Monday, June 19, 2023

Story: Imposter Syndrome. Chapter 3.

By Jackie J

After their extended break, financed by the famous Jennifer Forbes of course, the household staff had all returned to maintain the upkeep of Doctor James’s residence, two housemaids and the cook.

Jen was now restricted to the top floor for the completion of her maid training, the top floor, being isolated and retained for patients staying at the Doctors residence for specialised treatments. Off limits for the domestic staff. The room Jen now occupied much nicer than her previous accommodation. Gone the old clothing and only two high quality cleaning smocks remained. Jen’s closet now boasting smart, indeed pretty maid’s dresses, these to be worn for formal events, and smart skirts and blouses for general wear. Her underwear although plain fitted well. Stockings and smart low-heeled shoes along with lace trimmed aprons and tiara caps completed this new maid’s workwear.

Jen deserved her promotion from cleaner to housemaid, Miss Ruskin had told her she did. and if she worked hard and trained well, she would soon be working in the household proper. Jen had no thoughts other than her duties and the new skills she must learn to be a perfect housemaid. Jen had been given selected illustrated literature to study, concerning maids work, and from her low base of cleaner, she had admired the pictures of the smartly dressed maids.

Jen had been looking forward to her first day wearing her new uniform, but Olga found her sad with evidence of tears staring into the dressing table mirror.

“What is wrong Jen, tell me.”

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Caption: The Lady of the House

The Lady of the House

by AndiJF

 "You not get away with this! You trick me to meet all the local lady in this uniform, but I the mistress of the house, and you just my maid!"

"My dear, now they have seen you as a maid, no one here will ever believe that you, an Oriental, are anything more than my servant, or that I, a white woman wearing your elegant and expensive clothes, could not be your mistress. Just look in any mirror if you doubt me. I think we’ve found our proper roles in life at last!

Zhou Lusi, an educated but orphaned Chinese girl, met and fell in love with an older English trader, James Cavendish. Eventually, they married, and Lusi took the name Lucy Cavendish, but their happy life was shattered when the chaos of the Boxer Rebellion erupted. James decided to leave China with Lucy, taking her English maid Abigail with them. More tragedy struck when James died of a heart attack on the voyage to England, and Lucy found herself alone in a foreign land, speaking little English, with only her maid for support, but Abigail secretly resented and schemed against her mistress.