Free Web NovelChapter 76: Position (2)
"I am not a servant. She’s not coming to my wedding," Beth muttered as she peeled an apple with a knife. "Why can’t she just eat an apple as it is? She doesn’t want me to plan my wedding for the baby’s sake but has me standing around a kitchen cutting apples."
The servants working at the party tried not to get close to Beth as she spoke out loud. It was strange to see a guest in the kitchen doing something that one of them should be doing.
"I can’t do this anymore," Beth gave up after only getting halfway with peeling one apple. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
This was beneath her and they knew it. She was about to become Beth Humphrey so peeling apples wasn’t a task for her. Who cares if her background wasn’t as great as Jack’s? That wasn’t important now that she was getting married to him.
Beth couldn’t help but think they might not have made Scarlet do something like this. She imagined that when Scarlet came around, they all bent to please her. Why not do that for the woman giving Jack the family he wanted?
"The wedding must come soon," said Beth.
If they all could, they would want to get Jack back with Scarlet and Jack would make it easy since he was always thinking about Scarlet and the man she was with now. After all that he suffered with Scarlet, how could he want to go back to her?
"I’ve had enough. You there!" Beth called a maid. "Peel these apples and place them nicely on a plate for me."
The maid panicked as before she returned inside she was instructed something. "I’m sorry, but I was-"
"Would you not even address me properly? Don’t you think you should be calling me Lady Beth? Do you not know who is speaking to you or do you know, but you want to be disrespectful? Answer me!" Beth raised her voice, smacking the knife down on the counter.
She had to deal with the Humphrey’s not being welcoming but she wasn’t going to put up with it when it came to the servants.
"Forgive me, Lady Beth. I was instructed to tell all the maids not to help you peel the apples. Lady Diane wishes to know that you did the job personally as it would be more meaningful."
Beth couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Diane was going this far to have her peel apples for Dorothy who Beth was starting to believe didn’t care about the apples. They just wanted to show her where she fits in the family. The one who did trivial tasks like this.
"Then go find Jack and tell him to come here urgently," Beth said.
He was the only way to get out of this and seeing his pregnant lover standing in a kitchen doing something that a maid should do would upset him. Diane and the others hadn’t thought about how angry he would be to see her standing around for so long.
Beth folded her arms, putting the tasks on hold now as she waited for Jack. They were going to need to come harder than this as making her have to peel apples would not get her to run out of this family.
They were very aware that everything she had came from Jack so they should know that she was going to hold onto him no matter what they did.
"I should get even with her," Beth thought out loud.
Beth couldn’t allow Diane to get away with how she was treating her. Then she would have to put up with this for the rest of her life. Beth wanted to enjoy being a Humphrey not fighting with old bats who sought joy in speaking down on younger women.
"Why is he taking so long?" Beth asked, impatient.
The men couldn’t have gone that far off to drink. Why did they need to leave the women anyway? The women Beth had sat with would have been behaving better if their husbands were around.
Beth’s mood turned better when she saw the maid but then it went away as Jack wasn’t anywhere in sight. "Where is he? Did you forget what I sent you to do?"
The maid deserved to be fired for the two mistakes she had made.
"I told him that you wanted to see him urgently but he said that he is busy at the moment. Have a maid look at you," the maid answered.
Beth released a dry laugh. Was it this house that made everyone lose their minds? How could he not come to her just so he could drink? He was the one always bothering her when they were home alone over this baby that didn’t exist. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Was Jack putting on a show before the men he was outside with now that he didn’t need to run to her?
"Tell him that it concerns our baby. Come quickly if he cares," Beth sent the maid again.
This could end quickly if she would continue to cut the apples but that was not going to happen. These days Beth was in a position to have apples cut for her so why would she do anything different and do this for someone else?
Minutes later, Jack returned with the maid.
"Leave us. All of you," Beth said, clearing the few maids from the kitchen.
"What happened to the baby and why are you hiding away here when you are to be with my mother?" Jack asked, his hand going to her belly.
"I am not hiding away here. Your aunt sent me here to peel apples for your mother instead of getting a maid to do it. My feet ache from standing around. They won’t allow me to get a maid to help me. Please do something about this," said Beth.
Jack looked around the kitchen and found a chair. "Why didn’t you take the chair to sit on as you did it?"
Beth couldn’t believe what she was hearing once more. It had to be the house that was making everyone crazy as she thought. "You were the one always telling me to stay off my feet so why now are you having me do this? I should be out there sitting with your family. They didn’t ask that other woman marrying into your family to do this."
"That’s because they don’t know you. You wanted to get on my mother’s good side so why can’t you do this? It is only peeling apples so it shouldn’t take you so long. Just get it over with and then go sit with them," Jack replied, not seeing why he had to be called here.
"Just get it over with? What if they ask that I do other tasks that a maid can do? Should I be running up and down then?" Beth asked.
"You’re pregnant. They won’t have you do that. They are just testing how much you care for my mother so just put up with it once. After today, you won’t have to do this again. Think about getting close to my mother," Jack said, holding Beth’s hand to help convince her.
Beth wanted Jack to be on her side but of course, he wouldn’t go against his mother. She had no choice but to do it since wasn’t on her side. After she becomes a Humphrey, something like this better not happen again.
