Winthrop Manor

Chapter Three: The First Meal

Dinner was a disastrous affair.

Mira had hung around the kitchen out of nervousness of the rest of the house and generally got in the way of everyone else in there. Servants bustled here and there, working quickly to make everything perfect. Cassandra insisted on using the nice china dish set and had all of the silverware and candlesticks polished to a never-before-seen shine. The floors had also been washed and polished, gleaming now in the soft sunlight that filtered over the treetops. Jessebelle had miraculously added her own flair to the fancy lacework at the edge of the tablecloth and grudgingly rubbed her aching fingers when she was finished. The oldest maid, Janice, opened the doors at quarter to seven to bring forth all of the food she had helped to prepare. Sophie came in carrying a large tray of stuffing to go with the slow-roasted turkey, spiced pork and breaded lamb. Boiled, roasted and steamed vegetables with an assortment of spices sprinkled over them were placed decoratively around the meats. A large bowl of mashed potatoes was placed next to its gravy counterpart, and a myriad of dressings were shuffled about on the table, including bread, apple and oyster. Pitchers of ice water, milk, and juice were spaced out along the long dining table, and a bottle of 1842 Syrah red wine was placed at the seat directly to the right of the head of the table, where Cassandra would be sitting. The end seat was left empty in honor of Master Claybern. Sparkling wine glasses were placed at four other places—Claire, Mykel and Carli weren’t yet allowed to partake in drinking wine at dinner, but they didn’t really want to anyway.

Janice had convinced Cassandra not to use her dazzling crystal cups—“The woman’s not worth that much, Mistress Claybern.”

Cassandra had called in her children to dinner, all dressed up with clean clothes, and fresh faces. Mira was still in her dreaded ruffled pink dress and the damned corset, and grudgingly sat down at the seat next to her mother’s. Claire’s face was windswept, but she had quickly changed into a soft blue dress that hugged her thin frame lightly. Mykel and Carli had been found in the creek, both soaked and mud-caked. A quick wash had been in order, and after twenty minutes of intense scrubbing, both were rushed to the table.

“Oh wow! There’s so much food!” Mykel and Carli exclaimed in unison. They turned toward each other.

“Jinx!” They shouted, in unison once again.

“Double-jinx!”

“I win!”

“No you didn’t!”

“Yeah-huh!”

“Stop it!”

Mykel leaned forward to tug on his sister’s hair and she pinched his arm. They both cried out in pain and Mykel pulled harder while Carli nearly drew blood.

“Stop it, both of you!” Cassandra said, her voice strong and loud. She was standing at the table, her eyes narrowed and her hands gripping a bit of the tablecloth. The older woman was shaking a little, seemingly trying to hold in some sort of massive pressure that was building up inside. Mira and Claire got up, to help their mother sit down. Her normal calm demeanor had been completely tossed aside, with the desire to impress set firmly upon her shoulders in an ice-cold grip. Mira didn’t know why her mother was exciting herself so; it was only the Ritval family, and with her part ownership of the manor, it’s not like they could do anything anyway.

“It’s ok, Mama,” Claire cooed. Her voice sounded surprisingly similar to her mother’s normal, soothing voice. Much of that had to do with her passion of being around animals, especially horses. Many animals seemed to naturally gravitate towards her internal calm and serenity. She had such a way with working with nature’s creatures that she hoped to do it professionally as her life progressed; being a female veterinarian was relatively unheard of, but Claire was determined to change that image. The boarding school she currently attended with Mykel and Carli didn’t exactly set her up to be a veterinarian, but Claire had her eye on a few women’s colleges in the towns nearby. Surely one of them would have classes in veterinary care.

“Yeah, it’s just the Nasties we’re dining with, so who cares what they think?” Mira asked, sitting down in her chair beside her mother. Her mother smiled at Claire and then turned her attention to her eldest daughter.

“I know, Mira, but… there are other things at play here. And with your father gone, well, we have to try and do our best without his assurance behind us,” Cassandra replied.

‘Oh,’ Mira thought. ‘Politics. Lovely.’

All was quiet until gray-haired Janice popped into the room. She was a plump, short and bubbly woman with a loud, boisterous laugh and a seemingly endless stream of good humor. Her hair was pulled back into a stern bun but large wisps of her long hair always came free and cast her in a cloud of frizz that made her appear to be eternally frazzled. The older woman swept by the table and made sure absolutely everything was perfect and then turned to Sophie, who had followed her in. Marie and Jessebelle, as well as the rest of the servants, would eat their dinner in the kitchen and listen in on any conversation that occurred in the dining room. Normally they were allowed to eat with the Clayberns, as there weren’t that many of them, and the dining table was definitely large enough to accommodate all of them, but Cassandra could tell that the Ritvals, especially Margaret, would throw a fit if that happened tonight.

