08-07-2020, 01:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-07-2020, 01:36 PM by Alice Appleton.)
The child curtsied to Abi. "Yes, Miss," she said, clearly a little intimidated by the new servant who was her senior both in age and rank.
"We can tend to the soup... Please take Abi... Miss... Abi's things to her room. I'll show her the kitchen..." said Alice. She blushed deeper at her own blundering. Even after almost a month of living as Mrs. Appleton, Alice felt unsure of herself when talking to servants, always uncertain of how to address them, and feeling out of place ordering them about. And around women of 'her own rank', she felt inferior and even more out of place. It wasn't solely the fact that Tobias, as a small landowning farmer, had a somewhat fluid status, which Alice now shared. Her own move up the social ladder had thrown her awkwardly between the classes, and she struggled to find her place and manoeuvre the new expectations. She was above the servants now and could not engage with them as equals. But she felt no connection with the wives of the shop keepers and other farmers in town.
"Aye ma'm," said Jenny, and before Abi could do anything, the girl had taken the bags and carried them up the stairs with an ease that suggested hard labour from an early age.
"This way please..." said Alice, and without waiting to see whether Abi followed, she made her way to the kitchen and immediately sank down on a bench by the table. Two candles on the table illuminated the room, which looked more exclusively modern, although it was in need of some refurbishing. There was faded navy blue carpet on the floor, with several stains, burns and holes. Near the cooking range in the fireplace, the wallpaper had gone dark and dusty, and again, in the corners it was coming loose, revealing mold. The large table in the middle had several cuts and burn marks on it. However, the place was well organized, with a wide variety of pots and pans and other utensils hanging from the walls and open, well-organized cupboards revealing polished bowls, plates and cups. Despite the wear and tear on the table, it was spotlessly clean. The cooking range looked like it was cleaned, blackleaded and polished daily, for it shone, and the carpet in front of it was more faded than the rest from extensive cleaning. There were two large, though high windows in the wall, but the shutters were closed.
In the back of the kitchen was another door. Alice gestured at it from the bench. "T' scullery is there in the back. The storage room underneath." She pointed under the table, to a large trap door. There was a soup pan on the table. "Do you mind heatin' the soup?" Alice closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She was weary from all the impressions of the day and the long bumpy ride in the dark and felt dizzy and out of breath.
"We can tend to the soup... Please take Abi... Miss... Abi's things to her room. I'll show her the kitchen..." said Alice. She blushed deeper at her own blundering. Even after almost a month of living as Mrs. Appleton, Alice felt unsure of herself when talking to servants, always uncertain of how to address them, and feeling out of place ordering them about. And around women of 'her own rank', she felt inferior and even more out of place. It wasn't solely the fact that Tobias, as a small landowning farmer, had a somewhat fluid status, which Alice now shared. Her own move up the social ladder had thrown her awkwardly between the classes, and she struggled to find her place and manoeuvre the new expectations. She was above the servants now and could not engage with them as equals. But she felt no connection with the wives of the shop keepers and other farmers in town.
"Aye ma'm," said Jenny, and before Abi could do anything, the girl had taken the bags and carried them up the stairs with an ease that suggested hard labour from an early age.
"This way please..." said Alice, and without waiting to see whether Abi followed, she made her way to the kitchen and immediately sank down on a bench by the table. Two candles on the table illuminated the room, which looked more exclusively modern, although it was in need of some refurbishing. There was faded navy blue carpet on the floor, with several stains, burns and holes. Near the cooking range in the fireplace, the wallpaper had gone dark and dusty, and again, in the corners it was coming loose, revealing mold. The large table in the middle had several cuts and burn marks on it. However, the place was well organized, with a wide variety of pots and pans and other utensils hanging from the walls and open, well-organized cupboards revealing polished bowls, plates and cups. Despite the wear and tear on the table, it was spotlessly clean. The cooking range looked like it was cleaned, blackleaded and polished daily, for it shone, and the carpet in front of it was more faded than the rest from extensive cleaning. There were two large, though high windows in the wall, but the shutters were closed.
In the back of the kitchen was another door. Alice gestured at it from the bench. "T' scullery is there in the back. The storage room underneath." She pointed under the table, to a large trap door. There was a soup pan on the table. "Do you mind heatin' the soup?" Alice closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She was weary from all the impressions of the day and the long bumpy ride in the dark and felt dizzy and out of breath.
