Whisper in the Wind

[whisper-gray]

Whisper examined her apple, making sure there weren’t any worms in it. She had heard terrible stories about people biting into apples after not checking for worm holes that they ate half of a worm. Mrs. Lambeth assured her that it was just a story and she was sure it rarely happened, but Whisper thought to check anyways. 

It was her day off, as Mrs. Lambeth visited her mother with Poppy. Mrs. Lambeth seemed distracted the whole day and waved her hand dismissively when Whisper inquired about her household chores. “You may take the day off, Miss Gray.” Such days left Whisper unsure as to what to do. She enjoyed busying herself with chores and Poppy. Sometimes, she would help the cook prepare the green beans. With the house being quiet and the cook being off as well, there was nothing for her to do except take a stroll in the park.

After meticulously checking for holes, she bit into the apple, letting the apple sit in her mouth to make sure nothing wiggled before chewing on the sweet goodness. 

[sticksevans-blog]

whisper-gray

Whisper stood awkwardly in the doorway, her hands behind her back. She felt uncomfortable in his presence, but that wasn’t anything new. The asylum separated females and males. There was to be no interaction between the two sexes. Sometimes, if a boy fancied a girl, they would pass notes back and forth. Whisper received one, but she never replied. Men were not to be completely trusted, at least, that’s what Sister Mary Margaret said.

She timidly took a few steps into the room. “If you are finished with tea, sir.” Her voice was slightly above a whisper as she started slowly clearing Rose’s place.

“A party? This is quite last minute, Charles. There is no possible–yes, Charles. I’m afraid with such a short time frame it will not be up to our usual standard…yes, Charles. I understand it is my wifely–yes, Charles.”

“Hm? Oh, yes…thank you.” He offered a smile, attempting to be friendly and courteous. The girl seemed genuinely nervous around him, though he couldn’t for the life of him think of why. Then again, he was a large man…and the sound of her male employer was a bit of a dick.

Sticks was distracted. As much of his attention was on Poppy and her babbling, he couldn’t help but hear the tone in Rose’s voice. Her husband, of course. He didn’t seem to be the type to listen. I could make him listen, Sticks thought. The immediate urge to protect was hard to stamp down. This wasn’t his business.

Rose was his business, though. 

“Can you tell me something–Whisper, is it?” He glanced to the girl, his voice low. He bounced Poppy gently on his knee. “I realize it isn’t my place, but…is your mistress happy?”

[whisper-gray]

Whisper stopped clearing the table and glanced over to the entrance of the sitting room. She shouldn’t tell this stranger about Mrs. Lambeth and how she cried most nights. She shouldn’t tell him how when Mr. Lambeth is home, they argue. It’s more like Mr. Lambeth is yelling while Mrs. Lambeth speaks quietly to calm him. 

She couldn’t let him know the long talks Mrs. Lambeth had with her faithful servant. Whisper listened as she could not offer any sound advice. She knew nothing about men, except that they only wanted one thing. Whisper didn’t know what the one thing was, but she still listened with a sympathetic ear.

If she spoke a lie, would God frown upon it? “Being a mother brings happiness.” There. That was good enough. At least she wasn’t lying. Poppy did make her happy. 

[sticksevans-blog]

theformermissbliss

Rose couldn’t be so certain of his assessment. She felt fragile. She always felt like she was on the verge of tears. She didn’t want to rely on her daughter for her happiness, but Poppy brought light into her world and kept her from breaking all together.

“You may.” She handed Sticks the baby. “You can hold her up from her underarms so she can look into your face, though she looks content in your arms.” Poppy was looking up at him curiously and cautiously. He wasn’t his mother, but she could hear her mother nearby. Her little hand reached up and grabbed his ascot as she started to talk incoherently to herself. She laughed looking up at Sticks, tugging on his ascot gently before cooing once more.

Carefully, Sticks took the child, feeling as though he would indeed drop her. It wasn’t that he was careless–simply that he was so afraid of accidentally hurting something so precious. She was a touch heavier than he’d anticipated, though still like a baby doll.

He offered a smile as Poppy reached up for his ascot, and gave a soft, rumbling laugh. “Expensive taste, of course.” He said, amused and approving. He allowed her to toy with the ascot for a few moments more before adjusting her in his arms to allow Poppy to get a good look at his face and hear his voice.

“There’s a girl, then. Look at you in your sweet little dress, eh? Looking just like your mum, you are.”

[theformermissbliss]

Rose smiled at the two as her baby girl laughed excitedly. Poppy then stopped laughing as she stared into his face. It took her a little bit as she looked into the face of this man. Normally, she got upset when someone else would hold her. Charles didn’t hold her often, but when he did, she would wail and scream until she was back in Rose’s arms. It was strange that Poppy seemed more into looking at Sticks. She tried to reach out to touch his face. His nose seemed interesting enough. 

Rose put her hand on Sticks’ arm. “Poppy seems to be taken by you.” The phone ringing seemed to be from the house next door, but Whisper was soon in the doorway, clearing her throat. “Excuse me, Mrs. Lambeth. Mr. Lambeth is on the phone.” 

It was enough to scare Rose. She instinctively moved her hand from Sticks’ arm and stood up, almost guiltily. “Please, excuse me.” She left the room quickly, not wanting to keep Charles waiting and leaving Whisper in the sitting room standing awkwardly.

“May I…help you with anything…s…sir.” She stumbled over her words as Poppy tried to play with Sticks.

[sticksevans-blog]

His heart had been hammering away in his chest, nervous that at any moment this child would decide that he was a villain and begin to wail. For the moment, however, she seemed to be content, and for that he was glad. 

