NOIR FICTION
Master and Servant
A scheming chambermaid exploits a chain of crimes in the house to better her station and get what she wants
9 min readOct 30, 2023
There are moments when you think you have lost everything and your life is mired in darkness. Then there are moments when you think you have gained everything that life can offer. Sometimes, those moments are not so distant and can even occur at the same time, straight after another, one moment seamlessly leading to its opposite. But the darkness, that remains.
That year I was employed as a chambermaid in the service of a great house, by a wealthy gentleman that staff only ever referred to as The Master. Not that we dealt much with him, me less of all, as I mainly attended to his wife. I did catch glimpses of the Master when he resided in the Chateau and I wished there had been more.Tall, charming, and well-dressed, the blue-eyed, silver-haired nobleman was a far cry from the stooping wretch who was my immediate superior. Management of the house was delegated to the ageing butler, a strict disciplinarian with a leering scowl who rarely spared the rod when dealing with us. He had taken a dislike to me, I was certain of it.Things came to a head in the aftermath of our mistress’s disappearance. Sure, everyone had…