soubrette – n - A maidservant or lady's maid in a play, opera, or the like, esp. one displaying coquetry, pertness, and a tendency to engage in intrigue; an actress playing such a role; any lively or pert young woman.
I suppose Nat might fit the third definition. For rhe primary definition, I think of Paquette in Voltaire's novel and Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. (By the way, I can't recommend the soundtrack to Candide too highly, especially the 1956 original cast recording. It's interesting that Bernstein was working on Candide at the same time he was composing West Side Story. One Hand, One Heart, originally in C was moved to WSS, while Oh Happy We was moved from WSS to C.)
