by Rosie Clarke
At the sink furthest from Jessie a young girl of about sixteen was standing with her arms up to her elbows in suds scrubbing pans. An older woman with a large white apron pinned over her ample middle was at the kitchen table, setting out the cakes that had made the room smell so delicious on a wire tray for cooling. She turned as Jessie coughed politely to let her know she was there, the surprise in her face a picture to see.
‘Well, bless my soul,’ she said. ‘Carter was right after all. You must be Jessie Hale. I was sure you wouldn’t come. Stands to reason in my opinion, young woman trained as a nurse wouldn’t waste her time coming here, and all the way from London, too.’
‘I’m sorry you lost your bet,’ Jessie said. ‘I believe I’ve cost you two shillings.’
Cook’s belly shook as she laughed. ‘Lord love you, lass, it would have been cheap at twice the price to get you here. We’ve been that muddled since the last girl left us that we haven’t known whether we’re comin’ or goin’ – have we, Maggie?’
‘Why did she leave?’
‘Too much work,’ Cook answered. ‘I shouldn’t be tellin’ you that, miss, or you’ll be off on the next train home I shouldn’t wonder.’
‘I don’t mind work. We had to work hard in the VADs and in horrible conditions too. If you can get through that you can get through most things.’
‘In the VADs, was you?’ Maggie was drying her arms on a bit of towel and came towards the table, looking interested. She was a pretty girl, thin and pale but with dark curly hair. ‘My sister Peggy was too. She married one of the soldiers she helped to nurse. They live in Manchester now. She keeps inviting me to go up there, says I’d find a job that pays better than this one in a shop. I wouldn’t mind trying it but me Ma won’t let me until I’m older.’
‘Work isn’t that easy to find at the moment,’ Jessie said. ‘There are a lot of men who can’t find a decent job. You’re probably better off where you are, Maggie. May I call you that? And my name is Jessie.’
‘It’s nice to have you here, Jessie,’ the younger girl said and smiled. ‘There ain’t many young folk here now, they’ve all gone off to the city so me Ma says.’
‘It was the war,’ Cook said nodding her head so that her chins wobbled. ‘They took the men for the army and then the lasses went off to find work in the munitions and factories, or nursing like you. You can’t expect them to come back to a place like this, can you? Stands to reason there’s more life in the towns for young ones. Maggie will be off as soon as she can, and then what I shall I do? I can’t manage everything myself.’
‘You’ll find someone to take my place,’ Maggie said. ‘Maybe I shan’t go if I find myself a feller.’ She grinned wickedly at Jessie. ‘Have you got a feller, Jessie?’
‘No, I haven’t,’ Jessie said. She didn’t think it necessary to elaborate for the moment. ‘Have you?’
‘I’ve got my eye on a lad, works on the farm,’ Maggie said and giggled. ‘But don’t tell Ma I said so or she’ll have my guts for garters!’
Jessie promised she wouldn’t and was invited to sit down and have a cup of tea with them. ‘We were just about to have five minutes, weren’t we, Cook? If you’re good, Jessie, you might get one of them buns.’ Maggie eyed them hungrily.
‘That girl’s got worms,’ Cook exclaimed as she saw Maggie’s eyes on her baking. ‘Go on then, lass. I ain’t one to starve the young, though you’ll be havin’ your dinner before long.’
‘Can’t wait,’ Maggie said and snatched one of the rock cakes before Cook could change her mind. It was still hot and burned her mouth as she bit into it but she just fanned her mouth and grinned as she wolfed it down. ‘You want to try one, Jessie, they’re good.’
‘Thank you, but I ate my lunch on the train and I’m not hungry yet – maybe later, at supper if I may. They do look good.’
Before Cook could answer a woman came bustling into the kitchen. She was a woman of middle years, slimmer than Cook and dressed in a neat dark-grey dress with a white collar pinned with a silver brooch at the neck.
‘I’m Mrs Pearson, the housekeeper here,’ she said, offering her hand to Jessie. ‘And you will be Miss Hale. I am very pleased to meet you and glad you have joined the staff. I see Cook has poured you a cup of tea so I’ll let you drink that and then I’ll take you up to your room and show you how to find your way about.’
