Vimala's Diary
Dear diary,
It’s been twelve days since I moved to the manor. Lady Jiang is kindly enough, a tall human woman of some repute. I was frightened by her appearance on day one. She’s got long, dark hair that she often puts in a bun and sharp, angry features. She is a strict one, fussy and stern about what we serving folk do and how we carry about our duties. Already, she has scolded me twice for not dusting the sheets as cleanly as she’d like. But no matter. Grandmama needs the money for her medicine, and the lady pays well enough.
Many of us serving ladies don’t enjoy working here much. I’ve heard from Inyla, she’s the elven one with the blonde hair and pretty blue eyes, that many servants have quit because of the lady’s tantrums. They say she was spoilt since birth, always demanding and pushing to get her way. She’s got quite a temper, tossing things and yelling and then we have to clean it up.
But as I said, dear diary, it’s not an issue with me. I’m a resilient young woman, and grandmama needs her medicine. So work here I shall.
==============================
Dear diary,
About a month has passed since my first day at the manor, and it is a pity I cannot write more often. But I hope you understand, diary, that the lady piles on our duties as if we have a thousand hands! She expects us to do all the cooking and cleaning and the dusting so quick just because she’s invited some guest over and couldn’t be bothered to tell us!
I’ve got some stern words for her but Inyla told me to keep it in and not upset the lady further, lest she break another pot and blame it on us!
Anyways, the more interesting news. We’ve got a new girl. Her name’s Anne-Marie and she’s a strange one. Quiet and gentle, with a woeful look in her eye. She’s got long hair like mine, very straight and dark. I’ve half a mind to ask her how she maintains such beautiful hair…
Zoe, the kitchen maid, has got a little betting pool going for how long she’d last before she quits. She’s too soft and sweet to need to have to deal with the lady’s antics.
==============================
Dear diary,
She’s a gardener, I heard. Got quite the talent for growing things. I called out to her this morning on the way to bring the lady her morning tea. And she waved back, but I noticed, the poor dear’s got a limp. It’s no wonder she wears such long skirts! It must be a childhood injury, she seems used to it. I feel terribly awkward asking her though. It just seems so rude…
Anyways, Zoe’s certain she’ll win, she’s got her money on three months. But I think she’ll last at least six. Lady Jiang is a temperamental bit person but she isn’t completely impossible to reason with. If Anne-Marie can handle the nettles and bugs in the garden, she can handle the lady for sure.
==============================
Dear diary,
Why, this lady! I have never been more frustrated! I walk in this morning with the lady’s morning tea and the moment I open the door, she screams at me to get out! Why, dear diary, you might ask, would she scream? Because she didn’t have her makeup on!
She just got out of bed, I don’t understand? Does she really think she needs to have a full face of powder and cream on before she sees even the servants? We live in this house too! What, does she think we’ll tattle to outsiders about her makeup-less face?
How ridiculous! Her face may always be angry, but the lady does have very fine features. Pretty hazel eyes and full lips. If only she wasn’t so angry all the time…
Oh diary, I do hope the lady finds a suitor, maybe if she does, she’d mellow out a bit…
==============================
Dear diary,
More tragedy, the lady’s temper is getting worse! And she’s rejected two suitors. Or… that’s what she told us. Inyla says she saw them storm off, as if they were very frustrated or angry. That sounds more reasonable at this point. I’ve also been talking to Anne-Marie, what a sweet girl, hoping that the lady will find someone nice some day. And I swear I could see a happy twinkle in those sad green eyes of hers. She said that her sister used to have a lover too, and that she was inconsolable when she passed. Her sister didn’t last long after that. Poor thing...
This will be a short entry, diary, for this is the only break I’ve gotten in nearly three days. And I must get back to polishing all the silverware Again!
==============================
Dear diary,
Lady Jiang has been calling all the servants into her room. One at a time.
I haven’t been called yet. But already, I am afraid of what will happen. Zoe and Carlisle the carriage driver have been called in already. And I’ve never seen someone as tough as Zoe cry. She held it together until she got into the kitchen, and the poor dear sobbed right into my arms!
Carlisle didn’t fare any better, I saw him come out shaking. He then excused himself to go groom the horses, but I swear I could see him shed a tear or two on his way to the stables. Good thing she doesn’t know who the stable boy is. And he doesn’t ever enter this house, only stops at the back porch to get his lunch.
Oh! Diary, I can hear it, the lady shouting for me. It must be my turn. Wish me luck!
==============================
Dear diary,
It’s been two days since the lady just unleashed hell upon me. Sorry for the tear stains, diary, for I cannot stop hearing in my mind what she said to me. What a cruel woman! I am pretty tough, I think, but two hours of being talked down to is really too much.