“Sophie!” Janice suddenly cried out. Sophie jumped at the suddenness of the address, but came forward anyway.

“Um… yes?” She squeaked, her blue eyes wide.

“Can you go call the Ritvals down, dear? I do believe absolutely everything is perfect!” Janice boomed, giggling afterward. Sophie gulped and then nodded. Her terrified eyes never left the floor. Mira felt sorry for Sophie; she was sure that Margaret would be especially nasty to her. ‘With her stupid head stuck up her ass,’ the brunette thought.

“Ok,” Sophie mumbled. She skirted off into the hall. Janice moved over to Cassandra and gripped her shoulder gently in a reassuring manner.

“Don’t worry, Dearie, you are a great host and you are a wonderful person. There is nothing to worry about,” Janice told her. Cassandra smiled up gratefully.

“Thank you, Janice.”

“Oh, don’t thank me, Dearie. You have always been a wonderful boss to us, but more importantly, a wonderful friend as well.” Janice left the room quietly, leaving Cassandra with a gentle smile on her face.

Silence fell upon everyone in the room. Mykel and Carli were fidgeting in their seats, looking apprehensively at the food, and Claire slumped forward slightly, looking bored. Cassandra raised her eyebrows at the young girl, who smiled sheepishly and straightened her back. The mother’s attention was diverted to Mira, who had placed her own young, delicate hand on the aged, worn one. There was a worried glint in the young girl’s eyes, but Cassandra smiled at her appreciatively. The peace was momentarily broken when Mykel snatched a roll from the cloth-covered basket. Carli was instantly on him, grabbing at the piece of bread in his hand.

“You can’t eat that yet!” She hissed.

“But I’m hungry! They’re taking too long!” He snapped back.

“Too bad! We gotta wait until they get here!” Carli whispered viciously at her twin. Mykel ripped his hand away from his sister and tore the piece of bread in half.

“Hey—!” Carli cried out. She was quieted by a slight noise from the hall, which made Mykel jump and quickly stuff the half piece of bread in his mouth. Cassandra glared at him for a moment but quickly looked up to the doorway with a smile planted firmly on her face.

Margaret emerged from the doorway first, delicately standing on high-heels and scoured the room with her small, lovely nose turned up high. Her blonde curls were piled neatly atop her head with a few strands left artistically around her porcelain face. Bright blue eyes darted from one object in the room to another, taking the décor, atmosphere and the five bodies sitting at the head of the long cherry wood dining table. She pouted her full, red lips and lightly rearranged her white gown. Exquisite pearls and glass beads were sewn into the fabric in a dazzling display of curving lines and expressive trails; they reminded Mira of swirls of snow on a windy day, twinkling happily in the sunlight.

Alistair came in behind her, smiling his dazzling, white salesmen smile although there was a twinge of sourness to it. His gray hair had been swept back and restyled slightly, to keep up appearances, and he tugged at his black suit jacket. A white rose was tucked neatly into his lapel. With Margaret clutching at his elbow, he strode into the room, looking around happily and turned his beam on Cassandra. Mira twitched slightly. His intensity, coupled with his obvious self-confidence, was a little frightening.

‘That’s probably where Eli got it from,’ Mira thought offhandedly.

“Ah, Cassandra, everything looks lovely!” Alistair said. He threw one arm up in a sign of appreciation. The coupled started forward a few steps, but Margaret stopped him and then cleared her throat loudly.

The Clayberns looked at her dumbly.

Margaret narrowed her eyes and quickly turned her head behind her.

“Excuse me, but are you just going to stand there like a dumb horse or are you doing to do anything?” She snapped at Sophie, who had been standing in the doorway behind the couple. The young girl appeared to cower with wide eyes.

“Wh-what?” She squeaked. Margaret turned fully around, her eyes ablaze with anger.

“What do you mean ‘what’? A proper servant would pull out our chairs for us! Not just-just stand there like you are,” She spat. Sophie just stood there while Mira stared on in shock. Anger had not yet seeped into her mind… just plain shock. No one had ever talked to Sophie in that manner; no one had ever talked to any of the hired hands that way. Master Claybern had been adamant about being nice to them and treating them like equal, human beings, not some sort of slave-creatures. Cassandra, Claire, Carli and Mykel all stared on with wide eyes.