‘Will you have a cup of tea with us, Mrs Pearson?’ Cook asked.
‘I’ll have mine later, when I take a tray up to her ladyship. She likes a bit of company and I’ll sit with her for a few minutes. Alice hasn’t had time to see to her this afternoon, because she’s been looking after the children. Nanny had one of her little turns just after Mrs Kendle left… doesn’t she always these days?’
Cook shook her head over it. ‘Nanny is getting past it,’ she said. ‘By rights she should be pensioned off, but she won’t hear of it – and Mrs Kendle says she couldn’t manage without her.’
The housekeeper pulled a face that spoke volumes but no one added anything to Cook’s statement.
‘I suppose I’ll have to take Nanny’s tea up then,’ Maggie said. ‘She don’t like me doin’ it, says I’m not supposed to be above stairs.’
‘She’s right,’ Cook said and pulled a face at her. ‘I can’t spare you to run errands for Nanny.’
‘Perhaps I could take it later,’ Jessie offered and they all looked at her in surprise. ‘Once I’ve taken my coat off and made myself tidy. If you could show me where her room is, Mrs Pearson. I should like to start making myself useful as soon as possible. And if Nanny isn’t well I might be able to help her.’
‘It’s just her age,’ Cook said. ‘But it would help me if you wouldn’t mind doin’ it when Alice has her hands full – mind it will be your job to look after the children now so she’ll have a bit more time to do her own work. There’s only the four of us now, see, and Nanny. She does a bit when she’s up to it, but only for the children.’
‘That must make a lot of work for all of you,’ Jessie said. ‘This is a big house to look after. You must tell me what my duties are, Mrs Pearson. I know I shall be looking after the children and helping with Lady Kendle, but if I can do anything else to help, perhaps when the children are having a nap...?’
‘Well, isn’t that nice?’ Cook said and beamed at her. ‘Bless you, Jessie love. If you look after those children and help with Lady Kendle the rest of us will manage just fine. Off you go with Mrs Pearson now. You can take the tray to Nanny this evening, because she’ll want to meet you, but Alice usually does it, and that’s how it should be.’
Jessie had finished her tea and she stood up, following Mrs Pearson out of the kitchen and along the hall to a door at the end. When opened the door revealed a set of stairs that led up to the first floor.
‘If you’re going to the main rooms this is the way,’ Mrs Pearson told her. ‘But the bedrooms are up this next staircase, and the staff bedrooms are on the floor above. Some of them were actually attics in the old days, but we don’t use those now. We had more staff years ago, you see, but now there aren’t so many so Lady Kendle told us to make use of the best rooms and shut the attics off. Nanny’s room is that one – right at the end, because it leads into the nursery, which is on the same floor as us, but at the front of the house.’
Jessie was following her up a third flight of stairs, which led to a long, narrow hall. The other two floors had been furnished rather better than this one, but there was still a plain brown carpet on the floor and the walls were covered in a bright floral paper to make them look more cheerful. The room to which Jessie was shown was comfortable, with a single bed, a wardrobe, and a large chest of drawers with a mirror on a stand, also a chair and a table by the window. Someone had placed a tiny vase of chrysanthemum buds on the table by the window and there was also a pen tray and inkwell with a leather-covered blotter.
‘Oh, they smell lovely,’ Jessie said, catching the scent of the flowers as she went over to look out o
f the tiny window. ‘I can see the park from here and some buildings – is that the farm Carter mentioned?’
‘No, it’s the old stables,’ Mrs Pearson told her. ‘There’s only a couple of horses now and they are kept at the farm stables. Carter uses one of those buildings for his workshop and others have been knocked into one to make a garage for the cars. There used to be ten or fifteen horses there once.’ She gave a little sniff as if of disapproval. ‘Do you think you will be comfortable here, Miss Hale?’
‘Please do call me Jessie. Yes, I am sure I shall, Mrs Pearson. Once I settle in I shall be quite happy.’ She took off her coat and hung it in the wardrobe, which had plenty of hooks and half a dozen hangers for her use. ‘Now, if I look tidy enough, I’ll go down and fetch Nanny’s tray. I believe you said she was at the far end of the hall, didn’t you?’
