She tried to ease her breathing, counting the seconds on the inhale, holding it, and then continuing on the exhale. Her heart still thumped in her ribcage as she raised her hand to knock on the back door. No one answered so she knocked again.
When no one came she tried the handle and almost jumped back as it moved. Steeling herself with a deep breath, she pushed into the interior. The hall stretched before her like the open maw of a beast. She swallowed, her hands clutching tighter to the handles on her bag, and walked into the darkness.
Her shoes clacked on the stones of the hall and she paused as voices on the stairs floated down toward her. Stopping at the bottom she found herself confronted with a read headed woman in a green maid's uniform, a man with a cane, and another woman in all black.
The second woman's lip twitched upward and she raised an eyebrow, "Who are you?"
"I'm Anna Smith, the new lady's maid." She pointed behind her toward the door, "I knocked but no one answered."
"So you just decided to push your way in?"
Before Anna could respond the man moved his cane to his left hand and extended his right toward her, "I'm John Bates, his lordship's valet."
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bates." Anna took his hand and, for a moment, risked looking into his eyes before dropping her gaze.
"I'm Gwen," The other maid put her hand forward. "It'll be nice to have a lady's maid to lighten the load a bit."
"You've been caring for her?"
"Her and the other girls of the house." Gwen readjusted the bed linens in her hand, "I'm head housemaid."
"And I'm Ms. O'Brien, her ladyship's maid." O'Brien sniffed at Anna, "You'd best come this way and meet Mrs. Hughes."
Anna adjusted her hold on her bag but noticed the side glance Mr. Bates gave her. It was not like O'Brien's sneer of Gwen's curiosity. This was different. Almost… interested?
She shook the thought away. The last thing she needed was another man to make trouble in her life. No man would ever make trouble for her again.