Story: New Employee. Last Chapter and Epilogue.

It's been over three years since I published the first chapter of BigBird's excellent tale and just over a year since the previous chapter came out. Finally, the last chapter and epilogue are here! And it's been well worth the wait. I am reposting the entire novella (roughly 40,000 words) for your reading enjoyment. For the newest addition, please scroll to chapter 42. 

by BigBird74

1.

My bedroom sits at the front of the penthouse atop one of the tallest buildings in New York. Oh yes, I am fabulously rich, though unlike my snap-happy sister I do not parade it about town. My sister is what my father calls ‘the face of the family’. She is happy to cut ribbons, date reality stars and post an endless stream of fatuous photographs onto the web. Yes, she is very much the publicity hog of the family, while I prefer to play second fiddle leading a much more private life. 

Sure I make it into the gossip columns every now and again, but there is no way I would ever be recognised walking down your average high street. I do not have to worry about the steady accumulation of column inches that my sister gets every time she changes the way she wears her hair. Still all is not what it seems. She recently won an award for ‘Woman of the Year’ for organising a cycling marathon that yours truly had spent an entire weekend working on, while ‘Madame Publicity’ as I called her sat by the pool.

Do I sound slightly bitter? Well, maybe I am a little. But I love my sister despite her efforts to hog every spotlight she sees. It has always been like that. I was the smart one. The dependable one. As the older sibling, my father knew that one day his vast fortune would be mine to dispense with, so naturally he tried to make sure I had the skills needed to protect his legacy. While I spent my time with him discussing numbers and buildings, my sister got to ask him which dress was prettiest. In some ways I was the son my father never had. My mother, a doe-eyed beauty queen, had left him shortly after I was born and he had never remarried. So that was it. No son, and only me to fill that hole. 

Story: Veronica and Aunt Miranda. Chapter 8.

by Jackie J

Upon arriving at the Kingsley Mansion Ronnie was given over to Jekaterina’s housekeeper Mrs Ryder. Ronnie was not disappointed with either her uniform or her accommodation and, given a tour of the luxurious mansion, during which Mrs Ryder informed her new maid of the high standards she demanded, she was put to work. Ironically the two other maids employed at Kingsley teased the new maid over her northern accent but seeing what a good worker she was Ronnie was soon accepted into the household. A gruelling rota to fulfil each day Ronnie was kept busy scrubbing, cleaning and polishing along with attending specific needs of Kingsley’s mistress as and when required.

When William returned from attending to business in Belgium Jekaterina sat with her husband in the parlour and smiled watching Kingsley’s new maid serve tea. Like Jekaterina had suspected, William paid the attentive maid little attention, engrossed in relating details of his journey and trip to his wife.

Stepping back Ronnie momentarily could not help but stare at her Master and Mistress sat in their finery smiling into each other’s eyes and holding hands on the sofa, a picture of domestic bliss.

William glanced at the maid catching her stare.

“What are you looking at girl? Know your place.”

Story: Veronica and Aunt Miranda. Chapter 7.

by Jackie J

Before leaving, Jekaterina turned in the doorway of Ronnie’s quarters and smiled back into the bewildered eyes of the dishevelled maid, who laid on her bunk, toying with the new adornment, and chuckled.

"When I have had time to endear myself to Lady Singleton, which trust me I certainly will, I will help her to forget the daughter who chose to become a maid," she said. "Enjoy your new life, girl. I know I will enjoy mine. Goodbye."

Still somewhat disorientated and weak from the calming potion that Betsy had administered to her, Ronnie watched the door close behind the elegant Miss in the swirl and rustle of her beautiful dress and the scent of perfume. The girl who was to take her life. Having tried to raise herself from her bunk again, only to dizzily flop back down onto her bunk, Ronnie laid on her back with her thoughts staring up at the bare ceiling of her confinement, Jane’s words fresh in her mind.

Jane looked lovely in that beautiful dress, had a perfect poise and spoke so eloquently. She will make a good companion for Lady Singleton, yes Lady Singleton, like my aunt Miranda is now my Mistress and myself  a mere maid, I should no longer consider myself her daughter. Jane is her daughter now.

Spot the difference lady-to-maid game

A now for something (not entirely completely) different. A little spot the differences lady-to-maid game (scroll down for the solutions) and a few captions from the same anonymous contributor. 

