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.

Upon arriving in England, Lucy and Abigail travelled to James’s neglected country mansion and found the servants had all been let go in James’s absence. Exploring the house, they stumbled upon maid’s uniforms hanging in the servant’s quarters in the attic. Pointing out that it would take time to hire new staff, Abigail proposed they clean the house, wearing these uniforms to keep their good clothes clean. Over the next few days, Lucy became accustomed to wearing a maid’s uniform as Abigail manipulated her into doing the dirtiest jobs. While Lucy was kept busy, Abigail tried on Lucy’s elegant clothes and confirmed that they fit her perfectly. She secretly sent letters to all the ladies of the houses in the county, inviting them round for tea but signing them with her mistress’s name.

As the time for her guests to arrive approached, Abigail left Lucy dusting in the hall in her uniform while she secretly sneaked up to Lucy’s bedroom. She put on one of Lucy’s finest day dresses, styled her hair elegantly, and meticulously applied her makeup, transforming herself into the image of a refined upper-class woman. She relaxed while the true lady of the house toiled away as a maid, utterly unaware of the deception that was about to unfold. With a smile on her face, Abigail heard the sound of the doorbell, heralding the arrival of her guests.

Accustomed by now to wearing her uniform, Lucy opened the door without thinking and found a smartly-dressed lady on the doorstep. “Hello, can I help you?” Lucy said in her hesitant, strongly accented English. The woman looked down her nose at her.

“I am Lady Lanchester, here by invitation of your mistress. Don’t keep me waiting on the doorstep, girl!” Lucy stumbled backwards, opening the door as the visitor practically barged into the hall. As her mind whirled with confusion and she stumbled over her words, Lucy heard Abigail’s voice behind her and turned gratefully to her maid for support. She gasped with shock to see Abigail gracefully descending the grand staircase wearing Lucy’s clothes as if they’d been made for her and looking the very model of a wealthy, fashionable lady.

“My apologies for my maid, Lady Lanchester,” Abigail’s voice gave no hint that she was anything but upper-class, “my late husband insisted we bring the stupid girl with us when we left China. I am Mrs. Cavendish. How delightful to have you here.” Lady Lanchester greeted her politely, completely taken in by her deception. The doorbell rang again and then again as Abigail’s guests arrived one after another. Still in shock, Lucy found herself opening the door to each one with a curtsy, realising none would have any doubt who was the lady of the house.