‘Yes, Mrs Cuff,’ Clara said, bowing herhead and leading Mary back out into the corridor.
Clara moved closer to Mary andwhispered. ‘She’s nice, just don’t get on the wrong side of her.’ Clara pushed open a door opposite. ‘Go and change in there—it’s an insidefemale toilet—bet you’ve never seen one of those before! I’ll waithere. But be quick—we start duties in four minutes.’
Mary hurried inside and changed into heruniform. A tiny hand-mirror rested on the side of the sink. Maryheld it up and was shocked to see what she looked like in uniform. Hermother’s words came flooding into her mind. Once you put that uniformon, you belong to them. They’ll take everything from you until you’venothing left to give, then they’ll send you to the Rye workhouse where you’llwait for humiliation and shame to take you to a pauper’s grave. Herheart began to pound in her chest as she saw her mother’s and grandmother’shoary, exhausted reflections staring back at her. ‘I can’t do this,’ Maryuttered to her reflection. ‘I can’t do this. I won’t end my days inan unmarked pauper’s grave, nobody knowing or caring about me. I won’t doit.’
Mary took a deep breath, set down thehand-mirror and began to pull off her uniform. Now I don’t belong toanyone! she thought, as the black dress tumbled to her ankles. Ibelong to me and to nobody else. She was just in the process ofremoving the ties from her hair when the door crept open.
‘You nearly done, Miss Mercer?’ Clara saidplayfully, before she spotted that Mary was half-naked, her uniform cast asideon the stone floor. Clara hurried inside the toilet and closed the door.‘What are you doing?’
‘Going home. There’s been a terriblemistake. This job was my sister, Edie’s. She’s spent her lifetraining to be a housemaid. She could do it standing on her head. It’s like my father said, I can’t even make my own bed,’ Mary saidbreathlessly. ‘I’ll run home. Edie can be here in fifteen minutes.’
‘Stop!’ Clara shouted, grabbing Mary bythe arm. ‘It’s too late to change your mind: you’re one of us now.’ Clara’s demeanour changed and Mary could see anger in her pale blue eyes. ‘Get dressed now, or I’m going to get into serious trouble if I’m not sweepingthe drawing room floor in two minutes’ time. You’re not leaving hereunless you’re in full uniform, ready to work.’ Clara turned sharply andleft the room.
Through gritted teeth and watery eyes,Mary bent down and pulled on her uniform.
Five minutes later, the girls were in thedrawing room, diligently sweeping up every morsel of dust. Mary silentlyobserved and copied Clara’s actions, trying to ignore the heavy doubts thatweighed on her mind about taking Edie’s prized job. Once swept, Clarashowed Mary how to dust furniture and ornaments and how to wash the oakpanelling. When the room was complete, Mary rested her elbow on her broomand sighed. ‘Can I get a quick glass of water, please?’
Clara emitted a half-mocking laugh. ‘No. Now we do the same to the dining room, the front hall, followed bythe sitting room, the saloon and finally the smoking room.’
‘Today?’
‘Today and every day. It’s also theduty of the third housemaid to clean the fire grates in each of those rooms andto light and maintain a fire. I’ll help you this week, but next weekyou’re by yourself. Let’s get a move on—we need to have all of thatcomplete by half-past eight breakfast.’
Mary stared at Clara incredulously. Itwould take her a month of Sundays to sweep and dust all of those rooms. To have them completed by breakfast was plainly absurd.
‘Come on,’ Clara called. ‘Put yourback into it.’
Whenthe breakfast bell finally sounded and the girls headed to the servants’ hall,Mary sank back into her chair, closed her eyes and groaned. She wasseated at the end of a long wooden table. Her seat at the far end,reflecting her position in the household staff, did not go unnoticed by Mary,or indeed some of the other servants seated at a higher position. At thehead of the table were Mrs Cuff and Mr Risler, the butler. As she movedher eyes down the line of servants, Mary spotted her cousin, Edward, smiling inher direction. To his right, two men were staring at her andlaughing. Edward elbowed his immediate neighbour and said something tothem which made them pull mock-dejected faces. Mary briefly returnedEdward’s smile, then turned to Clara, seated beside her.
‘Can I get myself a drink now?’ Maryasked.
Clara cast a quick uncertain look alongthe length of the table then shook her head. ‘You have to wait to beserved. Eliza, the upper housemaid, will serve us tea or coffee, whilethe butler, Mr Risler, carves the cold meat. Sit patiently. Anddon’t talk so loudly; it’s not the Blackfriars way.’
Mary matched the deportment and posture ofthe other maids, her back up straight and head held high, and waited to beserved.
Once the tea, coffee and cold ham had beenserved to the table of almost twenty-five servants, quiet, discreetconversations occurred between seated neighbours. Mary realised thathowever much she might like to converse with her cousin, it would be consideredentirely inappropriate. Not the Blackfriars way, she thought.
‘Why must we speak so quietly?’ Mary askeda young girl opposite her, wearing a white uniform with a mobcap on her head.
‘So we don’t disturb the family,’ the girlsaid, as if she were answering the most obvious question in the world.
‘What’s your name?’ Mary asked.
‘Joan,’ came the short reply.
‘And what’s the nature of your slavery?’
Clara and Eliza’s soft conversationstopped and they looked curiously between Joan and Mary.
‘What?’ Joan said.
Mary fully understood the look from Claraand Eliza. It was not the Blackfriars way to be talking in thismanner. ‘What is your job here?’ Mary rephrased. Clara andEliza turned back to each other and continued talking.
‘Scullery maid.’ She lowered hervoice so that it was barely audible to Mary. ‘Lowest of the low, that’swhy I’m down here with you. Welcome to the bottom