Story: Veronica and Aunt Miranda. Chapter 6.

by Jackie J

Ronnie was surprised that her mother had not gone berserk seeing her precious prissy daughter uniformed, aproned and working as a maid. Even during the time her mother had been staying at Lowercroft - over a week now - she had said nothing! Like her aunt, who rarely if ever spoke to her now, why would she though? She was just a junior maid in this household, wasn’t she? Her mother had treated her no differently than her Mistress, with total indifference; in truth no different to her own maids back at Latchwood. That didn’t bother Ronnie. In fact it only served to reinforce her acceptance that she was just a maid, an indentured servant whose feeling of hopeless entrapment into a life of servitude to her betters was still as desirously poignant as when she signed her contract.  

Mrs Robison had told Ronnie that the house guest, Lady Singleton, wished to speak with her the following morning and with the evening meal having been served and her chores for the day completed Ronnie sat on her bunk. Would her mother let her stay at Lowercroft? Would she take her back to Latchwood to her life of privilege? Force her to marry one of those awful men? Were her days of being a maid over? Would she be trading her dour uniform for frills and bows?

With fires laid and lit, breakfast served and water heating for the laundry later that morning Ronnie was quite nervous about meeting Lady Singleton, her mother. She took a deep breath before opening the large doors into the parlour and stepped inside.

Story: Veronica and Aunt Miranda. Chapter 5.

by Jackie J

For a mother who had her daughter's future already planned and mapped out for her - to marry well into a wealthy family, perhaps aristocracy - and who had insisted on her good education and the self-pampering of her natural beauty, for her pretty princess to have apparently chosen a path so diametrically opposed to these dreams and ambitions of a safe and contented life of privilege, filled Elizabeth with a mixture of despair and anger.  

Why had she agreed for Veronica to travel north for an extended stay with her aunt? But she could not have known, how could she? Why hadn’t her sister told her of the madness that had possessed her daughter, the utter ridiculousness of it all? How could Veronica have been so deceitful? How long had Veronica held these perverse desires? The whole thing was absurd, a complete nightmare! How will she explain this to her husband? What if her friends find out? She would be ridiculed and humiliated. The daughter of Lord and Lady Singleton, an indentured maid? How could Veronica do this to her? How could her sister condone and encourage such madness?

Story: Veronica and Aunt Miranda. Chapter 4.

by Jackie J

Miranda, having indulged her niece to play maid, was initially quite uncomfortable with the arrangement, but seeing her niece demeaning herself like she had, especially after the episode with the indenture, the mocked disdain she had previously shown to try and dissuade her niece had become quite natural. With Lucy having taught Ronnie the etiquette of silver service it was quite entertaining and amusing to have her humbled niece meekly serve table to her guests. With Ronnie’s appearance and developed mannerisms no one was ever considering her to be other than the maid she was. Strangely and increasingly so even Miranda herself was seeing less of her niece in the attentive and naturally subservient maid Ronnie.

Back at Latchwood Lord and Lady Singleton were quite surprised that their daughter had not returned sooner from her extended stay with her aunt in the north. It was mid-September and still with no word from their precious princess or indeed Elizabeth’s sister concerning her return back home. They were becoming increasingly concerned about her welfare.  Over dinner the subject of their daughter was discussed again.

“I am sorry David but if that little minx thinks that by not getting in touch she can stay longer with her aunt she is very much mistaken. Over four months now and only two letters from her  - one when she arrived at Miranda’s and one two months ago. I think we should travel up there ourselves and bring her back.”

Story: Veronica and Aunt Miranda. Chapter 3.

by Jackie J

Forgetting her general fatigue, scuffed knuckles, broken grimy nails, sore knees and the calluses forming on her reddened hands, Veronica had overlooked or indeed perhaps never considered two factors that were having a significant impact on her.  The common Northern dialect spoken by Lucy and Betsy made Ronnie appear stupid at times, not fully understanding the instructions she was being given. Her own accent was mimicked and teased remorselessly, in the main by Lucy, especially the nervous stutter which Ronnie just could not seem to overcome.

During the first three weeks in service Ronnie was berated for her lack of skills but she was a quick learner and never complained once. This impressed Mrs Robinson as the new maid's enthusiasm for her work could not be doubted. Despite the unfamiliar physical hardship and the tormenting and teasing she received Ronnie settled into her routines anxious to prove herself to be a good maid and subtle changes in her character were already becoming evident. 

