– A lady's niece, and she came on such a wreck! – Emily hummed quietly to herself.
– And the horses look so old! – giggled one of the kitchen staff.
– Do you think it's pretty? – Jane asked.
– Who knows! We'll see! – Emily answered her cheerfully, and the friends whispered loudly, practising their witticisms.
– What is this gathering? – Mr. . Brown, the butler, was suddenly shouted at, as he had no patience for gossip, and held the servants in fear by the mere sight of his tall, thin, grey-haired person.
The maids immediately left their places at the window and hurried into the kitchen, not wishing to displease either Mr. Brown or Lady Cranford.
– Wait a minute, Jane! – A commanding female voice made the unhappy girl flinch.
Jane obediently stopped, turned round, and sat down in a kneeling posture: none other than the lady of the house was coming down the beautiful broad staircase.
She was an old but still beautiful woman of fifty-two, dressed in a severe black silk dress (she was still in mourning for her husband, who had passed away ten years before). Her beautiful dark hair, touched with grey, was styled in the high style she usually wore on weekdays. Her still slender figure was that of a lady, a member of one of the most noble families in England. Lady Cranford's cold blue eyes always made Jane and all the servants of the estate shiver with fear, and in her calm, emotionless face it was impossible to read what was on her mind: was she angry? Was she displeased about something? Was she about to reprimand or just give orders on this or that?
– Are the bedchambers ready? – Lady Cranford addressed Jane again.
– Alas, ma'am, my guest appeared so suddenly, and I had no time to-" she began to make a timid excuse.
The hostess stopped her with an impatient wave of her white hand and said:
– Well, then, just change the bedclothes and bring the flowers. The carpet will wait for another day. And now come with me: I will introduce you to my niece. I understand you're the same age. You will be her servant.
"So this guest is nineteen, like me!" – thought Jane: she was more than pleased that her hostess had relieved her of the duty of cleaning the heavy thick carpet of the guest-room. Serving the young miss? Well, it's not as tedious as scrubbing the floors and dusting every thing in a huge three-storey mansion every day!