Chapter 20
The fifteenth of the month came too sooner than Mrs Hughes ever wanted and the morning of the fifteenth every month was a time that Mrs Hughes had dreaded even before she became "Mrs Hughes".
The bill for Becky's care and any other information that the authorities of the care home wanted Rebecca Hughes' guardian who was Mrs Elsie Hughes of Downton Abbey in Downton, Yorkshire to know came by the morning post on the fifteenth of every month in a neat little envelope which found its way to the recipient at breakfast. And ever since the contents of the envelope were thoroughly observed by the trained eyes of a Housekeeper, Mrs Hughes became a different person. Her legendary temper would fly to heights. The maids would run away in fear and meekly obeyed her orders without a word. Mr Carson would run for cover fearing Scottish canons. Miss O'Brien steered clearly away from the path of the Housekeeper. And Mrs Patmore made sure that under no circumstances would she even dare to bring complains about the ordering to "Mary Queen of Scots."
No one knew the exact reason and simply assumed that the Housekeeper was in one of her "moods" as Sarah O'Brien liked to phrase it and the cheekier young maids went on with Mrs Patmore's hypothesis about "female matters" which was more of an emphasis on the phrase by the Lady's Maid than a stand-alone theory. And a self-reclusive Housekeeper had numbers running around her mind balancing her salary with the numbers on the letter written in the curly hand of a secretary, instead of the numbers written on invoices in the messy hand of traders.
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Mrs Hughes looked at the letter again in disbelief. A ten percent increase on Medical Expenses! She could not understand why they were compelled so as to make a sudden rise but that rise certainly affected her quite considerably. The staff received their salaries on the twentieth and the bill was to be paid by the eighteenth of each month and if not it would result in a fixed surcharge. Every month because if this slight inconvenience Mrs Hughes had to foot a surcharge as well. But the increase in the bill meant that she was only left with a sum which was less than quarter of her entire salary. Give or take a few shillings for emergencies and she was left with next to nothing. But what… if... what if she was to fall ill? Where would the money come for her medical expenses if in case there had to be any? Mrs Hughes felt desperate as if she was holding on to a sinking ship. And behind the close door of her sitting room she swallowed her sobs but let her tears fall freely. She had to have at least that.
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Anna was tidying the nursery in a hurry than usual. Perched on the edge of one of her sisters' beds that were already made, Sybil watched Anna gasping for air as she carried on with her work.
"Are you late today Anna?" she asked wondering what was hurrying Anna.
"No Milady. Mrs Hughes has got herself into a temper and she's biting the heads of the maids. I doubt there's anyone downstairs who didn't get a telling off today," Anna replied chuckling.
"Is it that frightening?" Sybil asked eyes wide open.
"She looks as if she'd go to war with a sword in each hand and defeat an entire army single-handedly."
"Heavens! That must be terrifying," Sybil said and Anna smiled.
"Shall I go down to visit her?" Sybil asked hoping she would be able to pacify the housekeeper.
"I wouldn't think that wise Milady," Anna replied concerned.
"Why? She can't scold me! Well, she won't scold me," Sybil said and the pretty memory of the little Lady on the Housekeeper's lap flashed before Anna's eyes.
"I doubt whether she wouldn't. Probably the last thing to explode her well and truly today would be to escort one little Lady upstairs and by dinner time we'd all be done for. If you don't see me tomorrow I'd probably be dead and buried in the churchyard," Anna let out a little laugh and Sybil couldn't help but join in.
"Or if she's actually a witch as Mary says you would probably be turned into a pretty duster with white feathers," Sybil added and Anna laughed.
"So she's a witch now, our Mrs Hughes?" Anna asked quite amused by the direction of the conversation.
"Mary says so. You don't think so?"
"I don't know. Mrs Patmore calls her Mary Queen of Scots. So does Miss O'Brien sometimes."
"I have no trouble picturing that," Sybil replied trying hard to keep on a straight face and Anna laughed till her sides ached.
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Mrs Hughes was coming back from the laundry having given instructions to the laundry maids when William ran straight into the Housekeeper almost knocking her down, for the second time that day.
"William don't you ever look where you are going?" Mrs Hughes stormed out at the poor footman who was petrified.
"I am so sorry Mrs Hughes," he apologised timidly and stepped aside, for a moment watched the furious Housekeeper walk way.
She burst into the Butler's pantry through the open door without even bothering to knock. The moment he registered her expression, Mr Carson knew she's about to explode.
"Mr Carson, you'd better keep your footmen in line. They are running around like a bunch of wild animals and nearly knocked me down for the second time today! It'd be a wonder if my poor bones would last by the evening!" she stormed out and walked out without even waiting for his reply, leaving a stunned Butler behind.
Mrs Patmore and Miss O'Brien heard her from the kitchen and exchanged a knowing glance. It was once Mrs Hughes had shut the door of her sitting room behind her did Mrs Patmore speak out.
"She's on her war horse today," the Cook said widening her eyes.
"Tell me about it! She's been at me today like the wicked queen on poor Snow White," the Lady's Maid said, leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping from a cup of tea.
"I wouldn't compare you Miss O'Brien to poor Snow White," Mrs Patmore replied in her usual dry witted way.
"You would, if you knew the way she pounced on me," Miss O'Brien replied emphatically.
"Well I wouldn't be on her wrong side today for all the gold in the world," Mrs Patmore kept on kneading her dough letting out a deep breath. At the same moment Daisy returned from the larder.
"Mrs Patmore, all the butter in there is salted butter. There's no unsalted. I suppose we'll have to get some from the village if you'll need it to make the dinner," the kitchen maid reported and Mrs Patmore's face fell. Desperation very evident.
"Looks like someone would have to be on her wrong side for none of the gold in the world," Miss O'Brien remarked trying hard to contain her mirth by hiding her face behind the tea cup, while Mrs Patmore took in a deep breath.
Thank you so much for all your reviews. They are truly a great encouragement. I'm so sorry for the delay in updating. University is getting tougher by the day. I'll try my best to update the next chapter as soon as possible and there'll be more with Sybil in it. Thank you. See you soon. (And please leave a review as to what you think about the story if you don't mind. I'd be grateful.)