Miss Veronica Singleton was a confident young lady with perfect diction. Not only was Ronnie more understanding of the Northern tongue, whilst she spoke little, Ronnie was now shortening words, flattening vowels and even using slang words herself. Confident? Hardly. The rigours of maid’s work, offering deference to and being chastised by a mere maid, a cook and a head of household all unfamiliar, she had to accept and adapt  she was in their world and not her own. Ronnie, in stark contrast to Veronica, had become a little nervous and anxious, not wanting to make mistakes and please who she had come to accept to be her betters. The stutter had gone probably around the same time that Betsy had dyed her hair black for her. Ronnie thought that black hair suited her new position better than her natural strawberry blonde. 

Story: Veronica and Aunt Miranda. Chapter 2.

by Jackie J

Veronica was packed and ready and Elizabeth smiled at her daughter who was stood waiting for her carriage to take her on the first part of her journey to the railway station. Elizabeth was still apprehensive about her daughter heading north for the summer but her husband had convinced her that Veronica would most likely be back at Latchwood within the month rather than staying for the full summer. How little they knew!

Veronica had made the journey from Wiltshire to the north of England a number of times. It was tedious and she hated it when the open fields gave way to the grim industrialisation that sprawled from the tracks of the major towns that the locomotive passed through.

The train pulled into the steam-filled station that marked the end of Veronica’s train journey. Amid the hustle and bustle of activity on the platform Veronica spied her smiling aunt just beyond the ticket inspection barrier. 

The two embraced by the rail and a giddy Veronica giggled.

Story: Veronica and Aunt Miranda. Chapter 1.

by Jackie J

“Veronica? Veronica, what are you looking at?”

“Nothing. Nothing, sorry. Was I staring? Pass me the sauce please, Miranda.”

Miranda chuckled passing the sauce boat. 

“Nothing? You have been watching Jane all evening. It’s the same whenever you come to stay with me. I meant to ask you about it the last time you were here at Lowercroft. Does she fascinate you, Veronica? What could keep you engrossed about a maid going about her work? I fail to understand."

Following their meal and sat in the parlour having drinks Miranda watched Veronica’s eyes dart to the doorway when Jane entered with her tray and a soft smile grow across Veronica’s face watching Miranda’s maid curtsy.

“Clean glasses for you, Miss.”

Jane left the room and Miranda stared across at her niece watching the maid leave.

Promising lady-to-maid idea in a 1923 book

A book by turn-of-the-century British humorist E.V. Lucas, Advisory Ben (1923),  features an interesting lady-to-maid subplot about a rich girl who seeks work as a parlourmaid so that she could learn good manners and pick up tips from a "good family" that would employ her. The novel is about a fictional servant employment agency "The Beck and Call" and this is just one short episode that, as far as I am concerned, could have been an entire book, but well.... Here it is:


Mrs. Hill-Owen (she told me) had not been gone more than a few minutes when a Rolls Royce purred up to the door of “The Book- lover’s Rest,” and a richly dressed young woman emerged and made her way upwards to “The Beck and Call.”

Ben, chancing to be in the front office, received her in person, and asked her requirements.

“I want,” said the girl, “an engagement as parlour-maid.”

“You want?” Ben exclaimed. “But for someone else, of course.”

“Oh, no,” said the girl. “For myself. I want to go into service.”

“Come inside,” said Ben.

“I must get this clear. You want,” she said, when they were seated, “a situation as a parlour-maid?”

Story: Maid Jenny and Her Mistress. Chapter 8 and Epilogue.

by Jackie J

Marianne had been quite uncomfortable with Jenny’s cavalier attitude to Sister Agnes taking Lucy from Long Lawns to her convent. She should have also taken note of the warning bells rung loud and clear by her pupil. Jenny had been quite assertive. In fact, very assertive in dismissing Marianne’s concerns and reservations, preaching back to Marianne the implicit demarcation protocol regarding Lucinda Lancaster that Marianne herself had reminded Jenny of many times. Lucinda Lancaster, the Mistress of Long Lawns, was away, travelling overseas; it was her maid Lucy who had been taken to St. Catherine’s convent by Sister Agnes. Warning bells yes, not necessarily from what was said but how it was said. Marianne had become passive and lost control of the matter, allowing Jenny to adopt such a dominant role. How could Marianne had missed this subtle yet telling dynamic in Jenny?

