The Windsor Girl (6 page)

‘It’s nothing Ellie’, but she held the blankets tight.

‘Now Kate, there’s something else you’re not telling me, isn't there?  Let me see’.

She lit the candle and looked at Kate.  Kate looked afraid and Ellie asked, ‘Kate, have you been beaten?’

Kate hung onto Ellie and cried again but this time she wept out loud.

Ellie lifted Kate’s shift and cried out in alarm.  ‘My God, what have they done to you?’

Kate’s thin body was shaking as Ellie examined the flesh of her back.  It was covered with great red wheals, all of them swollen, and some of them, bleeding.

‘How could they do this to you?  How could anyone be so vicious?  Who did it Kate?  Who used the leather?’

‘It was Mister Blunt that did it.  Miss Maud was there too, it was horrible.  It hurts so much Ellie’.

‘Don't worry Kate and try to get some sleep’.  Ellie got up, placed her shawl over her nightshirt, and left the room.

Chapter
Eight

Some of the kitchen workers were still at work in the kitchen when Ellie walked in.  Cook looked up in surprised to see Ellie in her night attire.

‘Good heavens girl, what do you think you are about?  Coming down here dressed like that?’

‘I would like to speak to Mister Blunt, if you please Cook’, said Ellie, firmly.

Missus Blunt was quite taken aback, ‘well, I don’t know if that’s possible Ellie, can I deal with this?’

‘No, I’m afraid not, it’s Mister Blunt I want to see and I will wait all night if I must’.

‘What is it Missus Blunt?’  The voice was that of William.  He looked at Ellie in disbelief.

Cook flustered for a second, ‘It’s Ellie, William’.

‘Yes I can see that’, said William.  His conscience bothered him as he realised why she was looking so angry.

His wife said, ‘she wants to speak to you dear.  But I really
do
think she ought not to have come downstairs dressed that way’.

‘Well, let the girl speak for herself.   What is it Ellie?’

Ellie’s eyes were smouldering, ‘it’s about Kate, Mister Blunt’.

William thought as much.  ‘Come with me Ellie.  Somewhere we can have a chat’.

She followed him to a small office where he often dealt with the tradesmen.  He held open the door and allowed her into the room first, then, closed the door behind them.  He looked at Ellie, once more, marvelling at her lovely face.

His thoughts were quite involuntary, and absolutely out of order, considering the circumstances.  Nevertheless, he mused, with
nostalgia, ‘
I do believe you are lovelier than ever with this wild anger in you’.

He had never seen his Sarah angry.  Oh that he could have!  But if he had, he knew she would have looked exactly like this.

He forced his thoughts to the back of his mind and addressed Ellie.

‘I know what you are about to say and I know how you must feel, but there was no alternative.  It was a serious offence’.

‘She stole three eggs, for goodness sake. 
Three eggs
!’

‘Stealing is stealing no matter how little’.

‘But to beat her so badly is barbaric’.

‘I think you have said enough Ellie’.  He was distressed by her manner and spoke sternly.

Ellie looked defiant, ‘well I have something else to say before I return to my bed.  The eggs were for me.  If that were not so, this would not have happened, so I
too
am at fault.  You must beat me too’.

‘Now Ellie, you are distraught.  And I understand, but you are not to blame. 
You
did not steal anything and would never do such a thing’.

‘
I say
you should beat me too because it was, mostly,
my
fault’.

‘I’ll do no such thing’.  William was adamant, now feeling quite desperate.

A voice bellowed from across the room, ‘she’s right of course.  She
must
be beaten.  She admits she is in the wrong and if you won’t do it, then I will’.

They both turned to see Miss Maud, hands on huge hips, standing by the door.

William looked from Miss Maud to Ellie.  He was being forced into beating the girl, and although it was the last thing he wanted to do, he now had no choice and would have to steel himself to the task.

