Verbena

Verbena looked down at the address again, then looked around at all of the cramped little houses in confusion.

"Excuse me, sir?" she called to a passing man.

"Wot?"

"I can't seem to find this address?"

"Whassit say?"

"32 Cardinal Boulevard."

"South or North?"

"Oh... it doesn't say. I can't find 32 here, so it must be the other?"

"This's south. You'd be want'n north then. Keep on this road right up till you leave the city proper and there's but one house up there just past the city. It'd be Lord Donovan's manor. Best be quick, storms a comin'."

"Thank you, sir!" she called as she hurried up the road, her eyes half on the darkening sky. She didn't make it to the middle of town before the downpour started. After a few feet of running, she knew it was useless, she was already soaked. She trudged up the road, shivering, her teeth chattering.

The walk was ridiculously long, the space between houses further and further apart as the houses got nicer and nicer. She passed through the gates as it was starting to get dark and she could see the huge house just up the road on a high hill.

The climb up the hill made her calves burn and she was panting when she made it to the door. She knew she must look like a drowned rat, but there was nothing for it. She pulled the bell with a sigh.

She had to pull three times before someone finally answered and it was a very old woman in a servants uniform that was forty years out of date with the high, crisp collar and puffy sleeves and pristine white pinafore. She even wore the white hair cap. She was a severe looking woman and her face looked disdainful as she looked Verbena over.

"What do you want, child?" she demanded.

"I... uhh... I'm not a child. I'm here for the governess position?"

"Governess?" the woman sneered. "Did you lie and write the master that you were 20? Thinking he wouldn't turn you away the moment you arrived and gave away the lie?"

"I am, 20, 22 actually. My mother was small as me and my father a diminutive man as well. It runs on both sides of the family."

"I hear you trying to cover your Miovian accent! Are you from Miovia?"

"I am, originally, but we moved to Mareshomese when I was 12. My father got a position in the library as the master scribe. I have my papers, they're all here. Signed and sealed and everything. I'm 22. Please, may I come in out of the rain? It's freezing out here."

The old maid snorted. "Wait there a moment, you'll not be coming in and dripping everywhere," she answered, then closed the door in Verbena's face.

Verbena waited, huddled in on herself and watching her breath in the frigid air. She'd never really understood why Mareshomese had taken the old Miovian capital in the war, this place was horrible. Ridiculously cold all the time! Even Summers were mild with cool everning's. She'd hated moving here from Miovia, so far south into the old capital that was Mareshomese now.

Finally, the maid opened the door and laid down a towel for Verbena to step onto, hurriedly closing the door behind her. Handing her another towel, Verbena began drying herself off, setting her sodden bag down next to her on the towel.

"Hurry up and dry off, then you may go stand in front of the fire in the parlor. I'll send the master along to see about you!"

The maid hurried away and Verbena left her bag by the door as she ran to the fireplace to finish drying off. She was still shivering when the Maid came back down.

"Stay here until he has time for you. Sit on nothing! Dry yourself and try to look presentable!" she huffed, then left.

Verbena turned back to the fire and tried to inch a bit closer, she was still so cold!

"What the damned hell is this?" a male voice roared.

Verbena spun, her mouth a surprised 'O'.

"Anne! Why is this child in my parlor? Where is the governess?"

The maid seemed to have been waiting closeby, she was there in seconds. "She claims to be 22, my lord."

"Doubtful, but even so, the letter said forty two!"

"Pardon, sir, but no," Verbena cut in. "I said 22, and I am 22. I have my papers here."

"Liar!" he hissed, then stormed away.

Verbena was at a loss for a moment as the maid, 'Anne' gave her a very smug look.

The man returned, unfolding the letter Verbena had sent him in correspondence. "Here!" he growled, then seemed to deflate some as he looked at it and scowled. "Why in the seven hells do your 't's look like god damned 'f's?

"It's the script I was taught, sir," Verbena answered softly.

"Miovian," he sneered.

"Yes. And even so, what sense would fwenty make? You misread it and that isn't my fault. Your return correspondence offered the position of governess based on my credentials, not my age. Is that not so?"

"I thought you'd be older! And larger! I TOLD you it would entail lifting and turning her!"

