I see very little of my cousin Heather, who lives and works in another part of this huge house. There are forty servants in all, although the family has only six members in it.
The male servants have to get up and light the fires, polish all the shoes and boots the family and their guests leave outside their bedroom doors, clean and trim all thirty-five lamps before the rest of the household begins to stir. As well, they must haul buckets of hot water upstairs for anyone who wishes to bathe. Where does the hot water come from? We must bring in wooden buckets from the outdoor pumps and pour it into the big copper pots kept forever boiling on a stove kept special for that one purpose. I often wonder what Mam would think of this, she who must cook and boil water over the one central fire that throws smoke in your face if the wind is blowing the wrong way.
My day off is coming up, at the end of this month. I do hope I can arrange to get home. I do miss my parents.
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