His voice hardened, ‘all right, I
will
beat her.  But not for your eyes, Miss Maud’, he snapped, ‘Come with me Ellie’.  He took her by the hand and marched her, briskly, to the wine cellar.  He slammed the door behind him, took the strap from the wall and said, ‘well?’

Ellie turned her back to him and leaned against the table.  The blows reigned down on her back and she had to clench her teeth so as not to cry out.

Then it was over.  With tears, in her eyes, she turned around.

‘May I go now?’ she said.

‘Yes Ellie.  Go back to bed’.

William averted his eyes as Ellie left the cellar.  She did not see the pain in his eyes, nor the tears, slowly staining his, once handsome, face.  He collapsed on the stool and with his head in his hands, repeated, ‘Oh Ellie.  Ellie.  Sarah, my Sarah!’

William was never to forget the pain and anguish of that night, whilst Ellie had forgotten, and forgiven, by the time the marks on her back were healed.

Immediately after luncheon on Sunday afternoon, the whole of the staff were summoned to the drawing room.  Most of the kitchen staff had been there before and, of course, some of them were employed to work upstairs.

Even the lowest grade of servant had experienced this ritual, at Christmas and other important times, in Missus Courtney’s diary.  For Ellie, this was to be the first time.

Cook noticed how drab Ellie’s skirt looked and decided it was about time she has some other dress, for occasions such as this, but she didn't have time to sort it out at the moment.

She called all the staff together and lined them up in order of position.  She, herself, would be at the front, with her husband, and then would come Robert Thrush, the Valet.  Next in line would be Doris, the upstairs maid.

There were Violet and Molly, who worked as kitchen maids and, bringing up the rear, would be Kate and Ellie.  Missus Blunt hoped the Mistress would be too busy to notice how drab the young girls looked. 

Young Jimmy hadn't been allowed to attend as he had no shoes, of any kind, and his clothes were little more than rags.  Cook would make sure that she saved him an Easter egg.

The household employed another upstairs maid and three chamber maids but they did not live in so were not required to come, unless, they were on duty Sunday duty. 

‘Kate.  Ellie’, she called to the back of the line, ‘take off your aprons and straighten your caps.  Violet, there’s some flour on your nose’.  Then she addressed them all, ‘I hope you have all washed your hands?’ 

Good!’  She said as they all mumbled and nodded.

Missus Blunt inspected the staff and was pleased with most of them.  The kitchen maids looked nice in their long blue dresses and white collars and cuffs. 
Doris always looked crisp and fresh in her black dress, white frilly apron and frilled cap.  Everyone was ready.

Miss Maud made her appearance, accompanied by Robert Thrush, in his dark grey suit and waistcoat.  Lillian Marsh, the Still Room maid, who assisted the housekeeper in her work, followed on
behind.

The nurse, Miss Claremont, and Mable Grant, Missus Courtney’s personal maid, were already upstairs and were not required to attend with the kitchen staff.

Miss Maud walked slowly down the line of workers, making sure that Cook had not missed anything.  She checked that all caps were on straight and uniforms in order.  She ‘tut tutted’ at the sight of the two scullery maids when she came to the end of the procession.  She noted that the attire of these two girls was quite unsuitable for presentation to the Mistress.
However, they would just have to keep quiet and hope that no one, of any importance, noticed them
She sniffed loudly before retracing her steps back to Missus Blunt.

Miss Maud led the servants up to the Courtney Residence, via the ‘forbidden stairs’, up which Ellie had not yet ventured.

As they reached the main hall of the house Ellie was amazed by the colour of everything.  Her life, so far, had been one of dark, drab clothes and dark rooms.  She viewed, with wonder, the pale green carpet, patterned with swirls of leaves and flowers of many, and varied, colours.  The beautiful glass bowls, covering the gas mantels, were placed every three feet along the length of the hall and guilt framed paintings seemed to be everywhere.

There were several tall doors of grained wood, at either side of the vast gallery, and it was into one of these that they were directed.  Every one of the servants were aware of the thickness of the dark blue carpet square which covered, almost all, of the floor area of the large room.

