*Eliza*

I’d spent the majority of the day in the garden off the kitchen, knee-deep in mud as I helped two other maids turn the soil to make room for a spring crop.

It was hard work, and messy too. But it was surprisingly therapeutic, and I found that the hours ticked by in relative peace. There was no laundry to be done today. Most of the household staff had the day off, save for the kitchen staff. There would be a huge party tonight for a young man who was ...