The Windsor Girl

by Sylvia Burton

  James spoke to Ellie and Kate, in much the same way, always kind and considerate. They had, in fact, become quite good friends. He seemed so ‘ordinary’ and Ellie found it easy to talk to him.

  Just before they were to return to Leeds, Ellie said to him, ‘will we be seeing you in town, Master James?’

  ‘As a matter of fact, you will, and quite soon’, he said, ‘I am taking leave of the farm, for a couple of months, to catch up with the running of the mill. I’m not looking forward to it very much. I don't really like working there; too much noise and squalor. But it has its compensations. I will be able to look in on my friends there, and will be able to pop in to see you all in the kitchen, and sample some of Cook’s delicious cakes. I may even give you a hand with your work Ellie. What do you think of that, eh!?’

  ‘I think you must be mad, Sir’, laughed Ellie.

  ‘I think I must be too, come to think of it’.

  She knew he was joking with her, but it was nice to think he liked her company. She looked forward to his being around, on a regular basis, when he came to stay in the town house.

  All in all, the experience of the visit to York had been a good one and she felt she would like to come back again, one day.

  On Saturday morning, after the family had left and the cleaning had been done, the whole of the staff made their return journey to Leeds.

  As they alighted from the train at the railway station, Ellie took in the smoke and grime and wished, with all her heart, she could turn around and get back on the train.

  Chapter Sixteen

  On her return from the country, Victoria, after conducting several interviews and meticulously examining references, engaged a new nurse. She was a lady of mature years by the name of Anna Bronson. She was asked if she used sedatives in her work and answered, indignantly.

  ‘I leave such things to the Doctor Ma-am, after all, he would know much more about such things’.

  Highly satisfied, with such a response, Victoria had no hesitation in employing her.

  She said to her mother, ‘and while I am organising my life, I feel that I should have a personal maid. I can’t stand Mable any more. She doesn't understand me Mother, and she chooses not to obey me, when I tell her to do something for me’.

  ‘The trouble is Victoria; you order her about in such a manner, that you annoy her. After all, she is not your maid, but mine’, said Louise, more than a little annoyed with her daughter.

  ‘Exactly, that is what I’ve been telling you, for what seems like an eternity, she is your maid and I need one of my own’.

  ‘You should have a nurse but you won’t hear of it’.

  ‘No Mother, I won’t. I don’t want a nurse. They are far too bossy and I can do without people telling me what to do with my own life. I must have a maid, and if you won’t provide one, I will employ one myself, although, God only knows how I will manage to pay her, out of the little capital I have left’.

  Louise sighed, ‘I may as well give in to you. But I don’t know where I will put her. All the bedrooms are taken in the servant’s quarters, and I will not have a maid sleep here in our home’.

  Victoria was quiet, as if in thought. She had thought it through, already, and it was now a matter of putting her plan into action. She hoped her mother would agree, as it would solve her problems.

  ‘Mother?’ she said, reaching out for her hand.

  Louise was familiar with Victoria’s ploys, she used them often enough on her father where they had more affect. However, she was prepared to listen to whatever her daughter had to say.

  ‘What is it Victoria?’

  ‘I have an idea. Could I have Ellie? And before you say she isn’t suitable may I remind you how sensible she is? I feel she would be just what I want and she already has a room in the servant’s quarters. If you say yes, all our troubles will be over. Please Mother’.

  ‘Oh Victoria dear, she’s a scullery maid. What would she know about your predicament? And, forgive me, but you are not the easiest person to deal with’.

  ‘Mother, I am sure that there is more to Ellie than meets the eye. She is not a children’s nurse but she managed to show a lot of sense and responsibility. Well, did she, or did she not?’

  ‘Yes dear, but a scullery maid?’

  ‘Oh do stop it Mother. She wasn’t born a scullery maid. It is we who made her one. Well, what do you say?’

  Louise gave in, ‘I expect I will have no peace until I agree. But don’t come to me with complaints that she doesn’t know her job’.

  ‘I won’t Mother. And thank you’. She squeezed her mother’s hand.