"Of course, sir. I have 4 younger siblings and I helped raise them all. Lifting, carrying them around."

"Did you not read the advertisement? It said for a twelve year old and she's bigger than you!"

"I'm sorry sir, it made no mention of any age, or size. It did say lifting and caring for, but I lifted my siblings up until they were four and five. I have it just here, sir," Verbena told him, unfolding her oiled cloth and pulling all of her papers out, including the original advertisement. Handing it to him, she watched his face.

It went from angry to incredulous, to furious. "That imbecile! He cut out half the advertisement! There has been a mistake here, you cannot possibly care for my daughter."

"Perhaps you could let me try for a few days. At least until you have had time to advertise and find a new governess. See if I measure up to your standards."

"You don't," he snapped, looking me over, his nostrils flaring. "I want no young women in my household!"

"I'll not be a bother, sir, you'll never see me. I AM very good at my job, I was educated at the kings library. My father is the head librarian and scribe and I was given access to all of the tutelage my heart desired. Were it allowed, I could be a medica, I have the training. And I do know how to maneuver patients larger than myself with leverage and other small tricks. I am as capable as a man three times my size."

The man scowled angrily. "You have until I hire the new one! You'll not be staying on, so don't think you'll win me over. You WILL leave when I have hired someone suitable for the job!"

"There are none more suitable or capable than I," Verbena told him angrily, lifting her chin defiantly.

"Do not unpack," he snarled, then left.

Verbena looked to Anne who was smirking at her. "I knew that would happen. Come on then," she sneered, waving Verbena to follow her.

Verbena sighed and grabbed up her bag before following Anne up the stairs. She led her all the way up to the third story to a tiny room that was almost considered a closet. It was laughable to call it a bedroom. There was just enough room to move along the wall sideways next to the bed and three hooks on the wall to hang dresses. A single table with a pitcher and bowl on it and a small basket under it to hold things.

Verbena only sighed and unpacked her bag so her clothes would dry out before morning, even the dress she was wearing.

The night was cold and she had only a single thin blanket to curl up under. Had any of them been dry, she would have worn a dress to bed since her nightgown was soaked.

When morning came, she'd hardly slept at all and she was still freezing. NONE of her dresses were dry and she waited until Anne knocked to get her before pulling the most dry one on. She'd done her hair and it was dry at least, but her dress hung limply and heavily with dampness.

Anne led her directly to a large, open room all done in pink frills and lace, bright with sunshine. Circling around in front of a chair on wheels, she stopped and Verbena stopped next to her to look at the girl in the chair. She had an inkling of what was wrong with her as the girl stared unseeing at the windows and not looking at anyone.

"Lyla!" Anne called loudly. "This is the young lady that will be spending a few days with you until your father finds someone who's actually qualified for the job! She will keep you company until then!"

Verbena moved into the girl's line of sigh and smiled at her. Speaking more softly than Anne, she leaned closer. "Hello Lyla, I love your name! And your room, it's lovely. My name is Verbena and I can't wait to tell you all about the library I grew up in and all the adventures I've had!"

Lyla looked at Verbena and her eyes shone like that had made her happy, though her face had hardly moved. She managed to rock a bit in her chair like she was excited.

"Ridiculous name," Lord Donovan snapped from the doorway. "Anne, you may go, I will direct the girl to her duties."

Anne bowed slightly, then left quickly.

The man turned back to Verbena, his expression livid as he looked her over. "You look slovenly!"

"My apologies, I had no way to dry my clothes last night, or the space to do it were I able. All of my clothes are still damp."

"I wish to see all of your papers. You will bring them to me at lunch. I refuse to believe you are 22."

"As you wish."

"Lyla isn't like other girls, she..."

"I can see that, she is much more special, isn't she?" Verbena asked, smiling at Lyla and moving to hold her hand gently. "We're going to have such fun, her and I!"

"As I was saying! She needs more deliberate care. She needs to be moved in and out of her chair and her bed. She sleeps a great deal. She does not speak at all and she understands little..."

"Oh, but she understands everything!" Verbena smiled, looking over Lyla's face. "You can see it in her eyes!"

