Ardently |h.s|

one

November 1808

I've always preferred the London season. While the Payne's residence in London is quite smaller than their summer estate in the country, it's just as beautiful and grand. The Viscount and his family are some of the first of London society to get settled for the season.

We've been busy preparing for their arrival, which should be any minute now. Uncovering the furniture, dusting, making sure the food is stocked and everything is tidy. Meals are being cooked now, with lunch at the ready for the family to enjoy when they arrive and dinner already underway.

The Viscount is a particular man. Always busy in the study, getting his affairs in order. We rarely see him around, only during dinner or the occasional ball. When he does step away from his business, he can usually be found watching a fight or having a drink with the other gentleman. Rarely does he gamble or engage in extramarital affairs like some men of his importance. His love for the Viscountess is true, which is unheard of really.

The Viscountess, oh what a wonderful woman she is. She has a heart of gold and treats everyone she encounters with respect. It was unfortunate that she never was able to produce more children after her son, Liam. I know it upset her, but she found other ways of giving her motherly affections away.

My mother was her lady in waiting before her unfortunate passing, the Viscountess' closest confidant. We lived on the estate together in the maid's quarters downstairs. One winter she caught a chill and despite the Viscountess' best efforts to bring doctors and healers for her, she was not strong enough to make it. It was a brutal season, even for London. I was only six.

I never knew my father, not like a man would take in a little girl he's never cared for. So orphaned, with nowhere to go, the Viscount let me stay. Already having started growing up with the Paynes before my mother's passing, the Viscountess would always urge me to play with her boy. He's just a few years older than I, but we grew to be thick as thieves as the years went on.

Between my work around the house, I would sit in with Liam for his tutoring lessons. It is there that my eyes were opened to the world around me. Even though I'll always be destined to a life cooking meals and changing bed sheets, sometimes I let myself dream of a life where I could do more.

It doesn't help that Liam indulges in my fantasies. He's a trouble maker for sure, always sneaking down to the kitchen for a midnight snack or getting in the way of everyone just to bother me. Most sons of nobility would be repulsed to go down to where the help works and lives, but to Liam, he's just visiting his little sister.

I'll tell him of my dreams to one day be my own person and not have to do what anyone says. Things no servant should tell their boss, but still, he'll let me go off on these wild tangents, adding details here and there to make my fantasy life even better. But that's all they'll ever be. Even if one day by some great miracle I make it out of this life serving the rich, I'll never be free. I'll just be under the control of some man.

Either way, I owe the Viscount and his wife everything I have. They've let me have a roof over my head and some money in my pocket when they very well could have left me in the streets to die like my mother. I'll always be indebted to them.

As I walk around the home, slowly making my way to the front stairs where everyone is lining up to greet the Paynes upon their arrival, I let my mind wander. Pretty soon these halls will be packed with guests as the London season starts. Balls and dinners will be hosted, forcing us to work overtime to keep up with the crowds.

It's why I prefer the London season. Getting to see all these Earls, Barons, and Dukes gallivanting around drunk or chasing after the eligible woman in hopes of finding a wife to produce an heir with. They all make fools of themselves. The women for swooning over these idiotic bastards. If only they knew these men they sought after so hard were all sleeping with prostitutes or forcing themselves onto servants.