Buckingham Palace Gardens - Anne Perry [28]
“Do you like working here?” Gracie said quickly.
Ada looked surprised. “’Course I do! Meet some very good sort o’ people. Never know where it could take yer, if yer lucky and play yer ’and right.”
“Where could yer work better than ’ere?” Gracie was amazed.
“Not work, yer dozy cow!” Ada said in disgust. “Yer wanter work all yer life? I wanter marry someone with a nice steady job an’ ’ave an ’ouse o’ me own. No one ter tell me when ter get up an’ when ter go ter bed.”
It was on the tip of Gracie’s tongue to say, “I’m going to marry a policeman! And not just a constable, a sergeant.” Then she realized she could never say that here. A pity. It would stop Ada’s patronizing air quickly enough.
“Wot is it?” Ada asked her, staring, duster in her hand.
“Yeah.” Gracie let her breath out. “I see wot yer mean. One o’ them guardsmen’d be nice.”
Ada laughed. “They’re gentlemen, stupid! Yer a daft little article! Where d’yer come from, then? Yer better lookin’ out fer a delivery boy, or summink o’ that sort. When yer finished ’ere yer can sweep the stairs. Then yer can fetch the linen up from the laundry, so we can change all the beds when we do the rooms. An’ don’t ’ang about. There in’t no time ter waste.”
“I’m coming.” Gracie was amazed how much she resented being ordered around. She had not expected it to be so difficult. Maybe Samuel had something after all. But freedom came at a very high price. And she was here to help Pitt, and to work for her country.
Perhaps the bedrooms might yield some piece of information, although she could not think what it would be. How on earth could she learn anything useful? What would be useful anyway? How would she recognize it if it were there? And what would happen to Pitt if they failed?
However, she had very little time to spare to do more than clean up, dust, tidy, straighten, and fetch linen for Ada. It was hard work going up and down the stairs, and there was a rigid hierarchy among the servants in which she was at the very bottom, which Ada never allowed her to forget. In spite of the fact that she was twenty-one, and therefore very senior for a maid, on this occasion she was passing herself off as far less, and it pinched a little that it was without any difficulty at all. Narraway had told Mr. Tyndale both her real age and that which she was assuming, and he had not argued. She was the newest here, and that was what counted. Ada enjoyed her power and made the most of it. She must have been new once, and she was making sure of her repayment for every indignity she had suffered.
Gracie was on her way up with a pile of towels she could hardly see over the top of when Edwards caught up with her and offered to carry them for her. “No, thank you,” she declined.
“Independent, are we?” he said with a slight edge of offense in his voice.
She avoided his eyes, not wanting to see what might be in them. “Not really,” she said steadily, climbing the steps by touch more than sight. “Can’t afford ter get the wrong side of anyone on me first day.”
“An’ what if I think you’re being standoffish?” he asked. “Too good to take a bit of an ’and from someone?”
“You wouldn’t be so daft!” she said sharply, hoping to heaven it were true. She didn’t need trouble from an amorous footman. “Yer know Ada better’n that, even if yer don’t know me.” She promptly tripped over the bottom step of the next flight, and he grabbed at her arm to steady her. “Thanks,” she said tartly. “Now don’t get me on the wrong side o’ nobody, please.”
“Ada’s gone downstairs,” he replied. “I’ll ’elp yer put these in the rooms, so yer don’t fall over yer feet again.”
“Yeah? An’ if one o’ them ladies comes into ’er room, ’ow are yer goin’ ter explain that then, eh?” she said quickly. “Don’t yer get caught up ’ere on this landin’, or them police is goin’ ter ask yer ’ow often yer come up ’ere when yer in’t supposed ter!”
That silenced him smartly, and she was relieved to see him go back down the stairs again, leaving her alone to place the towels. Since Ada was gone,