"DO NOT interrupt me again! You will have to feed her for every meal, there are special instruments that will need to be used and..."

"I am familiar with the instruments used and the consistency which the food must be," Verbena told him, turning to look at him.

His face went dark, but Verbena imagined it was always dark. "I told you not to interrupt me," he hissed.

"And I told you that I am well versed in medica as well as being a governess. I know how to take care of her and I know that she sees, hears and understands a great deal more than you give her credit for. She simply has no way to let you know that she does, so you assume she does not. Now let me tell YOU something, Lord Donovan. Her chair sits up too far and she has no way to hold herself up. Slumped down as she is makes it harder for her to breathe, among other things. You need to recline her chair a bit more, at least 30 degrees and that will make her much more comfortable and easier on her. Also, she needs actual time outdoors and not just looking out a window. She needs to be moved to the first floor so she can be rolled in and out without having to traverse the stairs. I can roll her around under the trees and..."

"It is far too cold outside!"

"The cold won't harm her anymore than it harms us. A lap blanket, hat and scarf is not so hard and she will enjoy it as well as it being much more healthy for her."

"You really think you know better than my own medica does?" he demanded.

"Sir... what I can tell you is this. Your medica is probably a man who is well into his 60's, perhaps in his 70's, am I right? In that time, a GREAT many advances and strides have been made in the medica field, yet he has not had to train in this and he probably thinks he doesn't need to. His way is good enough. I counter that it is NOT good enough. Huge strides have been made in every branch, but older medicas have no training in the new ways and the new discoveries. I have studied and studied, the old ways and the new. I may only be 22, but I would wager all I own and more that my way is the correct way and not his. Would you wager, sir? On your daughter's life? You shorten it by years making her breathe as she does sitting like that. How often does she get pneumonia having to sit that way and breathe so shallowly?"

"The medica said pneumonia was common in cases like hers!"

"Because they weren't treating her correctly! That will be fixed with a very simple adjustment to her chair and taking weight off of her entire midsection including her lungs! Pneumonia is caused from breathing too shallowly! This was a discovery made ten years gone now, but your medica would not know it because he hasn't bothered to learn anything new at all! None of the old ones do, they think their way is good enough and get offended if you suggest they might not know everything! I've spent hours upon hours in that library devouring everything I could. I even slept there sometimes, I was so engrossed in learning everything. Right up until the day my father insisted I get out in the world because real life experience was as needed as book experience. So I ask you again, would you wager her life on it? As it is, the way she is being treated now, I'm sure you know her expected lifespan. With my way, you can expand that by a decade, maybe more. One thing I will never do is assume I no longer have anything to learn and stop trying. So long as there is breath left in my body, I will keep learning."

The man stared coldly for a moment, then spoke. "She eats three times a day the moment you are done eating your own meal. She stays on a strict schedule. In the afternoon, she spends one hour with me in my study before her nap. She naps four times a day. She is up to sit at the window at 7 and after you finish that, you will eat quickly and come back to feed her breakfast, then lay her down for her nap. She wakes around 10 and will need to be changed. She has more window time until noon, where you will feed her again after you eat. She naps again after that until 2, then comes to sit with me in my study until 3. She will get more window time from 3 to 5 and then dinner as soon as you are done eating. Change her again before she goes to bed for the night."

"She should not be sleeping that much, or left alone for so long! She should be engaged more! And she..."

"You will do as you are told," he demanded, stepping closer to look down at Verbena, his looming height intimidating.

"I will do what is in HER best interest. You will get your single hour with her," she spat disdainfully, "But I will be staying with her while she is awake and talking to her and reading to her! She needs companionship, not an empty window! AND I will be reclining her and taking her on walks if I have to get every single servant in the house to help me get her up and down the stairs! You brought me here to care for her and I intend to do JUST that! If you intend to stop me, you'll have to put hands on me to do it, sir!"

He snarled as he grabbed Verbena by the throat and slammed her down to the floor, holding her down as he leaned over her. "You think I take issue with putting hands on you, girl?" he growled. "I do not! I would not take issue with putting you in the ground! You will do as I say or I will do more than put hands on you!"