  ‘Goodness knows what your father will say’.

  ‘Daddy will not be in the least interested, and it will make me happy, really’.

  With that, she rang the housekeeper’s bell, a smile of satisfaction on her face.

  ‘Miss Maud will not be so pleased’, said Louise, dreading telling the housekeeper of her daughter’s choice of nurse.

  ‘Oh what does she know?’ Victoria retorted, feeling quite pleased with herself for having won the battle, at long last.

  Miss Maud was not overjoyed at the prospect of having Ellie in a position of some authority. I, of course, will still be the senior supervisor, apart from William, she thought. Just the same, Ellie thought enough about herself as it was, without giving her a more responsible position. No, she did not like it at all but could do little about it, as Missus Barnstable seemed set on the idea.

  All she said now, was, ‘I will inform the girl that you wish to see her, shall I?’

  ‘Please do that Miss Maud’, replied Victoria, sensing the discomfort, undoubtedly felt, by the housekeeper, ‘and ... Miss Maud? Her name is Ellie’.

  The housekeeper went from the room, her body trembling with anger and her thoughts less than charitable. There are upstarts, and upstarts, and some of them are in the upper classes.

  Ellie was surprised by the proposition and, although a little apprehensive, she accepted the post along with a substantial rise in her earnings.

  When the news was conveyed to Missus Blunt, she discovered that the housekeeper had already informed the Cook.

  ‘As I told Miss Maud, I’ll tell you Ellie’, she said, ‘you deserve a chance. You have worked hard in this house and, may I say, with no complaints and we all think highly of you’.

  ‘Not everyone does, I’m afraid, Missus Blunt’, said Ellie, smiling as she imagined the housekeeper’s attitude.

  ‘That’s ‘by the by’. I must admit that I’ll miss you, but good luck to you. Mind you, I don’t think that I, personally, would choose to work for young Missus Barnstable. Oh, she’s a bit of a ‘tarter’ by all accounts’. She whispered this last piece of information out of the corner of her mouth and looked quite comical.

  Ellie gave Missus Blunt a smile of reassurance, ‘I’m sure I will manage’.

  ‘Oh Ellie, I know you will. Anyway I hope it goes well for you and don’t forget about us poor servants down her in the kitchen, will you?’

  ‘Dear Missus Blunt, do you think I could? You’ve all been so good to me, especially, you and your good husband’.

  ‘William will miss having you around. He took to you from the start, and speaks of you affectionately’.

  Ellie’s face coloured. She had never been sure whether Cook knew of her husband’s kind deeds to herself and her family, for she had never mentioned it.

  ‘You have both been very kind’, was all she could say.

  Ellie looked for Kate, and spied her, kneeling in the corner of the kitchen, scrubbing for all she was worth. Tears were dropping from her chin and into the bucket. It looked obvious to Ellie that she, too, had heard about her appointment.

  ‘Kate McCarthy, scolded Ellie, are you trying to wash the floor with your salty tears? Do they not provide carbolic soap any more?’

  Kate kept on scrubbing, her shoulders now shaking as she began to sob.

  ‘Am I to lose you, now that we have become friends?
It’s happened to me before, you know. Whenever I find a friend and like her, she goes away’.

  Her wet hands covered her tear stained face. Ellie knelt beside her friend and, holding her by her shoulders, she looked into Kate’s worried eyes.

  ‘You could never lose me Kate, not even if you tried. I know I will, no longer, be working along side you, in the kitchen, but I am still to share the same room. So you see, we will still be together. And something else, Kate, we can now have the same day off and you will be able to come home with me’.

  Kate brightened up, at this, and dried her face, ‘I’m sorry Ellie. I’m so afraid of being alone again. I’ll be alright now, really’.

  And Kate was all right! Over the weeks that followed, Cook took more of an interest in the girl. She felt sorry for her. Kate had never had much pleasure in life, until she found Ellie and now she missed her working alongside of her.

  William found himself depressed about the whole thing. He missed seeing the likeness of his long lost love, working in the kitchen, but he had no choice but to be happy for her and get on with the routine of his life.

