A Good Place to Work
Disclaimer: I don't own Downton Abbey.
Inspired by the following quotes: (from 1x4 to Carson) "when I came here (Downton) as head housemaid, I did well…"
(from 3x9 to Tom Branson about Edna) "The work wouldn't satisfy her anymore and it would cause tension with the other maids. I've seen it before…"
Elsie Hughes knocked on the servant door of Downton Abbey, her heart beating a little faster than normal. She paused to inspect her brown traveling dress one more time, hoping to appear as presentable as possible. She hoped this position would suit her better than her last; her sister, Becky's care depended on it.
A gray-haired woman wearing a black dress and with as stern face appeared in the doorway. Elsie had met her before when she'd interviewed for the position of head housemaid. This was Mrs. Jacobs who was the housekeeper here. "Ah, yes," said the woman, studying Elsie closely. As if Elsie hadn't been inspected enough already in the interview.
But she forced herself to look directly at her superior, determined not to show her nervousness.
"Elsie Hughes, the new maid," the housekeeper said finally. "Please come inside, and I will get you a proper uniform."
Elsie picked up her travel case and climbed down the stairs to the servants' area. Mrs. Jacobs paused inside a closet to pull out some clothing before bringing her into a room, where the sound of a deep voice could be heard. "This is Mr. Carson, our butler," Mrs. Jacobs said as they entered the servants' dining area. A man as stern as Mrs. Jacobs stood in the corner, but Elsie was rather surprised at how young he appeared. His hair was still brown, and he couldn't have been much older than Elsie herself.
Elsie assumed all butlers and housekeepers were grey haired and almost as old as the castle in which they worked. Her last butler was a white-haired man with some wrinkles on his face, and Mrs. Jacobs must be at least sixty.
Still, it wouldn't do to stare. So, she forced herself to look at the other woman, or rather girl, considering she couldn't have been older than twenty. "This is the other maid, Mildred." The girl, dressed in a simple cotton green dress and white apron, nodded toward Elsie. "And you know as head housemaid, you are Mildred's immediate supervisor in addition to your regular duties."
"Yes, ma'am," Elsie said with a nod. It shouldn't be too difficult for Mildred to mind her, as she was so much younger than Elsie, even if the girl had been working here a bit longer. As long as Mildred wasn't sleeping with any of the employers, that is.
Liz's relationship with her last lord was one of the reasons Elsie had to leave her last position. The woman flaunted her affair as an excuse not to perform all of her duties when she was expected. Laundry was left unfinished in the evening because Lord Mar was "in need of comfort." Then there was the time where Liz was expected to dust the library and the lord had given her a wink and she'd been in a daze after that.
Elsie just hoped the lord of this house would at least keep off the servants. She'd heard the wife was an American dollar princess, so affairs were probably inevitable.
"Now if you follow me, I will take you to your quarters," Mrs. Jacobs said, interrupting Elsie's thoughts.
"Yes, ma'am." She picked up her traveling case and made the long journey to the servants' quarters in the attic. Elsie had to admit, she was pleasantly surprised at the good condition of the stairs. They didn't appear to have a weak foundation and the roof showed no signs of leaking.
Perhaps there was benefits to Lord Grantham marrying an American dollar princess, after all. That large dowery paid for many repairs. It just might be a good place to work, after all.
"This is your room," said Mrs. Jacobs finally, as they entered a small, standard servant's room which consisted of two beds with white linens, and a large dresser in the corner. "Mildred has the other bed."
OOOOOOOOOO
"And if you just tuck it in a bit further," Elsie said to Mildred as they made Lady Mary's bed the next day. They both wore the same green cotton dress and white apron and worked together, although Elsie was still officially Mildred's superior.
The other housemaid paused for a moment, but then nodded and tucked in the linen as she was told. It appeared Elsie's Scottish brogue was an adjustment for these Yorkshire folk, and sometimes they hesitated before responding. Earlier today Mildred had even asked Elsie to repeat herself when she suggested they begin making the beds. Still, far Mildred seemed like an adequate young housemaid, performing her duties and accepting instruction from both Mrs. Jacobs and even Elsie.
When they finished Lady Mary's bed, Elsie had been told to go directly into his lordship's room, as the other daughters still slept in the nursery. It was a much smaller room, and very masculine, decorated in dark browns, a fireplace with no trimmings, and a single bed with no canopy.
Elsie thought it was rather odd that even though the bed was turned down, the pillow didn't appear as if anyone had slept on it. But she kept quiet as she and Mildred removed the old linens and tucked the new ones onto his lordships' bed.
It wasn't her business.
The next bed was her ladyships, set in the master bedroom, complete with blue walls that smelled of fresh paint, a satinwood vanity, and a fancy chaise lounge and small sofa at the end of the bed. Most impressive was the high, large, canopy bed in the center of the room.
But what Elsie couldn't help but staring at was that the bed had clearly been slept in by two people the night before. Certainly, her ladyship wouldn't bring a lover to her marital bed? She'd heard Americans could be vulgar, but even that was a bit much.
Mildred chuckled as she noticed Elsie staring. "Lady and Lord Grantham sleep here every night," she said softly. "I was rather surprised about that when I first arrived, too." Then she laughed again.
Elsie supposed she should lecture the girl for gossiping about their employers; after all she was still supposed to be her superior. But she was so relieved that the lord kept his hands off the servants that she couldn't stop from grinning herself. And it was even better that the couple seemed to be truly happy. Happy enough to spend every night together.
A warm feeling rose in her chest as she thought of all the affection that must occur in this room. This was going to be a very nice place to work.
"We should get started on the bed," Elsie said finally, reminding Mildred of their job.
Mildred stared at her in confusion for a moment. "Pardon me?"
Elsie sighed. "I said we should get started on the bed," trying to pronounce the words slowly, then making her way to the center of the room. Of course this new position still had some adjustments, too.