Chapter 3 - The Mistress’s chamber and the morning fog

A few hours before the sunrise, Lora the now known mistress of Mr Huxley arrived at his house. She had been instructed by him to not make a fuss about things. She would pack her bags and move into his house. He had informed her that his wife knew all about them and that she would just have to put up with it. But surely, she didn't know everything? Mr Huxley wouldn't have told her it all. Surely, he wouldn't have betrayed her trust like that.

Lora took a deep breath before she stepped into the house, where she was greeted by the housekeeper, taking Lora quite by surprise, as she hadn't expected anyone to be up this early – or this late.

"Miss Lora, I presume," the housekeeper said in a kind but formal tone, "it is my pleasure to welcome you to this fine home, where I hope you will find yourself quite comfortable. I shall escort you to your chamber."

"Th-th-thank you, Mrs…?" Lora stammered out.

"You may call me Linda," the housekeeper said and mustered up a kind smile.

They walked from the entrance down a couple of smaller corridors in the dark, only slightly lid by the light of the early morning beginning to peak in through the windows until they reached a wide red door. Linda opened the door up and stepped aside so Lora could enter. "I will instruct the footman to carry in your luggage."

"Oh," Lora paused, "that won't be necessary. This is all I have," she said and gestured to the luggage in her hand.

The housekeeper blinked a couple of times before she just nodded and let Lora into the room. "Alright then. Let me just draw the curtains for you, so you can get some sleep. And if there is anything else, you can just ring - Mr Huxley has installed strings for sprung rings in almost every room in the house."

Lora looked over at the string the housekeeper gestured towards, "but I wouldn't want to disturb you in your work, I'm sure I won't need anything."

The housekeeper lifted her eyebrows a little, "miss Lora, you will have to get used to us serving you. You are part of the household know, and if you don't establish your place, it won't be easy for you here." Linda made a polite nod before she left Lora alone in the big room.

Lora placed her bag on the bed and took another look around the room. It was more spacious than anything she had ever lived in before. She had been to some hotel rooms of course, but it had never been a room that was for her. A bed for her, and a wardrobe for her. Her own mirror, and her own bookshelves.

Of course, it wasn't really hers – there was another lady of this house. Lora didn't even know her name, but she knew that she would have to be furious. Hopefully, they could make friends someday, Lora thought, but she knew it was a stupid, naïve thought. There was no such thing as wives and mistresses being friends.

She walked over to the windows and pulled the curtains back and looked out at the stunning garden that lay in the centre of the house, open to the mixture of early sunlight and the remaining reflections from the moon. The meeting of night and day, to different worlds colliding, Lora thought to herself. If these worlds could coexist in harmony, even for a moment, creating something as beautiful as the light upon this garden, perhaps she and the lady of the house could come to some sort of agreement as well.

Lora sat on the windowsill and began reading one of the books from the bookshelf, as she by no means could sleep now. She would sleep later on, in the day when other people were running around the house and doing their tasks for the day. Lora preferred the night anyway. The night was quiet and alone, and she could be herself in the night better than at any other time of day.

A few hours later the sun broke into the sky and the moon disappeared behind the rooftops. Lora finished her chapter and put the book aside, as she took another look at the garden. It was more alive now. There were people – servants of all different ranks of importance and power. Birds were chirping away in the trees and she thought she noticed a squirrel as well.

She was about to get up and get dressed for the day, when she saw a smartly dressed woman step into the garden, with the early morning fog flowing around her as if she was a goddess. Her chestnut brown hair cascaded down over her shoulders and her strong features looked as if they had been cut in stone. This would have to be the lady of the house, Lora thought and found something inside her quiver.

Lora realised that there was no hope of them ever becoming friends, for this was a woman that was fierce and strong. And most of all, this woman was set out for revenge against anyone that had ever wronged her. Lora sighed, for though she had never intended to wrong this woman, she most certainly had. Lora could only hope that the lady went for her husband before she went to get her revenge against Lora.