50. Maid to Order
Amy decides to try disguising herself as Claire Stephenson and bluffing her way past Boswell. She strips out of her clothes and puts together her Claire outfit: silk thong panties, garter belt, stockings, boots, corset, black dress. The whole outfit takes a while to put together (Amy has little experience with garter belts, and less with corsets), but after much tugging, pulling, snapping, lacing, cinching, twisting, and tying, Amy decides she is presentable. She looks at herself in a mirror.
“I definitely could pass for this lady,” she tells herself. She puts her hair into a neat bun and practices looking patrician, comparing her face in the mirror to that of the late Mrs. Stephenson in the portrait. At last, Amy is confident she can pull off the deception. She removes her glasses and heads upstairs.
Boswell is shocked at the sight of her. His mouth hangs open. “My...my lady! You have returned!” he stammers.
Amy smiles, knowing she's done it. “Yes, yes, Boswell, and I must tell you, the afterlife was simply AWEFUL!” at that, Amy makes an exaggerated sweep of her arm that accidentally strikes a small column upon which sits a very old, intricately decorated vase. Amy bites her lower lip as time seems to slow to a crawl while she waits for the consequences of her careless action. The column rocks back and forth for a moment, causing the vase to tip and roll until finally... CRASH! it falls to the ground and shatters into a million pieces.
Amy sheepishly turns to Boswell. “Whoops?” she offers.
Boswell's face has turned bright red. “I should have known it was you! How dare you? Not only to shamelessly impersonate this house's late mistress, but to destroy a priceless vase?! How... HOW DARE YOU!?”
Amy bows her head and shuffles backwards, trying to find a way out of this mess.
Boswell calms down. “You must, of course, repay your debt. And I believe I know how you may make your payment. This house is quite large and needs constant cleaning, but we are woefully understaffed. You may work off your debts as a maid.”
Amy isn't so sure about this. She's not much one for cleaning. But, so long as she gets out of this alive, is it really so bad?
“First, you'll need appropriate attire.” Boswell snaps his fingers. Amy's dress grows shorter and puffs out as white lace lining grows below it and a white apron appears at her waist. Her boots shrink down, turning into black stiletto pumps. A white lace headband appears and attaches itself to her forehead. Amy then feels a strange tingling sensation in the area under her skirt. She surreptitiously sneaks a peek at her butt and discovers that her pink silk thong has metamorphosed into a pair of black briefs with frilly white lace adorning the butt. Amy giggles. This is like playing dress up! It'll be fun!
Boswell snaps at the sound of Amy's laugh. “Servants must earn the right to be heard, and you have most certainly not earned that right!” He snaps his fingers and Amy is abruptly silenced. She finds she can't seem to make a noise, or even open her mouth. Reaching up to feel her face, she finds only skin where her mouth should be. In a panic, she looks around for a mirror and confirms her suspicion: Her mouth has entirely disappeared, leaving only a fleshy void in the middle of her face.
Boswell continues. “You also can't be trusted with even the most basic tools, so you'll have to make due with these.” He snaps his fingers again and Amy feels another strange change She looks down and finds that her hands have changed form; her right hand has turned into a feather duster, while her left has turned into a dustpan.
“You can begin with the Grand Hallway. Clean all the rooms downstairs in clockwise order, starting with the sitting room. Once you have finished you may start over again. You neither need, nor shall you receive, breaks.”
Amy stares up at Boswell pleadingly. She can no longer speak, but hopes her eyes can convey her message.
“You will find yourself unable to leave the house so long as you serve it. You may leave our service once you have paid your debt.” A rare smile spreads over Boswell's face. “Of course, since the vase you destroyed was priceless, you will naturally be in this house's service forever.”
Amy is crestfallen. She can't believe the fate that has befallen her; an eternity of service as a sub-human, voiceless maid, forever indentured to this accursed house. She hangs her head low and sulks down the stairs to begin her eternity of servitude.
Amy is in no state to continue her adventure.