Read Online Shaken to the Core by Jae - Free Book Online
Authors: Jae
Tags: Lesbian Fiction
Ads: Link
complexion. “I did not dust there, ma’am. Biddy…Obedience said she cleaned it on Monday, and the glass…it keeps the dust away, no?” She pointed at the shelf’s glass front.
“And that is exactly the reason why you need to keep a close eye on the servants,” her mother said to Kate in a triumphant tone. “They can’t think for themselves, so you’ll have to do it for them.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little too harsh, Mother?” Kate hadn’t missed the way Giuliana had flinched at practically being called dumb.
“Not at all.” Her mother turned to Giuliana. “If I say I want the furniture dusted, I want all the furniture dusted, no exceptions. Do you understand?”
Giuliana’s fingers tightened around the feather duster until her knuckles blanched. “Yes, ma’am. I understand. It will not happen again.”
“You’d better see that it doesn’t. I won’t employ an untidy girl.”
For a moment, a spark seemed to glimmer in Giuliana’s dark eyes, and she opened her mouth as if about to defend herself. But then she snapped her mouth shut and ducked her head. “Yes, ma’am. I mean, no, ma’am.”
Kate wanted to whisper an apology, but Giuliana slipped past her into the hall without looking up, her gaze fixed to the floor.
CHAPTER 5
Winthrop Residence
Nob Hill
San Francisco, California
March 31, 1906
For the rest of the week and the next one, Giuliana was on her guard every day, knowing Mrs. Winthrop was watching her every move, double-checking every bit of work she did. Working as a servant no longer seemed easier than selling crabs, but at least she’d been paid for the first time on Saturday.
It was the only good thing about her new employment. The butler had taken a dislike to her for some reason; the cook was too busy to say even one kind word, and Biddy seemed to think that Giuliana’s presence in the household meant that she, herself, no longer had to do the heavy work.
At the end of another long workweek, Giuliana muttered Sicilian curses under her breath as she knelt in the entry hall to brush down the carpets with tea leaves. It was an old trick to get rid of the dust, but her body didn’t appreciate all that bending and scrubbing. Her fingers, still red from doing laundry all day on Monday, ached as she gripped the carpet brush.
The front door swung open, and a gust of misty air drifted into the house.
Giuliana paused in her work, enjoying the coolness on her overheated skin. She let go of the brush with one hand and reached up to wipe her forehead. When she looked up to see who had entered, her gaze trailed up a shockingly short skirt, barely able to cover a pair of slender ankles, and then over a long linen duster and a pair of goggles that now rested on Miss Kate’s forehead.
It was the third time Giuliana had seen Miss Kate in her motoring outfit, but she still hadn’t gotten used to it. The most amazing thing wasn’t the outfit itself; it was the fact that Miss Kate—a woman—could drive an automobile. Giuliana had never before seen a woman driving an automobile, but Mr. Winthrop seemed unconcerned about letting Miss Kate take out the noisy machine on her own.
“Good afternoon, Giuliana,” Miss Kate said as she took off the duster, revealing a tucked-in shirtwaist with pleats.
“Good afternoon, Miss Kate.” Giuliana jumped up and reached for the duster to put it away for her.
But Miss Kate pulled the duster out of reach. “That’s not necessary. I can hang it up myself.”
A little puzzled, Giuliana retreated. She couldn’t quite make her out. Had Miss Kate not shared her mother’s blue eyes and slim figure, Giuliana would have thought her adopted. She was so different from Mrs. Winthrop. In fact, she was different from the women Giuliana had known in Sicily and even the few she had gotten to know here in San Francisco.
She dropped a little curtsy and was about to go back to work when Miss Kate stopped her with a quick touch to the
“And that is exactly the reason why you need to keep a close eye on the servants,” her mother said to Kate in a triumphant tone. “They can’t think for themselves, so you’ll have to do it for them.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little too harsh, Mother?” Kate hadn’t missed the way Giuliana had flinched at practically being called dumb.
“Not at all.” Her mother turned to Giuliana. “If I say I want the furniture dusted, I want all the furniture dusted, no exceptions. Do you understand?”
Giuliana’s fingers tightened around the feather duster until her knuckles blanched. “Yes, ma’am. I understand. It will not happen again.”
“You’d better see that it doesn’t. I won’t employ an untidy girl.”
For a moment, a spark seemed to glimmer in Giuliana’s dark eyes, and she opened her mouth as if about to defend herself. But then she snapped her mouth shut and ducked her head. “Yes, ma’am. I mean, no, ma’am.”
Kate wanted to whisper an apology, but Giuliana slipped past her into the hall without looking up, her gaze fixed to the floor.
CHAPTER 5
Winthrop Residence
Nob Hill
San Francisco, California
March 31, 1906
For the rest of the week and the next one, Giuliana was on her guard every day, knowing Mrs. Winthrop was watching her every move, double-checking every bit of work she did. Working as a servant no longer seemed easier than selling crabs, but at least she’d been paid for the first time on Saturday.
It was the only good thing about her new employment. The butler had taken a dislike to her for some reason; the cook was too busy to say even one kind word, and Biddy seemed to think that Giuliana’s presence in the household meant that she, herself, no longer had to do the heavy work.
At the end of another long workweek, Giuliana muttered Sicilian curses under her breath as she knelt in the entry hall to brush down the carpets with tea leaves. It was an old trick to get rid of the dust, but her body didn’t appreciate all that bending and scrubbing. Her fingers, still red from doing laundry all day on Monday, ached as she gripped the carpet brush.
The front door swung open, and a gust of misty air drifted into the house.
Giuliana paused in her work, enjoying the coolness on her overheated skin. She let go of the brush with one hand and reached up to wipe her forehead. When she looked up to see who had entered, her gaze trailed up a shockingly short skirt, barely able to cover a pair of slender ankles, and then over a long linen duster and a pair of goggles that now rested on Miss Kate’s forehead.
It was the third time Giuliana had seen Miss Kate in her motoring outfit, but she still hadn’t gotten used to it. The most amazing thing wasn’t the outfit itself; it was the fact that Miss Kate—a woman—could drive an automobile. Giuliana had never before seen a woman driving an automobile, but Mr. Winthrop seemed unconcerned about letting Miss Kate take out the noisy machine on her own.
“Good afternoon, Giuliana,” Miss Kate said as she took off the duster, revealing a tucked-in shirtwaist with pleats.
“Good afternoon, Miss Kate.” Giuliana jumped up and reached for the duster to put it away for her.
But Miss Kate pulled the duster out of reach. “That’s not necessary. I can hang it up myself.”
A little puzzled, Giuliana retreated. She couldn’t quite make her out. Had Miss Kate not shared her mother’s blue eyes and slim figure, Giuliana would have thought her adopted. She was so different from Mrs. Winthrop. In fact, she was different from the women Giuliana had known in Sicily and even the few she had gotten to know here in San Francisco.
She dropped a little curtsy and was about to go back to work when Miss Kate stopped her with a quick touch to the
Similar Books
