Routine

I finished with my duties for the day and retired to my room. I had an urgent need for my chamber pot for quite some time now, but had to wait until I finished cleaning up after dinner before I could finally escape up to my room to relieve myself. I suppose I could have gone first and then returned downstairs to finish my work, but I didn't want to leave a bad impression on my new masters on my first night. It was better to settle in and prove my reliability first before daring to take any such liberties.

I pulled down my undergarments, lifted my skirt, and bent my knees to sit when Master Trevor suddenly entered the room. Mistress Liliana, as kind as she was, hadn't provided me with a privacy partition, but I deliberately placed the chamber pot so that I would sit facing the door and only lifted my skirt from behind, anticipating that such an accident would eventually happen.

Of course Trevor entered my room without any warning, let alone requesting permission. Why would he ever think of a beast-kin's privacy or dignity? Would he ask permission of a cow before entering her stall? I didn't let my bitter thoughts show on my face and quickly stood up with my hands clasped before me and my head slightly bowed, the pose of a subservient slave awaiting her master's instructions. The skirt of my dress fell back down before Trevor could have a chance to see anything he shouldn't, but I couldn't pull my undergarments back up without indecently exposing my legs, and it was more important to stand and respectfully listen to my master, so I left them to hang around my ankles. I could only hope that he wouldn't require me to move.

"I have spoken with Liliana and agreed to let her command you as she pleases. You will obey her instructions the same as if they were spoken by me. Understood?" he said. I nodded my head.

"Yes, master", I replied. Trevor turned and left without bothering to close the door behind him. I hastily pulled up my undergarments, then went to make sure that he was truly gone before closing the door and returning to my chamber pot. I could only hope that there would be no further interruptions.

I resolved to acquire a privacy partition as soon as possible, to prevent such incidents from happening again. It was too embarrassing. I suppose it never occurred to Liliana that her husband might do such a thing, or perhaps she thought it wouldn't be an issue since we were, in a sense, siblings, but if so she was wrong. I very much minded my privacy, and Trevor never showed any consideration towards me.

The next morning master Trevor left early for one of his business trips. He was a small-scale merchant, like father, having learned the trade from him. By cooperatively dividing the trade routes father and his sons were able to maximize their profits. They could avoid overlapping their sales, reach more suppliers, buy in bulk at a discount, gather more market knowledge, and supply more shortages. If considered individually, they were each a small-scale business. Considered as a whole they were already approaching the status of a medium-sized business.

I woke up before dawn, as usual, to help prepare breakfast. Mistress Liliana greeted me in the kitchen.

"Good morning Vivian. Have you received the good news?" she said cheerfully.

"Which good news would that be, mistress?" I answered carefully.

"That you no longer have to call me 'mistress', so please just call me Liliana from now on. Don't be formal with me. That's an order!" she said with a playful smile.

"Yes, mistress!" I replied while grinning mischievously. She whacked my shoulder with a towel.

"Stop with that!" she whined. "Now let's get to work".

It was nice to be able to drop the formalities and relax while working together with her. For the rest of the day I followed her around the house and helped her with her work while she showed me where everything was and how she liked things to be done. On the following day I did the bulk of the work while she supervised. After that I worked alone, finally allowing Liliana to rest and enjoy her pregnancy.

Every day I would have to wake up before dawn to prepare breakfast. After breakfast I would prepare the dough for the lunchtime bread. After kneading and securely covering the dough I'd go down to the stream to do laundry. After laundry was lunch. After lunch came cleaning the house. After cleaning the house came supper. It was only after supper that I would finally finish my work for the day. While I worked Liliana would rest, go out for walks, make baby clothes, or tend her parents' general store near the center of the village. Her workload was far less than mine, but she kept herself busy.

Liliana tried to invite me to eat our meals together in the dining room, but I felt uncomfortable eating there, so instead she joined me in the kitchen.

"It's my house, so I can eat wherever I want!" she declared.

I was used to eating all my meals with my family, so having just one other person with me felt very quiet, but it was still much nicer than eating alone. However, I still didn't know her very well, so there were some things I kept to myself, such as my interest in books and studying. Even if she was kind and friendly, some humans felt threatened by beast-kin who were too well-educated, or who behaved like they had the same intellectual capacity as a human. I couldn't truly know yet how she would react. I was hopeful, but for someone in such a position as mine it was better to be cautious.