“This will be your room,” Mrs. Kimball said, then pointed to a side table. “You may leave your things here.”
Mariah set down her bag, surreptitiously taking out Sophie’s pocket watch and hanging it on the handle of the window. She watched the light reflect off the golden piece and couldn’t believe their luck; it would make a perfect beacon for Sophie to find. Their new room was bright, airy, and large—most unlike their shared attic at the Ellises’ or the airless, cramped room at the boardinghouse.
“Follow me,” Mrs. Kimball demanded.
Mariah trailed behind her to the end of the hall, where Mrs. Kimball opened the last door. It was a room dedicated to bathing and hygiene. There was a water closet in one corner—how Sophie would love that! In the other corner, there was a large metal tub with several metal pipes sticking out of the wall and a chain cord. There was also a table with a sink. Mariah had heard of such things, but she had never actually seen them. Back at the Ellises’, they had boiled kettle after kettle of water to fill the tin bathtub in the kitchen, and then everyone in the family would use the same water. It was such a laborious process that they only bathed on Sundays.
“You will be expected to bathe regularly,” Mrs. Kimball said. “Here is your own soap, a towel, and a robe. I will see what clothes I can find. You do remember where your room is?”
Mariah was nettled by her patronizing tone, but said civilly, “Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.”
She waited until the door was closed behind Mrs. Kimball before she quickly undressed. She pressed the bar of soap to her nose, breathing in the lovely scent of lavender. It smelled nothing like the soap she used to help Mrs. Ellis make from discarded animal fat.
Mariah put one foot into the metal tub and then the other. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was supposed to do, but she had been too proud to admit that to the uppity housekeeper. For a moment she stood shivering and rubbing her hands over her arms. Then she saw a metal chain hanging above her and pulled it—and nearly screamed in surprise when water was dumped all over her.
The water was not cold—but not particularly warm either—on her back. Mariah sat down and began using the bar of soap to painstakingly wash every inch of her body and strand of her hair. She pulled the chain again to rinse off.
Mariah stood up to get out of the tub, blindly reaching for the towel to dry her face. When she glanced out the window, she nearly slipped out of the tub: Sophie had a rope around her waist and was climbing up the exterior of the house toward the bedroom window. A window that Mariah, in her hurry, hadn’t unlocked.
“Good golly! What is she doing?”
Mariah didn’t bother drying herself further, but instead threw on the robe and ran back to the bedroom.
Her heart fell to her feet when she opened the door. Sophie was holding on to a rope with one hand and was trying to pry the window open with the other. Mariah gasped, running to unlock the window. She took the pocket watch off the latch and opened the window just as Sophie dropped the metal tool with which she’d been attempting to pick the window lock. Mariah leaned forward to see it clink against the house once before landing in a bush.
“Come in quickly,” Mariah said, suddenly breathless. “Before you fall.”
Sophie pulled herself higher on the rope and stuck one foot through the window, and Mariah grabbed it with both hands. Sophie’s other foot kicked out, nearly hitting her sister on the nose. Mariah was pulling her through when she heard a knock at her door.
“One moment please,” Mariah called.
“I’m going to swing the rest of me inside now,” Sophie said, leaving Mariah only enough time to scoot back before Sophie’s whole body slid through the window. Her face was flushed red, but besides that, Sophie looked happier than Mariah had seen her in years.
“Quick,” Mariah said, taking her hand. “Hide!”
“I’ve lost my favorite reaming tool. I’m not going to lose my rope, too,” Sophie said, reaching through the open window to yank down the rope of her makeshift pulley.
Mariah heard the doorknob turn and she grabbed her sister by the waist, pulling her from the window and hauling her toward the wardrobe. “Get in!”
Sophie opened the doors to the wardrobe and climbed in, reeling up her rope like a fishing line. Mariah closed the doors behind her as Mrs. Kimball came into the room, her arms full of clothes. She was followed by a young woman with brown hair and the most freckles Mariah had ever seen on one person; she wore a maid’s uniform and carried a meal tray. Mrs. Kimball pointed to the side table, and the maid placed the tray there.
Mrs. Kimball then walked toward the wardrobe with the dresses. “Miss Golden no longer has any use for these. You may wear them until you are suitably attired. Adell will help you dress when your hair is dry.”
Mariah stepped between Mrs. Kimball and the wardrobe and took the clothes from the woman’s hands. “Thank you, but I can dress myself.”
Mrs. Kimball gave her another disdainful glance before leaving the room without another word. Adell followed behind the housekeeper and gave Mariah a small smile as she closed the door.
Sophie pushed open the doors of the wardrobe, grinning. She skipped over to where Mariah was standing. “That was close.”
They both fell back on the peacock-blue bed in silent laughter and, for Mariah, unmitigated relief.
“Why are you all wet?” Sophie asked, leaning her head on her arm.
“The housekeeper insisted I take a bath before Lady Bentley saw me.”
Sophie’s eyes lit up. “They have indoor plumbing in this house?”
“Yes!” Mariah said. “You’ll love it. There’s a water closet and a bathtub with a shower. All you have to do is pull the lever and the water sprinkles all over you.”
“Is the water hot?”
“No,” Mariah replied, “but you’ll love the soap.”
Sophie sat up. “Well, I’d better go take a bath then.”
“I’m afraid I left the towel and the soap on the floor,” Mariah said. She hopped off the bed and took off the damp robe, handing it to her sister. “And I’m sorry everything is already wet.”
“I’m more interested in the pipes than anything else.”
Mariah slipped on her spare shift, then stepped to the door and cracked it open, looking both ways before signaling Sophie to follow her. She opened the door to the bathing room for her sister. “Don’t dawdle. I would hate for us to be sent home before we get to sleep in that magnificent bed.”
Sophie gave Mariah’s arm a light squeeze. “I’ll be back in our room before you know it.”
Mariah returned to the room and couldn’t resist lying down on the bed again—she hadn’t slept in a proper bed in eight years and it felt marvelous.
After a short time, the doorknob turned and Mariah’s breath caught, but it was just Sophie wearing the wet robe and holding her old dress crumpled up in her hands. She came and sat on the bed and they shared the breakfast from the tray Adell had brought. There was a pot of hot chocolate, several muffins, and some bread. Even shared, it was more food than either sister had ever eaten for breakfast at the Ellises’.
“We’ll get quite fat eating here,” Sophie said.