Chapter 13

The next morning, Elsie woke me up at half past six.

‘Mrs Willis sent me to get you up, Margaret,' she said.

When I opened my eyes, she was standing over me.

‘You can call me Mags,' I said.

‘Margaret will do.'

Using my full name seemed rather formal from a colleague. Did anyone want to respect my wishes regarding my name in this house?

She left the room, and I put on a grey dress and went down to the servants' quarters. Being so tired the night before, I'd slept rather well despite the cold – the fire doing little to heat the vast room – and the bed was comfortable with a firm mattress. And, for the first time in a while, I had not been woken up by planes. Mrs Willis was in the housekeeper's parlour. I joined her and poured myself a cup of tea. Dorothy, the kitchen maid, came in with a plate of bread and butter, and I helped myself.

‘You'd better go up and see her ladyship when you've finished eating, Margaret, no later than seven thirty. Dorothy will give you her breakfast to take up on a tray.'

‘All right, thank you, Mrs Willis,' I said.

As instructed, I took the tray upstairs and knocked on Lady Violet's bedroom door.

‘Come in,' she said.

On entering the room I said, ‘Good morning, milady,' and put the tray on her lap. She was sitting in bed, propped up by pillows, still in her silk nightgown.

‘Thank you, Maggie,' she said. ‘A boiled egg. Cook has excelled herself. Now, I did ask you to select a blouse and skirt for today but, seeing as there is not a cloud to be seen in that beautiful blue sky, I've changed my mind about this morning's activities. Rather than have tea with the dowager, I shall take Jack out.' She took a sip of her tea.

As she didn't have children, I had no idea who Jack was. A dog perhaps?

‘Who might I ask is Jack, milady?' I said.

She laughed. ‘Jack is my favourite horse. You'll need to select my jodhpurs and white shirt, with my tweed jacket. Ask the groom to get Jack ready and one of the servants will find my riding boots.'

‘What time shall I tell the groom, milady?'

She glanced at her clock on the nightstand.

‘Nine o'clock. And please ensure a message is despatched to the dowager. I'm sure she'll understand.'

Having met the dowager, I wasn't sure she would. It was more than likely that Lady Violet was avoiding her mother-in-law.

‘Certainly, milady.' Without thinking, I added, ‘And how should I occupy myself while you are out riding?'

‘Do whatever you like, Maggie. In my absence, I do not care what you do as long as you complete your tasks. Make do and mend, or whatever it is lady's maids do with their time. Tell Mrs Willis I'll expect luncheon to be ready in the library at one o'clock.'

‘Very well,' I said, thinking that I might explore the grounds.

‘You are dismissed,' she said.

I went downstairs and passed on the information to Mrs Willis about sending a message to the dowager. After Sam had found Lady Violet's riding boots, I took them upstairs, before going outside to the stable yard. Searching the stables, I couldn't see a groom, but noticed Tom was polishing the Rolls-Royce outside the garage opposite. Seeing his friendly face lifted my mood.

‘She's a beauty, isn't she?' he said.

‘Yes, she is,' I said.

‘So, you might be staying in Gatley for a while after all, then?' he said with a smile.

Shrugging, I didn't want to divulge that my aim was to get out of this place as soon as was feasible.

‘Were you looking for a groom?' he said.

‘Yes, her ladyship wishes to take Jack out.'

‘Stuart was called up yesterday, so now being a groom is one of my jobs.'

‘A chauffeur and a groom. Thank you, Tom. She would like Jack to be ready at nine o'clock.'

‘I also help out old Mr Carter with the gardening and work as a footman when there are visitors.'

‘A jack of all trades,' I said.

‘Some might say a master of none,' he said with a wink, and I hoped he hadn't taken offence. ‘And how are you finding it here at Gatley Hall?' he added.

‘As good as can be expected,' I said.

Two young boys, both around ten years old, came out of a door next to the stables.

‘Are they the evacuees?' I said.

‘Yes, they're staying in the apartments above the stables with their mothers.'

I recalled the dowager telling Aunt Edith this during my interview. They started to kick a ball around the stable yard. It couldn't have been easy for them having to uproot their whole lives, but at least they were accompanied by their mothers, I supposed.

‘And where, might I ask did you work before?' Tom said.

‘I was a shopgirl in London.'

‘Oh?' he said, raising his eyebrows as if he were impressed. ‘And you left because of the air raids?'

‘My department store, Taylor and Stone, was bombed by the Hun the other night.'

