Page 3 of Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Miss O’Brien nodded. “Please follow me, Miss Noble. I will show you to your room.”

I blinked; it was all happening so fast. I glanced back at Miss Dickinson, but she was no longer there. She was gone.

“Do not be surprised that she seemingly disappeared. She comes and goes through the house in silence. She’s so small and light she floats from room to room. The only time I do hear her come is when Carlo is with her.”

“Carlo?” I asked as I hurried to keep pace with her in my too-tight shoes.

“Don’t tell me that you haven’t seen Miss Dickinson walking through Amherst with that beast of a dog. He’s big and brown and has curls just like a woman. He weighs nearly as much as she does.”

“He’s a beast?” I asked with a slight tremor in my voice. I wasn’t very keen on dogs. The only ones I knew guarded the warehouse where my brother worked and took their position of protecting the property quite seriously.

“I just say that because of his size. He’s a kind dog, but we have to mind any paw prints on the carpets. That will be something you will have to contend with as a maid in the house. All paw prints must be removed immediately, if they are from the dog or from Miss Lavinia’s cats. Mrs.Dickinson does not abide by them.” She continued walking. “You will see Carlo soon enough and understand.”

I shivered at the thought of running into Carlo unprepared. “Who is Miss Lavinia?” I asked.

She looked at me. “What do you know about this family?”

I bit the inside of my lip. “What you have told me and that Mr.Dickinson is an important man for both the town and Amherst College.”

She nodded. “They are a family of five. There are Mr.and Mrs.Dickinson, of course, and Emily, Miss Dickinson, is the oldest daughter. She is the one who gave you this position with very little thought.” She pursed her lips when she said that. “She has an older brother, Austin, who is away in Cambridge studying at Harvard to be a lawyer, and Miss Lavinia, the younger sister, is your age. The family calls her Vinnie, which between you and me is not a proper name for a young lady.”

“And she has cats?” I asked.

“Yes. Several. They always seem to be coming and going. I believe Miss Lavinia has four at the moment. You will find them lounging about the house and garden. They go where they please.”

I might have been a bit afraid of dogs, but I very much liked cats. I had always wanted one, but I had never been in a position where I could care for one. Mrs.Patten didn’t allow animals in her boardinghouse. I had high hopes that Miss Lavinia and I would get along on that fact.

Miss O’Brien led me back the way we came and down the stairs and up the second staircase. This one led me into the servants’ corridor. There were only four doors there. “The staff is small,” Miss O’Brien said. “Mr.Dickinson is not one for extravagances. In the house, it is you and me.”

I blinked, wondering how the two of us could keep such a grand house.

She opened the second door. “This will be your room.”

I followed her inside.

“Does it suit?” she asked.

I looked around at the tidy bed, washbasin, shelves, and even a small desk for writing letters. It was the nicest place I had ever lived. “It will suit just fine. Thank you.”

“Good.” She nodded. “I suggest that you get yourself cleaned up. You begin tomorrow.” She went through the door, pulling it closed behind her, and it shut with finality.

Chapter Two

I removed my shoes with a groan and sat on the edge of my bed. It was dark outside, and I had been up and working since before dawn. Although kind in her own stern way, Miss O’Brien put me through my paces on the first day on the job. She had me dust every room in the house top to bottom. She had said, “Spring is right around the corner and our cleaning must start now to welcome warmer days.”

The only room I did not dust was Miss Dickinson’s. I went to it with my feather duster ready, but when I peered inside she sat at a small writing desk bent at the waist, scribbling on a piece of paper with a kind of concentration I had never before witnessed.

I placed a hand to my back where I felt a dull ache. I wished that I could take a warm bath to soothe it. Even if that had been an option for me, I don’t know that I would have had the will to draw the water.

I thought back to my day of dusting. At times while I worked, I caught glimpses of the family. Miss Dickinson and her sister, Miss Lavinia, for the most part. I never spoke to them, just carried on with my dusting. They nodded to me when our eyes met.

I desperately wanted to see the gardens. I loved plants so well, but it was another late January day of gray and rain, so all I saw through the windows was a sheet of water and ice. Snow would be better at this point. At least it wouldn’t be as dreary.

I prayed that Henry would have the wherewithal to be inside on a night like tonight. I wished that my brother had a bit more common sense.

Rain continued to hit the small window. Tap, tap, tap. And then it came harder. Tap, Ratata, Tat.

In my exhaustion, I stood up straight. That wasn’t rain on the glass.

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