Having articulately and assertively quashed and silenced Marianne’s reservations of being protective of her friend, Jenny had been the one who closed the conversation. She continued to take the lead by opening the parlour door suggesting that they should work with the flowers study. Following Marianne towards the library, Jenny smirked at her first manipulation of her tutor. It felt good, empowering. Jenny’s scheming to retain her privileges at Long Lawns well advanced in its gestation.

Marianne was impressed by Jenny’s sketches and how quickly she became familiar with the common native species of plants and shrubs. Jenny had even delved into plants familiar in areas of Africa! 

It has been four days since the Long Lawns maid had left with Sister Agnes for St. Catherine’s convent. Marianne made some sandwiches at the request of Jenny and sat on the veranda. Jenny smiled then laughed.

Downton Abbey Ladies Switch With Maids

Harper's Bazaar strikes with a lady-to-maid photo shoot with Downton Abbey cast.  The show itself did play a little bit with the lady disguised as a maid trope so no wonder. 

At a stuccoed country house location in the middle of West London, the world of Downton Abbey is being turned upside down. “Oh, I could get used to this,” says Sophie McShera, a.k.a. kitchen maid turned cook Daisy Mason, as she lounges on a velvet sofa in pink organza Dolce & Gabbana, while a toned-down Elizabeth McGovern, a.k.a. Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, serves tea. “I’m usually carrying trays and wearing a gray sack!”

Next door, in another ornately appointed room, Michelle Dockery, a.k.a. Lady Mary Crawley, has stepped into the shoes of her trusted lady’s maid, Anna Bates, while Joanne Froggatt, the actress who plays her, ponders which designer shoes to wear. “After so many years of playing Lady Mary, it was fun to switch roles and play a maid for Bazaar,” says Dockery. “Anna waited on Lady Mary so faithfully over the years—dressing her, mending her clothes, and brushing her hair. It was nice to be able to wait on Jo for a change.”

Sadly it's a bit bland and the maids are dressed in designer dresses and there is little of it. Could have been a lot more fun if they went further with the idea - there are so many options! I know I would have had a blast if it was me doing the photoshoot. Still worth a look, our imagination will do the rest.

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Royal Maid Game or Life Imitates Art Again

The Daily Mail, admittedly an unlikely source of lady-to-maid material, published excerpts from what it described as "aristocratic memoir", an upcoming book by Lady Anne Glenconner titled Lady in Waiting. As a prominent member of British aristocracy (her father was Earl of Leister and her mother was the daughter of Earl of Hardwicke), she was one of Queen Elizabeth's maids of honour at the 1953 coronation.

Needless to say a short chapter titled "The day Prince Philip asked me to dress as a maid!", accompanied by a 1949 photo, immediately caught my attention:


In 1949 my grandfather died, which meant that my father succeeded to his title, becoming the 5th Earl of Leicester.

I was 17 and Carey was 15, and we spent that summer cycling to the cinema in Wells-next-the-Sea twice a week with our mother. In the evenings Carey and I would go off to the local American aerodromes where the big bands would perform.

That same summer, the Duke of Edinburgh, who had married Princess Elizabeth in 1947 and often came to Holkham to shoot with my father, rang up my mother one day with an unusual request.

Story: Maid Jenny and Her Mistress. Chapter 7.

by Jackie J

Bundled into the rear compartment of Sister Agnes’s carriage, Lucy was in a state of shock and panic. Looking out the small window, she watched Long Lawns disappear behind the tall fir trees that bordered the grounds of what was her home. It all happened so quickly. Why didn’t she shake free of Sister Agnes’s firm grip of her arm? In truth she had tried but to no avail. Why didn’t she scream out her true identity to stop this madness before being locked in the back of this carriage? Why did Mrs Sunderland not stop the woman, say anything, do anything to prevent what amounts to no less than her abduction? And that sly grim behind the look of concern that she saw on her Mistress's face when she agreed for the nun to take her away to the convent! What was she thinking? And why, like Mrs Sunderland, did she do nothing when matters escalated and she was being dragged from Long Lawns?

