Persuasion in the Pantry [Maid for More #1]

Secret Chapter: 31.2 The Road Not Taken

[Welcome Agents to the Secret Chapter (unedited)! This chapter has no bearing on the course of the book, it is just an interesting side note. If you would prefer to continue on with the story, please just head on over to the next chapter now.]

Sometimes in the course of a book, we write many different drafts before reaching the finished product. I recently tried to make my characters do something that they simply didn't want to do and ended up making the Duchess mad, which is never a wise course of action. So here is an ALTERNATE REALITY to Chapter 31, if Verushka was too stubborn and scared to seize her future (which we know is not like her at all!). The true reaction of the Duchess would have been exactly as follows and it shows a great deal of insight into where she came from ;)

It starts off pretty much the same and then spirals out of control. Now, it may not be everyone's cup of tea so be warned!! I would love to hear your feedback though.]

Verushka thudded up the stairs in her new chamber's maid uniform, carrying what felt like her own weight in books. Good Manners for Young Ladies. The Book of the Courtier. Treatise on Good Manners and Good Breeding. The list went on and on, and Verushka was done with it. She had spent the last few days cramming her mind with every sentence and she could not stand to learn the correct curtsying level to a single more Royal. She hadn't even had a chance to smooth over Mel's fight with Dan, instil a little more courage in Jeffrey to ask out Cynthia or lay the groundwork for her discussion to prepare said Cynthia.

She pushed open the door to the Dowager Duchess's private chamber with her overloaded arms and threw all the books onto the large side table with frustration. The Duchess, who was having her hair dressed and the final touches placed on a particularly elegant afternoon dress, looked up with curiosity.

"Leave us," she commanded and her maids dutifully left.

Verushka barely waited for the latch to click when she yelled exasperated, "I can't do this anymore!" She had spent half the night convincing herself that she could prove the Duke of Bexley wrong and stand on her own two feet, and the other half wondering why she was letting his mother push her into a job she didn't even know that she wanted.

"Can't do what exactly?" The Duchess asked calmly

"I can't do this!" Verushka flung her arm out frantically to the pile of discarded books. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. It had taken a lot of convincing to just get herself to climb the stairs and confront her employer and she needed to see it through. "Look, Your Grace, all you have me doing is learning how to use fans, and walk and talk. I've read all the books you have given me, just like you asked, and I'm still learning how to use a fork and knife!"

The Duchess smiled enigmatically. "The correct use of cutlery is quite important."

"Only if it is used to cut my heart out with a spoon!" Verushka threw her arms up in exasperation.

"What is really bothering you, Verushka?" The Duchess inquired patiently.

"I don't know... I just...," she trailed off, her eyes searching for answers that her lips could not provide.

The Dowager Duchess's gaze never faltered.

"I mean, what's the point? Why all this intrigue and lies? Can't we just tell Jay that I'm his sister? Why do I have to pretend to be something that I'm not?" she barraged the older woman with the questions that had been eating away at her.

"That is what has you in such a state?" The Duchess asked wryly

"That, and a few other things." Verushka affirmed with arms crossed resolutely over her chest.