BXBX NOVEL Chapter 102 - The Epitome Of Innocence
Chapter 102 - The Epitome Of Innocence
Among the maids, the person at the top of the ladder was none other than Mrs. Jacinth.
Not only was she the oldest maid in the mansion she was also the one who was employed longer than the others.
This automatically placed her at the highest position in the hierarchy of the maids working in the St. Claire family.
One would think that Paula, the Madam's personal maid would hold that position but the answer to that was a big no.
Mrs. Jacinth had long been assisting Butler Limo before the arrival of Raylene with her personal maid.
Hence there was not much change in the power that she held. In fact, her position among the maids grew higher when she became the little miss' nanny.
Seeing how Yvonne was pampered by the Earl from the moment of her birth, the maids all fought to gain the nanny's position.
Fortunately, Rutherford had chosen the older maid to take up the responsibility of his darling daughter rather than the younger maids who only wished for a higher position.
Thus, Mrs. Jacinth became her nanny who cared for her and looked after the young Yvonne from the moment of her birth.
Why was this information necessary? Because this would explain why a few of the maids ran towards the room of their little miss to find the older maid.
Mrs. Jacinth glared at the two young maids who had come running into the corridor where she still stood guard right outside Yvonne's room.
___
An hour earlier, inside the room that she had been guarding.
Mrs. Jacinth had helped the little girl by removing her feet after she was done soaking it in the warm water.
Yvonne sighed as her feet were being wiped dry by the maid and giggled when she felt ticklish.
Mrs. Jacinth smiled when she saw the childish giggle coming from her young miss.
She moved the now tub of lukewarm water away from the bed and placed it at the corner of the room.
She then went back to Yvonne's position as she picked up the jar of medicinal paste from the bedside table.
Yvonne watched as the maid arrived before her and frowned when she saw that the old lady was about to kneel before her.
"Stop, Nanny!" She yelled out which made the old maid stop in her tracks.
Mrs. Jacinth was perplexed when she saw the frown on her face and rose up, worried that something was wrong with her.
"Are you alright, young miss? Tell this maid if there is something that is bothering you!" She clamored and looked over Yvonne's body wondering whether she was in some sort of pain.
'Other than my knees, my ankles, my back, and my head? No pain at all!' The little girl scowled in her mind.
However, this was not why she had asked her nanny to stop.
"Use the chair." She uttered in a soft voice when she saw the maid staring at her face.
Mrs. Jacinth alternated her gaze between Yvonne's stoic face and then at the chair that Raylene had sat on before she left the room.
'Is she going to say something on the lines of a maid and a master cannot sit at the same level?' Yvonne waited to see what answer she would receive from this woman.
Just as she had predicted, Mrs. Jacinth's eyes widened when she heard the order that her young miss had given.
"Young Miss, a servant can never sit before her master." She explained the biggest rule in this world in simple terms to the young child.
Her order was chalked down as her ignorance due to her young age and this made Yvonne roll her eyes at the woman who remained standing.
'Butler Powell would say the same words when I asked him to eat with us.' She was reminded of her grandfather's butler who still followed those principles even in the 21st century.
If she couldn't get that man in her original world to comply with her wishes then how was she supposed to make this woman do the same?
Just as she was about to give up, she remembered that the man she had been arguing with was a well-educated man who held multiple degrees to his name.
While the woman before her was a simple maid who had no form of proper education.
'I am going to hell for manipulating her but what else can I do?' She remarked and then innocently blinked at her maid.
"Are you saying that Papa is not your master?" She conveniently twisted her words against her.
'Victory!' She exclaimed when she saw the fear that appeared on her old and wrinkled face.
"No, young miss! I did not mean that! Master is my master!" Mrs. Jacinth looked like she would cry in the next moment.
A servant saying that they did not acknowledge their master was a crime worth punishing severely in this kingdom.
This was exactly what Yvonne had planned for and she hid the smile that had appeared on her face.
"I know what nanny meant but will the others understand that?" She muttered while gazing at her, looking like she was the epitome of innocence in this world.
The poor maid was clueless that she was being tricked by her miss and hurriedly shook her head.
'They might punish me!' She cried out in her heart and feared for her old and creaking bones.
But even more, she was worried that she might offend her master who had given her this beautiful and peaceful life as a maid for his family.
"I will not tell anyone if you just sit and help me out. My feet hurt!" Yvonne's whining words brought her back from her thoughts.
She glanced at the chair and after a long wait, she planted her butt on the seat.
Yvonne smiled heartily when she saw that she had succeeded in making her sit on the chair.
'Her knees hurt when she is walking and she wants to kneel on the floor?' Yvonne scowled at the foolish woman who was not bothered about herself in the least bit.
If the maid had known that she had to go through this traumatic incident because her young miss was worried about her health then she would forgive her in no time.
But Yvonne was not one who would show her soft side to someone even if she was worried that the old lady's creaking bones would hurt with the winter approaching them in full swing.
The next half hour, the maid remained seated as she rubbed the medicinal paste given by Mr. Toone onto Yvonne's legs.
The familiar scents of camphor and menthol assaulted her nose which made her recall the pain relief balm she had used back in her world.
'It's warm and cooling at the same time!' She remarked while enjoying the soft massage she was receiving at the moment.
Mrs. Jacinth made sure to rub the paste until it had soaked into her skin and then left the room to let her rest.
It did not take more than a couple of minutes for Yvonne's tired body to go into hibernation mode after the exercise that she had put her body through today.
___
Mrs. Jacinth's glare at the younger maids intensified when she recalled the blessing that her Miss had granted her after her grave mistake.
The maids bowed down in apology to the older woman and signaled that they had something important to say.
Mrs. Jacinth glanced at the door and when she heard no movement coming from within, she gestured that the maids follow her.
Reaching the end of the corridor, she gave them permission to speak their mind.
The moment they gained her approval, the two maids poured out everything they had witnessed happening to the Madam's personal maid.
From the incident in the kitchen to the punishment she received in the cloakroom, she was made aware of everything that had taken place.
Usually, Mrs. Jacinth would chide the maids for gossiping but today she did none of that since her young miss had asked her to gather information about Paula.
After she heard everything, she dismissed the maids and went back to her position as she waited for Yvonne to wake up so that she might relay this information to her.
___
In the parlor of the St. Claire Mansion,
When Raylene entered the room, she saw the two men sitting opposite each other as they sipped tea.
Her blush when she saw her husband made the guest want to roll his eyes before he controlled his urge to do so.
'That brat has influenced me to the extent that I imitate her actions without my own volition!' Marquess Sullivan Samed, the guest, sneered at his prized pupil.
Raylene was surprised to see her daughter's tutor here. She hurried to greet him and then took her seat next to her husband.
"Forgive us, Marquess. It seems that our messenger has failed to deliver the letter that I had sent canceling today's class." She apologized for the miscommunication.
However, she was stunned when Sullivan pulled out the same letter that she had just referred to.
"I received the letter but I came here anyway." He revealed the truth of the matter.
When he was returning from his class with Princess Felicia and Glennise Brodie, his aide had handed over the letter that was sent to his estate.
The letter from the Countess mentioned that due to Yvonne's ill health, he would not have to come over for the next two days.
However, since Sullivan knew the truth about her training, he was thrown into a panicked state as he feared that something untoward had happened to the little child.
He wasted no time and hurried over to check on her but he was shocked that he wasn't allowed to meet her.
Instead, he was asked to stay here in this parlor where the Earl arrived in a hurry.
'Why won't they allow me to meet that child? Did something bad happen to her?' He wondered as he examined the expressions on the faces of the Earl and Countess of St. Claire.