Initium

Part 2

°☆•°Episode 3: The Unquiet Dead°•☆°

Part Two

Emma and Rose go to the sink they see by the window in the pantry and start washing dishes while Gwyneth lit the gas lamps for the room. Gywneth turned around to see the ladies cleaning and gasped before walking over to them.

"Please, you shouldn't be helping. It's not right." She insisted trying to take the cloth from Emma's hands as the girl dried. With a kind smile, Emma just shook her head at the maid and pulled the cloth back.

"Don't be daft. Sneed works you to death. How much do you get paid?" Rose spoke up handing Emma a teacup.

"Eight pound a year, miss" Gwyneth answered watching the girls with a confused expression.

"How much?" Rose gasped out however Emma's eyebrows rose in slight shock. That was very good pay for a maids job during this time.

"I know," Gwyneth shook her head seeing the brunette's expression, "I would've been happy with six."

Rose stared at the maid with wide eyes before speaking up again. "So, did you go to school or what?" This earned the blonde a gentle hit on the arm from Emma whose head tilted slightly towards the maid in a way of saying 'stop being rude'.

With this distraction, Gwyneth pulled the cloth from Emma and attended to the washing up. Emma huffed at the maid and leaned back on the pantry shelves next to the blonde.

"Of course I did. What do you think I am, an urchin? I went every Sunday, nice and proper."

"What? Once a week?" Gwyneth nodded to Rose with a smile.

"We did sums and everything. To be honest, I hated every second." Gwyneth confided to the two girls quietly.

"Me too" Rose admitted with a laugh. Emma grinned at the maid opening up to them, she seemed so shy.

Gwyneth looked around the pantry and to the door before leaning into the girls and speaking softly: "Don't tell anyone, but one week, I didn't go and ran on the heath all on my own" Gwyneth giggled loudly as Rose and Emma nodded along chuckling with the girl.

"Oh, I used to do that! I would hide out in the cafe my sister worked in with my books, classes are boring when you already know what they are teaching" Emma rolled her eyes with a smile as the to other women laughed at the young girl's bored tone.

Rose nodded down at Emma throwing an arm over her shoulders: "What a rebel Em. Who would have thought you of all people would skip class. I did plenty of that though," She said turning to Gwyneth with a smirk, "I used to go down the shops with my mate Shareen. We used to go and look at boys."

Gwyneth stopped giggling along and quickly looked away from the duo. "Well, I don't know much about that, miss." She turned to the dishes again and avoided looking at the girls.

"Come on, times haven't changed that much. I bet you've done the same" Rose rolled her eyes and teased the maid, trying to her back into happy spirits.

"I don't think so, miss." Gwyneth shook her head and frantically dried the dishes, not turning to look behind her at the girls.

"Gwyneth, you can tell us. I'm sure there must be at least one person?" Emma said gently patting the maid's back as she hesitantly turned to look at Emma and Rose, who both gave her gentle smiles to reassure her.

"I suppose," A smile took over the maids face as she stopped cleaning, "There is one lad. The butcher's boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him" A dreamy look overtook Gwyneth face as she thought about the boy.