‘I’ll take you and introduce you if you’re sure you’re ready? You don’t want to have a few minutes to yourself – unpack your things?’
‘I can do that before I go to bed,’ Jessie said. ‘I would prefer to make myself useful if that is all right. Shall we go now?’
‘Yes, come along then,’ Mrs Pearson looked at her with approval. ‘I must say you are a big improvement on the last girl Mrs Kendle employed. Gave herself airs that one, wouldn’t mix with the rest of us or do anything other than strictly what she was employed for.’
‘Silly girl,’ was the only comment Jessie allowed herself as she followed Mrs Pearson to the door at the far end of the hall.
The housekeeper knocked and then went in even though there was no answer. She stopped abruptly and gave a gasp of dismay at the sight that met her eyes.
Looking beyond her, Jessie saw that Nanny had slumped on the floor next to the bed and was lying face down. ‘It looks as if she’s more seriously ill than you thought…’ Stepping into the room past the stunned housekeeper, she knelt on the floor and took hold of Nanny’s wrist, giving a little sigh of relief as she felt a faint pulse. ‘It’s all right, she isn’t dead. I think by the look of her that she may have had a stroke. I’ll get her to bed and perhaps you could ask Carter to fetch a doctor?’
‘Yes, Miss – I mean Jessie. Do you think you can manage her on your own?’
‘Yes, I am sure I can,’ Jessie said. ‘You go and find Carter and I’ll get her comfortable. I’m used to this sort of thing, it’s my job.’
Jessie lifted the old lady into a sitting position and was pleased to hear a faint moan as her eyes flickered. She managed to open them for a moment and look at her, though they closed again almost at once. Jessie lifted her and then took the weight on to her shoulder as she had been taught; Nanny was much lighter than most of the patients she had been dealing with at the hospital and felt little more than skin and bones. Clearly she hadn’t been eating properly for a long time; she had probably been feeling ill but worried about making a fuss in case she was turned off.
‘It’s all right,’ she said as the old lady’s eyelids flickered and her eyes seemed to focus on her for a few moments. ‘You’ve had a little turn, Nanny, but I don’t think it’s too serious. A few days in bed and you’re going to be as right as rain again, if you do what nurse tells you and take a little more care of yourself.’
‘Nothing wrong…’ Nanny mumbled but couldn’t get any further as she was gently deposited on the bed and covered with a thick eiderdown.
‘Nothing wrong that a little care won’t cure,’ Jessie agreed. ‘You just rest now and the doctor will be here soon.’
She sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Nanny’s face and then her hands, knowing that gentle contact helped to reassure patients in this condition, for whom fear was a major source of discomfort. ‘You’ll soon be up and looking after the children again, Nanny. Don’t you worry about anything. I’m here now and things are going to be much easier for you. You shouldn’t have to do so much and now you won’t have to.’
Jessie saw a tear slip from the corner of her patient’s eye and knew that she was getting through to her, even though she was giving no sign of having heard her.
‘Just rest and sleep now, and then in the morning you are going to feel much better.’
She smiled as she felt Nanny’s hand move slightly in hers. It had been a stroke, she was sure of it, but fortunately it had not been a massive one and with luck and the proper care the old lady might soon be up and about again.
It was just as well that she had come, Jessie thought. Nanny was already considered troublesome by most of the household, and if there had been no one to nurse her she would probably have been on her way to the infirmary before long.
She left the bed and went over to the dressing table, finding a little flask of lavender water. There was handkerchief next to the cologne and she shook a few drops on to it, taking it back to soothe Nanny’s forehead. It was as she was doing this that the door opened behind her and she spoke without glancing round.
‘Has Carter gone for the doctor? I think she will be all right, but I should prefer another opinion. He can’t do much for her except advise rest and care, and I’ll see she gets that – but it’s best to be safe.’
‘I quite agree with you,’ a voice said making her look round sharply. ‘Thank you for taking charge so efficiently, and for caring. I am sorry I don’t remember your name, though someone did tell me.’
