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Chapter Three: Suspicions and Tempers

Chapter Three: Suspicions and Tempers

"Allie, I hate it here," Amelia whined the next day just after lunch. It was the first time since they'd gone to sleep last night that they'd been able to sit and talk.

"Why?" Allie questioned as she sat down on a small bench on the back porch and let the breeze tease her hair. She had been working hard since five that morning and she was already nearly dead on her feet and not even halfway through her chore list for the day. There was no possible way to get it all done and yet she had figure it out... somehow.

"That schooling is hard and those boys are mean to me," Amelia replied sadly.

Allie sighed, "Amelia, that schooling is good for you. You'll be grateful for it later. And what did Peter and Jacob do to you that was so awful? Allie questioned, referring to Mr. and Mrs. Treadwell's eight and ten year old sons. She had been told they also had a twenty-two year old son named Theodore but he gone seeing to train shipments and would not be back for a while.

"It's nothing they did," Amelia kicked at the back porch Allie had just finished sweeping, "They wouldn't speak to me at all. They just raised their noses in the air and referred to me as the 'hired help'."

Allie laughed quietly, "If that is the worst someone with money ever calls you then you are not doing nearly as bad as you believe yourself to be," she assured her sister. "Give it time, Amelia. You can see from their parents they have not been taught to see those with less than them as equals. Perhaps in time you'll become friends."

"I doubt that," Amelia grumbled. "You look beat, sis. They're asking too much of you."

"It's only because the house had been so long without a maid. Their maid before quit weeks ago so everything was behind. Once I catch up it won't be nearly this bad," Allie assured her.

Footsteps sounded on the polished floors inside and Allie jumped to her feet and acted as if she had just finished sweeping. Mrs. Treadwell stepped to the open door, "Amelia, you mustn't interfere with your sisters work. Let her finish and there will be plenty of time for you to chat tonight."

Allie bit her tongue hard to keep from telling Mrs. Treadwell to mind her own business and Amelia seemed to be doing the same. She tipped her head and stood up, "Yes, ma'am," she replied, moving around the older woman and dashing inside.

"I've finished sweeping the porches ma'am and I've polished all the wood upstairs. I was about to get busy working on the downstairs floors..."

"Forget that," Mrs. Treadwell waved her hand, "The floors are just fine. What I want you to do is begin to tend to my flower beds and remove the ivy from the lower levels of the house."

Allie sighed. That was going to be a lot of work. Mrs. Treadwell had a lot of flower beds and they were all terribly overgrown. "Also I'd like for you to remove the weeds from the walkway. After that you can clean up the dinner mess and retire for the night with your own meal.'

"Yes ma'am," Allie tipped her head, forcing politeness. "What about the ivy that is higher?"

Mrs. Treadwell shook her head, "You do not need to concern yourself with that," she snapped sternly. "I will have one of the men climb the ladder. I do not want you to risk your safety."

Allie shrugged and offered no argument. She could have insisted that she had climbed many ladders in her life but she was not that eager to give herself more work.

"Alright then," Mrs. Treadwell folded her hands in front of her and offered a tight smile, "I will let you begin with you work."

Allie sighed and walked to the back shed. She found a basket with gardening tools and gloves. She turned and shook her head at the dozens of overflowing flowerbeds before slipping on the gloves and squaring her shoulders with determination.