The compartment in the carriage was cramped and Lucy sat on the small wooden bench and put her head in her hands. Possessed? What madness! She could not help those feelings. She told the nun how she felt and thought she could trust her! Perhaps more in desperation than hope Lucy looked out through the grill on the door at the rear of the carriage. Was her Mistress's carriage following to explain everything to Sister Agnes and take her back to Long Lawns? However, there was no sign of a pursuit, just a dusty empty roadway with the carriage rattling its way to the seclusion St Catherine’s convent.

Story: Maid Jenny and Her Mistress. Chapter 6.

by Jackie J

Having been served breakfast then attended during her morning bath and helped to dress by her maid, without a word of what had occurred in the kitchens following her return from Meadow Hall, Jenny smiled at Marianne whilst she read through the letter she had composed to be sent to Mrs Catherine Wilberforce accepting her invitation to attend her annual garden festival.

“Perfect Jenny. Just perfect. We must get this in the post without delay.”

Marianne watched an extremely meek maid Lucy enter the parlour to serve tea, curtsy, and then retreat back to the kitchens.

Marianne chuckled.

“Your maid looks rather glum this morning. What is wrong with her?”

Marianne laughed but not without a degree of veiled concern, when Jenny explained about the previous evening when she returned to Long Lawns.

“In front of you? My goodness! What is happening to this woman? We may have to seek help for her when this is over. Don’t worry about the ball gown. I appreciate the gesture, but trust me, you would look good in sack cloth."

Almost back in the game!

Dear readers,

just wanted to drop a quick note to apologise for the recent lack of updates. Some of you wrote to me in the past weeks asking what was going on. Thank your for your interest. All is good, it's been a rather peculiar combination of work, travel, extended (make it very extended) home renovation and laziness. There is no need to worry and regular service will soon resume. I might as well party like it's 2017 and start updating three-four times a week again, but no promises there. It will definitely be a lot more frequent than this summer though.

Jackie J's Jenny story has three more chapter left that I hope to publish over the coming days after I am done editing them, followed by a very interesting  lady-to-maid story by a completely new author. A couple of my books are on the backburner but again no hard promises. I will do my best to overcome a pretty severe case of writer's block, this I can promise.

Please watch this space. 

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Story: Maid Jenny and Her Mistress. Chapter 5.

by Jackie J

Before Lucinda Lancaster sought to transform her into a lady to embarrass Lady Southward, Jenny had only spent time in the library at Long Lawns to clean and dust. Now she was an avid reader, spending much of her time there. She found this window to another world fascinating. Jenny had read extensively on the continent of Africa and the work of missionaries there. Marianne had encouraged her to study this subject and with her acquired depth of knowledge Jenny had become quite an informed expert. Should Jenny ever be questioned concerning her time in Africa, before returning to stay at her cousin’s home at Long Lawns, Marianne was confident that her pupil would be able to wax lyrical on the subject to the point of boredom.

Jenny’s struggle with words saw her flicking the now well-worn pages of the library dictionary to establish their meaning and rejoiced in perfecting the pronunciation of each new addition to her vocabulary. No longer seen walking around Long Lawns or sitting at her studies with books tottering on her head, Jenny sat with her back ramrod straight and strode purposely through the rooms of Long Lawns with her head held confidently high. Even when brought to anger chastising her maid, Jenny’s new found sophisticated accent never broke her calm authoritarian tone of rebuke, amusing Marianne immensely. 

Story: Maid in Oaxaca.

Monica Graz is back with another instant classic of the TG maid genre. She's kindly allowed me to repost this story here (this is complete part 1 and beginning of part 2; the full version is to appear on Mags Inc as usual). Excellent research on her part and a great read, as always. 

by Monica Graz

PROLOGUE

Patricia Martinez Torres is a pretty and highly intelligent Mexican girl in her mid twenties living in New York. Her father Diego Martinez Torres is a high-ranking diplomat serving at the UN Mexican delegation. Her mother Alicia Martinez Torres is ‘old money’.  She is the sole inheritor of vast pieces of land and properties in the southern state of Oaxaca at the vicinity of the town of Juchitan.

In the district of Juchitan is the land on the ancient Zapotec people whose language and culture still thrive there. One of the many distinguishing characteristics of Juchitan is its population of muxes (pronounced moo-shays) which means women in Zatopecan dialect, clearly influenced by the Spanish word mujer for woman.