  His loss was his alone, which he could share with no one, especially not Rose. However, over the next few weeks he ensured his presence at the table whenever she came down for a meal when he would question her about her new duties. He was concerned that she was shown the correct etiquette, adhered to by the upstairs staff; after all they may not take kindly to a scullery maid being in a more prestigious position than themselves.

  Ellie assured him that everything was fine and he had no need to worry about her. This seemed to satisfy him.

  Life at the house resumed its normal orderly routine. A new scullery maid was set on, to work in Ellie’s place, although she was local and did not ‘live in’.

  Kate liked her well enough, but to her, things would never be the same again. It wasn’t that she was not pleased for Ellie. She loved her and wanted only the best for her, but the only time she was her usual, happy, self was when she was with her friend, after work, either talking or reading the Bible.

  Meanwhile Ellie familiarised herself with the many needs of her new Mistress.

  Standing in Victoria’s sitting room, waiting for her mistress to finish the letters she was writing, Ellie admired the surroundings.

  Decorating the walls were numerous paintings, which were framed in the usual guilt. The drapes were of a lighter shade of green than the carpet square and together they gave the room a look of freshness.

  In one corner, was a piano of highly polished wood where photographs in beautiful frames were arranged.

  How wonderful it must be to live in surroundings like these, she thought.

  Victoria was dressed in a deep pink morning dress, which fastened high at the neck, with full sleeves of flounced tulle. Of course the rest of the lovely dress was hidden under a rug, which covered her legs. Ellie thought it a pity that Victoria, who had such a spirited nature, should be confined to an invalid chair.

  When Victoria spoke, she addressed Ellie in a friendly manner.

  ‘First of all Ellie, we must arrange for some new clothes for you. Four sets should suffice for the time being’.

  Seeing the surprise in Ellie’s eyes, she elaborated, ‘I will expect you to look at your best when you accompany me on my visits to friends and relatives’.

  ‘Yes Missus Barnstable’, said Ellie.

  ‘And Ellie, that’s another thing. I just know we are to be great friends, so I don’t want you to address me as Missus Barnstable. It makes me sound like my mother-in-law’.

  ‘No Ma-am’.

  ‘Neither do I wish ‘Ma-am’ to be an alternative. It makes me feel old. How old do you think I am Ellie?’

  ‘I don’t know ... er... Ma-am’, she hesitated over the last word.

  ‘I am thirty years old and I want to feel thirty, not sixty. You will call me Victoria’.

  ‘Oh I couldn’t. What would people think?’

  ‘What does it matter what they think? You will call me Vicky or Victoria. What do you say?’

  ‘Forgive me Ma-am, but I get into trouble too readily as things are. I really don’t want to make problems for myself’.

  Victoria studied Ellie for a moment, and then suggested with a smile, ‘how do you feel about 'Miss Vicky? I think that could be the solution’.

  Ellie too thought this was the answer. ‘That will do fine, Miss Vicky’, she said, smiling broadly.

  ‘Good girl. Then perhaps, when we know each other a little better, and in private, I will persuade you to drop the ‘Miss’. Do you agree to this?’

  ‘Yes Miss Vicky’.

  Victoria was going to like her new maid. She has ‘strength of character’, she thought.

  Over the next few days, Ellie was instructed about Victoria’s personal needs, and other duties. She found that, not only was she quite capable of performing the tasks required of her, but she could be herself and, politely, speak her mind to Victoria.

  Victoria had not been so content for a long time and realized that she had made a good decision when she chose Ellie. Although the girl was much younger than she, and came from a working class background, it made not the slightest difference. She felt infinity with her. She had no idea why; she was just grateful for it.

  On the fourth day in the service of Victoria, Ellie asked, ‘when would you like to take a bath, Miss Vicky? Bed-baths are not very satisfactory, are they?’

  ‘They are all I am allowed. It’s not advisable for me to have a real bath’, said Victoria, with a shrug of her shoulders.

