8 A tour of the manor (1)

When Olivia brought the breakfast the next day Amelia had only managed to get a few hours of sleep. She had dozed off at dawn after spending the night trying to put an end to her fear by staying out in the corridor, enduring the panic until her body learned to relax a little.

Amelia was exhausted from the lack of sleep and her limbs felt heavy and sore. Despite this she still wanted to properly acquaint herself with the new surroundings. The lack of stimulus had started getting to her even though she felt safe within her room.

"You look tired today miss. Do you still have a fever? As I thought, we should have called for the doctor yesterday!" Olivia looked at Amelias worn out face with worry as she placed a tray with oatmeal and hard boiled eggs on her lap.

Amelia forced herself to smile. "No, I actually feel a lot better today. I think I'm well enough to leave my room and look around for a bit."

Olivia grinned happily. "That's a relief to hear." She pulled the curtains open, and bright sunlight filled the room in an instant.

Amelia had to squint to be able to see her breakfast.

"Would you like to have Gordon give you a tour of the manor then? You could have lunch in the dining room after."

"Thank you, I'd very much like to eat somewhere besides the bed. But Gordon shouldn't have to bother with me. I'm sure he has a lot of work to do so never mind the tour, just the lunch is fine"

There was no guarantee that the duke's good graces would last long so Amelia thought that it would be foolish to bother the staff unecessarily. The best thing would be to stay as invisible as possible, to not get on anyones bad side. If things got bad later she wanted to at least be in the servants good graces.

"But he will surely not be bothered by that! You're His Grace's honored guest, it's our job to make sure that your stay here is pleasant."

"Ah but…" Amelia was about to protest when her lips were covered by Olivias finger.

"Hush! I will speak with Gordon and I will accept no objections!"

The maid's behaviour had gotten more and more reckless during Amelias short stay. Olivia was acting in a manner which Amelia had never seen any other maid do. At first she had found it odd, off putting even, but ever so slightly she had become more relaxed around the cheeky blonde.

"Alright then…"

"Good girl. Oh right, Gordon has ordered you some dresses that you can wear. Since we have not taken your measurements yet they might not fit perfectly but they should be alright for now."

Amelia nearly choked on her food.

"H-he ordered me dresses?"

She had never recieved new clothes before, even back in the Ainswoth's recidence before the abuse had started. At best her father would order an employee to sew in one of the madam's old dresses.

"Of course, you must have something other than that nightgown to wear. How about I pour you a bath and talk to Gordon while you're eating, so you can get a tour after breakfast? You must be eager to finally leave your room."

Normally being on the recieving end of such treatment would make Amelia suspicious. But the way that Olivia was speaking made it seem like the kindness she was being given was only natural. It was strange.

It made her want to accept it.

"Yes… Thank you."