Although Joanna had yet to be formally introduced to the other chauffeur, George Parker, the first of the maids she met was his wife, Fiona. A buxom woman with graying hair, her standard black uniform stretched at the seams as it tried to hold in her plumpness. With chubby cheeks and a warm smile, she reminded Joanna of a German barmaid, easily able to fist a half-dozen beer steins in one hand if the need arose.

Appearing to be Fiona’s polar opposite, the next maid, Sally Dixon, was a wisp of a woman. An inch shorter than Joanna and a stone lighter, it was evident the brown-haired woman was shy and somewhat nervous. Unable to maintain eye contact with Joanna for more than a second before looking away, she had actually attempted a curtsey when they were introduced, and the ice was broken very easily when Joanna curtsied back with a wink.

All of a sudden, Joanna’s face brightened as she finally remembered the last maid’s name. Gaunt and lanky, with loopy arms, bulging eyes, and frizzy bleached blonde hair, she was a caricature of her own handle. “Good morning, Iris,” Joanna said, tugging up the towel. “You startled me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, miss. Evelyn said you were awake, so I thought I’d bring you a spot of tea and tidy up your room while you bathed.”

Noticing the woman had already made the bed, Joanna said, “I could have done that.”

“Oh, no, miss. It’s my job,” Iris replied, plumping a pillow. “And if there’s anything you’d like done a certain way, please let me know, and I’ll be sure to follow your instructions to the letter.”

“I’ll remember that, but I’m fairly easygoing.”

“Yes, miss,” Iris said as she walked to the door. “If there’s nothing else, miss, I’ll leave you to dress.”

“Thank you, Iris, and please call me Joanna.”

“Oh no, miss. I don’t think that’s allowed.”

“No?”

“I doubt Miss Kane would approve,” Iris said, closing the door behind her as she left the room.

***

Evelyn sat at the island counter, sipping her tea and watching as Noah idly paged through a cookbook. Like Noah, she generally didn’t work weekends, but she felt it her duty to show up on Saturday morning to make sure Joanna and her father had had a comfortable night. She didn’t expect to see Noah that morning, but then again, she wasn’t all that surprised when she had walked into the kitchen and saw him looking like a canary-fed cat.