But the muxes are not biological women, they are people who were born biologically male and were encouraged to dress from an early age in female clothes either because they manifested some inclination towards that or because the family had too many sons and needed a substitute daughter to take up female duties within the family, usually with the blessings and the complete tolerance of the society.

Some have their breasts enhanced, others have nose jobs. Quite a number of then are permanently dressed as females wearing the colorful dresses, so popular within their culture. The majority of muxes start very young, before their teens and are trained in womanly ways by family and friends, taking their place in Zapotec cultural tradition that predates the Spanish colonizers.  

Story: Maid Jenny and Her Mistress. Chapter 4.

by Jackie J

Lucy sat at the kitchen table for quite some time staring at her mug of cold tea. The only thing disturbing her thoughts was the risk of the potatoes boiling dry.

Her friend Marianne had truly worked wonders with Jenny in the three weeks she had been away and now she was talking of calling the whole thing off? She had written the condition of the maid’s hair in the contract herself and with good reason. Fussy long hair on a maid look untidy and unhygienic. A neat black bob is perfect for a domestic servant after all. 

She couldn’t risk all the efforts to date going to waste. Yes, Jenny was a new mistress and she had taken advantage picking and choosing like she had with the conditions stipulated in the contact. But hacking her lovely hair... Would it really matter? Marianne was right. It was only vanity and it would grow back. Vanity? Here she was dressed in a baggy maid’s uniform, her hair scrapped back into a tight bun anyway. Vanity? Her hands were becoming chafed already and here nails were a joke. Could she really look any less than a lady than she already did? 

Lucy sighed. The punishment thing though… Good grief! She would never invoke that, never. If she did cut her hair Jenny will waiver that surely!  Marianne said she was confident that Jemmy would be able to fool Lady Southward and that is what this is all about. All she needed was to play her part. Jenny needed to know she truly was the mistress at Long Lawns. And Lucy needed to show her she was her obedient maid.

Story: Maid Jenny and Her Mistress. Chapter 3.

by Jackie J

The same clock that had offered its lulling rhythmic ticking rattled into life. The hand of a disoriented Lucy pawed forlornly to seek the silence of the bells ringing. She stretched and pulled herself onto the pillar, her bleary eyes seeing the time to be five thirty!

The wash basin offered some further awakening and, staring at the shears and comb, Lucy scraped back her hair into the tightest bun before concealing it under her cap. She put on clean underwear, drew up her coarse stockings to the broad garter straps and then pulled on her clumpy shoes before tightening the laces. The lace apron gave some feminine definition to her shapeless heavy woollen dress and she was ready.

Menus were pinned by the rota sheet and Lucy got busy with her Mistress's poached eggs and toast whilst brewing a pot of tea, an early morning routine that would be repeated each day.

Her Mistress's tray prepared and noting the time was six fifteen Lucy made her way up to the  bedroom to serve breakfast. The irony of this task was not lost on Lucy. The very same breakfast served at the very same time to when she herself would awake to her maid Jenny serving her. How different she felt now!

Two knocks on the bedroom door and a call to enter followed from within.

Lucy curtsied and presented the tray to her mistress who was wearing a beautiful nightdress and a peignoir.

“Your Breakfast, Mistress.”

Story: Maid Jenny and Her Mistress. Chapter 2.

by Jackie J

Why was she feeling so nervous? This was her own home for goodness sake! This was her good friend Marianne and the girl stood so elegantly dressed at the threshold was her maid Jenny? But it wasn’t really, was it? The lady leading her to the door was Mrs Sunderland and that girl staring down on her from the top of the steps was Mrs Lancaster’s cousin. This wasn’t her house anymore. She was to be the maid at Long Lawns.

Marianne embraced Jenny and both turned to watch Lucy stumble up the steps in her uniform.

Marianne smiled.

“This is Lucy. Jenny, she is to be your maid at Long Lawns.”

Jenny hid her nervousness well. Her mentor, Marianne, had drummed into her during the first three weeks of her training that Mrs Lancaster, her Mistress, had left for foreign travel and the girl she would be returning with would be Lucy, her maid. But seeing her Mistress wearing a maid’s uniform, looking so plain and meek, was hard to comprehend. Still, Jenny managed to follow the instructions Marianne had given her for the arrival of her maid and her rehearsed words flowed with perfect diction.

