Later, while Lord Musgood was in his study pouring over maps, the hour was getting late. He told Finella to get his bed ready for the night. She curtsied before she left the room and made her way upstairs. There was a guard standing outside Lord Musgood's chamber that had not been there earlier when the lord was showing her the rooms. She went to enter, but the guard stepped in front of the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" the guard asked in a gritty voice.
"I'm going to turn down Lord Musgood's bedding. Please let me pass," she said cautiously.
"And who are you?" the guard asked curtly.
"I am Finella, Lord Musgood's new servant," she said with reservation. She didn't like how he was glaring at her.
"I wasn't told of any new servant. Get out of here before I run you through," the guard said pulling out his sword.
Fearing for her life and not knowing what else to do, Finella hurried back downstairs. Halfway down the stairs, she was met with Lord Musgood on the steps.
"Finella, is something wrong?" he asked.
"There is a guard that won't let me into your room, milord," she said. "Says no one told him about me."
"Damn it," Lord Musgood said with a huff and went passed Finella. "Derward!" he shouted up the stairs. The guard came right to the top of the steps.
"Yes, milord!" Derward responded quickly.
"That's what I thought," Lord Musgood said stopping on the stairs. He turned to Finella and whispered, "Not the sharpest blade amongst the swords."
Finella cleared her throat to cover up a laugh. They continued to the top of the stairs, Derward allowed them to come up to the landing where Lord Musgood stood in front of the guardsman.
"Derward, this is Finella. She is my new personal servant. Every evening you will allow her into my chamber. If you deny her access again, I will have you thrown out. Good luck finding anyone who would hire you as a guardsmen. Understood?" Lord Musgood said.
Looking quite embarrassed, Derward replied, "Yes, milord. Apologizes, Finella."
Finella nodded her acceptance of apology. Derward went back to his post and Finella opened the door for Lord Musgood.
After entering, she closed the door and went about turning down his bed, stoking the fire in the hearth, and lighting candles around the room. Lord Musgood sat in a chair waiting for her to finish. He watched her float around the room like a leaf on the breeze and smiled lightly. She immediately came to him when the candles were lit and started to take his boots off. She helped him out of all his clothing leaving him in his shirt alone. He went to his bed, she covered him, and asked if he needed anything else. He said there wasn't. She stoked the fire one last time and then put out all the candles but one which she took with her to light her way to the servants' quarters.
Once there, she readied herself for bed. She had been shown a cot in the large room behind the kitchens where all the servants slept. There were two rooms, one for men, and one for women. She sat on her cot with her back against the wall and listened as the women came in off their duties. Some asked who she was and others explained. There were some men who came in as well chatting and flirting with some of the women. Because of her quick observation, she recognized one of the younger men to be one of the stable hands. He came over to her, obviously drunk, and tried to flirt with her.
"Oi, you're not much to look at but I could hold onto that mane and ride you like a pony," he said laughing as he sat next to her on the bed. Others joined in on his frivolity. Finella turned her head away from him, bringing her knees to her chest. "Oh, come on, love. Loosen up! You're wound as tight as a sailor's knot. At least give me a kiss. Those lips look delicious." The young man leaned into her but Finella slapped him across the face.
"I'm old enough to be your mother. Leave me alone," Finella said blanket and leaving the room. It was getting noisy anyway. If she had to, she would sleep with the horses. At least they couldn't talk to her.
Finella went outside, blindly looking for the stables. As she crossed the courtyard, she looked up seeing the millions of twinkling little stars. The night was chilled and she had no coat, only the blanket. She wrapped it around her shoulders. Outside the gatehouse, she saw the stables off to the left. Inside, it was a bit warmer. The stone walls kept the cold night air out. The body heat of the horses kept it warmer than outside. Finella actually didn't like horses. How could she? They killed her little boy. Technically it wasn't their fault, but all the same, she didn't approach an of them. She found an empty stall. It was clean and fresh straw had been put down. Curling up in the corner and draping the blanket over herself, she waited for the hours to go by. Finella ended up falling asleep.
