196. The Prince - The Maid of Eccles Estate

"How is that possible?" I blurt. How rude of me. But this revelation doesn't make sense. I try to recover from my blunder. "I'm sorry. I am sure you know your heritage better than I do. I don't understand." Her cheeks have reddened with blush. Is she angry? Embarrassed? "Please," I say, hesitantly. I don't want her to think me unfeeling. She means too much already. "Please, tell me about your family. How did you, the daughter of Sir Eccles, come to serve Lady Denise?"

"It's not just Denise I serve. It's the whole house. I wait on Denise, Muriel, and Madame, but I keep the house, too. There is a cook and a few menservants to keep the animals and the carriages, but the rest is me. It's been that way since father left." 

She tucks a loose hair behind her ear. Her voice is sad, but not angry. How she isn't angry, I cannot imagine. I am angry for her, but I try to match her temper and keep it hidden. "That must be exhausting," I offer. "We have dozens of servants who work the household." 

She laughs, a joyful sound for this sad subject. "Yes, but your home is considerably larger than mine, and houses far more people than mine. Madame does not entertain at the estate. I don't know why, but she never has visitors anymore. Only her solicitor, really. She pays visits to others, but no one comes to us. So there is less work than you would think. Still, it is busy."

I don't know what to say in response, so I remain silent and let her continue her story. 

"Father married Madame when I was twelve. He said I needed a mother to teach me about being a woman. He meant well. It was wonderful at first. I had sisters. It was nice before that. Father and I spent all our time together. He taught me so much. He took me with him when he went exploring, and every time he brought a new book home we would read it together. But having sisters was marvelous. They understood me in ways Father couldn't, even though he tried. Denise and I would dance and play all day. Even Muriel would join in when Madame wasn't around. When she was, Muriel would try to act properly, but Denise and I would always make her laugh."

The only laugh I have ever heard from Lady Muriel was a forced flirtation. I try to imagine the playfulness as Ella describes it, but the images jar in my mind. Ella, I can see. Lady Denise, even, I can picture having fun. But Lady Muriel is too much for me. 

"Once Father remarried, I stopped traveling with him. He took Madame once, but she never went again. Their marriage was not a happy one. They pretended thy were happy in front of us or when there was company or we were in town, but I knew Father was unhappy. His eyes lost their smile and his trips became longer with less time at home between them. And then one trip he just didn't come back. The day the king sent out a search party for him was my last day as a mistress of Eccles Estate. I was present for the guards' meeting with Madame, and then I was taken inside, given some old clothes of one of the other maids, and sent to the kitchens. When I tried to go to bed that night, I was told I no longer belonged with the family. I worked with the other maids for a few months, but eventually they were all sent away." She sighs and looks up at me with a smile. A smile. She tells me this story of her humiliation with no trace of bitterness or resentment. And here I am, ready to burst with anger at Lady Eccles. How could she have done this to my sweet, innocent Ella? 

"And that's how I became the maid of Eccles Estate," she finishes simply.