Chapter 3
Stag Head Manor was not overly large. The
ground floor, a parlour, a study, a library, two reception rooms, a dining
room, kitchens, the maid’s accommodation adjoining the kitchens. A wide
staircase leading from the long hallway to the upper floor. A master suite and
four guest rooms, the latter seldom used. Attics and cellars for storage but
nothing more. The late Lord Summerfield’s wealth had enabled the modernisation
of the property which benefited from a central boiler for heating and hot water,
and gas lighting. Stag Head Manor was not difficult for one competent maid to
provide service for.
During the previous week, when Lady
Summerfield took the apron, her maid had prepared a rota for her daily duties.
It was only to be for a week so there were many omissions,
which Jennifer was now revising. No different to Jennifer’s own rotas, along with
additional daily duties, weekly and monthly tasks were now to be included in
the maid’s work. Jennifer would not burden her maid with the extra work
immediately and would introduce these to her schedule over the coming weeks.
Jennifer, like her mother before her, had been in service from an early age and had been taught well. The instilled mantra from those formative years being to ensure that each task was completed in a timely manner, sticking strictly to the rotas prepared for the household. A good maid never took to her bed before all the day’s work had been completed. This discipline had served Jennifer well. What was good for her will be good for the new maid.