He wrinkled his nose playfully as she grasped at it, not minding the sharp teensy nails she possessed; after all, she was only a baby, and it was a large nose. The moment was only broken by the phone ringing–and Rose’s apparent discomfort. He frowned a little to himself, watching as she moved from the love seat.

“Hm?” Sticks grimaced slightly as Poppy found his hair and began to curl her tiny fist into it. “No, no…I think we’re doing well, don’t you think?” He gestured with his hand to a chair. “You’re welcome to sit, if you would like to chaperone…”

[whisper-gray]

Whisper stood awkwardly in the doorway, her hands behind her back. She felt uncomfortable in his presence, but that wasn’t anything new. The asylum separated females and males. There was to be no interaction between the two sexes. Sometimes, if a boy fancied a girl, they would pass notes back and forth. Whisper received one, but she never replied. Men were not to be completely trusted, at least, that’s what Sister Mary Margaret said. 

She timidly took a few steps into the room. “If you are finished with tea, sir.” Her voice was slightly above a whisper as she started slowly clearing Rose’s place.

“A party? This is quite last minute, Charles. There is no possible--yes, Charles. I’m afraid with such a short time frame it will not be up to our usual standard...yes, Charles. I understand it is my wifely--yes, Charles.”

[sticksevans-blog]

@theformermissbliss

So, he’d struck out at the butcher shop, and very likely with the lads altogether. That was to be expected, of course…he couldn’t assume that he would be taken back in with the snap of his fingers. It would take time, if it was to happen at all. Time, perseverance…and likely a lot of ass-kissing.

His next visit was likely to be as fruitful as the first, and perhaps altogether worse.

It was a decidedly better part of town that he’d eventually found himself. The distinct shift in classes was truly visible now that he was looking at it with a clear eye. The streets he used to roam paled in comparison to the pristine houses he approached. 

With a deep breath, he lifted his hand to knock.

[whisper-gray]

The knock on the door startled both Whisper and Mrs. Lambeth who had just put Poppy to sleep for her nap. She was quite fussy today and Mrs. Lambeth was busy working to calm her. Though Whisper offered her services, Mrs. Lambeth politely declined and instead, instructed her to get afternoon tea ready.

Whisper got up from her seat and listened for Poppy. No noise, not even a whimper. Whisper sighed and went to get the door. “May I--” But she could not finish her words. She had never seen a man that handsome before. Most men who visited the Lambeth household were associates of Mr. Lambeth or the husbands of Mrs. Lambeth’s friends. They were never so attractive. 

Whisper stood in the doorway, staring at him. Her cheeks were a bright red and she couldn’t remember how to ask what business he had with Mr. and Mrs. Lambeth. In fact, the poor girl couldn’t remember how to talk. 

[whisper-gray]

kiteevans‌:

Kite let out a slight giggle as she petted Beauford’s neck. “Nah, he already ate a whole bale with carrots and apples but don’t worry. He doesn’t have a taste for nice and sweet girls.” She opened the carriage door and took out a picnic basket. “I made some biscuits and scones and pies. I almost burnt down the Riverside kitchen but Mrs. Finnigan made sure it stayed intact. I got banned from the kitchens for a week. Of course, I could use my kitchen in my apartment but the oven ain’t as big as the one downstairs.”

She took the picnic basket and blanket and laid it out in front of the tree by where the carriage was parked. Reaching in the picnic basket, she took two bottles of sasparilla and opened them both, handing one to Whisper. “Here ya go. I thought you could use a refreshment. So, how’s it been at that big house you work in? They treat ya nice? But most importantly, do they feed ya?”

Whisper still stayed away from the large animal and concentrated on the scuff on her shoe. “Ms. Bliss says that everyone has a sweet tooth.” She glanced up at the horse from her shoes, suspicious of his sweet tooth. However, she deducted that Kite was still alive, therefore, he must not like sweet girls. Or perhaps he didn’t like to eat people who were nice to him. 

Her eyes went from the horse to the treats Kite made. Her mouth started to water and her stomach grumbled loudly. “Did you get hurt? From the fire?” She asked as she took the sandwiches from her bag. They were a bit squished but still edible as she tried to lay it out as meticulously as she did with the Bliss family. “Did Mrs. Finnegan get mad?”

She took the sasparilla by the neck of the bottle. She always curiously examined objects, as though she will never see them again before taking a small sip. “They’re nice enough. Ms. Rose is the nicest.” She said with a small shrug. “They feed us, but rich people eat weird. They eat snails!” Her nose wrinkled at the thought of eating a snail. 

[whisper-gray]

"Hiya Whisper! Just thought I'd drop by if you want to take a break and have lunch with me at the park! I have 'ol Beauford here pulling us! He's being a good boy so far. Gave him lots of carrots! Even though it turned into juice and Mr. Rochester doesn't like it when he makes a mess but I cleaned it up alright! So now we're here! Are you coming with?" - From @kiteevans

Whisper finished clearing the Bliss’ lunch, carrying it into the kitchen carefully. The last time she cleared the lunch dishes, she dropped a plate and got reprimanded by the cook. She spent the whole day sniffling and crying in private. 

As soon as she placed the dishes to be washed, she finally received permission to take her lunch. She removed her apron, grabbed a few leftover sandwiches from the Maids’ Tray, and sped out the door, the door slamming behind her. The sound made her wince and she knew she would get a talking to later, but for now, she had to get to the park.

She stopped short of Kite after she reached the park. Horses were big and scary, and she stood a good distance away before clearing her throat. “Is he going to eat me too?” Her voice was a bit louder than usual, but it still required strain to hear her.