Chapter 10

Mr Foster took me to Gatley Hall in his horse and trap. We approached the grand eighteenth-century house, built in Palladian style, from a long, twisting drive lined with trees, their leaves a golden colour. On either side of the drive sheep ate grass on the verges and, beyond the hedgerows, fields extended as far as the eye could see. Apart from Buckingham Palace, I had never seen such a grand house before – it was rather intimidating to someone like myself, a young girl from a working-class family. A wave of nausea overwhelmed me. Would I be all right in this place in the middle of the countryside? What if I couldn't remember all the rules, many of them unwritten? One would no doubt be expected to know what was what. Would I get a moment to myself? All I could do was attempt to be grateful to Aunt Edith and to the dowager for giving me this opportunity, as well as Lady Violet, who I doubted had played any part in my appointment. What if she were miffed that I'd been recruited by her mother-in-law? That would not be the best start for me.

Mr Foster dropped me off at the servants' entrance and I thanked him for his kindness. The door was unlocked and I entered the house and followed the passageway to the housekeeper's parlour. When I tapped on the door, no one answered, and so I continued to the servants' hall, where I could hear chattering and laughter. The door was slightly ajar, and I peered through the gap to see a vast room with a long table where servants were seated, eating luncheon. Pushing the door open, I made myself known with a cough, and felt rather silly as many of them stared at me with blank looks on their faces.

‘Apologies for interrupting your luncheon,' I said. ‘I'm Margaret Bartlett, the new lady's maid.' No one uttered a word. ‘Ready to report to Mrs Willis,' I added. Never had I felt so small.

To my relief, I spotted Tom, the chauffeur – how glad I was to see a friendly face! He put down his knife and fork. ‘Mrs Willis is indisposed, presently. Mags, isn't it?'

I nodded.

He leant across the table and addressed one of the girls, who wore a black and white maid's uniform. ‘Aren't you going to show the young lady to her room, Elsie?'

Elsie turned to look at me over her shoulder, then pushed back her chair, scraping the flagstone floor. She seemed greatly inconvenienced by my arrival, understandably, as I was interrupting her meal.

Getting up, she said, ‘You'd better follow me.' I smiled, but Elsie didn't reciprocate. Her face was familiar, and I tried to place her as she led me out of the servants' hall. Then I recalled that she'd been the one filling in and assisting Lady Violet at the station – that was why she hadn't been dressed as a lady's maid usually would be. No doubt she'd be demoted once more now I had arrived and wouldn't be best pleased.

Elsie approached the servants' staircase, not speaking to me at all. We went up a floor and the stairs were very steep. It was rather tiring, especially while carrying my suitcase. Many of the steps were crumbling and desperately in need of repair, so I trod carefully in order not to slip. She pushed open a door and we came out onto a carpeted landing, on our left a grand swirling staircase with portraits decorating walls painted a deep-red colour. I followed her to the end of the corridor, where she took a set of keys from the pocket of her apron and unlocked a door. We entered a bedroom twice the size of the upstairs of the terraced house I'd been raised in. Putting down my suitcase, I studied the room. There was a large fireplace with basket of logs, and three vast windows – two of them faced the lake and the other had a view of a walled garden. Each window had blackout curtains. The bed was large enough for two people. I'd only ever slept in a single bed before. Various pieces of antique furniture were dotted around.

‘This room is all mine?' I said.

‘Yes,' Elsie said. ‘It was mine until this morning.'

‘Oh, I'm sorry,' I said. She must have been sleeping there while covering the lady's maid position.

She sighed. ‘I'll have to go back to being a lowly housemaid and share a freezing cold room with the kitchen maid, Dot, and she's a snorer. We don't get logs to go with our tiny fireplace. Seems I'm not posh enough to be a lady's maid all of the time, just when milady can't find anyone better. Like yourself,' she said, her voice dripping with bitterness. Although I understood her reasoning, this attitude didn't bode well for me. No doubt she'd do her best to make my life difficult.

Elsie opened a door and gestured for me to follow.

‘These are her ladyship's quarters,' she said.

She showed me a bedroom even larger than mine. It had a four-poster bed with gold curtains acting as a centrepiece. A room fit for a princess. More doors led to a private bathroom with a marble suite, and another room with wardrobe, Georgian chest of drawers with animal feet, and a dressing table with looking glass, facing the window.

‘This is her ladyship's boudoir,' Elsie said. ‘Here you will prepare her clothes for the day and help her get dressed if she needs assistance.' She opened the wardrobe and squatted to lift a piece of red velvet off a box that was fixed inside. ‘This is her safe, containing her expensive jewels. It will be your responsibility to look after her jewels when you travel together,' she said.

We went back into my bedroom and, before I could say anything else, Elsie left me alone, closing the door behind her. ‘Thank you, Elsie,' I called after her. Although she couldn't be more unfriendly, my only option was to be polite towards her. I couldn't let her childish comportment impact mine. Should I unpack now or later? Was I expected to report to Lady Violet that afternoon, or the following morning? Where was Mrs Willis, who was supposed to tell me what to do?

Overwhelmed by it all, I sat on the edge of the bed to compose myself. This welcome was reminiscent of my first day as an apprentice seamstress at Taylor and Stone. The other women didn't give me the time of day at first, and it had taken weeks to settle in. But before long I'd made friends. Remembering this gave me hope, at least. Despite my luxurious accommodation, working as a servant did seem like a step backwards after what I'd achieved as a shopgirl. But who knew how long the blitzkrieg would go on for? Some of the staff at Taylor and Stone were convinced the Hun would manage to invade, and such an idea didn't bear thinking about.

I opened my suitcase and hung the dresses in the wardrobe. When time allowed, I‘d find an iron and press out the creases. While arranging my belongings, I recalled them being scattered across the station platform. Tom had come to my assistance once again during that uncomfortable moment in the servants' hall. We were on a similar level when it came to rank, and the thought of having an ally in this place was reassuring. Deciding to unpack the rest later, I made my way back to the servants' hall, hoping Mrs Willis might now be in a position to explain my duties to me.