Chapter 4

Mildred grabbed a worn feed sack from her room and slung it over her shoulder before heading for the backyard. Tamara was momentarily stunned by her naivety. Was Mildred going to dig through garbage with the maids? Did she think this would earn their loyalty? "You can't dig through trash yourself, Mildred. You're the Ginger heiress, so how could you do something so lowly? They're aware you want that plant, so, of course, they'll find it for you. "The Gingers pay them well, and they're more than willing to do this for you." Pippa held back her disgust as she stepped forward to stop Mildred. "Just throw that bag away, Ms. Mildred. How could you bring something like that into the clean, noble Ginger residence?" If she'd seen the filthy feed sack when she helped carry Mildred's suitcase yesterday, she would have thrown it out on the spot. As expected of a kid raised in the slums, Mildred hoarded scraps like a stray dog! "Move." Mildred looked up and shot Pippa with a calm look. Her voice was low and cold, carrying a hint of unspoken authority. Pippa instinctively stepped aside. When she realized what she'd done, fury flickered in her eyes. How could she have been intimidated by a slum stray? Mildred sat down a few feet from the trash piles and opened the feed sack. With a flip and a sharp shake, golden bars clattered onto the grass, gleaming under the summer sun. "Gold bars? Are those gold?" "Gosh… Isn't she from the slums? Where did she get so much gold?" On the steps, Tamara and Pippa both stared with their jaws dropped in shock. The scene of a glittering mountain of gold sitting in front of the little mountains of trash was so absurd. Before they could react, Mildred announced in a lazy, pointed tone, "I'm new here, and I didn't realize someone breaking my stuff would bring you all so much trouble. "If any of you had been present yesterday, you would have recalled me saying the plant wasn't important, so there was no point saving it. "But since you were all put through all the trouble today, I should at least offer an apology…" Under their burning stares, she picked up one of the shining gold bars. "Finding a complete leaf isn't important now, and what matters is your hard work. So, here's your reward." The maid exchanged glances as a dead silence fell over the scene. Then, a young maid finally gathered her courage to step forward and crouch down before Mildred. "Ms. Mildred, are you saying that we'll get a gold bar if we do the work?" Mildred smiled. "Hold out your hand." As the maid obeyed, a heavy gold bar landed on her palm. A grin broke out across her face as she thanked Mildred profusely. "Thank you, Ms. Mildred!" One after another, the rest started lining up for the gold bars. "Thank you, Ms. Mildred!" "Thank you, Ms. Mildred!" Amid the chorus of gratitude, whispers of doubt began just as Mildred had hoped. "I carried Ms. Mildred's suitcase yesterday and saw with my own eyes that it was Ms. Tamara who smashed the flowerpot. It seemed like she did it on purpose to slap the real daughter down a peg…" "Exactly. When I cleaned up the pot yesterday, Ms. Mildred said herself it wasn't important. Why would she demand leave today?" "No way a girl who grew up in the slums could come up with stunts to put us through so much trouble. Plus, this order didn't come from Ms. Mildred either…" "It was from Pippa. Everyone knows who she sucks up to in this house." All eyes of contempt turned to Pippa. Her face paled as she turned desperately to Tamara for help. "Ms. Tamara…" Tamara glared daggers at Mildred. "You'd better explain to the family where all these gold bars came from!" With the feed sack slung over her shoulder, Mildred still held three or four gold bars as she walked up to Pippa. The latter snorted and rolled her eyes up at the sky, refusing to look at the glinting gold. "Pippa, since this whole mess started with your order, you can finish it and clean up every last piece of this trash. If you don't get it done today, don't bother coming back to work tomorrow." "How dare you!" Pippa could only watch Mildred leave as her eyes gleamed with dark, venomous hate. How dare a filthy stray threaten to fire her, a maid of 20 years with the Gingers, just after her first day in the house! Over her dead body! … Mildred tucked the feed sack away and stepped into the dining hall, where the family had gathered. The head of the table and the first seat on either side were empty, reserved for her parents and Gavin. Tamara sat in the second seat down the left row, with Nox and Adrian beside her. On the right, Kieran was seated in the second place, followed by Mildred. Nox's blonde hair glinted and almost blinded her eyes, yet he still leaned in and said, "I heard the slums are a real mess with all sorts of people and trades. So, what did you do to get your hands on all that gold?" Tamara blinked innocently. "Mildred, I heard you never entered college, yet you had your own yard and so many gold bars. How did you make a living? Or did someone fund you?" Nox scoffed. "If that's the case, you'd better have Adrian run a full test. We can't have you bringing diseases home." "I don't have time for that. Get a checkup at a hospital and bring the report tonight so we can all take a look. If you're sick, move out and don't tarnish Tamara's name," Adrian coolly said as he adjusted his glasses. Kieran watched the three close in around Mildred, and when she didn't react, he started growing restless too. So, he cleared his throat and said, "Mildred, they asked you questions. Where did the gold bars come from?" Mildred lazily looked up and let the silence stretch for a whole minute before saying, "The slaughterhouse." "What?" Kieran frowned. Mildred took one bite of her omelet and continued, "One gold bar per limb. Two per head. Three for the organs. Skinning jobs cost extra." Tamara paled. "W-Whose limbs are we talking about?" Mildred gave her a thoughtful look as she lazily replied, "Do you really think butchering livestock pays that well?" Her knife sliced through the sausage on her plate just then, and the spilling juices had Tamara picturing a bloody scene. Disgusted, she rushed out of the room before her gagging sounds were soon heard from the hallway. Mildred twitched a smile and pressed. "Do you need more details, Kieran?" Kieran's gaze darkened. "We're only asking because we care, Mildred. It's fine if you don't want to tell us, but you shouldn't have scared Tamara like that." "You asked and I answered, and it's not my problem that you don't trust me. I'm done here," she calmly announced before setting down her utensils and leaving the table. Nox finally snapped out of it. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment upon realizing that he'd been intimidated by her nonsense. "Kieran, will you look at that! Either she's throwing slaps or running her mouth like a lunatic, and now she acts like some starved dog! "That shouldn't be how a Ginger heiress behaves! Aren't you going to discipline her?" Adrian's glasses flashed with a cold glint as he chimed in. "Kieran, if Mildred picks on Tamara again and you won't handle it, I will." Kieran nodded. "She does need some teaching. In fact, the Luzons sent us an invitation for the banquet and made sure to ask us to bring Mildred along." Nox instantly perked up. "Are they going to have Mildred take Tamara's place in that engagement? If that's the case, Tamara won't have to marry that sick Luzon boy, right?" Kieran blandly replied, "The Luzons are fine with the switch. From now on, we'd just say it's always been Mildred's engagement to the Luzons. Quit it with the replacement stuff." There was a trace of a smile in Nox's eyes as he raised an eyebrow. "Word is Arthur's been so sick he couldn't get out of bed, and the family even got his funeral hall ready. If she marries him now, she'll be a widow before the year's out." "Maybe they're hoping for a miracle. Either way, it doesn't matter as long as Tamara doesn't suffer. "We've been acquainted with the Luzons for generations, and both our families are among Riverdale's nobles. As a slum stray like Mildred, marrying into such a distinguished family is quite a stroke of luck," Adrian commented. Outside the dining hall, a smile tugged at Tamara's lips. The fact that the Gingers reclaimed Mildred at the perfect time to take the fall meant that even the heavens were looking out for her!