Then, I wish you good luck (6)
“Take it.”
“What is it?” Beth gave Kedrick some leftover cookies from the Countess’ teatime that day.
“You’re pretty good at opening doors.”
“That’s right?”
“Place this at the bottom of the desk drawer in the Madam’s office.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“How does this make sense?”
“Just give it a try.” Kedrick then nodded.
The Countess was leery of others touching or stealing something from her office, which was why she hated the room being cleaned without her supervision.
So, Beth’s request made sense. Beth intended for the Countess to be reduced to a “lunatic”.
Was this morally wrong? Yes.
But then again, was the Countess morally upright? No. For the sake of her own reputation and wealth, she isolated a child at a tender young age. She wondered how Claire survived.
Beth decided not to treat humans less than humans. The standard was, of course, flexible. What of it? The final winner determined what was right and wrong.
The next day, a scream was heard.
The Countess was infuriated that someone placed cookies in her desk drawer. Of course, the maids who cleaned the office were unaware. The Countess had monitored the maids wherever they went.
The Countess knew the maids couldn’t have hidden something, yet her fury continued to intensify. Crushed cookie crumbs were scattered across the desk. Enraged, she yanked out the drawer and hurled it against the floor.
To help vent her frustration, Beth was summoned as well. While keeping her head down, Beth glanced at the Countess with contempt. This was just the beginning.
Beth had an ace in the hole, Kendrick. In addition to having a capable ally, Beth had a solid alibi. Kedrick took care of the children and followed what Beth had told him the night before.
Yes, this was really just the beginning.
Wherever the Countess had gone, some of her leftover food was discovered. Meanwhile, her jewelry and accessories were located half-buried in the ground. Rotten food was sometimes found hidden in her clothes.
Initially, only an occasional whisper would be heard.
“How many times has this been already…”
“I heard the Countess unleashed her anger on a maid?”
That maid was Beth. Each time she walked, it stung due to the red marks left on her legs from the beatings. Nevertheless, her face did not show any discomfort when she moved.
“….?”
Someone blocked her path.
“Kedrick.” It was Kedrick. In his palm was a small canister.
“Apply this,” he said, placing the medicine container in Beth’s hand.
“I’ve tried several different kinds, butI like this one the most.” Kedrick explained.
So, he has used it before. He then laughed and left.
Beth lifted the canister’s lid to peek inside.
It had a pale cream color with a slightly bitter scent. Beth’s indifferent expression was replaced with another look. Lost in thought, she stared at the canister. Then she placed it in her pocket and left.
She had no time to focus on her pain. Gradually, rumors spread that the Countess was losing her mind.
To manage her weight, the Countess would not finish everything on her plate. However, her leftovers would be discovered in areas where she had been earlier.
One day, the Countess watched her maids like a hawk. Despite this, more food was still found. The Countess never suspected Kedrick. The thought of him never crossed her mind.
Rather, the Countess suspected Beth. The Countess already hated her, but what she despised more was Beth’s aloof appearance. She hated Beth for not shedding a single tear when the book she threw hit Beth’s head.
The harsh beatings became known among the staff. Everyone looked at Beth with sympathy.. Everyone said that the Countess blamed her maid for her own madness.
Yes, this was all going as planned.
The Countess hid her food and forgot where it was. Then when the food was discovered, the Countess would be vigilant against the maids and would severely punish them. She has become insane. Such rumors began to spread.
.
All was going according to Beth’s plan. The more pitiful-looking Beth became, the more people viewed the Countess as a vicious lunatic. On another day, several pages from a book were torn. The torn pieces were hidden underneath the bed. The Countess didn’t place them there, but the employees believed she did.
The Countess felt it was Beth, as Beth had just become her maid when the rumors of her sanity were questioned. Her suspicion increased as did the beatings towards Beth.
A maid, who was unable to sleep, went out and witnessed someone walking through the garden barefoot. Soon it was speculated that it was the Countess.
“You know… this is a secret…” Soon, gossip of the Countess walking barefoot through the garden wearing her nightgown circulated.
Beth dumped a red wig in the kitchen’s trash bin. She left with an evil smile after receiving Kedrick’s report that the rumor had spread.
Beth deliberately wore slightly wrinkled clothes, unkempt hair, and shoes that clicked when she walked.
“How do I look?”
“It looks like it would make a great story.” Satisfied, she went out.
The Viscountess had summoned Beth for a visit. Apparently, the rumor had reached the ears of Viscountess Effie. Curious about the truth, she called Beth over. Beth didn’t consider that such rumors would spread this far, but it would be even better if it continued.
She walked with a limp on purpose. Click, click…click. As the sound of her limping resonated, the more people sympathized with her. She even heard other people sigh.
Beth rode the carriage prepared by the Viscountess and headed to the villa, where she was waiting. Though the Countess and Viscountess fought, Viscountess Effie hadn’t left the villa yet.
