The maid’s secret

CHAPTER THREE

AMELIA’S POV

My first morning in the mansion began before dawn.

The corridors were hushed and dim, shadows stretching long under the golden lights. I wrapped my apron tightly and joined the staff in the kitchen, where Mrs. Jones handed out tasks like a commander.

“Amelia, laundry and dining hall,” she ordered briskly. “Keep your child out of sight.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I worked quietly, folding the endless rows of pressed shirts and polishing silver until my fingers ached. The other maids whispered to each other as they worked, stealing glances at me.

“New one,” I overheard one murmur.

“And she brought a child,” another hissed back.

“Master won’t like that.”

I lowered my head and kept scrubbing. I couldn’t afford enemies here.

When I returned to our small quarters for lunch, Lily was sitting on the bed, her feet swinging, a doll in her hands. She brightened immediately when she saw me.

“Mama! You were gone forever,” she complained, puffing her cheeks.

I chuckled softly. “Forever? It was only a few hours. Did you behave?”

She nodded eagerly. “I was quiet. Like you said. Invisible.” She made a little gesture with her hands, as though disappearing into thin air.

I kissed her forehead. “That’s my good girl.”

Still, her wide eyes darted toward the window. “But Mama… I heard footsteps. And voices. Who else lives here?”

I hesitated. “The master of the house. He’s very private, Lily. We can’t disturb him.”

Her lips parted. “Is he like a king?”

“Something like that,” I whispered, smoothing her curls. “But remember—no wandering. Promise me, Lily.”

“I promise.”

But promises from a child are as fragile as glass.

Days passed. My life settled into a rhythm of work and whispers, of hiding Lily away whenever I could. She stayed in our quarters, drawing on scraps of paper I smuggled from the staff room, or humming to herself softly. She was obedient—for the most part.

Until one afternoon.

I had been carrying a tray of linens down the hall, distracted by Mrs. Jones’s sharp instructions ringing in my ears. When I returned to our room, Lily wasn’t there.

“Lily?” My voice echoed as panic tightened my chest. “Lily, where are you?”

The corridor stretched ahead, silent and endless. My heart pounded as I realized the small footprints on the polished floor weren’t heading toward the staff wing… but deeper into the house.