"Why, I'm the maid." Jenny said. "I cook, clean, wait on Mr. and Mrs. Appleton when they need me. All the housework. Apart from the washing. Me mam does that. She's a washerwoman."

"Oh, that's a lot.  I will have a lot to do as well, though."  She chuckled.  "I expected it.  Just we didn't have a maid when I was small.  My mother and I took care of it."  She had not shared much about her parents other than they were dead and had a pawn shop to others.

"Mr. Appleton said there would be someone to wash my clothing.  That is new to me.  I've always done my own.  Not that I have much in the way of clothing.  I only have a few set of each thing."

"Washing takes so much time. I'm glad I don't have to do it anymore. I had to help me mam when I was still livin' at home. I'd rather do any other job, no matter how dull! Ow!" She had been so fierce that she had stabbed her finger with the needle.

She chuckled at that.  If Jenny had seen all the random jobs she had taken over the last several years, she would prefer the laundry any time.  "I like a variety of jobs, I guess, but laundry would not be the worst.  Believe me.  Try cleaning out a flat that the people had not taken out any of their garbage for likely whole time they lived there.  I got hired to do that for several.  I needed two baths before I got clean."

Looking at Jenny's finger, she winced.  "You okay?"

"Aye, I was just clumsy. And that sounds-,"

But she didn't get to finish. The door opened and Jimmy stepped in. "Aren't you done? Mr. Appleton wants me to show you where you can sleep."

"Jimmy!" exclaimed his sister. "Show some manners!"

Nat looked up as the younger boy, well younger to her real age she thought.  Hearing his tone, she knew the sound of irritation. His body language earlier had not seemed to indicate that he liked having her there.  She needed to decide how to deal with that as she got to know him.  She didn't want to make it worse, not till she needed to.  "I'm almost done."

She took another bite of the stew.  She wanted to see where she was to stay, so she started eating faster.

Jimmy leaned against the doorpost and folded his arms.

"Take your time," Jenny told Nat kindly. Then she turned to her brother. "Close that door at least if you're gonna stand and wait there."

Jimmy pulled the door shut. Hard. An infant's wail rose from somewhere in the house, causing Jimmy to look startled.

"Now you've done it!" Jenny scolded.

"Oh no."  She looked toward the crash of the door and then toward the crying baby.  She was afraid that would make Mr. Appleton angry at her.  "Will they punish us?"  She asked not sure what to expect.  Her eyes were wide with worry.  She had not yet an expectation of how Tobias would react to things he didn't like.

Before anyone could answer, the door to the house opened and Tobias popped his head around the corner. "What's going on here?"

Nat still sitting at the table with the last of her meal, glanced over to the door that had slammed.  She thought quickly.  "There must have been a wind come through after Jimmy came in.  I bet that wind must have pulled that doorknob right out of his hand."  She looked back to Tobias.  "It startled me, too.  That poor baby must have even heard it.  I heard the crying."