The Observations

The story kicks off with Bessy walking down a long way to Castle Haivers in the hope of landing a job. On her way there, she sees a girl of about her age cackling to herself and dragging a metal box behind her. Bessy finally makes it to Castle Haivers to find the mistress of the house chasing after a pig. The house is a bit in disrepair and it is clear that someone (it turns out it is Morag, the girl Bessy saw in her travels to Castle Haivers) intentionally left a mess inside of the house. 

Bessy is hired to be the house maid. During her stay there she grows fond of her mistress.  Little by little the mistress begins to request odd things from Bessy. Later on Bessy discovers a book which she calls The Observations. The mistress is secretly writing a book about domestic help and their behavior. Bessy also discovers that Nora, the maid that preceded her, was dearly loved by the mistress, and clues in the book lead Bessy to believe that something suspicious surrounds the disappearance of Nora. Secrets about Nora and others in the community are revealed. However, I was most intrigued by the minor character of Morag, and was disappointed that the character played such an insignificant role in the plot. Where did she head off to? What was she dragging with her? Why didn't she share what she witnessed with others? I would've loved to have read her point of view on the matter surrounding her ex-mistress and her time spent at Castle Haivers. With that said, Bessy was a delightful character – one that's rough around the edges, shoots from the hip, but has a great, big heart.