“Have you even listened to what I just said?” Margaret snapped again. Sophie jumped and then hurried over to the chair one away from Cassandra’s head at the table. Alistair would be sitting to Cassandra’s left, while Margaret would sit next to her husband. The blonde woman strutted over to where Sophie was holding out the chair for her and promptly sat down. Sophie awkwardly pushed her in, not used to the task. She accidentally pushed Margaret in too far and the woman almost had the wind shoved out of her. Spinning around Margaret threw a glare over her shoulder at the young girl.

“You will do well to train yourself to do better, girl. Otherwise I will see to it that you will have nothing to train for, got it?” She spat. Sophie shakily nodded quickly pulled out Alistair’s chair. He took a seat and nodded at her with his prize smile.

“Thank you, Dear.” He turned away, dismissing her. She ran to the kitchen, tears flowing down her soft cheeks.

Mira sat in her chair, seething.

‘That fucking witch!’ she thought. ‘How dare she speak to Sophie like that? What a horrid, fucking wench of a…’ Claire’s hand had crept its way to Mira’s under the table and squeezed it. Mira’s cheeks had become flushed and her eyes sparked with fury. She was doing all she could to rein it all in, however, because there was social standing she must upkeep. Her mother was also counting on her to keep her manners in check, but after witnessing Margaret’s verbal abuse to Sophie… Mira was shaking at the thought. Claire’s hand squeezed harder.

Mira let go of a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding and looked over to her little sister. Claire’s deep blue eyes were looking intently up at Mira and she was frowning slightly, apologetically. Her light hair was straight, with some of it pulled up with a ribbon in back. Another light squeeze from her hand told Mira to calm down and wait until after dinner to rant and rave. Mira sighed and squeezed back.

Margaret had been staring at the interaction with cool blue eyes and raised her eyebrow and smirked when Mira looked up to meet her gaze. Mira glared at her and then reached out to grab a roll viciously. Claire, Carli and Mykel took the gesture as a mark to begin and nearly attacked the food-laden table. Cassandra kept the Ritvals as entertained as possible, but much of it consisted of Margaret politely shooting her down with Alistair just smiling and not really giving a straight answer. Mira did as much to ignore their banter as she could until a faint thought struck her.

“Where’s Eli?” She asked.

Silence fell upon the table besides the munching sounds of Carli and Mykel, who weren’t paying attention to anything other than their own eating and playful conversation. Margaret clamped her mouth shut and stared over to her husband, while the sourness came back to Alistair’s mouth and a flash of some hot emotion passed through his eyes.

“Elijah is feeling rather ill and is resting in his room.” There was a distinct lack of emotion in Alistair’s words, as though he were trying to cover up an unbecoming feeling; most things appeared as a front with this man.

Mira tilted her head in confused but stayed silent. Eli had seemed fine when he had followed her upstairs, and she thought he only said he wasn’t feeling well to avoid awkward conversation. Curiosity bubbled up in her mind.

“Oh, the poor dear,” Cassandra said. “We’ll have to send him up something to eat a little later, then.” Margaret flashed angry eyes at the other woman.

‘Is that jealousy?’ Mira thought vaguely.

“I will do well to attend to my son as I see fit, Mistress Claybern,” the blonde woman snapped, leaning forward slightly. She stressed the word “mistress” as though it had negative connotations and Cassandra widened her eyes. She wasn’t used to such treatment in her own home, but since it was also half of the Ritval’s, there wasn’t much she could do to retaliate. Alistair laid his hand gently on his wife’s and she straightened her back and turned away.

“We shall send a light snack for his upset stomach. He can be quite a delicate boy, at times,” She said. Cassandra gave the mother a sad smile and Mira rolled her eyes.

‘Stupid wench…’ Mira thought.

~*~

The rest of dinner had gone by in tense silence. Cassandra had tried again and again to make small talk, but Margaret had decided she was going to stay silent or make snide remarks and Alistair tried his best to humor Cassandra with short, curt answers. Mira had refused to speak, lest she would spit something nasty at Margaret, and Claire had been stunned into silence. Mykel and Carli were too frightened to really say anything and had quickly finished their dinners to scamper off together somewhere.

