The Last Heiress
“Even in the shade the air was oppressively warm. It was barely June, yet the refreshing breeze from the east had disappeared unless a storm was blowing in off the sea. Straightening in her chaise, she peered down into the courtyard below at her slaves hard at work. Salome’s helpers sat shucking corn and snapping beans at the worktable. Miriam took down a set of sheets from the clothesline to be ironed, while Josie washed Amanda’s dainties in a tub of sudsy water. She would hang them discreetly inside the washhouse on ropes stretched end to end so as not to cause embarrassment.
Only the sight of Helene sewing in the shade marred the otherwise idyllic courtyard tableau. Amanda’s English maid refused to associate with the Henthorne slaves. Though that irritated her, Abigail understood it stemmed not from bigotry but rather from the peculiar and distinctive British caste system among servants. As a lady’s maid, Helene considered herself superior to a woman who cooked meals or laundered clothes.
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