"Oh no, I didn't mean I've worked here that long. My mother and father brought me here and we live in one of the cottages close by. I started working here when I was a girl, but I was more into my teens." She had a pleasant sort of laugh. Her touch wad gentle and practiced in regard to helping her new mistress undress. The disgust she felt for the situation was likely because Ruth wasn't much older, if at all, than Pearl. But it wasn't Ruth's fault for the position she was being put into, it was Magnus' doing. She finished unfastening the pieces and parts to the gown efficiently, and without a hint of inappropriate action, she had Ruth in her underthings in little time at all.

"You've got new underthings too, Miss Ruth," she said, "The master has seen to getting you set up with a small wardrobe to start so you can pick things as you see fit. Your allowance that you'll be given on top of... the other things," she cleared her throat and flushed a little, "Well, you won't want for anything 'tall."

"Oh right," she answered when the maid cleared up the misunderstanding. They were not much different. Ruth had started working as a maid after school, though most of her situations had been very short lived. In a way, the maid was above her, working as something like a ladies maid. Until now. Ruth watched herself being undressed in the mirror. Now she was a lady. Or at least she was something like it.

She doubted real ladies had men pick out their underthings for them. Ruth fought the urge to cringe. A grimace passed over her face and disappeared. For some reason that idea was grosser than actually sleeping with the man. But what did it matter? She'd never had a whole wardrobe of pretty things before. If he was happy, she'd be happy. And so she would keep him happy.

She went into the bathroom. "Tell me about the family. What's he like, normally? What are they like?"

"They are rather..." she trailed off, afraid if she spoke ill of Magnus to the woman who he was beginning to woo by some stretch of the imagination. She began to neaten things up while the other bathed. "There is a lot of unhappiness here. A lot of discord." She frowned as she made the bed. Her stomach churned with the apprehension regarding all of this. "The master has seemed to become lost in his own head as of late, but some of it is understandable. His son did commit some bad crimes and then was shot to death by several shots in... the place you work for. I am sure if you intend on staying, you should be... strong of will. But I beg of you, do not disclose that I told you these things. This is the only job I've ever known."

"Well, I figured all of that already, so don't ye worry. And even if I didn't I wouldn't rat ye out. I mean, I -," She paused. She had been about to say that she had been a servant too, but stopped herself. "I think we should be friends in such a tricky place, don't ye? Oh my God!"

Ruth had just put one foot in the water. The temperature was amazing. Warm enough to give her goosebumps of pleasure, but not scalding hot. Ruth lifted her other foot over the edge and sat down. She could feel her body relax almost instantly. God, she'd fuck the whole clan if it meant she could have daily hot baths like these. She lay back with a sneer and with no small amount of glee in her voice, she added: "How are they all so miserable when they got all of this?"

"I don't rightly know," she said after some consideration from near the bed as she worked to fix things up. "I see the way they are t'each other and I don't understand why." She sighed and plied the needle quickly to the spots that needed to be adjusted, "Ye take as much time as ye pleased, ye still have plenty of time and it would serve the master right if ye kept him waiting. Patience is a virtue." She snickered and then shook her head. Her eyes danced with humor, though it was too bad the other woman couldn't see the humor on her face right now since they were in separate rooms.

Just miserably rich then? Some people didn’t deserve the wealth they got. Never mind. Ruth would gladly take what they couldn’t appreciate. She smiled to herself as she began to wash herself with the richly scented soap.

The next comment widened her smile. Clearly the maid didn’t respect Magnus much, and Ruth was satisfied that the other woman was willing to show as much. She could do with an ally in this house. Not that she would actually keep him waiting. Magnus had offered her a second chance. She wouldn’t blow it this time.

She closed her eyes as she lay back once again to soak. “How do they treat you?”

"The master has always been a cad, as are some of his sons. If one wasn't trying to corner a lass, another would be eager. The only reason I stayed is for Miss Pearl. Wretched how they treated her. I am going to look elsewhere soon enough for work, but that would mean finding a home outside of these walls. But it would be a sight better than staying in this awful place with these awful people. Mistress Anne has never personally said anything about me as far as I am aware. I have some sympathy for her but she isn't a delight to others. I wonder if it has to do with how the master treats her. But then, I also wonder if he treats her as he does because the money got to her head and she does tend to throw fits over being slighted over things like clothing. Appearance is everything to her, from what I have observed. The older daughter is particularly mean, and the second daughter... she is off in her own world. I think what her brother did was atrocious." She gave a bit of a huff and said, "I have said far too much, perhaps, but I am disgusted being here. Please don't tell anyone, I will lose my job before I get out."

Ruth opened her eyes and raised her eyebrows in surprised amusement. Well, well, it seemed Magnus was not the timid man who let women step on him after all. Had he been putting up an act? Or was he intimidated by a pretty dress and some jewels? Did he only chase servant skirt and other women he deemed inferior? Ruth smiled to herself and closed her eyes again. To think that she was above those common women now…

Although… he did mistreat the wife. Nevermind. The wife had it coming. Probably.

“I’m not a grass,” she said lazily, when the maid asked her not to tell on her. “Ye’ll ‘ave it better while ye work as my maid. Ye must stay on. I hope ye stay on. We can help each other out. I’ll make sure Magn- Mr. Carrington keeps ‘is hands to ‘isself. And you can help me navigate this hornet’s nest. What do ye say?”

She splashed as she sat back up. Lying in bath had gotten boring. She couldn’t wait to experience the next marvel. Ruth carefully got out of the bath and wrapped the towel around her body. She had never experienced the touch of something so soft and fluffy.

Matilda looked startled, but then her face took on an angry sort of look when she thought about everything. "Aye... I will stay... But... Could I ask ye a boon? Could I ask ye ta make sure the town knows the truth when this is over so Miss Pearl and any other innocent in all of this can be cleared of the muck that awful Gareth Scott put out that isn't true? She gave the story to that man directly and be betrayed her. She was trying ta save other lasses from her brother and now she is dirty for even settin foot in that place. Ne'er yeind about all the affluential lads in town go there."

"Who?" asked Ruth, drying herself with the delightfully soft towel. "I don't know much about Miss Pearl and this other feller that ye mention, to be honest. What 'appened?" Ruth hated reading and certainly wouldn't waste money on newspapers. Her social circle was very limited. Most town news passed her by unnoticed.

She re-entered the room, hugging into the towel.