I was never one to break the rules.

As a child, any sort of rebellious nature within me became scorned by Evelyn. She reminded me that the troubles caused by my crippled reputation weren't worth tarnishing further. Spontaneity has it's dangers.

Yet, the one who taught me to bend the rules was the same boy that snuck into my bedroom at night. Although a prestigious astronaut now, he was anything but back then.

It's long past my curfew to be back at the estate when I arrive. Most girls can slip back inside past security unnoticed after dusk, but they're not me.

"Maureen!" Evelyn grips me by the arm and hauls me into her study. She slams the door behind her and ushers me into the chair by her desk. "It's long past dinner! How come you're late?"

Leave it to Evelyn Leveque to care about a lowly servant and go all 'mom-mode'. Any other servant could wander through those doors late, but eyes watch me, and Evelyn's are the sharpest of them all.

She pulls at her greying chestnut curls. "A car dropped you off... Who was that? I couldn't get a good look from where I was standing and—"

"I'm okay!" I blurt as an attempt to calm the anxiety-consumed woman. "Nothing happened to me. I just got a ride back from the hospital."

Evelyn's chest heaves with every nervous breath. "You're four hours later than usual."

"I know."

"You were supposed to help Augustine in the kitchen. He had to settle for Louisa and Annie, and I know he hates the wits out of Louisa."

Disappointment edges her voice, and I feel it sink into my bones like heavy iron. In my twenty-one years of serving under the Leveque estate, never have I forgotten one of my duties (although there were a fair share of mistakes and missteps, all of which earned quick forgiveness from Evelyn).

Like I said before, I'm not one to take risks or break the rules.

Evelyn shakes her head. "I'm just worried that you might fall into the wrong hands, like your mother."

The comparison to my mother leaves a sharp sting in my heart. I'll forever be compared to her, for when the world looks at me, they see her.

I just wish they knew that my mother and I—we're not the same. The only thing in common I have to her is the blood running through my veins.

If Evelyn knew that I caught a ride with Thomas (a stranger who asked me to be a seductress, of all things), she'd never let me leave this estate again. I'd be trapped in her bubble of isolation from the dangers of New Aberdeen.

"Do you trust me?" I ask, trying to dance around the topic of Thomas.

"I know you can't stay here forever..."

"Evelyn, do you trust me?"

"Of course I do. You're like my own daughter..." she takes a seat in the chair behind her desk, slumping back. All this worrying exhausts her. "It pains me that alI I can give you is this terrible servanthood life. You deserve as much as Cato has."

I give her a sympathetic smile. "You've given me everything, and so much more."

"Don't flatter me. You know I'm just doing what I can."

"That's enough for me."

"When Cato was here the other day, he had different thoughts on the matter."

A maddening blush storms my cheeks, rosing them up as the thought of Cato thinking about me tramples over anything else.

She chuckles. "He was just glad that you were still here," Evelyn clasps her hands. "It's refreshing to see you trying to get on your own two feet."

"Is Cato planning on coming back here?" I ask.

At once, Thomas' voice echoes through my head. All I need you to do is keep tabs on Cato for me.

I quickly shut up that tiny voice of his with a sharp no.

"Cato will be around," she squints her eyes, her gaze curious. "In fact, he plans on visiting tomorrow for afternoon tea."

My pulse accelerates, and I try to slow it down, but the excitement of seeing him again courses through me like fresh adrenaline.

Evelyn recomposes herself with a hefty sigh, straightening her spine up against the back of her seat. "Just because I view you as a daughter, doesn't mean I can let you go unpunished for your tardy arrival. It's only fair for the other girls."

I nod my head.

"As your punishment, I relieved Louisa and Annie from dish duty. Finish that, then fold all the dish cloths and aprons and return them back to the kitchen. Then you are done for the evening."

Again, I nod my head as I make my way to the door.

Doing dishes as one person takes double the amount of time, and Augustine isn't particularly known to use as minimal an amount of dishes as possible, and folding all the dishcloths takes an unruly amount of time for such a simple task.

There's no use grumbling about it, so I convince myself to get to work.

Only now, those flickers of green that once distracted me now become equally as enticing of any shade of blue.

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"Maureen?"

My eyes dart open, and I know I'm not in my bedroom.

Bright lights glaze against the silver appliances and industrial steel countertops. There's a hum in the background from fridges and freezers, as well as the sizzle of a frying pan. The smell of fresh omelets wafts across my senses, causing my mouth to water.

Yet, I can't see anything past Annie who kneels in front of me with this curious look on her face.

A stray dark coil of hair falls from her hair net. "Good morning, sleeping beauty. Rise and shine!"

I adjust from where I lay to untwist my spine. "What are you doing?"

"You fell asleep in the kitchen."

