Well this is not as bad as I thought it would be. Or you have been working longer than I thought. Either way it is looking good."
The maid looked up. "There is still plenty to be done, but it did get a dusting last year. Now do you have any idea of the types of sheets and should we change curtains. "
Charity said. "From the little I know of mercenaries, as long as it is clean they won't care. That being said, the curtains are fine. As for the bedding, see that is of the same quality as in the East rooms, but in colors to suite these rooms. How is that for supervising? Now you have things well in hand. So I will leave you to it, and take myself to the still room, before I am in the way." The maid nodded and went back to work, and true to her word Charity left her to it. Knowing they would see things were done up right.
Once in the still room she started making mental list of what ingredients were needed, and which would have to be bought. Of those she added how badly they were needed, by going over there uses and the amounts of those medicines they had. Wishing she dared write it down, she went to find Mother and give her the list. She would then decide which items made it onto the list of needed items, having a servant write it up for the boys to take when the went after goods. It was a very round about way to do things, but it was the way it had always been done. So she had to go though the hoops. Mother was in the sewing room, no surprise. "The north wing is coming along nicely, I will of course check back. I went over items in the still room and find that there are some that will have to be bought."
Mother called the servant forward. "Father has said to just give him a list of the items and he will sort them himself. So just tell Nathan what is needed."
Charity said. "Ok. Then in order of importance we need jars, the more the better, there are some salves that can only be put up in new jars. Then there are several herbs." She went on to list them. "That is it, the others I will be able to find in the woods."
Mother looked up. "That is a short list, I am impressed. Good job, others have been known to go overboard."
Charity nodded. "Thank you. I would suggest that a large amount of linen be purchased as well, for bandages."
Mother nodded. "It is all ready seen to, but good management there. With this much notice all should be ready when the troops arrive. Is that all?"
Charity said. "Yes Ma'am." And with that she headed back outside, and oninto the woods to start gathering the herbs, making sure to say in hearingrange of the diner bell. It wouldn't do to be late, now would it? She workeduntil the diner bell sounded, then took her plants to the shed and put them onthe drying table. Then brushed her dress off, washed up and headed to diner.Glad that it was not a formal affaire tonight. If it was she would have had toof come in an hour or two before to change clothes and get the hair put up, anda hundred other nonsense things. Of course a lady would have likely went andchanged anyway. She was likely going to hear the off comments about wearingwork clothes to the dinner table directed her way. Never mind the boys would bedoing the same. They were men after all. It was only to be expected. Heck allthey had to do for a formal diner was change there shirts. They could be donein ten minutes at the most. It wasn't fair, but there was nothing that could bedone.