The Viscountess greeted Beth with a sad expression.
Of course, she wasn’t really worried about Beth. Rather, she was curious if the Countess was truly losing her mind. Which was why the Viscountess Effie specifically called Beth, since she trusted her.
In other words, the Viscountess was using Beth. But then again, so was Beth.
“Are you okay?” The Viscountess asked, as she sat together with Beth on the long sofa.
Beth lowered her head with tearful eyes.
In the past, Beth considered acting with tears the most difficult thing to do. However, now she felt like she had discovered a hidden talent.
Beth really was a talent mine.
“Oh my goodness, you’re a lot more skinnier than when we last met.”
“Madam….”
With a mournful voice, Beth added, “Madam, it’s been really hard for me.” She placed her head in her hands, pretended to sob, then released her endless resentment. “I, I really didn’t do anything… I just… I worked hard to honor the madam.” She poured out her prepared words with an occasional sob mixed in.
She did what was asked of her, she served coffee, never breaking the cup. In addition, the Countess had ordered a maid to ruin her own niece’s dress. And she had been hiding food and objects in strange places and blamed the servants. This was the story Beth shared with the Viscountess. Parts of it were true while the rest was false.
No matter how discreetly Beth explained the situation, it would now become well-known amongst the aristocrats.
From wife to wife, from wife to husband. Gossip about Countess Gordon being crazy will circulate amongst the nobles. Then it would reach Count Gordon’s ears.
This was the reason for spreading such false rumors.
***
A few days later, the Count summoned the Countess.
“Madam, strange rumors are circulating these days….”
“What?”
“Madam…..”
The other day, the Count met with another nobleman for business. The nobleman directly asked if it was true about Countess Gordon losing her mind. Count Gordon had thought the Countess was more sensitive recently.
When Count Gordon returned to the mansion, he revealed the rumors about her. The Countess jumped up and screamed, “No!!!”
The Countess, with her face as red as her hair, took a deep breath then said, “That bitch, that bitch must have caused this.”
Since the time Beth was with the Countess, rumors of her going crazy circulated. That maid must have started this.
The Countess knew this and shouted, “That brown-haired, green-eyed girl! That bitch must have caused this!!!”
Green eyes with brown hair? It was not uncommon, the Count thought, but there was only one maid with those features, so he asked, “You mean Beth?”
“Yes, honey…It started when that bitch became my personal maid! Ever since then, something strange would always happen.”
The Count sighed. “Is that true?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
The Count wanted to investigate more, but eventually decided to follow the Countess’ advice.
“Kick her out!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Count’s soldiers roughly grabbed Beth’s arms and hurled her out of the mansion. The residents who lived nearby stopped working and stared at Beth.
Beth looked at the Count’s angry face with wavering eyes.
“Sir?”
He stared at her despicable face and scoffed! He was angry. “This girl behaves like a fox with her acting! What are you waiting for? Remove her clothes. Punish her for deceiving the aristocrats!”
Murmurs arose from the crowd as they witnessed the scene. “What happened?”
“It looks like that maid fooled the Lord of the House.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“Well, I don’t know anything, sir.”
“Do you think I would believe you?”
When the grim-face soldiers reached out to grab Beth, someone yelled, “Wait!”
One, two, three… Six women stepped out in front of Beth.
“Sorry, I’m sorry. Sir… Please forgive our rudeness.”
The six women shuddered and spoke with their heads pointed down towards the floor.
“We are the maids who served the Countess in the past… There is a problem that we must tell our Lord about.”
“….”
As she bowed her head on the floor, Beth’s eyes sparkled.
Yes, even if the Count was wrong about Beth, one thing was true.
Beth was acting.
***
One night, six women had gathered together.
They discovered that they shared something in common. They were the same ones who received a letter before. Except two were missing. Naturally, the one who invited them arrived last. However, this time she removed her face covering and revealed her identity.
“Hello, my name is Beth.” Beth placed her neatly folded hands on her leg and calmly continued,
“I don’t know when, but sooner or later I will be chased out of the county.”
“….”
“If you help me, then I’ll rehire you after everything is taken care of. If you do not want to re-enter the mansion, I can write a letter of recommendation instead.”
The six women gulped when they heard Beth’s offer.
“And…”
Beth, as she pretended to be troubled, added, “If anyone declines and reveals the contents of this meeting, they will be punished.” With that sentence, the six women had a bad premonition.
The fact that the two other women who backstabbed Beth didn’t show up was a testament that she wasn’t bluffing.
“What would you like to do?”
These women would not decline. Even if they could not be restored to their original position, they would still get their revenge on the Countess if they followed Beth’s plan.
“All right.”
The six women burned with vengeance. They all nodded at the same time.
The Countess would be overthrown.
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