Chapter Text
The lamp was flushing the room, the fire was blazing, the supper was waiting; and Ram Dass was standing smiling into her startled face.
“Missee Sahib remembered,” he said. “She told the sahib all. She wished you to know the good fortune which has befallen here. Behold a letter on the tray. She has written. She did not wish that you should go to sleep unhappy. The sahib commands you to come to him to-morrow. You are to be the attendant of Missee Sahib. To-night I take these things back over the roof.”
And having said this with a beaming face, he made a little salaam and slipped through the skylight with an agile silentness of movement which showed Becky how easily he had done it before.
After he had taken his leave and she had finished her supper, Becky lay awake, imagining the life that awaited her next door. She was certain that she would have a warm room with a comfortable bed, that her meals would be regular and substantial, and that she would be given shoes that did not leak. She did not fall asleep for many hours, and woke later than she had intended. When she realized that it was approaching midmorning, she sprang from her couch and dressed hastily, reproaching herself for having slept so late. She ought to have been at the Indian gentleman’s house at least two hours ago!
As she walked up the steps of the house next door she was overcome with doubt, and she stood on the landing for some minutes, trying to work up the courage to ring the bell; perhaps she had only dreamed of Ram Dass and his message the evening before, and she should turn round now and beg Miss Minchin to allow her to keep her place at the seminary.
But her stomach was still satisfied from the supper he had left her, and so his visit must surely have been real, and not merely the product of her imagination. Indeed, he opened the door almost immediately when she rang the bell, and with a smile and a salaam, he led her into the breakfast room, where Sara was waiting for her.
“Becky!” she cried and rose from the table to take Becky’s hand and lead her to a seat at the table.
“Oh miss, I beg yer pardon,” Becky gasped. “I ought t’have been here hours ago.”
Sara furrowed her brow in confusion. “Hours ago? Whatever for?”
“To lay your fire, miss. Ram Dass says I am to be your servant.”
“Oh Becky, no!” Sara said with a little laugh. “I haven’t asked you to come here to be a scullery maid. I’d like you to be-- well--I think what is known as a lady’s companion, although I suppose I’m still too young to be considered a lady.”
Now it was Becky’s turn to furrow her brow. “Don’t you mean a lady’s maid, Miss? To help you dress and serve your tea?”
Sara shrugged. “I suppose you could help me with my dresses, but no, not to serve my tea. To take my meals with me just like we did in Miss Minchin’s attic. And to accompany me when I go for carriage rides or out to the shops.”
It sounded lovely, indeed, but surely this wasn’t correct. Lady’s companions were genteel and had been educated at finishing schools. Someone of Lavinia’s or Ermengarde’s station might serve as one, but Becky really wasn’t even fit to be a lady’s maid. “Begging yer pardon, miss,” she said, “but I don’t see as it’s proper for me to be your companion.”
“Why ever not?!” Sara cried. “You kept me company in the attic. I don’t see why you shouldn’t any longer simply because our setting has changed.” As she spoke, Sara had been filling a plate for Becky, and now she set it before her on the table. “Now, you must have your breakfast while I explain everything to you.”
Becky felt that she was in no position to protest any further. If Sara had decided that she was to be her companion, then that was the end of the matter. In any event, she was not at all unhappy about her change in fortune; she was not certain of all that being a lady’s companion entailed, but it seemed as though her duties would be a great deal more restful than those of a scullery maid.
And so she took up a piece of toast and listened as Sara related the story of how she and the Indian gentleman, whose real name was Mr. Carrisford, had found one another.