Seeing Felix with the kitchen servants was another bit of eye-opening for Ella. She had never seen him rude or cruel to others, true, but she had unconciously worried that he would be as dismissive of many servants as others that she had known. But then, perhaps her stepmother had just surrounded herself with people as shallow as herself.
The smells and sounds were....calming. She always had liked the kitchen, not partly because her stepfamily would never venture to the room for anything. Ella always equated it with a haven. So when the cook and Felix both looked to her expectantly, her smile came more naturally than she expected herself.
"I have been told the gamekeeper is feeling unwell," she started to explain, "and I know of a remedy that may help him." She outlined the recipe and the preparation quite easily; all the ingredients were staples of a good kitchen and this one was even better stocked than hers had ever been. Then she came to the difficulty of directing them to the work of bringing it to the man; before, Ella would have just volunteered herself, but she knew that would be inappropriate. She paused to gather the right words into her head, and then said, "If you please, have it taken to him while it is still warm, and he should be resting easier." There. A command but as kind as she could make it. She didn't look at Felix, just at the other servants as they began to gather and prepare it as she directed.