Evelyn had difficulty suppressing her grin as Lenora swore and leapt out of the bed. It wasn’t a malicious grin – much more childlike, as if she knew she had done something she shouldn’t have but was getting away with it anyway. She bit her lip and sat up, watching Lenora tug her boots on, her eyes no longer sleepy but bright with mischief. 

[i]"There is a polite way to wake people up, you know."[/i]

“You can tell me [i]all[/i] about it after you bring me my breakfast,” Evelyn cooed sweetly, leaning against the cushioned headboard. She quirked an eyebrow as Lenora stomped out of the room without even curtsying. [i]How fun it is to get under her skin[/i], she thought gleefully. She wondered just how far she could push her until she snapped…

Evelyn was still lounging in her enormous bed when Lenora reappeared with her breakfast tray. She smiled at her and motioned for her to put it on the bedside table. The young mistress sighed at her maid’s curt tone, pretending to look hurt. 

“For goodness sake, are you [i]still[/i] upset about that?” she asked, as if it were already tiresome. “Come here.” She moved to sit on the edge of the bed and patted the mattress. “Sit down.” Evelyn reached for a piece of buttered toast and a knife. She dipped the blade into the small jar of jelly and spread it slowly over the surface of the bread. “You’re hungry too aren’t you? Here, have a bite.” She held it out like a peace offering. “Feel better?”

“I should punish you for forgetting to curtsy again. [i]Twice,[/i]” she told her, though her tone was light and she was giving her a rather coy smile. “But I’m in a good mood.” She picked up a few grapes and pressed them past her lips one by one. “In a good mood and desiring a morning bath. Go back down to the kitchen and tell them to boil some water. You can bring the buckets up to the tub in the bathroom.” She picked up the butter knife she had used earlier and licked it clean. “It’s a fairly large tub. Twenty buckets or so should fill it. You’d better get to it.”