She just sat in her bed with her arms crossed, not even bothering to do her hair as she usually does. And she just yapped at me! Calling me all sorts of names and blaming me for things I didn’t even do!
I just need a month or two of savings, diary, and then I can quit this place.
I do worry for Anne-Marie though, she’s the last one to be called up and I don’t know if the sweet girl can take it. I’ve gotten a little closer to her, and she is perhaps the gentlest person I’ve ever met. She told me tales of when she was a girl, travelling with her sister from place to place, for they were too poor to have a permanent home.
It really makes your heart weep…
One day, either when we all quit this place or we finally get a day off on festival days, I want to bring her to see my grandmama, she’s good with the herbs and all that, maybe she can make some sort of tonic for her old bones. She’s even offered to do it. What a sweet girl!
==============================
Dear diary,
The worst has come. Anne-Marie was called up. I could hear nothing but the lady’s shouts. We were all terrified and didn’t dare leave the kitchen. The lady has really lost it!
Perhaps worse still, Anne-Marie has run away! I knew the poor thing couldn’t take this horrible place. Or at least I hope she’s run away… I did hear the sound of something breaking in the lady’s room… I hope she’s alright. Oh, diary, whatever shall I do? I still have two weeks of pay left to claim and I can finally leave!
I think the others have had it too. We could all walk out together! I’m sure a tavern somewhere could hire another cook or a serving girl. It doesn’t pay as well but anywhere is surely better than with this lady!
==============================
Dear diary,
This is it. My last day at Jiang Manor.
The other ladies and I, and even Carlisle and the stable boy have all quit! We marched up to the lady’s room and told her together that we were all leaving. Although, none of us dared to actually enter the room. Lest she throw something again… But we are going! Grandmama is doing much better now too, since the medicine has been all paid for.
Well, diary, I’ll be able to write more often now. Especially since I managed to actually find a job at a tavern. It’s called The Grey Lamb’s Cradle and it’s a lovely place.
I’m glad to leave this house. It’s been getting more and more nerve wracking to even stay here. The lady is refusing to speak to anyone. Sometimes I hear the sound of more things breaking but she hasn’t called us in to clean.
I do fear she’s had some sort of nervous breakdown. Maybe she’s finally guilty after all those years of being cruel to us. But that doesn’t matter. We can finally leave!
It’s been twelve days since I moved to the manor. Lady Jiang is kindly enough, a tall human woman of some repute. I was frightened by her appearance on day one. She’s got long, dark hair that she often puts in a bun and sharp, angry features. She is a strict one, fussy and stern about what we serving folk do and how we carry about our duties. Already, she has scolded me twice for not dusting the sheets as cleanly as she’d like. But no matter. Grandmama needs the money for her medicine, and the lady pays well enough.
Many of us serving ladies don’t enjoy working here much. I’ve heard from Inyla, she’s the elven one with the blonde hair and pretty blue eyes, that many servants have quit because of the lady’s tantrums. They say she was spoilt since birth, always demanding and pushing to get her way. She’s got quite a temper, tossing things and yelling and then we have to clean it up.
But as I said, dear diary, it’s not an issue with me. I’m a resilient young woman, and grandmama needs her medicine. So work here I shall.
==============================
Dear diary,
About a month has passed since my first day at the manor, and it is a pity I cannot write more often. But I hope you understand, diary, that the lady piles on our duties as if we have a thousand hands! She expects us to do all the cooking and cleaning and the dusting so quick just because she’s invited some guest over and couldn’t be bothered to tell us!
I’ve got some stern words for her but Inyla told me to keep it in and not upset the lady further, lest she break another pot and blame it on us!
Anyways, the more interesting news. We’ve got a new girl. Her name’s Anne-Marie and she’s a strange one. Quiet and gentle, with a woeful look in her eye. She’s got long hair like mine, very straight and dark. I’ve half a mind to ask her how she maintains such beautiful hair…
Zoe, the kitchen maid, has got a little betting pool going for how long she’d last before she quits. She’s too soft and sweet to need to have to deal with the lady’s antics.
==============================
Dear diary,
She’s a gardener, I heard. Got quite the talent for growing things. I called out to her this morning on the way to bring the lady her morning tea. And she waved back, but I noticed, the poor dear’s got a limp. It’s no wonder she wears such long skirts! It must be a childhood injury, she seems used to it. I feel terribly awkward asking her though. It just seems so rude…
Anyways, Zoe’s certain she’ll win, she’s got her money on three months. But I think she’ll last at least six. Lady Jiang is a temperamental bit person but she isn’t completely impossible to reason with. If Anne-Marie can handle the nettles and bugs in the garden, she can handle the lady for sure.