Verbena stared up at him with wide eyes, her hands on his wrist, trying to pull his hand from her throat.

He growled and tightened his grip as he looked over her face. "You should leave, girl," he snarled. "You aren't wanted here."

With that, he stood and left, slamming the door,

Verbena immediately got up and moved to Lyla, trying to smile. "I'm so sorry about that, Lyla! Don't you worry over it for a moment! Here now! I have a wonderful story to tell you, it's one of my very favorites! Have you heard about the three sisters who came from the moon to visit?"

Verbena told her the story and spent the day with her, laying her down when she needed to without trouble. While she napped, Verbena adjusted the chair to lay back more.

The man never returned that day, but that evening, Anne showed her to a different room, one with a fireplace. Her clothes and things had all been moved and she noted her papers were all missing.

She pressed her dresses now that they were dry and changed into her nightgown to curl up in bed and think.

Her door opened. "You did not come to dinner," the man snapped.

"No, but I fed her."

"The rule is you eat first, then feed her. You need your strength to handle her."

"I had no trouble handling her. Is that all? I'm in only my gown and..."

"It is not all. I should not have put hands on you. I'm sorry, but... you are very aggravating!"

"A trait we share, then."

"Never argue with me or interrupt me again."

"I am here to see to her health and happiness inasmuch as she can have it. I am not here to coddle your ego or cater to you. I am good at my job, let me do it."

"Infuriating girl!"

"My name is Verbena."

"It's a ridiculous name!"

"You would think so as it has Miovian roots. Mareshian names have their own peculiarities. Where I am from, the Verbena flower has medicinal properties... but prepared incorrectly, it can be poisonous and deadly. Make of that what you will."

His lips twitched slightly and his eyes looked amused. "You are a worthy little adversary, aren't you?"

"More than worthy. Is that all, Lord Donovan?"

"Gideon to my household staff."

"Fitting."

"And what does that mean?" he demanded.

"One who cuts down. It suits you."

"You are making no sense."

"Your name. Gideon. It translates to 'one who cuts down'. You cut other people down, mostly to make yourself feel better about your own failings. So it suits you."

He growled, then left, slamming the door.

Verbena let the blanket fall to her lap, the need to cover herself gone now. Laying down, she wondered if there was a library in this place.

The next morning, waking up early, she discovered there was one. Looking over the books, she pulled one out to read the first page. She had to know if it was going to engage her or not, and whether it might be suitable to read aloud to Lyla.

"What are you doing in here? I did not give you permission to come in here!" Gideon snarled from the door.

Verbena looked up at him curiously. "You would deny me simply reading a book?"

"That's not what I said! I asked what you were doing here?"

Verbena lifted the book, showing him that she was obviously reading.

His face reddened with anger. "You should be eating so you can feed Lyla her breakfast!"

"It isn't time yet, I got up early so I could find a book to read."

"Insufferable girl! This is my peace in the morning! I do not want you here."

"Is it all women you hate, or just young women?" Verbena asked, looking down at her book again.

"Get out!"

"I've not yet found a good book, this one won't do."

"Get out or I will throw you out?"

"After apologizing for putting hands on me yesterday? You would do it again just because I wished to read Lyla a book?"

"Why would you do that? She can't follow complex plots or..."

"Of course she can. She understands a great deal. Even so, simply the talking and engaging with her means so much to her. You must stop with the mindset that just because she cannot respond, that doesn't mean she cannot understand. When you are alone with her, do you speak to her? Or simply allow her to bask in your presence while you work?"

"Do not be flip with me! I wish peace here in the mornings!"

"I'm not stopping you, you are the one who is being loud and complaining. I'd not have spoken a word were you just to come in and sit down."

"I cannot have peace with you here!"

"So, once again, is it all women you hate, or only young women?"

"Get out!"

"No. Not until I find a book to read her today."

Gideon crossed the room and grabbed her by the arm, then pulled her out of the library and slammed her against the wall as he held her there by the throat. "You will NOT cross me!" he hissed. "Get out! Get out of my house!" he snarled, then dragged her by her throat to the door. Opening it, he threw Verbena out bodily, watching her roll across the walk after she landed. She did not move, laying there on the walk, one arm up, the other down.