Page 48 of Doxy for the Ton
The footman blushed, then bowed and disappeared, while Peg folded the rest of the gowns.
“I can do that,” Mimi said. “You go and see your cousin.”
The seamstress bobbed a curtsey and followed the footman out.
Mimi sat beside Eleanor and leaned back with a sigh. “I never realized how difficult it was to stand and do nothing—though, of course, it’s not as difficult as kneeling at someone’s feet and embroidering a hem.”
“I can’t think why you don’t have a lady’s maid,” Eleanor said.
“I can carry my own gowns upstairs,” Mimi replied. “Besides, I see little point in hiring someone for only a short while.”
“You’ll be giving someone employment. That can only be a good thing.”
“But I know how to dress myself. Why hire someone to do it for me?”
“Because it gives a young girl work when she’d otherwise starve. Besides, the right lady’s maid does so much more than dress her employer in the morning and undress her at night. She’s a companion, a confidante—a friend.”
“I’d rather not grow reliant on another,” Mimi said, “not for dressing myself, and certainly not for companionship.”
“That’s a bleak approach to life.”
“But practical, for a woman in my position.”
Eleanor lowered her gaze. “Of course. I’m sorry, Jemima. I forget that not everyone is as fortunate as I.”
Nobodywas as fortunate as Eleanor—a duchess both loved and respected by her husband.
Whereas I…
Mimi shuddered at the memory. Since the day Sawbridge had ordered her upstairs and taken his pleasure, he had visited her twice. But he hadn’t required the use of her body. He had merely taken tea and reeled off a list of the acquaintances he was going to introduce her to, and the parties to which they’d been invited. Almost as if he were trying to impress her.
But he had already shown his true nature—in the rasp of his voice when he ordered her upstairs tofulfil her duties. And then the laughable way he’d tried to atone for his behavior after he finished inside her, draping the blanket over her naked form—as though he cared for her.
As if she’d fall forthatruse! Many a customer had acted the gallant suitor to ease his guilt. And that’s what Sawbridge was—just another customer wanting to use her body. She needed to remind herself of that if she were to survive.
She jumped as a hand covered hers.
“Jemima? Are you well?”
“Yes, Eleanor, I’m quite well.”
“Forgive me. I didn’t mean to be so forward about employing a lady’s maid.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Mimi said. “Rather than see it as someone indulging in a luxury merely because they can afford it, you’ve painted a very different picture—a means to an end, which I wish to strive for.”
“Which is?”
“The empowerment of women.”
Eleanor’s eyebrows lifted.
“You find such a concept ridiculous?” Mimi asked.
“Astonishing, perhaps, but not ridiculous.”
“I’m not so foolish as to believe I can change the whole world, but I wish to make a difference where I can.”
“Is that what you’re doing here—with Sawbridge?”