  ‘Why on earth not?’ Ellie was astounded, ‘it would be no trouble to run a tub for you and I’m strong enough to help you into it’.

  ‘Ellie, it’s awfully good of you but no one thinks it a good idea’.

  ‘Well Vicky, I do. I’m sure you would feel a lot better if you could soak in a hot bath. Would you like to try?’

  ‘I don’t know if I dare’, she said, biting her lip in thought. Then with a gleam in her eyes, ‘damn it Ellie, why not? And, by the way, you called me Vicky’, she laughed.

  Ellie laughed with her and said, ‘come on then, let’s get started’.

  For once in her life, Victoria took orders from someone else, and was surprised to find that she was enjoying the experience. At last someone cared enough to consider her more personal needs. Ellie was, indeed, a ‘no nonsense’ person.

  Ellie pushed the invalid chair into the bathroom and proceeded to take off Victoria’s nightwear. As she exposed the misshapen legs, Victoria searched the girl’s face for signs of repulsion, as she had done on previous days, during her bed baths, Ellie’s expression was one of a seasoned nurse, intent on her work.

  Ellie, whilst showing nothing in her face, felt her heart go out to Victoria. The twisted limbs were a terrible sight. Victoria was not paralysed at all and had feelings in her legs, indeed at times awful pain. However, because it had been such a serious injury, the bones had not healed correctly, which had left them inadequate and unable to support her weight. The muscles had disappeared and there had been some talk of amputation, but Victoria would not hear of it, although they were ugly and she could hardly bear to look at them, they were her limbs and she wanted to keep them, even if they were useless.

  Ellie placed her arms around Victoria, their faces level so that their noses almost touched, and lifted her mistress so that her body was resting on the side of the tub.

  ‘Hold tightly on to me Vicky. Yes, that’s right, around my neck’, she instructed, then swung the thin, useless, legs over the edge and lowered Victoria into the hot water.

  The look on Victoria’s face was one of sheer bliss.

  ‘This is wonderful Ellie. Why has no one done this for me before? I shall stay here all day’. She felt alive again.

  ‘You may leave me here for a while if you wish. I’m quite safe, really. I feel so happy I just want to savour this exquisite experience’.

  Seeing Ellie’s hesitation, she laughed,
‘go on girl, read a book or something’.

  Ellie went into the bedroom, careful to leave the bathroom door ajar, and began to lay out Victoria’s morning clothes on the bed. There was a knock on the door, which immediately opened and Missus Courtney floated in wearing a dress of coral pink. She looked around the room then addressed Ellie.

  ‘Good morning Ellie, how are you today?’

  Without waiting for an answer, she went on to ask, ‘where is my Daughter?’

  ‘Missus Barnstable is taking a bath Ma-am’.

  ‘What? But Missus Barnstable does not take baths. They are not good for her’, cried the mistress.

  A voice came singing through the bathroom door, into the bedroom. ‘It’s not only good for me Mother, it’s positively wonderful. Come and see’.

  ‘I will have to speak to you about this later Ellie’, she said, sternly as she went into the bathroom.

  Seeing her daughter, up to her waist in water, and looking so happy, made her aware of how Victoria had missed out on so much these last few years.

  She sat by the tub and smiled, ‘it’s so nice to see you smile Victoria. But are you sure this is wise?’

  ‘Oh Mother, the only danger is that I may never come out of this lovely hot water. Of course there’s the danger that I may drown but that is not possible whilst I have my own, sensible Ellie to take care of me’.

  ‘Well, I must say, our little Ellie seems to be an authority on all ailments. What on earth was she doing working as a scullery maid?’

  The sarcastic remark was not lost on Victoria. However, she was determined that now she had Ellie, she was not going to risk losing her. She turned on her mother, with the same venom she had used when in previous moods of depression.

  ‘Do not lose her for me Mother, because I will not allow it. Surely you can see that I am well served? Can you not see that I am happier than I have been for a long time?’

  ‘Yes dear, of course I can. It’s only that I worry about the suitability of the girl, and I fear you may become friends’.

  ‘Would you have me as I was last week or last year? Surely Not’.