a change in the weather // new footman

this currently nameless characters is played by michael trevino and so i shall refer to him as mike for the purposes of this explanation. mike is a new footman at dalton estate and should be around the same age as samantha, perhaps a couple of years older. without most of the other housemaids and footmen required to assist one of the nobles, samantha took it upon herself to show mike the ropes. within the time they've spent together, she's developed a crush on him and he's having the same problem. she knows that while relationships between servants aren't forbidden, they are frowned upon and with both of her parents unemployed, samantha can't afford to lose her job over such a thing. when mike first asks her out, she feels she must refuse but explains to him that it is because of their circumstances. mike correctly presumes that if they weren't both servants, she would have said yes. he asks her again a few days later and before she is able to give him an answer, he explains that their happiness shouldn't be dictated by the daltons simply because they work for them. once he's got his head around what to do and what not to do, they won't spend as much time together and so the issue of their personal lives interfering with their work would be reduced. after some persuasion, samantha agrees but on the terms that their relationship is kept secret from the daltons and, if they can, the other servants.