I thought I'd put in a little chapter on what Ophelia does throughout the day.
Took me forever to write, good god.
Anywho, enjoy.
thewhateverqueen :3
Ah, the daily duties of an Augustus maid.
My day always begins at precisely four o'clock in the morning. I must check that all of the linens have been cleaned and hung up to dry. After that I use a feather duster to remove the dust from practically every surface in every room in the mansion, sans my Lady Samantha's room, because I would not want to wake her at such an early hour.
Next at exactly five o'clock, I polish all of the silverware and fine china. I make sure that I can see my reflection in every single item. In the House of Augustus, nothing can be less than perfect.
At six-thirty, I make my way into the kitchen. Without fail, I always find some sort of mess. Every morning, in the middle of the wreckage, stands the "chef," Maria, with an extremely guilty expression.
"Maria. What in the world are you doing?" No matter the day, she always jumps a foot into the air.
"Madame Ophelia! I was…I was making crêpes for the Lady Samantha! Or, I was trying to…" She slumped her shoulders. The busty woman then turned to face me. "I know, I know. 'Maria, clean this mess so I can make crêpes for Lady Samantha.' You don't even have to tell me."
With a huff, the woman walked over to the metal sink, and grabbed a wet rag, and then commenced in scrubbing the countertops vigorously, mumbling curses under her breath, her long red ponytail swinging back and forth as she moved.
I could only roll my eyes. As soon as one area is clean, I gather the necessary ingredients and begin to make my Lady her breakfast. It doesn't take me long, and when I am finished, I cover the meal with a metal lid to keep it warm while I prepare my Lady for the day. I would be ashamed with myself if I served her a cold breakfast.
Before I can wake the Lady I make her a pot of tea, and in this case it was mint. I carried the silver tea tray to the trolley before fetching the newspaper that was sitting on the front porch step and placing that on the cart as well.
The young mistress is woken up at eight o'clock A.M. Not a minute early, not a minute late. Even if she groans and shouts at me to let her sleep in longer, there is no possible way that I would let her do such a thing. I run on a very tight schedule. Letting her sleep in would throw the whole thing off. It would be quite troublesome.
As I enter my Lady's room, I push the tea trolley over to the side of the bed. Then I must proceed to open the curtains, so the room can be filled with the morning light.
"No, no light. Ugh!" She will groan and plead and even cry to be left alone so she can continue to sleep, but there is no way I will allow her to do that. Again, I have a schedule. It can not be ruined.
While the young mistress drinks her tea and reads the morning paper, I fill her bathtub with hot water and bubbles. When she is finished with her tea, I help her bathe, and dress her appropriately according to who she has appointments with or where she must go on this day.
Finally we descend to the dining hall, where the butler is attempting to set the table.
"No, no! The forks go on the left side of the plate, napkins underneath them. Bigger on the inside, smaller on the outside. On the right is the spoon and knife. The knife goes on the inside, the cutting edge facing left, towards the plate. The spoon goes on the outside. Have you learned nothing from what I have taught you before?" I rush over and fix the mess he has created, while the young lady stands impatiently in the doorway.
"I am so sorry, Miss Ophelia…" He whimpered. "I am still not used to setting tables…Please do not hit me…"
The thin boy cowered, awaiting my hand to strike him. I sigh and walk over to him, gently placing my hand on his bony shoulder. He flinches, but does not shy away from my touch. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. Just remember to set the table properly next time, okay?" He nodded pitifully. "Wonderful. Could you get the bowl of fruit from the kitchen for me?" He nodded once more, a bit more enthusiastically this time, before scurrying into the kitchen. "Thank you, Avery." As he closes the kitchen door behind him, I sigh and fix my hair, which was in a tight braid down my back. I know that I should not be kind to the servants who do not do their work properly, but I can't help but have a soft spot for the boy. He's only sixteen, and he's as skittish as a kitten. The only reason my Lady Samantha allows him to work at her mansion is because of the secret he hides under his perfect white gloves.
"Today, my Lady, we have chocolate and strawberry crêpes, topped with whipping cream. On the side we have a small fruit salad, dusted with sugar, the way you like it. Is this meal to your liking?"
"Yes, thank you, Ophelia." As the young mistress eats her meal, I make her bed and dust inside of her bedroom. I take the dirty linens downstairs to be washed.
When the young Lady is finished, I have Avery clear the table. Lady Samantha then sits in her study until the time of her appointment. I let the guest in, and serve them tea before fetching my mistress.
After the guest leaves, my Lady must have her studies, which I oversee. We first start with English, and then move on to dance, and we finish the morning studies with history. She despises all learning besides dance and music, but I make sure that she does her very best in everything. The head of the Augustus family must have some form of intelligence. I cannot allow the young mistress to be a dimwitted slug. It simply cannot happen.
After the preparation and consumption of lunch, the young Lady requests time in her study alone to work on company business. I use this time to harass the servants and make sure that they are doing their job correctly, starting with the imbecile we call a gardener.
"Are you really that idiotic that you would even consider trimming hedges with a machine gun? Why a machine gun? We do have hedge clippers that we use for trimming hedges, you know! I cannot believe this. Why do I even let you stay here?" I rub my temples as I stare at the mess of green shrubbery standing before me.
"Caroline thought it was a good idea. Caroline always uses machine guns for things like trimming hedges. Didn't Miss Ophelia know that? Miss Ophelia lets Caroline stay here because she can defend Miss Samantha's mansion. Correct?" The girl grinned at me, propping the gun on her shoulder.
I swear, I lose brain cells every time I talk to this woman. My arms dropped to my sides. "Silly me, I should have known. Clean this mess up immediately before I grab that gun from your hands and shoot you in the head. Or better yet, I shoot myself."
She gasped, and started to pick up pieces of the shrub frantically. I could only chuckle at the sight.
After I clean the mess that that idiot has created, I check on the others, Maria and Avery, who usually aren't doing anything particularly stupid at this time.
When the young Lady is content with the work she has accomplished, we go on any errands or attend any appointments that she must leave her mansion for.
After that, we do her afternoon studies. Music, writing, mathematics, and sewing. She insisted on learning how to sew, even if she hates doing it. It reminds her of her mother, I suppose. Without fail, she will prick her finger with the needle with almost every stitch. Eventually we both give up. She on sewing the garment, and I on teaching her on how to do so properly.
Finally, it is almost time for the evening meal. If there is a guest, they will chat while I prepare. When it is just the young mistress, she likes to do more work or simply read in her study.
The dinner must be prepared perfectly, no matter the ingredients. It will always be baked, cooked, broiled, etcetera, to perfection. Always.
After dinner and the evening tea, the young mistress retires. I change her into her nightgown, brush out her long hair, and tuck her into bed. Sometimes she asks me to sing her a lullaby like her mother would, and I comply, willingly or unwillingly, depending on the day.
When she falls asleep, I sneak out of the room to prepare for the next day.
I start with writing out what exactly I want the servants to do when the sun rises. I slide the list under their bedroom doors. Next I wash the linens, and make a mental note to myself to hang them up to dry the next morning. I then proceed to clean the kitchen and the dining hall.
After all of those things are completed, I can relax in my bedroom until four A.M. Sometimes I attempt to sleep, and sometimes I continue writing the memoir of my days with my master. I have one for every human I have made a contract with. I'm up to fifteen, I think.
Hopefully I can finish the one about this brat soon.