It wasn’t unusual that Mairead spent the evenings, once the other servants had, for the most part, gone to bed, in the servants’ hall, writing home or getting ahead on mending. Tonight, however, it is mending that occupies the moment of peace after everyone else has gone to bed, and she sits there- in silence, for the most part- fixing the beading on one of Lady Edith’s dresses. It’s careful work, trying, almost in the dim light, but she manages, her thoughts directed towards the design she’s trying to fix, so intently that she hardly notices Gwen enter the hall.
When she does notice, she feels her heart leap in surprise.
“Goodness,” she breathes, sucking on her pricked thumb to ease the pain. “You scared me.”
a starter for @wthnothing