Mira dabbed her mouth and set down her napkin in a gesture to show she was finished. She politely excused herself and got up to make her way into the kitchen to see how Sophie was faring, but a slight movement in the doorway to the hall caught her eye. It looked like the shadow of someone standing just inside the hallway. She made her way over to the doorway, but when she came out in to the hall, she found it was empty. The lamps mounted on the walls cast light down the long corridor, leaving nothing to inspect.

'Well that was weird…’

Mira vaguely remembered the encounter with the shadow-man on the balcony earlier that morning and she suddenly felt herself shiver. There was probably a draft in the hall, but Mira somehow knew rationalizing it wouldn’t help. She lifted her skirts off of the floor and quickly made her way to the back entrance of the kitchen. Before she opened the door, however, she was sure she heard something move behind her. However, when turning around, again, nothing was there.

‘This is just getting creepy,’ she thought, and practically ran into the kitchen.

The kitchen was large and spacious, and opened up into a large sunroom where glass encompassed three of the walls with three long tables extending through it. Most of the servants ate there, but by the amount of empty seats, some had either went home or finished their meal and gone to bed. There were a few faces that Mira didn’t recognize, but she figured they were people the Ritvals had brought over from their old home. Jessebelle, Marie and Sophie were sitting in a corner looking out into the back garden. Their backs were turned to Mira, and two empty plates and a single full one were sitting on the table behind them. Jessebelle had her arm around Sophie, who was slumped forward. Mira could see that Marie had her arms crossed and was probably in an as foul mood as Mira was.

Crossing the kitchen and dining area, Mira greeted the few servants that were still there, and made her way over to the girls. She caught a glimpse of Sophie’s tear-stained face and hot anger flared up along her skin at the memory of what Margaret said.

“Um… Hi guys,” Mira announced. Jessebelle and Marie looked up, but Sophie just kept staring out the window.

“Hey Mira.”

“Hi.”

Mira took a seat next to Jessebelle and shot a look at Sophie, who had fresh tears falling down her cheeks. Anger, pity and sadness came over Mira at the sight of her friend, who looked so hurt.

“I’m sorry, Sophie. That woman is a complete witch! I should have said something, instead of just letting her spit nasty things at you—”

“No, Mira, it’s ok,” Sophie murmured softly, interrupting the brunette. Her voice cracked and a fresh wave of silent tears spilled out along her skin. “I know you have a front to uphold.” Mira winced at how petty that made her sound.

“Yeah…” She mumbled. Jessebelle smiled apologetically at Mira, and then hugged Sophie close.

“Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean that bitch can say what she wants to you. Especially in that haughty fuckin’ tone of hers,” Marie nearly snarled, staring out into the glass. “I should just knock her fuckin’ teeth out. See how pretty she is then.”

Jessebelle and Mira agreed and laughed but Sophie just began to cry harder.

“Come on, Sophie, please. We’ll get her back. I swear we will, and if anything needs to be done in their wing of the house, just call Marie or me to do the work. We won’t let that woman near you,” Jessebelle said softly, gently rocking Sophie.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m nothing more than a servant, a thing to serve its master and to do things…”

Mira, Jessebelle and Marie stared at Sophie, dumbfounded. The brunette jumped to her feet in a sudden rush of anger and agitation.

“Shut up!”

The black haired girl ignored Mira and continued to berate herself and cry.

“Stop it!” Mira called. Again, Sophie ignored her, and Jessebelle and Marie tried consoling her.

“…Shut up.” This time Mira’s tone was deathly quiet and intense.

Sophie stopped deprecating herself and looked up. Mira’s piercing green eyes bored holes into Sophie’s light blue ones.

“Don’t I ever catch you saying something like about yourself again,” She hissed, narrowing her eyes. “Whatever that vile bitch says about you doesn’t mean a fucking thing, and don’t you ever let her hurt you like she did. She had no right to and never will. You are so much better than she is and can ever hope to be. You’re not just ‘some servant’ Sophie. You’re one of my best friends and the sweetest and most gentle person I know. Don’t you forget that, ok?”

Mira knew her speech was a little melodramatic, but it was meant with good intentions. Marie agreed with a few more insults thrown toward Margaret and Jessebelle cooed a few more comforting and soothing words into the black haired girl’s ear while hugging her close. Sophie’s eyes shined with more tears and her small body trembled a bit, but she gave everyone a small smile after a few hiccups.

“I… guess so,” She murmured, barely audible. It wasn’t exactly what Mira wanted to hear, but it was progress.