‘Captain Kendle,’ Jessie said, feeling startled. ‘I’m Jessie Hale. I’ve come to help with the children and Lady Kendle. Forgive me, I didn’t know it was you. I thought Mrs Pearson had come back. I had asked her to send for the doctor.’ She bit her lip as she felt his dark gaze on her. ‘It was habit I’m afraid, working at the hospital. I suppose I should have asked permission from someone first.’
‘Oh no,’ he said and his smile made her heart miss a beat because it was so unexpected. ‘In this case you did exactly as you ought – and I can’t thank you enough. Nanny may be a bit troublesome these days, but she is very precious to me. I should not want to lose her.’
‘I don’t think you need worry just yet,’ Jessie said. ‘She’s very tired at the moment because she’s had a little stroke, but she understands what I’ve been saying to her and she can move her hand. We shall have to hope that nothing further develops but for the moment we’ve been lucky.’
‘Yes,’ he said and his voice and face both registered approval. ‘I think we have been very lucky, Miss Hale.’
Somehow she didn’t think he was talking about Nanny at all.
Chapter Four
‘I understand we had a crisis while I was out this afternoon? My husband tells me you dealt with it most efficiently, Jessie?’
Mary Kendle was dressed for the evening in a long blue gown, which clung lovingly to her slender figure. Her fair hair was cut short in a very modern way and she was wearing red lip rouge. Ma would have called her fast, Jessie reflected, and then blushed at her own thoughts. She had no right to criticise her employer, even to herself.
‘It was just as well we went in when we did,’ she replied as Mary Kendle’s gaze narrowed. She was staring again! It was a bad habit and she must learn to curb it. ‘Nanny could have been very ill if she’d lain there long.’
‘I hear the doctor visited. What was his opinion?’
‘He thinks she’s been lucky. The seizure was slight and she should recover as long as she stays in bed for a while.’
‘That is going to be difficult. We really don’t need another invalid in this house.’
Her tone implied that one was enough and Jessie was shocked. She had not yet been taken to see Lady Kendle but by all accounts she was a lovely person and tried not to be a trouble to anyone.
‘I don’t mind helping to look after her, Mrs Kendle,’ Jessie said. ‘I can see to her first thing, before I get the children up, and I understand Lady Kendle doesn’t require me until after she’s had her breakfast.’
‘But what happens to the children while you are attending to Mother?’ Mary Kendle sighed and looked annoyed. ‘Why di
d it have to happen now? Just when I thought we were getting things settled.’
‘It will only be for an hour or so. Perhaps Mrs Pearson or Alice could help? And Nanny should be able to sit quietly with the children in a few weeks’ time, if she makes a good recovery, of course.’
‘Well, I suppose we are obliged to keep her here for the time being.’ Clearly Mary Kendle wasn’t happy about the situation but it seemed that Nanny was safe for the moment. ‘I do hope you won’t leave us in the lurch, Jessie. It is so difficult to find anyone suitable these days.’
‘I shan’t leave without good reason, Mrs Kendle. I’m looking forward to making myself useful.’
‘What a relief,’ Mary replied and smiled for the first time since the interview began. She was rather lovely and quite young, Jessie thought, about the same age as herself, or younger. And it took a lot of effort to run a house like this and look after a family. ‘I shall take you in to see Mother before dinner. Mrs Pearson has her meals in her own room. You will naturally have your lunch in the nursery with the children, but in the evening you could fetch a tray to your own room, I suppose. Maggie is too busy to carry it up, I’m afraid.’
‘I would rather eat with Cook and Maggie if you don’t mind, Mrs Kendle.’
‘What an obliging young woman you are, Jessie. Thank you. Shall we go up to Mother now?’
It wasn’t a question. Mary was used to having her word stand as law in this house. Jessie had mixed feelings as she followed her from the room. Mary Kendle obviously had a lot on her mind. This house must be difficult to run, especially with a shortage of staff, and life couldn’t be all roses for Mrs Kendle but there was something about her that Jessie didn’t quite like. She thought her employer might be impossible to please, and there was a hard edge about her manner when she was put out.