Story: Maid Jenny and Her Mistress. Chapter 1.

by Jackie J

Chapter 1

Returning to Long Lawns Lucinda was fuming and threw down her purse onto the sofa.

“Jenny, Jenny, Jenny! Where are you, girl?”

Turning to her friend Marianne, who had accompanied Lucinda to the garden party held at Lady Southwards, she continued to voice her contempt for the hostess, a contempt that she had voiced during their carriage journey back to Long Lawns.

“That woman Marianne! The way she arrogantly proclaims her birth right and privilege it is a wonder there is no a revolution. ... Did you hear her? 

“I can tell someone’s class from a hundred paces, a leopard cannot change its spots and those of a low class can never be accepted into the higher echelons of society!”

Jenny scurried into the parlour and curtsied.

“Miss.”

Some interesting lady-to-maid captions

A Maid Life tumblr  has quite a number of interesting lady-to-maid captions done by @retroeverything, inspired by a reader of this blog, Qing Luan, who's kindly given me permission to share them here. Very familiar themes, love it! The employment contract at the bottom I found particularly exciting.

1.

2.

Ayi knelt and waited for master to appear. He had let her in wordlessly at the door and just pointed to the stairs leading to her quarters. Or what had been her quarters. Now she didn’t know. Now she waited.  A month before at the end of her first year they had offered her a new contract to sign. She had been allowed a day to sign it. She had read it before falling asleep that night . 

The old contract for her first year had been negotiated before she had come to Master and Mistresses academy to become a maid. Back when she had been a person who thought she wanted to be a maid. It listed the things ‘maid’ wouldn’t do and allowed her the option to quit at any time. To hold her own passport and documents. To have her own bank account. To chose her maid name…  

The new one amended all that. A lot. Spankings as a punishment instead of extra duties. She knew they’d work her so hard that she’d beg for spankings instead of extra work. She knew that after a while she’d treat spanking as perfectly normal for a dumb maid. 90 days notice if she wanted to quit. Her papers and passport to be held by master and mistress. Her funds to be transferred to a trust watched by the Academy who would provide her a debit card in her maid name. Some of her wages would go to it so she could buy her toiletries, underwear and other sundries with the academy’s approval. Unapproved items would earn punishments.  

It was just too much control. She had been doing well. She earned few punishments. Suzy the 2nd year maid would get a percentage of her punishment to ensure she corrected her behavior, more if she wasn’t the one to spot it. Suzy had been allowing her to work without constant oversight for the past 3 months. Her punishments had often been more work till she was working 20 hour days. The utter exhaustion made her make more errors till she learned to think of nothing other than her maid duties to dig herself out of her punishment cycle. Now she could work for days without a thought in her head other than her duties. The only thoughts the instructions given to her at the start by phone message. 

Days would go without an actual person speaking to her face to face. Just impersonal instructions left as tasks. Maid Suzy telling her in whispers quicker ways to do tasks. Showing her if she was slow on the uptake. The exhaustion she felt every day left her dazed and dumb. She never could get used to the constant drudgery. Interrupted a few times a day to take over maid Suzy’s tasks while she dealt with Master and Mistress directly face to face.  Sleeping at night listening to mistresses lessons on perfecting her chinese maid accent. So tired she had no resistance in her and had learned quickly to speak to her betters in a broken chinglish.  

Story: The Best Laid Plans. Chapters 5-7.

by Jackie J

Chapter 5

Margret pondered her impending secondment to High Trees Hall into the service of Lord and Lady Parsons. Lord Parsons had complimented Molly’s service at one of her Mistresses functions but she was still a little apprehensive of taking her developed skills outside the security of Woodland manor.

Margret need not have worried she wallowed in her assured anonymity within the walls of High Trees Hall displaying all the attributes associated with a certified Penfold Maid.

This was so different to her contrived position within the familiarity of her own home.  She was away from the safety of the shore now out in the open sea just a simple maid loaned from one house to another. None of her imaginings had engendered feeling like the ones stirring her emotions at High Trees. Treated with total disdain with no hint of familiarity by her Mistress and Master, or their guests, there was no thought of pretence, no time to dwell on a privileged past, she had been given over to strangers to do their bidding and willingly danced to their demanding tune. 

