Maid to Be Mine: A Regency Cinderella Story Read Online Free

Absolutely. If you have any questions, ask them now. And make it quick, for I have other business that requires my attention.”
    Cynthia's head drooped between her shoulders. She couldn't bring herself to look at the servants, whose faces were pinched with confusion. This had to be the most humiliating day of her life, and it would only get worse.
    “ Papa ...” she whispered to herself, “ oh, how I wish you were here .”
    The younger man's arm shot up. “I have a question!”
    “ Yes?”
    “ Where is she supposed to sleep?”
    “ She will sleep down here with all of you,” Jemima said. “I trust you won't mind sharing a room with her, umm...” Jemima stared at the lady maid, trying to dig her name from the depths of her memory. As the servants' names were hardly worthy of note, she did not bother to retain them.
    “ Tess,” the woman said. “My name's Tess, and no... I certainly won't mind if the lady stays with me.”
    “ Call her Cynthia ,” Jemima reminded her. “She is not a lady anymore, you understand? Any more questions?”
    “ What will she wear, my lady?” Tess asked.
    “ She will wear something a maid would wear, something drab and gray. As of now, her worldly possessions belong to me, and her dresses belong to Georgiana.”
    “ Lady Montforth!” Cynthia shouted. “I'm in mourning! You can't take everything away from me!”
    Jemima seized the sleeve of Cynthia's black dress and shook her, wildly and madly, until they heard the sleeve rip. “And you , being a servant , will not talk back to me! Do you understand?!”
    “ I don't—”
    “ Do you understand ?!”
    Cynthia looked down at her sleeve, where the threads had been pulled away from her shoulder. There was now a significant hole in her mourning dress. “Yes...”
    “ Very good. Any more questions from you lot?” Jemima asked the servants. When they were silent for several seconds, she cheered, “Good! Then I'll be off. I trust you will make my stepdaughter comfortable? Although... I'm sure it isn't necessary for me to call her my stepdaughter anymore. The man is dead, after all!” Jemima chuckled as she hurried out of the room, leaving Cynthia alone with the three servants.
    When Cynthia looked up at them, she realized, to her horror, that she did not even know their names. She lived under the same roof with these people and had never bothered to know more about them. One thing was certain: it was going to be an awkward introduction for everyone involved.
    “ I am... Cynthia.” She bobbed a curtsy as she uttered her name. “Although, I am sure you know that already.” She ended her sentence with a nervous chuckle.
    “ And I'm Tess, although I'm sure you gathered as much,” said the maid. “Is it alright for me to ask... what on earth is going on?!”
    “ I... I'm not sure myself,” Cynthia said with a shrug. “I always knew she hated me, and I wouldn't agree to marry Rolly. I suppose this is my punishment?”
    “ And it is definitely a punishment, working here,” said the younger man: a statement that earned him a slap on the arm from the brawny lady at his side. “Ow! What was that for, Tess?!”
    “ Don't frighten the lady!” Tess shouted at him.
    “ I'm not trying to frighten her. It's the truth!” The young man was still rubbing his arm and pouting. “We're so under-staffed, and there's so much work to be done! Did your stepmother tell you about that?”
    “ Tell me about what?” Cynthia asked.
    “ That there's just the t'ree of us! So we're expected to do all sorts of odd jobs. This week alone, I've had to be the footman, the cook, and the butler!”
    Cynthia thought she detected a hint of an Irish accent, particularly in the way he said the word three .
    “ Oh... hush up and stop scarin' the girl!” Tess chided him. “Why don't the two of youse introduce yourselves?”
    The younger man held out his hand, which was a bit dirty, especially around his fingernails. “The name's Robert,” he