I get a better glimpse of my surroundings. A tower of folded dish cloths rests beside me, with an empty hamper on the other side. Bloody hell. An embarrassed heat rushes through me faster than a racehorse, causing my cheeks to redden like tomatoes.

I fell asleep folding the dish cloths.

I'm not sure if that's worse than spilling soup on Cato. Either way, I will never hear the end of it.

Annie giggles. "Augustine found you and told us to let you rest. I wasn't lying when I said that you're his favourite."

I try to get another glimpse of the room. Augustine hovers a stove, singing an old tune to himself while Louisa chops up onions with tears streaming down her cheeks from the pungent smell.

"What time is it?"

"Just past eight in the morning, but Maureen—"

"Did you say eight?" I interrupt.

Madame Newmister requires all the cleaners to arrive at the New Aberdeen hospital at eight in the morning, and we leave around five in the evening. It's a rule that no one ever breaks due to the madame's strict demeanor.

"Yes, but—"

"I have to go."

I spring up from the corner, dish cloths springing in every direction as I bolt towards the exit. Louisa curses as I run by, but I do manage to get a 'Don't be late, sleepyhead' from Augustine. Even when I fall asleep in the kitchen and am late for my daytime duties, Augustine still refrains from lashing out at me.

Maybe I really am that man's favourite.

I burst out the front doors of the manor and sprint down towards the street. The morning sun shines overhead, a much more pleasant condition compared to yesterday's miserable storm. It's strange how such a beautiful day will become so unsightly, because even I know Madame Newmister will have my head on a spear when she sees me arriving late.

I splash into puddles; pedestrians curse at me like an oath. Day after day, I run to this hell of a hospital to earn what? A few mere dollars? Thomas presented me with another option, a quicker, more dangerous escape to this life of a servant. Triple the pay of what I get now goes a long way.

But Cato.

That spark still burns between us, whatever it is. How could I possibly put all that on the line to be burned by fire?

Besides, being a seductress comes with a cost. It only fuels the fire for my mother's reputation that she unbeknownst, passed down to me. It's one of the main obstactles that prevent me from saying 'yes' to Thomas' offer.

But triple the pay. It's hard to ignore such numbers.

I push that all aside as I find my station at the hospital, taking the sponge and a bucket of soapy water. Suds splash over the edges as I rush back to my assigned sector. The clock says I'm only twenty minutes late, but would she even notice?

"Maureen Harradan," a voice hisses.

I freeze.

Madame Newmister.

Slowly, I spin to face those dark soulless eyes. I've despised a lot of people in my life, but she dominates them all by infinity.

Before I can think, the palm of her hand slaps against my cheek. "You're late."

"I'm sorry, madame—"

She spits at my feet. "You stupid bitch! There's a reason your mother abandoned you."

The words dig deep into my heart. I refuse to be even associated with my mother, because I am far from the prostitute that she was. But Evelyn never made it clear to me why she left me at the gates of the Leveque estate, nor do I bother questioning. My mother was just never in the position to take care of a newborn child.

A tear slips from my eye. "I am not my mother."

"You're her spawn," the madame spits. "You'll make up for your lateness by double cleaning your normal duties."

"That'll take all night."

"Yes, so you'll learn your lesson, hmm?"

The wild look in Madame Newmister's shadowed eyes cracks that part of me that tells me to submit like a docile slave, but this place shrouds me in nightmares that I can't seem to escape. With every clean tile, I leave behind a shard of my soul.

I deserve better than this shit life with this shit job.

"No," a word has never sounded so powerful coming from my lips. "I will not stay late."

"You whore. How dare you disobey my—Maureen!"

I drop the bucket of water and sponge to the floor. The soap suds flood between the tiles. Never before have I defied anyone. It was never my duty, but how come I feel so free? So relieved?

Today I bend the rules. I take a risk.

I take control.

I rush out onto the steps of the New Aberdeen hospital. The air feels fresher as the breeze crosses the skin on my arm. I just quit my job. Now what? Do I go back to Evelyn and ask her to pay me with more than food and a warm bed? No, that's asking too much of her. What other place would hire me besides the local brothel?

I take a seat on one of the steps and take a look at the city that defines me. New Aberdeen. A bustling hub of wealth and poverty. Somehow, this forlorn metropolis becomes my home with no escape. If only I could afford the ticket for the train, and find some other city in the Americas where my reputation would be unknown. If only I could find my own apartment and separate myself from all the nightmares set before me. What if—

I straighten my back as the scent of smoke and flowers brushes past me.

A strong figure takes a seat next to me, tending to that cigarette between his lips.

Thomas.

I playfully shove his shoulder. "You can stop showing up here, you stalker. I just quit."

"Quit or fired?"

"Quit," the answer gets a smile out of him.

"Well," he grunts and smashes the butt of his cigarette into the pavement. "Don't I have a job offer for you?"

━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━

Team Evelyn all the way. She deserves an award.

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Updated August 6, 2022.