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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

My Last Duchess- Rewritten for the Peasant


We all know she was a trophy wife. Sometimes I hear the other maids talking about the new one. Wondering if she'll be harsh like number three or gentle like number six. We've given up thinking that they'll ever be another Mary.

Mary was the first. The loveliest, kindest lady we'd ever met. She's the one that ruined the master after she died. His honest smile was replaced with the sardonic grin.

Never mind that. My duty now is to clean the latest Ms. Duchess' portrait. Number seven. Each fortnight I take the feather duster to her oil canvas. One must be careful not to scratch the surface, to blemish her rosy cheeks, or rip her satin gown would be most dangerous. The master would know.

It's not that he held her in any sort of high regard, but her only virtue (if you want to call it that) was her beautiful skin and lovely gowns. I know that's not the only reason, though.

He doesn't know I was there that night.

The master wishes to preserve her in portrait in hopes to erase the image of her mangled, bloody body that he hid in the crypts.


1 comment:

  1. Very nice intervention from the servant's point-of-view. We get the back-story of the Count's trauma and subsequent serial marriage/murder behaviour - well done!

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