17th of March 1862, Kingdom of Hanover, Europe.

When Sarah's vision returned, the nausea hit her. It was much, much worse than last time. All she had time for was to locate the nearest wall, turn towards it and try not to get any vomit onto her clothes. There wasn't much, but Sarah felt absolutely terrible. The smell didn't help. She wiped her mouth with the tip of her apron before turning around.

The air was full of sounds, there were voices, footsteps, cartwheels and hooves on cobble stone streets, and church bells in the distance. Sarah counted them. It was either eight or nine, she couldn't be sure whether she'd started counting late. Now she became aware that she was standing at a busy road, behind her a small alley between two houses, now even more filthy with her vomit than it had already been. Sarah was fairly certain that one of the two houses belonged to the family she was supposed to observe. Or, as they interpreted it, work for. But how should she know which one? She hesitated.

"Oy, what are you doing there just standing around?" A harsh voice shouted from one of the windows above. Sarah turned to look and saw the face of a middle-aged woman wearing a white servants' cap just like she herself. "Stay where you are!"

Smelling her own vomit still, Sarah decided to ignore that command. She hastily stepped out from the alley and went up to the door of the house to the right. There were three steps that lead up to a broad wooden door, but Sarah decided to remain at the bottom.

"There you are. Now tell me your name and who you are working for so I can send word to them about your idleness!" The woman was clearly used to bossing people around. It wasn't hard for Sarah to imagine her as a head housekeeper with her tone.

"I'm so sorry, I am afraid I got lost. My name is Sarah and I am looking for the Bitter family. You see, I-"

"I don't have the time to stand here and listen to you babble, the Bitter's are over there." The woman was pointing across the busy street to a tall house with narrow windows. "Are you working for them then?"

"Yes, or at least I hope to start there today."

"Well then quit wasting my time or I shall have a word with Mr. Bitter." Before Sarah could even thank her, the woman already disappeared into the house again.

Sarah turned around, raised her eyebrows and took a deep breath. What a warm welcome, she thought to herself. Feeling quite strongly that the woman was probably still watching her, Sarah hurried across the street and knocked loudly on the door, bracing herself.

She heard shouting inside, then another servant opened the door for her. It was another woman, looking not unlike the one Sarah had just had the misfortune to meet, but with a much warmer expression.

"Yes?" She asked, looking Sarah up and down.

"Good morning, I am looking for the Bitter family." Sarah gave a shy smile.

"Ah, you must be Ms. Westcot! Come on in, come on in, I'll present you to Mr. Bitter immediately." The woman stepped aside and let Sarah enter. "You look tired, dear, I hope your journey wasn't too dreadful? Don't worry, we will see to it that you can gather your strength today. My name is Mrs. Müller, but you can call me Josephine when we're alone. It's Sarah, isn't it? Mr. Bitter is right through here." Josephine led Sarah up two flights of stairs and stopped at an unseeming door. She raised her hand and knocked three times. A muffled "Come in" came from the inside and in they went. Josephine curtseyed and Sarah, struggling with her bags, tried her best.

The room they were standing in appeared to be a small library with several bookshelves, though they held less books than busts, small figurines and fancifully painted plates. Two narrow but tall windows provided plenty of light compared to the dark stairway Sarah had just been dragged up. A large desk was the centrepiece of the room, standing on a round curtain and bearing one shelf's worth of books. Behind them sat a man with a bushy moustache, short trimmed light hair and green eyes.

"Mr. Bitter, sir, this is Ms. Sarah Westcot." Josephine's previous tendency to just keep talking seemed suddenly gone.

"It's my pleasure to meet you." Sarah said, hoping her translation gadgets would find the correct form of politeness to express what she meant. Mr. Bitter, the 41-year-old Jakob, she assumed from his looks, appeared to be content.

"Ah, good, I was beginning to worry you wouldn't find us anymore. Josephine, would you give us a minute? I would like a word with Ms. Westcot before I'll bring her to you. Is the kitchen alright?"

"Yes, sir, of course." Josephine left, closing the door without a sound behind her.

"Please, have a seat." Jakob Bitter pointed at one of the two empty armchairs facing his desk. Sarah sat down, lifting her bag onto her lap. She spent half of her focus on keeping her legs still, the other half on looking into the man's eyes rather than at every detail of the room. After a short pause that was long enough for Sarah to nervously worry she might be required to say something, Jakob Bitter finally said: "Don't worry, I did not tell anybody about your reason for joining us here. According to what I've gathered from the letter my friend Wilfred sent me, I take it you do not know for how long you will be with us?"

"Yes, sir." Sarah nodded.

"And you might leave on rather short notice once you get notified by who knows who about where you'll go next?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Well, I advise you to remain quiet about where you came from towards the other servants. Josephine, I mean, Mrs. Müller may be a bit talkative, though she does have a good heart. Without meaning to, she may endanger you if she knows too much."

"Yes, sir."

"I have already expressed to the staff that it is none of their business why you are joining us for the time being, but I am fairly certain they shall bother you about it anyway. If it helps, tell them I prohibited you from talking to them about it." Jakob Bitter gave her a first subtle smile. "Wilfred praised you quite highly, so it is in my interest to take good care of you while you remain in my house. Come now, I shall take you down to the kitchen so Mrs. Müller or one of the others can show you around."