Ashlynn felt like she'd barely gotten to sleep when the sound of someone striking a metal cowbell rang through the servant's quarters, signaling a start to the day. The embers in the hearth had long burned out and the cold stone floor of the room made her grateful of the thick socks she kept, even though they were far too luxurious for most common servants. Once she slipped her house shoes on over them, no one would ever notice anyway.
"Lynnda, git out here," Otis called from outside the women's quarters. "Don't make e'ryone wait for ya."
"Commin," she called, dashing for the door while most of the serving women were still changing out of their night clothes.
Otis wasted few words on her, quickly putting her to work, clearing the previous night's ash from the kitchen hearth, and starting a new fire. From there, the two worked together with a gangly red-haired youth called Ollie to prepare a breakfast porridge for the staff while the rest of the household got to work.
