In the bedroom, Elizabeth was putting on her evening gown with the help of her maid.
Jones was Elizabeth's personal maid, a position of unusual prestige. Normally, household maids were called by their first names, but for butlers, governesses, and personal maids, their surnames were used — a small detail that hinted at their elevated status among the staff.
The duties of a personal maid were far less strenuous than those of a regular maid, but they required far more skill. Jones was in charge of every detail of Elizabeth's care — dressing her, doing her hair and makeup, selecting the right clothes, jewelry, and shoes. She was also excellent at removing stains, mending and altering garments to fit her mistress's figure. Beyond these, she only had to serve breakfast, assist with bathing, meals, and accompany her mistress on outings.
As for dusting and cleaning, that was left to the common maids.
It was clear just how close she and Elizabeth were. Jones had long noticed her young mistress's obsession with those controversial yellow-covered novels. Though troubled by this hobby, as a servant she couldn't stop her mistress from reading them, nor could she secretly tattle to the master and mistress of the house. So she often encouraged Elizabeth to go out — riding, fishing, walking — anything was better than reading crime novels.
Today, the estate welcomed new guests, and Jones secretly hoped they would bring a breath of fresh air to Elizabeth's life. What she didn't expect was that, on the very first day of their arrival, Elizabeth would set aside her yellow novels and gush endlessly about Miss Elena.
"She's just so clever! I don't know how I didn't notice her brilliance before!"
"What did she do?" Jones asked, tightening the corset as Elizabeth got dressed.
"Not too tight, I noticed Elena and Janet's waists weren't pulled in much either," Elizabeth said, inhaling slightly to emphasize her figure. "You know what? She came up with the most brilliant detective story! At first, I thought it was from a book, but guess what? She made it all up on the spot!"
"Oh, really?" Jones tied the corset's laces with amazement. "Miss Elena could just invent a story like that on the spot? That's truly impressive."
A detective story? That sounded much more acceptable than those crime novels.
"Not only that," Elizabeth continued, slipping into her dress and speaking through the fabric, "her story was about a jewel theft. She listed tons of clues and evidence, eliminated suspects one by one, and the final culprit — oh, it was so unexpected! I was totally blown away. And to think she came up with all that just during our chat!"
"A story that complicated?" Jones adjusted the hoop skirt and carefully freed Elizabeth's hair from her collar. "That does sound like quite a challenge."
"Yes, yes," Elizabeth admired herself in the mirror, twirling a little. "And she even wants to set up a room with clues and evidence so we can hunt for the criminal ourselves. Doesn't that sound like fun? Like we're real detectives! Do you think Father would let us play a detective game?"
Jones's hands paused for a moment as she braided her mistress's hair, eyes lighting up. A detective game — now that sounded promising. After all, the goal was to catch a criminal — just the thing her young mistress was so obsessed with! Miss Elena was a genius, finding such a clever way to steer Elizabeth away from her unhealthy hobby. Without hesitation, Jones replied, "That sounds like a very intelligent activity. I'm sure the master will support it!"
After finishing her outfit and a touch of makeup, Elizabeth was ready to head to the dining room. She wore a light blue evening gown with short, ruffled sleeves and a low neckline. The deep blue satin trim was fashioned into delicate rosettes at the hem — a perfect match for her age.
Spring and summer gowns were typically short-sleeved, and gloves were a must-have fashion item — long or short, depending on the look.
When Elizabeth gracefully entered the dining room, she was stunned by Elena and Janet's dresses.
They were absolutely gorgeous!
The manor used gas lamps, which cast a faint yellow glow. Light-colored clothes often looked dull under such lighting, while dark colors lost their shine. Yet Janet's red floral dress on a white background looked stunning and fresh, perfectly complementing the peaceful countryside atmosphere.
Elena's red dress was even more striking — a simple design made from silk, with just a trim of lace at the collar and cuffs. Outdoors, it might have made her pale skin look sallow, but indoors, under the warm candlelight, it shimmered radiantly.
