The Observations Read Online Free PDF Page A

only—”
    “Hush, child,” says she. “I decided to let you sleep this morning.”
    “Oh.”
    “After all, you have been travelling,” she says. “You must be tired. And also upset what with your master—passing away and so on.”
    I just nodded, at a loss.
    “Well, Bessy,” she says. “There are a few things I’d like you to do today but nothing too taxing. We can start properly tomorrow when you’re rested. That is,” and at this point she gave me a close look, “if you do intend to remain here?”
    She was smiling fondly like a mother in a story book, her eyes was bright but you could see a trace of anxiety behind them. I hesitated but a second. Then I says, “Yes marm, I certainly do.”
    “Good,” she says, clearly much relieved. “Now, you can have breakfast in a moment,” she says. “But first things first. Are you wearing your corset?”
    I blinked. “No miss—marm,” I says. “I had not time to put it on.”
    “Excellent,” she says. “Then you won’t have to take it off.” And thereupon she produced a tape from her pocket and proceeded to take measurements of all my proportions, making notes on a scrap of paper as she went. I assumed at first that she was sizing me up for a set of maids clothes. I can remember as if it were yesterday what the dimensions were of my bosom and all the rest, modesty prevents me from writing them here, let’s put it this way in those days I was very
well-formed.
Up close I could smell the scent she had on her, attar of roses, and underneath was her own fragrance, more earthy and warm. Once she was done with the
usual
measurements bosom waist and so on she also took the span of my neck and upper arm, I was not sure what to make of that only I thought perhaps she was very particular about collars and sleeves. Next she measured the palm of my hand and the length of all my fingers and thumbs. Gloves as well, I thought, by Jove this is the pigs whiskers. Then she put the tape round my head and wrote down
skull 21 and a 1/2 inches,
from which I surmised I was also getting a hat, I hoped it would be a good one and not just an old straw bonnet. After which she measured my mouth and the distance from my forehead to my chin and then between my two eyes and after that she took the length of my nose. Finally she measured the distance from my left nostril to my left earhole and my right nostril to my right ear-hole. To tell the truth I found it both confusing and disturbing but I was young and vain and when I squinted down at her paper I was only relieved to see that both sides of my face were 5 inch across for if the numbers had been lopsided I reckoned I might as well set off there and then to join Carneys Wonderland as a freak.
    “All done,” she says, making a final note on her piece of paper.
    “Please marm,” I says. “What is—”
    She waved a hand in the direction of a pot of porridge. “It’s over there,” she says. “And after breakfast perhaps you would like to collect the hens eggs. There’s a basket in the corner. By the way, where exactly did you say your master lived?”
    “Hyndland, marm, Crown House,” I says and then I could have bit my tongue off since I hadn’t tellt her exactly where he lived at all and only blurted it out because I was still perplexed about her measuring my face.
    “Crown House,” she says, making a note.
    “But of course,” I says quick, “you can’t write to him for my character because he’s dead and the house is closed up,” and then I added, “Unfortunately.”
    She give me a hard look. “Is it unfortunate that he is dead? Or that I can’t write to him for a character?”
    “Well—both, marm,” I says. “But please marm. Excuse me but what for do you need all them measurements for?”
    She smiled at me. “What is your frock made of?” she says.
    “Silk, marm.”
    “Yes and what colour is it?”
    I looked down at it. Then I says, “It’s red, marm.”
    And tell me, do you have any other