In the bath, Jacob's tense muscles started to relax as he appreciated the hot bath. His mind became blank as he stopped thinking about everything. The only matter on his mind was if he should go to bed or not.

With closed eyes, he let out a big yawn.

Time flowed on as usual while Jacob took it easy. At least ten minutes went by before Jacob felt satisfied.

After cleaning himself off with the long cloth, he proceeded to put on his new dry clothes. Similar to the one he wore before, except his trousers were made of brown leather.

Pausing in his steps, he could make out some sounds coming from the hallway. Whoever it was speaking made sure they kept their voice down as they spoke in a low tone.

Jacob needed to place his ear on the door and concentrate on what they were saying.

Nothing was better than hearing other people's secrets. It was one of the greatest leverages you could have on a person. Something that could motivate them to do your bidding, or you can pass the information along giving rise to a little chaos.

"Renold is gone, it has already been more than six hours since he has left. I believe he left Diana in charge, but who knows when he will be back. If he does not return within the hour it is safe to assume he won't be back for the day."

"Ugh, what makes her think she is special. Treating us like her lackeys. Does she forget she's nothing but a commoner the same as us? I say if Renold does not return we should gather up the other girls to teach her a lesson."

"I'm not too sure about that. Afterall, Renold will be back and if Diana tells him…"

"Renold doesn't care about her! He cares about order, surely he will not retaliate on her behalf. Do you want to listen to her talk down on you again? For crying out loud Mary, you're nearly twice her age! She should be showing you some respect, not the other way around."

"But Barbara she is untouchable. What makes you fancy we will be able to do anything to her?"

Mary was wary of Diana and frankly a little scared. After all, she has seen Diana when she's upset. It was not a pretty sight.

"Are you not in charge of cooking tonight? Listen, we just take some horse shit from the stables and mix it with her food. Or, if you are up for it my brother told me about this herb that gives you diarrhea for a day. We can mix that in as well, and lock all the bathrooms. Let the slut shit on herself in front of everyone. See how much she shows herself in public then."

Barbara suggested as she has had enough of Diana and her authority. It was time to put Diana in her place and make her remember who she was.

She was not a noble, so she needed to stop acting like one.

"That's mean Barbara! I thought we were trying to embarrass her, not make her quit."

"Stop acting like a child Mary. If she quits, then that is even better. Then we will have a vote for the new head made. Does that position not interest you?"

Nothing was stopping Barbara from seeing this plan through. A few enticing words and she knew she could sway Mary over to her side. Mary might be old, but she was dumber than a doorknob.

She did not even know if something were to happen, she would be the prime suspect. After all, she was the one cooking tonight. Barbara could just deny any sort of involvement.

"Well… I mean I do like the sound of that. But if she craps on herself, I'm not cleaning it up."

"That is fine. I'll go get the herbs and horse shit, you make sure you mix it with her food and only her food Mary. I don't want my pork tasting like crap!"

The two women talked with each other for a bit more before their voices began to fade off in the distance.

'Well… this is pretty interesting.'

Jacob thought to himself with a grin spread across his face.

He was not sure how he kept coming across these situations, but he did not mind. After all, where there were secrets there were things to be gained.

As for Barbara and Mary, he did not know who they were. However, Diana would be sure to know.

Imagining the scene of Diana shitting herself would definitely be a sight to see, but Jacob felt that she was too valuable. She was an asset worth keeping around so long as he was still here.

Diana was sure to feel indebted to him which would open a gate to a whole lot more information.

If Jacob wanted to pretend to be the lord, he needed to know what sort of businesses he owned. Diana as the head maid was sure to have a clue about it, if not she was bound to point him in the right direction.

'Just you wait kid, you want to use me in your own schemes? Well then, you will have to pay a hefty price for it.'

Smirking, Jacob pictured himself with a sack full of silver, or maybe even some gold.

He was never one to steal anything, but could it really be considered stealing if you took it from yourself? After all, the lord wanted him to be his body double. It was only right Jacob claimed what was 'his'.

Leaving the bath, Jacob quickly went to find the head maid.

How she planned on handling the situation was up to her, he just needed to inform her of it.

It did not take long for him to find Diana, as he spotted her seated on the stairs fanning herself with her left hand. Her right hand grabbed the hem of her maid outfit pulling it back and forth.

He was not sure why she was sweating, but at least she was easy to find.

"Diana, just the maid I was looking for!"

Jacob called out her name causing her to look at him.

She did not recall telling him her name, but she just figured he learned it from one of the other employees here.

Still, the way he called her maid. He said it so casually as if she were below him. When did their roles get reversed?

"What do you want?"

Diana was annoyed, for more than one reason. The schedule she set was being pushed back because Barbara informed her they were out of flour. This would push back their cooking schedule.

She enjoyed keeping things tight and disliked it when nothing went as planned.

Nearly ripping Barbara a new one, she let the maid go after she suggested she go buy some from town. Diana agreed and gave her the coin for it.

That happened just a little while ago, and Barbara just stepped out of the door right before Jacob arrived.

Jacob kept a grin on his face.

"You know Mary and Barbara? Those two are plotting something…"

Jacob led on as he paused to see if it would catch Diana's attention. Sure enough, she stopped fanning herself and gazed into his eyes with a serious look on her face.

"Well speak, what is it?"

Diana urged him on as she wanted to know what was going on.

"There seem to be people here who do not enjoy your company."

Diana laughed inwardly when she heard that sentence. Who did not have it out for her? Enemies came with the title, it happened to everyone with some sort of status.

"I overheard Barbara and Mary saying how they would mix in some other ingredients into your meal tonight. They also plan on getting the other maids on board, so you should watch out."

Clicking her tongue, she moved her sight towards the kitchen.

"Those little fuckers! Stirring up some shit as soon as Renold leaves, I should have known they would do something like this. Guess I'm not working them hard enough. If they want to scheme against me, then I shall give them a taste of their own medicine!"

There was a dark look on Diana's face as she cursed the maids. To Jacob, it seemed like an evil spirit resided in her body and just began to surface.

Seconds after speaking, Diana's facial expression returned to normal.

"How did you manage to get a whiff of this? Surely they did not speak in front of you, I doubt Barbara is that dumb."

"I was in the bathroom at the time, overheard them on my way out."

Diana seemed to understand, he was behind the wall. Neither Barbara or Mary could see him so they assumed it was safe to talk there.

She had to look at Jacob in a new light, maybe she was wrong about him.

At least he did not think bad of her, or else he would not have shared this information with her. Without it, she would be a fat pig waiting to be cut up and fed to the wolves.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a few silver and passed it over to Jacob.

"Here, a little something for you. Spend it as you like. Oh, and be sure to be here for dinner tonight, I'm sure there will be quite a show."