Literally shimmered — because the dress was dusted with tiny gold foil flakes.
"Is this the latest trend in Ludenton?" Elizabeth circled excitedly around Elena. "How did you think to put gold foil on your dress? That's such a brilliant idea! I want to try it next time too!"
Janet chuckled. "When we passed the dining room earlier, Elena noticed the yellowish lighting and had a flash of inspiration. Honestly, if my dress had suited it, I'd have tried it too."
"Yes, gold foil works best with darker fabrics," Elizabeth nodded in admiration.
Throughout the dinner, the other ladies also complimented Elena's gold foil idea. It looked like this fashion detail might soon spark a new trend among them.
After the meal, the older cousin confidently sat at the piano and played a piece she had been practicing diligently. Melodious music filled the manor. The gentlemen — namely the uncle and the older male cousin — began inviting the ladies to dance. Elena accepted the cousin's invitation and brushed up on her dancing skills. As her dress twirled with her steps, the sparkling gold foil left Elizabeth mesmerized.
Of course, the glittering foil, while beautiful, did create extra work for the servants — but on such a lovely evening, those minor troubles felt insignificant.
After a dance, Elena stepped out of the ballroom to hear Elizabeth pitching the "detective game" to her father.
"…and then we catch the hidden criminal!" she said excitedly. "Isn't that fun, Father?"
"It does sound fun," said the Campbell heir, always indulgent toward his daughters. "Of course you may do it."
With her father's blessing, Elizabeth sought her mother's approval next. The idea of a logic-based game passed inspection, though her mother warned, "Just don't let it interfere with your studies."
Elizabeth guiltily lowered her head — she 'had' once stayed up late reading those yellow books and ended up dozing off during lessons. She quickly promised, "Of course, Mother, I'll be careful."
The next morning, Elizabeth eagerly dragged Elena and Janet to request a spare guest room from the butler to use as their game venue. The room wasn't as lavish as the main guest chambers, but it was fully furnished — bed, wardrobe, tables, chairs — more than enough for setting the scene.
"Hmm, this looks good," Elena said, surveying the room with satisfaction. "We can definitely create an interesting detective setting here."
"Just the three of us playing?" Janet asked, then realized, "Right, El can't play — since you came up with the game, there wouldn't be any mystery for you. That'd be cheating."
"Oh, that's true." Elena nodded in agreement.
Elizabeth sighed. "Then it's just the two of us. My sister has classes, she won't have time. And my brother's busy entertaining you all, so he's out too."
"Maybe we can get some of the servants involved? And Miss Susan too," Elena suggested. "It'd be more fun with more characters."
"Hmm, how about this: the servants play the suspects and the criminal," Janet proposed. "Elizabeth, Miss Susan, and I can be the detectives."
Clearly, Janet wasn't too eager to play the role of the criminal. Elena went along with it. "That could work. But do we have enough servants available?"
In such a big estate, surely some of them were free.
As the game began to morph from a detailed murder mystery to a courtroom-style whodunit, Elena realized she'd have to revise her script. Traditional murder mystery games required complex backstories and character notes. But with their new approach — more like Judge Bao solving a case — the focus had to shift to clearer, more visual evidence and clues instead.
Elena already had ideas and planned to spend the evening in the study working on the script.
Since the manor had guests, Elizabeth was given three days off to entertain Elena and Janet. Nearby was a sizeable hedge maze — its shrubs meticulously trimmed taller than a person, forming a labyrinth with countless twists and turns, and a variety of plants at every corner.
Elizabeth was already familiar with the layout, but for Elena and Janet, it was quite the challenge.
"This maze is pretty complex," Elena said, examining the path. "Feels like it'd be great for a treasure hunt... maybe we could tie it into the detective game."
"You've really got a game brain," Elizabeth sighed. "Think about it — this maze is so romantic! Imagine a lady entering from one end, and a gentleman from the other, and they meet by the fountain in the center… such fate! And you… all you can think of is games."