==============================
Dear diary,
Why, this lady! I have never been more frustrated! I walk in this morning with the lady’s morning tea and the moment I open the door, she screams at me to get out! Why, dear diary, you might ask, would she scream? Because she didn’t have her makeup on!
She just got out of bed, I don’t understand? Does she really think she needs to have a full face of powder and cream on before she sees even the servants? We live in this house too! What, does she think we’ll tattle to outsiders about her makeup-less face?
How ridiculous! Her face may always be angry, but the lady does have very fine features. Pretty hazel eyes and full lips. If only she wasn’t so angry all the time…
Oh diary, I do hope the lady finds a suitor, maybe if she does, she’d mellow out a bit…
==============================
Dear diary,
More tragedy, the lady’s temper is getting worse! And she’s rejected two suitors. Or… that’s what she told us. Inyla says she saw them storm off, as if they were very frustrated or angry. That sounds more reasonable at this point. I’ve also been talking to Anne-Marie, what a sweet girl, hoping that the lady will find someone nice some day. And I swear I could see a happy twinkle in those sad green eyes of hers. She said that her sister used to have a lover too, and that she was inconsolable when she passed. Her sister didn’t last long after that. Poor thing...
This will be a short entry, diary, for this is the only break I’ve gotten in nearly three days. And I must get back to polishing all the silverware Again!
==============================
Dear diary,
Lady Jiang has been calling all the servants into her room. One at a time.
I haven’t been called yet. But already, I am afraid of what will happen. Zoe and Carlisle the carriage driver have been called in already. And I’ve never seen someone as tough as Zoe cry. She held it together until she got into the kitchen, and the poor dear sobbed right into my arms!
Carlisle didn’t fare any better, I saw him come out shaking. He then excused himself to go groom the horses, but I swear I could see him shed a tear or two on his way to the stables. Good thing she doesn’t know who the stable boy is. And he doesn’t ever enter this house, only stops at the back porch to get his lunch.
Oh! Diary, I can hear it, the lady shouting for me. It must be my turn. Wish me luck!
==============================
Dear diary,
It’s been two days since the lady just unleashed hell upon me. Sorry for the tear stains, diary, for I cannot stop hearing in my mind what she said to me. What a cruel woman! I am pretty tough, I think, but two hours of being talked down to is really too much.
She just sat in her bed with her arms crossed, not even bothering to do her hair as she usually does. And she just yapped at me! Calling me all sorts of names and blaming me for things I didn’t even do!
I just need a month or two of savings, diary, and then I can quit this place.
I do worry for Anne-Marie though, she’s the last one to be called up and I don’t know if the sweet girl can take it. I’ve gotten a little closer to her, and she is perhaps the gentlest person I’ve ever met. She told me tales of when she was a girl, travelling with her sister from place to place, for they were too poor to have a permanent home.
It really makes your heart weep…
One day, either when we all quit this place or we finally get a day off on festival days, I want to bring her to see my grandmama, she’s good with the herbs and all that, maybe she can make some sort of tonic for her old bones. She’s even offered to do it. What a sweet girl!
==============================
Dear diary,
The worst has come. Anne-Marie was called up. I could hear nothing but the lady’s shouts. We were all terrified and didn’t dare leave the kitchen. The lady has really lost it!
Perhaps worse still, Anne-Marie has run away! I knew the poor thing couldn’t take this horrible place. Or at least I hope she’s run away… I did hear the sound of something breaking in the lady’s room… I hope she’s alright. Oh, diary, whatever shall I do? I still have two weeks of pay left to claim and I can finally leave!
I think the others have had it too. We could all walk out together! I’m sure a tavern somewhere could hire another cook or a serving girl. It doesn’t pay as well but anywhere is surely better than with this lady!
==============================
Dear diary,
This is it. My last day at Jiang Manor.
The other ladies and I, and even Carlisle and the stable boy have all quit! We marched up to the lady’s room and told her together that we were all leaving. Although, none of us dared to actually enter the room. Lest she throw something again… But we are going! Grandmama is doing much better now too, since the medicine has been all paid for.
Well, diary, I’ll be able to write more often now. Especially since I managed to actually find a job at a tavern. It’s called The Grey Lamb’s Cradle and it’s a lovely place.
I’m glad to leave this house. It’s been getting more and more nerve wracking to even stay here. The lady is refusing to speak to anyone. Sometimes I hear the sound of more things breaking but she hasn’t called us in to clean.
I do fear she’s had some sort of nervous breakdown. Maybe she’s finally guilty after all those years of being cruel to us. But that doesn’t matter. We can finally leave!
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