A Time for Honour

Chapter 7

Brussels: April 1815

'Ouch!' Cassie exclaimed, 'you really are a clumsy girl. I do not know why I put up with your incompetence.'

'I'm sorry, miss,' the young maid replied fearfully, 'I won't do it again.'

'That is what you said last time,' came the curt reply.

She glared at the maid, who was concentrating on mending a small tear on her dress, and almost felt sorry for her. The maid was kneeling on the floor, not daring to look up at Cassie and incur further displeasure. Of course, Cassie knew that it had not been the poor girl's fault, it had just been an accident. But, recently she was finding it increasingly difficult to control her temper, and the girl should really learn to be less clumsy.

Since leaving Vienna, just over a month ago, Cassie had not had a decent night's sleep. It seemed that every time she closed her eyes, her head became crammed full of muddled thoughts of the person she had left behind at Hadlands. It felt like a lifetime since she had been the innocent, naïve schoolmistress, who had been foolish enough to believe that she was in love. She found it hard to believe that only two and a half years had passed since she had put that credulous, gullible girl to death.

Since she had started working for Ellington, she had travelled extensively throughout Europe. After she had left Highfields, she had initially lived and worked in London. When peace had come last year, and Napoleon had been exiled to Elba, Ellington had relocated her to Paris and then later, Vienna. To her, each city was the same. She was there for one reason, and one reason only, to gather information. She occasionally felt guilty for encouraging men, when they were at their most vulnerable, to reveal their deepest and darkest secrets to her. However, when she discovered that many of those men thought nothing of her, that guilty feeling soon disappeared.

'Ouch!' she said again this time even louder. She immediately bent over and grabbed the unsuspecting maid's wrist. 'How many times have I told you not to hurt me? You are doing it on purpose, aren't you?'

'No, Miss Rosa,' the young girl replied fearfully, 'no I didn't. I am very sorry. It won't happen again.'

Cassie gripped her wrist a little tighter and twisted it until the maid cried out in pain. Then adding fiercely, she said, 'then, make sure it doesn't happen again. If it does, I'll have you dismissed.'

'Yes, Miss,' the maid said nervously, rubbing her red wrist, 'I'll be more careful in the future.'

The truth, though Cassie did not even admit it to herself, was that she did not have the authority to dismiss this girl or any other servant that worked for Major Ellington. But she was tired and was finding it difficult to control her temper. Anyway, she thought to herself, what harm would it do if the girl was a little frightened of her.

The maid, even though her hands shook, managed to fix her dress without any further mishap. Once she had finished, Cassie examined her workmanship critically in the large cheval glass and could find no fault with it. She wanted to thank the young woman, who was still cowering behind her, but she could not bring herself to do it. 'You had better start on my hair,' she commanded, as she walked over to her dressing table and sat down.

It was still early in the evening, and Cassie, like she did at this time every day, was beginning to feel shaky and agitated. Her inability to keep still was probably why the maid had pricked her with a needle. 'Before you start, get me a drink,' she ordered as she scowled at the maid. 'And hurry up,' she snapped, 'I haven't got all day.'

The maid dropped a curtsy and quickly scurried away, returning moments later with a large glass of a colourless liquid. 'I hope that's not water,' Cassie said to her harshly as she took the glass from her. It had been several hours since Cassie had last had a drink, and she craved the temporary solace that the alcohol would provide.