The Attic - Part I

It was the dead of winter, and the Hayward family had gone to warmer climes leaving the manor house in the capable hands of the caretakers, Mr. and Mrs. Allenton. They in turn had handpicked which of the servants would be staying at the house during the slow season. Sophie and Alma were two of the staff that was chosen.

They were darling girls…young, hard working, and cheerful. Off season was considered a bit of a bonus, as they had the huge house to themselves, had lots of time to kill due to reduced workload, but were still getting full pay. Once the day’s work was complete – usually before lunch – the staff was left to their own devices.

One afternoon the two girls were in the library, poring through the books. Sophie flopped into one of the chairs, “I’m bored.”

Alma sighed, “I am too…I’ve done more reading the past two weeks than I have in my whole life. I’m not used to having all this free time.”

Sophie looked over at her friend, “Have you ever been up in the attic?”

Alma perked up, “No, I haven’t! I bet there’s all kinds of interesting things up there…do you want to go explore?”

The two girls ran up the stairs to the third level and down the long hallway to the end of the east wing, where the door to the attic was located. It opened with a creak and Alma felt around for a light switch.

“Ah, here it is,” she muttered, and flicked it on. Another switch at the top of the stairs illuminated a bright string of lights that stretched the length of the attic. The girls gasped at the wealth of boxes, trunks, old furniture, and other detritus from generations of Haywards.

Alma laughed, “This is amazing! Where would we even begin?”

Sophie pointed at a rack full of old dresses, “Look at those beautiful gowns! Let’s start there.”

They wove their way through the maze of stuff, and when they got to the rack, they fingered the lush materials. “I can’t believe they just leave these up here to rot,” Alma said in amazement.

Sophie let out a little snort, “I can. These rich people think nothing of letting things go to waste. I mean…just look at all these things – beautiful things – discarded up here like they were garbage.”

Alma looked a bit hurt, “Aww…don’t talk that way, Soph…the Haywards have been so good to us.”

Sophie sighed, “You're right, Sweets,” she knelt in front of a trunk, and popped the lid up, “Alma, look at this!”

She peeked over and let out a little squeal, “Look at all that jewelry! Oh…it just sparkles!”

For the next hour or so they played dress-up like two little girls, twirling around in the fancy dresses, and accessorizing with the costume jewelry they’d found in the small trunk. As Sophie shoved some of the dresses aside, something on the other side of the rack piqued her interest. Tucked back in a corner of the attic was a huge bedstead; the kind that was so far off the ground that there were little sets of stairs on either side to get into it. It was made of heavy dark wood, with a huge canopy over it.

“Alma! Come see!” Sophie bounded through the dresses over to the bed. Her friend followed, and they gawped at huge piece of furniture.

Alma giggled, “Oh my goodness!”

Sophie put her arm around her friend’s waist and murmured, “Imagine the fun we could have on that…”

Alma went up and bounced on it, only to come away coughing, “It’s all dusty though…we’d need to find clean bedding.”

Sophie nodded, “Let’s look through some of these trunks over by it. Maybe there are some usable linens in them.”

The girls began to rummage through the piles of trunks and boxes, and found lots of things…sheets, a big feather stuffed duvet, a number of silk scarves and sheer drapes, and lots of pretty throw pillows. With all of this they planned on making a little haven for themselves.

They bundled up the bedding and brought it down to the laundry. They washed and dried the sheets, and took the duvet outside to air out in the chilly air. Once everything was clean and fresh, they gathered it up and took it back upstairs.

Once the bed was made, they attached gaudy brooches to the ends of the scarves, and hung them from the canopy supports. Alma found some Christmas lights that she strung around, and after hunting for a plug, let out a little whoop of victory as the lights came on making the rhinestones twinkle.

Sophie fluffed up the pillows and hung the drapes around the sides, and in no time the bed had been transformed into a lovely bower. The girls stood with arms linked, and looked proudly at what they created.

“It just needs one more thing,” Sophie proclaimed.

Alma looked over at her, “And that would be?”

Sophie turned her head and nuzzled her friend’s neck, “You, lying naked on top of it.”

Alma blushed and giggled, and kissed the other girl, “Maybe tomorrow…it’s time for dinner.”

“Why eat dinner when I could eat you up instead?”

“Sophie…I’m hungry! Tomorrow, OK?”

Sophie laughed, and bit the other girl’s neck lightly, “Anything for you, sweetness. And you’re right, I’m hungry too, let’s go eat.”