She turned to look out the window and unconsciously tugged on her corset, which she had been wearing all day. It was starting to chaff her skin and she could vaguely remember a time when breathing properly wasn’t a luxury. The action didn’t get unnoticed by Marie, who raised her eyebrow and stood up as well, running a hand through her dark hair.

“Well, how’s about we get you out of that thing, Mira? I’m surprised you didn’t drag us up there to help you hours ago,” Marie stated. She put her hands on her hips and smiled at Mira, who sighed in relief.

“Oh, the gods finally have mercy on this poor soul!”

Sophie got up and started off in the direction of the staircase to Mira’s room, but Marie set a strong but gentle hand on her shoulder. Sophie turned to look up at Marie, teary-eyed and confused.

“C’mon, Sophie, you don’t need to be doing anything else tonight. I want you to go wash your face and go straight to bed,” Marie ordered. Mira peeked her head around the young woman’s muscular frame.

“And make sure you take a nice hot bath tomorrow morning!” She said, throwing Sophie a huge smile. Sophie returned the favor with much less enthusiasm but nodded her head and moved off to her own room in the servant’s quarters. Jessebelle watched her go and then turned to Mira and Marie.

“Oh, let’s braid her hair tomorrow! I think she would look so cute with two braids falling down the front of her shoulders,” She said excitedly and clasped her hands together. Mira smiled at the thought and Marie just chuckled.

“You guys can work on that, I’ve got garden duty tomorrow.”

“Aw, that sucks! I’ve got laundry duty,” Jessebelle answered.

“Ha ha, I’d offer to braid your hair too after you were done working, but you don’t have enough of it to do that!” Mira laughed. She reached up and tugged lightly on Marie’s short locks and squeaked when the woman suddenly grabbed at her. She laughed and strode quickly to the stairs with Marie and Jessebelle trailing behind her. They took a few seconds to peek into the dining room, where only Cassandra and Alistair were left, and then quickly made their way to Mira’s room.

Marie and Jessebelle quickly untied Mira from her corset prison with many insults thrown to the blonde Mistress downstairs. After a short chat about Sophie and Margaret, Marie and Jessebelle said their good nights and left Mira to crawl into bed herself. A few moments after she had tucked her self just-so under the covers, the realization dawned on her that she had to go to the bathroom. Badly.

Mira jumped out of bed and opened her down to pad softly but quickly across the hall to her bathroom barefoot. She did her business and came out a little while later. When she shut the door to the water closet, she heard a shuffling sound come from down the hall and turned her head to look. A few lights were still on in her wing of the long hallway, but the far end where Eli resided was shrouded in darkness. The shuffling sound came again, louder this time and Mira froze and felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She was suddenly acutely aware of any noise that went on in the house, including the dripping of the water pipes, faint conversation from downstairs and the electric sizzle of the lamps in her hall. The shuffling sound came again, even louder, this time accompanied by some sort of clinking noise too and Mira leaped across the hall to the door of her room. A dark shape loomed in the darkness of Eli’s wing and Mira fumbled frantically with the doorknob, her heart beating furiously in her chest. Soft footsteps and clinking could be heard coming closer and the figure grew into the large shape of a man. Mira tried harder to open the door, but it just wouldn’t turn right. She knew she hadn’t locked herself out, so why was the damn door being so fidgety?

A sudden coughing sound made Mira freeze.

The figure emerged out of the darkness bled into the thin form of Eli, who was holding onto a silver tray that held dirtied plates and an empty glass. He was staring at her curiously, an unreadable expression in his intense blue eyes, but the shadow of a smile played at his lips. The suit he had worn that morning was still lightly draped around his frame and the glasses on his face periodically shined light into Mira’s eyes.

“What’s wrong, Mira? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” He said with a tone of laughter mingling in with the words. The sound was odd with his expression. Mira suddenly glared at him.

“Well you were creeping around making scary noises! What was I supposed to think?” She grumbled.

“I was just going downstairs to return my dinner tray to the kitchens. I didn’t mean to scare you, Mira,” Eli murmured. He suddenly turned and made his down the steps, leaving Mira standing in the hallway all by herself, confused at the sudden end of conversation. She turned to the door and easily turned the knob, walking into her room and closing the door behind her. Making sure her curtains were closed at the windows and French doors, she crawled into bed once again and pulled the sheets up to her chin. Her heart was still recovering from its scare and the young woman shut her eyes to the darkness, trying to rid herself of the creepy feeling of being watched.