Now, hold on. I'm not finished. Evelyn stepped closer, and despite the size difference, Garrett backed up. I came here to work. I've done nothing but work since the day I arrived.
I wake up before all of you, I go to bed after all of you, and in between, I make sure you're fed three times a day with food that doesn't poison you. If you have a problem with me, take it up with Mr. Ridgewell. Otherwise, keep my name out of your mouth. The silence was absolute. Then Holloway's voice cut through it.
Garrett, Reynolds, you're both on night watch for the next week. Maybe some quiet time will teach you not to bite the hand that feeds you. But, Mr. Holloway Did I stutter? The two men left, and slowly the normal noise of the dining room resumed. But, Evelyn could feel something had changed.
Lines had been drawn. She finished the meal service in mechanical silence, then retreated to her room and sat on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands. She'd made a scene. She'd lost her temper. Ridgewell was probably going to fire her for causing trouble.
The knock on her door came 20 minutes later. Come in. Mrs. Chen entered, closing the door softly behind her. That was quite a performance. I shouldn't have lost my temper.
Probably not. But, I enjoyed watching it anyway. The older woman sat down beside her. Those men had it coming. You've done nothing wrong, and they know it.
It doesn't matter what I've done or haven't done. People believe what they want. True. But sometimes you have to stand up for yourself anyway. Mrs. Chen patted her knee.
Mr. Ridgewell heard about the incident. He wants to see you. Evelyn's stomach dropped. To fire me? I don't think so, but you should go find out.
The walk to the main house felt like walking to an execution. Evelyn's hands were shaking and she couldn't make them stop. She'd finally found something stable, something that gave her purpose, and she was about to lose it because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. Ridgewell was in his office, standing by the window with his back to the door. He didn't turn when she entered.
Mr. Ridgewell, I um Holloway told me what happened. His voice was calm, which somehow made it worse. He also told me what Garrett said to you. I lost my temper. It won't happen again.
You defended yourself against baseless accusations. That's not the same as losing your temper. Evelyn blinked, thrown. I What? Ridgewell finally turned to face her.
His expression was unreadable. I hired you to cook, Miss Harper, not to be subjected to gossip and innuendo from men who don't know anything about you. Garrett and Reynolds are gone. I sent them packing an hour ago. You fired them because of me?