Page 28 of A Marquess' Season of Secrets
“You are so stubborn, and I wonder if you really were a servant before you lost your memory. You certainly don’t clean like one, and I haven’t seen not one callus on your hands.”
Juliana shrugged. “I cannot recall anything, Kitty. I do not know what I did before. Perhaps I wasn’t a servant, but please, do not tell the duke?”
“I would never do that! I would bite off my right hand before doing such a thing. I will teach you everything you need to know. No one will come to know that you have likely never worked as a maid.”
Juliana bowed her head, almost crying in relief. “Thank you. I was so frightened that I might need to leave this house. I have nowhere else to go to.”
Kitty’s eyes watered before she pulled Juliana into a warm embrace. “You will make me cry, you know. I promise to protect you and help you as much as I possibly can. You just stick by me, and you’ll do perfectly fine.”
Juliana held onto Kitty, finding comfort in her sturdy arms. Between the duke and the maid, Juliana believed she would be fine.
Kitty pulled away, sniffing and dabbing her eyes with her apron. “I must say that I am curious about what you did before. We all assumed you’re a commoner because of the clothing you came in, but you don’t speak or act like a commoner. I don’t know why I overlooked that before.”
“I wish I knew why. Perhaps I was a governess?”
“A governess? There’s an idea. We’ll have to test that theory one of these days, but we must get our chores done first, or Mrs Black will come after us.”
The two worked together until Juliana could no longer bend or stretch without crying out in pain. Perhaps she was overexerting herself, but she had to prove to everyone that she was not taking advantage of the duke’s kindness.
“No more,” Kitty declared. “You must take a rest now. The duke will not be impressed if he hears you are working despite your pain. He told me to take care of you, but how can I when you will not let me? Do you want the duke to reprimand me?”
“I do not wish to get you into trouble, Kitty,” Juliana protested. “I would never want that.”
“Then go and rest. I shall finish these chores and bring you some tea a little later.”
Juliana did need some rest, and tea did sound lovely, but ... “Are you certain?” she asked. “It’s not fair that I should leave you to do all the work. I am getting paid, after all.”
“Buy me something nice with your first earnings,” said Kitty. “Something small, mind you. I’m not a fancy person.”
The idea of going shopping seemed like something she would enjoy doing. “I would love to buy you something special. We have the same day off, yes?”
Kitty nodded. “The duke planned it that way so I can always be with you.”
“Perhaps we can go into town and do a little shopping, or perhaps window shopping if everything is too expensive.”
“I would like that,” Kitty agreed. “I have never had a friend to go shopping with. I usually go with my sisters or my mother.”
“Then it is settled. We shall make a day of it.”
Juliana left the maid soon after, hobbling to her room when she was sure no one could see her react to the pain she was in. She had expected to be moved to the servants’ quarters once she could walk about, but the duke had yet to give any such orders.
Juliana sighed in relief as she lowered her aching body onto the bed. She was truly hurting, but it wasn’t all from her injuries. Some of it was the pain one got from doing something they were not accustomed to.
Well, I evidently am not a maid, so what am I? A governess? Could I be a lady?
Juliana thought about it for the rest of the day, hoping her mind would recall something, but it didn’t. She would just have to remain patient and believe her memory would come back. What if it didn’t? No, that didn’t bear thinking about.
Chapter 6
Getting up at the crack of dawn was not a simple matter for Juliana. Three weeks may have passed since she became part of the daily household routine, but her body still protested the early rising. On the other hand, Kitty seemed to thrive on being up before the sun peeked its radiant head over Wallingford.
“We need to change all the drapes in the east wing drawing room and parlour,” the maid declared, smoothing the slight crease in her apron. “Best we begin early so that we may give the dirty lot to the laundry maids before they get started on the bed linen.”
That would require a lot of stretching, and Juliana wasn’t confident she could do it. However, she was determined to at least try. Her injuries were healing, after all, albeit at a slow pace due to the strenuous daily work of a housemaid.
Tying on her apron, she said nothing in response to the maid. Kitty’s custom was to list all the chores they had for the day, and she didn’t require Juliana to comment. Simply listening and nodding her head every now and then was enough for the maid.
“Do you suppose Lady Stratford will scold me if I call you Isabella in her presence?” Kitty asked, changing the subject. “She didn’t take too kindly to the duke giving you their grandmother’s name.”