Thankfully maid Molly’s training under the tutorage of Mrs Farrow allowed the High Trees maid to carry out her tasks to the unmentioned satisfaction of her owners. Yes, owners because not only did the Parsons treat her and remind her she was owned property but Molly accepted that she was, felt like she was.

With Lord and Lady Parsons guests leaving High trees suitably impressed it had been agreed that Molly would to remain in their service for the remainder of the week. It was Thursday morning when Molly was called into the parlour by Lady Parsons and she dutifully curtsied.

Story: The Best Laid Plans. Chapters 1-4.

by Jackie J

Chapter one 

Margret sighed tossing yet another batch of applications received from her solicitor, into the roaring flames of the log fire and sat back in the large leather chair by the hearth clutching two of the more promising letters and attached references. Margret Whittingham-Smythe requirements were very specific but the lack of tempting the correct candidate to apply only fuelled her desires more, she had to be out there somewhere she had to be? Crushing the first of the letters in her hands and rolling the creased paper into a ball Margret flung the documents into the flames in frustration. Too old, the second one ticked most of the boxes but again just the wrong age, this one too young and too tall. 

During the twelve months since she had become obsessed with her smouldering desire, having read the novel by Dauphine le Mur, Margret had prepared the path for her planned adventure and only one cog was left to be slotted into place. Given this last piece of her contrived masochistic puzzle was the most fundamental of all, her planning counted for nothing?

Margret had managed to distance herself from the few friends she had there was no family to speak off and she lived a solitary existence at Woodland manor since the two years of her arrival which fitted well with her plans.  

There was no shortage of applications, why wouldn’t there be? To enjoy the comfort and lavish ambiance of Woodland manor, access to incredible wealth and the lifestyle currently enjoyed by Margret herself. Sure, that was the bait but with only four potential applicants having reached the interview stage in the twelve months that had passed Margret’s fantasy seemed further away from fulfilment than ever.

Story: Mind Games.

 by Jackie J

The evening had turned out much better than Jane Askew had thought. When she had received Lucy’s invite for the event she had wanted to refuse, make some excuse but it was for charity and a charity she herself supported, she had to attend, she was a patron after all and Lucy was quite insistent. Jane chuckled to herself in the taxi on the way home Hypnosis, what a sham and the performance had not changed her mind. The hypnotist was very professional, a little frightening but it was just theatre wasn’t it. She must have had stooges in the audience she must have had. Looking at the pamphlet “Madame Zara” had given her when they chatted after her performance Jane wondered if she had been rude when she told her that she didn’t believe it was real. No, Madame Zara seemed alright she must have heard that many times from the less gullible members of her audience.  Anyway, I did compliment her on her eye makeup, couldn’t take my eyes of it, I do hope she didn’t think I was staring at her? Jane tried to remember what the hypnotist had told her before she left it seemed important at the time but for the life of her, she couldn’t bring it to mind. 

“Just here on the left driver you can pull through the main gates then up the driveway to main entrance.”

Jane entered the palatial old house and sighed. Her attempts to sell the property since her husband Rodger passed away had been unsuccessful, it was too much just for her but Jane had reconciled that until she received a significantly improved offer for the property, she would remain at Tarragon Hall. 

Lois Lane as Cinderella: Lady-to-Maid Content in 1960s Comics

This blog's reader, who also happens to be a collector of vintage comics, came across this little gem that many of you may enjoy as lady-to-maid fans. It's from a 1964 issue of the Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane and, as you can see from the cover, has Lois Lane assume the role of Cinderella. She's then forced to experience life as a humiliated house servant (but does get to go the ball too!).

This being an 1960s DC comics the downgrade themes are obviously very light and reminded me slightly of British girl comics from the same period that featured numerous stories of lady/maid swaps (all ending happily, of course). 

In this particular comic book, Superman agrees to tell Lois his real identity only if she completed a challenge: they will travel to three time periods and in each one Superman will disguise as someone. If Lois Lane guesses who he is, he will reveal his identity to her. In one of the time periods Lois finds herself as Cinderella. Superman tears up her clothes and puts her with a step mother who punishes her for having run away. Needless to say, her step sisters appear shortly to tease her. Like in the original fairytale, she eventually goes to the ball but at midnight her gown turns into rags (see scans below).

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