The area within was clean and everything in place. "Wonderful. Like i said not much usually. Occasional meals and some cleaning, I like it neat and organized, but it'll be usually just you and me. " She casually locked the door as she lead the woman in and walked down the hall.

"I will be very generous if you work out. Even if I don't have much money. Is there anything you would like?"

The smell intensified as they headed to a closed door. "I really do hope you are more loyal than my last maid."

She opened the door to reveal a bathroom with blood splattered against the wall and lining the bathtub. She looked at it sadly. "Such a disappointment. " Her head turned towards Godfrey and she smiled. "Your first job is this room."

The house was nice. Little odd that the lady locked the door, but Briar wasn't about to question it. What business was it of hers?

She followed closely behind Nisa, head slowly turning from one side to the other as she looked around.

"I'd have to think on it," she admitted a little reluctantly. People didn't tend to ask her what she liked.

The farther they went into the house, the stronger that familiar smell grew. Smelled like... iron, tasted coppery on her tongue. Rust? Blood? Some new type of gross substance she'd have to learn how to clean up?

It took a moment for Briar to look into the bathroom once the door had been pushed open, and once she did, her eyebrows jumped up in surprise. What'd the lady say? Something about... the... the maid. The other maid. The one she was replacing.

Oh.

Briar caught Nisa's smile in the corner of her eye. Her gaze darted to the side to meet hers, but the other woman looked as calm as she had before the door ever opened.

Huh. Blood. Lots of it, too. No body that she could see, but there must've been one at some point. Briar took a step forward and stuck her head into the bathroom, taking a closer look at the damage done.

"Where do you keep your supplies, miss?"

Nisa looked delighted, no screaming or running for the door. That was a lot in her favor. She stepped back so the woman could walk by and gestured towards the linen closet. "The mop is in the washing room down the hall if you like. "

She then stepped closer, almost trapping Briar in the cursed room and placed her soft hands on her shoulders as she looked into her eyes.

"Miss Briar Godfrey. This will not be you as long as I can depend on you. I just need a good, loyal maid. They are more valuable than gold itself or a dearest friend. A good maid knows your dirty laundry and never tells a soul and returns to you again and again. Please be that for me."

Miss Koç stepped out of the way, but returned to Briar's space before she could even think of leaving the bloody scene. When soft hands settled on her shoulders, her eyes darted to them, but she didn't look perturbed by the contact.

In fact, she took the lack of distance as well as she'd taken everything else: with an unaffected outward air.

She wasn't so calm of a person, at least not when it came to things that upset her. Blood and a busted sink? That didn't upset her much. She'd seen worse.

Briar wasn't sure if she was meant to take Nisa's assurances as a threat or as some form of comfort.

Eh. Didn't much matter the difference.

"I'd never tell a soul about your business, miss," she urged, brows furrowed in a serious expression. "And I'm a hard worker. You don't need to worry none about that. If you're loyal to me, I will always be loyal to you."

Nisa tilted her head as she studied the woman. This potential maid seemed agreeable, she didn't scream or show any signs of fear and repulsion. She was perfect.

"This is what I need. If you can be a good maid, be loyal, and show good etiquette you will be my perfect maid and I shall never wish to replace you. So please, clean this room to the best of your ability and let me know when you are finished. I will inspect and if you've done a good job, you are hired. I will show you to your room and then I will show you around the kitchen and make us both lunch. Then, over tea we can discuss a fair salary for you and the schedule you'd like to keep for your day. Just because I like to know when I may expect you up in the morning or if you are more of a night owl. I am flexible in such things."

Good maid skills, loyalty, and etiquette. Those three things alone were easy enough for Briar.

She could cook, she could clean, she could bow her head and even lick her shoes if that was what the mistress wanted. The only thing that the maid really lacked was any sense of self-preservation.

Well, not here at least. Not with this. The body strewn about the bathroom wasn't her, and as Miss Koç said, there wasn't any reason for it to be... so long as she kept her pleased. Briar nodded.

"I'll get to it then, miss. Thank you for the opportunity."

With a graceful curtsy, she stepped aside. She grabbed the mentioned mop from the washroom, and though her curiosity begged of her to wander the rest of the house, she returned to the bloodbath with haste.

Water... Briar looked from the busted-up sink to the mistress. "Does that still work?"

Nisa watched her newest maid gather the mop and return. Her head turned towards the sink and back. "Yeah, it works, though it sadly won't drain well. I suggest the bath. You'll need to wash that too as well. But I trust you to chose whatever works best. If you prefer the kitchen sink, that could work as well. Do you prefer I leave you alone to work?" It was the more normal choice, letting the maid clean up. She was curious if this woman could keep it up though. She studied her carefully but kept a small, serene smile on her face.

"If you wish rags to wash with, they were in the closet as well. There is plenty of soap and other things for cleaning, but I should just trust you to know how to take care of it. If you wish for anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Briar turned to the bath and the unsavory contents of it, taking it in a second time.

"This will do," she decided. Holding the handle of the mop with her arm, she fixed the kerchief holding back her hair and straightened her apron.

"Whatever you wish," Briar said in regards to the other woman lingering or not. She didn't care much if she wanted to watch, it wouldn't affect her work. Rather than filling it with water to start, she took the bucket she'd grabbed with the mop and began filling it with whatever pieces of... trash that would not fit down the drain. She'd have to dispose of all of that before she could properly clean the room, but where?

"Do you have any preference for how I'm to dispose of this, miss?"

Out with the rest of the trash? Did she have some special burial ground for it all?

Nisa had watched the woman prepare to clean. Instead of mopping, she took the time to gather some viscera that had been missed.

"Ah, let me." She held out a hand to take the bucket. "I'll put it with the rest and deal with it later today." She said with a cheerful smile. "What would you like to have for dinner? I can get something from the market if needed while I'm out. I think hiring you might be worth celebrating. "

She'd put it with the rest.

Huh.

Briar didn't need any more confirmation than that. This really was a regular occurrence, then? Not just a "mistake" to be wiped clean from the slate?

She placed the rest of it into the bucket (what could fit in there anyway), hands wet with blood. Before she reached for the handle, she wiped her fingers dry on her apron, and then grabbed the bucket and handed it over. Much as she figured the mistress was familiar with getting her hands bloody, she didn't have to contribute to that herself.

Turning back to the tub, Briar turned on the water.

"Me?" she asked, confused by the question. Why would she care what Briar wanted for dinner? She'd never even thought about that.

"Anything is alright by me, miss, I- ...something with bread rolls?"