Kate informed Ellie that this was known as the ‘drawing room’, and was the ‘grandest room in the house’.  Ellie was inclined to believe her friend.  It was grand, all right; she could hardly believe the array of such beauty.  Heavy drapes of velvet adorned the big bay windows, where plants of trailing foliage sat on the wide sills.  The papered walls were covered with delicate watercolours, porcelain plaques and painted masks.  Highly polished side tables bore, still more plants and china figurines of pretty maidens and handsome young men.

In the centre of the room was a fireplace of white marble, with copper fire irons, which shone like new.  Standing in front of the grate was a large copper fan, constructed in the likeness of a Peacock with tail feathers displayed in all their glory. 
Ellie was fascinated with the richness of the room and no sooner had her eyes alighted on one thing, than something else caught her attention.

Missus Blunt tapped her, lightly, on the shoulder, ‘don’t look around too much
dear.  Missus Courtney will be here shortly and we don’t want her to think we are common, do we?’  She smiled, kindly, at Ellie taking in her lovely hair, topped with the shabby mop cap, and finished by adding, ‘there’s a good girl’.

Just at that moment, the Mistress walked into the room, her maid close
behind her.  Missus Courtney spoke in a clear voice to all assembled there.

‘Good afternoon everyone’ she purred,
‘so good of you all to be on time.  I always say it is a sign of excellent manners’.

She was dressed in a suit of emerald green, the hem of the skirt resting on neat buckled shoes.  Her jacket was an elaborate affair with a large bustle and an array of decorative buttons, from the high neck, to the hem of the skirt.  The same buttons were attached to the large cuffs.

Louise Courtney was a lady of fashion and considered to be one of the best-dressed ladies in the region.  Her hair was the colour of fire and was drawn into a bun at the nape of her neck.  A large brimmed hat, topped with feathers of the same green, completed the outfit.  To Ellie she looked like a Queen.

The Mistress smiled, her eyes
travelling around the room, seeming to rest for a moment on each face in turn. Cook noticed that Missus Courtney’s glance lingered a little longer on Ellie.  She wished, once more, that she had organised some new clothes for the two girls.

‘Goodness knows what she will think’, she thought, but had some satisfaction in the knowledge that such things were the responsibility of the housekeeper and Miss Maud had deliberately delayed the making of the garments.

The Mistress continued with her little speech, outlining her various charity works for the poor, desperate, people of the City, declaring how satisfying it was to help ‘poor unfortunates’ by serving them free soup at the Church Hall.

She finished with a smile, which took in all the assembled servants. 

‘You must all consider yourselves among the privileged few, who are cared for by good, responsible, employers.  I am sure each one of you know that, so I will say nothing more about it but asked you all to line up for your Easter egg’.

The Mistress, with yet another smile, added, ‘oh yes.  You are to be the first ones to receive an egg as I believe that charity begins at home’.

Kate stole a glance at Ellie, at the mention of the eggs, but lowered her eyes as her friend looked back at her with a sombre expression.

A basket of the decorated eggs were placed on the table and, one by one, the servants approached the Mistress and were handed this small token.  Each egg was marked with their name, and in return for this gift the Mistress received a curtsey from the female staff and a bow of the head from the men.  Twenty minutes after they had climbed the stairs, they were back in the kitchen.

The rest of the day was spent in a pleasant, holiday atmosphere and the day’s work was finished a little earlier than usual.

When the rest of the kitchen staff had retired, William and his wife were about to have a late drink of hot cocoa.  The Cook, having been talking to her husband and getting no response, said sharply, ‘William.  Are you listening to me?’

William again said nothing but was standing still, looking down, at the table.  Missus Blunt went to his side and, she
too
, was silent.  There on the table, sitting neatly side by side, and each marked with a name, were two small, decorated Easter eggs.

In the days that followed, no mention was made of this incident and the eggs were quietly removed.