‘I'm sorry to hear that. Well, I'd better get Jack ready. See you in a jiffy, Mags.'

‘Bye, Tom.'

I found Lady Violet in the boudoir, sitting at her dressing table.

‘Is everything organised, Maggie?'

‘Yes, milady.'

‘Jolly good. Let me talk you through your morning routine. First, you will need to brush my hair for exactly half an hour. I have my clock here to measure the time. And then I'd like you to fashion my hair into a low bun for riding.'

She handed me the brush and, after taking out the plait I'd done the night before, I brushed her hair. It was terribly long, running to the base of her spine. Standing behind her, I could see her face in the looking glass as she sat at the dressing table. She was looking out onto the gardens, the lake and surrounding hills. It was a stupendous view indeed, but, looking up into the sky, I could see the now familiar black dots in a formation – the Hun passing over us as they once again did their best to destroy London. The sight of them triggered the now familiar nerves that plagued me every time I was reminded of what we were living through. The sound was so loud as they passed and usually I'd put a hand over my ears, but couldn't stop brushing Lady Violet's hair. Neither of us acknowledged these planes – it was as if they weren't there at all. And after they'd gone, I shut them out of my mind, pretending the war wasn't happening, that we were living in a normal world after all. My arm ached as I continued to brush, but one could be doing far worse things for a living. And one could be about to be killed by a bomb dropping from one of those planes. I was grateful to Aunt Edith for saving me from that fate and counted my blessings. After half an hour had passed, Lady Violet said, ‘It is time to style my hair now.'

Me and my sisters had spent much of our childhood practising different styles on each other's hair, and so I performed this task with confidence. Lady Violet directed me to select her riding attire from a drawer and the tweed jacket from the wardrobe. She changed into her undergarments behind a screen and then put on her jodhpurs and shirt. I assisted with the jacket, holding it as she pushed each arm through a sleeve. She sat on the edge of the bed while I rolled on her knee-high socks and pushed on her riding boots.

‘Very good,' she said, standing up and checking herself in the mirror. ‘Let's go downstairs, Maggie.'

We took the main stairs and, on reaching the grand hall, Mr Willis greeted Lady Violet with, ‘Good morning, milady,' before opening the front door. Lady Violet went down the steps and, as I followed, Mr Willis called after me.

‘Margaret?'

‘Yes?'

Lady Violet started to walk down the path leading to the stable yard.

‘Mrs Willis asked me to pass on a message. Samuel's brother is home on leave and so he has asked for a few hours off. Therefore, would you be so kind as to go and collect supplies from Home Farm this morning?'

‘Certainly,' I said. The thought of negotiating unknown fields with enemy planes flying overhead didn't appeal very much, but what else could I say? ‘How will I find it?' I said, hoping for a way out. Couldn't Mrs Willis send Elsie?

Mr Willis said, ‘Thomas will point you in the right direction. Mrs Willis could send one of the maids but, seeing as her ladyship will be out riding, it would be an opportunity to introduce yourself to Mr and Mrs Marshall, and to meet the land girl who lives there – she's around your age and Mrs Willis thought you might enjoy each other's company.'

‘How very kind,' I said. ‘Thank you, Mr Willis.'

He nodded and closed the door behind me as I went down the steps and caught up with Lady Violet.

In the stable yard, Tom stood holding reins attached to a horse, presumably Jack, complete with brown leather saddle and bridle.

‘Good morning, milady,' he said in a cheery voice.

‘Morning, Thomas,' she said.

He gave her a leg-up and she settled into the saddle and stroked Jack's neck.

‘I'll meet you in my room before luncheon, Maggie,' she said, squeezing Jack with her calves before trotting out of the stable yard. More planes passed overhead and, looking up, I could see the swastika on their undersides. I shuddered at the thought of what Londoners had coming, and during the daylight as well.

Tom threw me a look. ‘Not the best sight,' he said.

‘I can't help thinking of the people who are about to lose their lives.'

He nodded. ‘What will you do now?'

‘Mrs Willis asked me to go and get the supplies from Home Farm, seeing as Sam isn't around this morning.'

‘Will you be all right?'

‘What do you mean?' I said, not needing to be reminded of how anxious I was.

‘It can be dangerous.'

‘I couldn't very well say no, could I? I'll be fine,' I said. ‘Can you point me in the right direction?'

‘Go down to the lake, take a right and go over the stile into Long Meadow. Keep walking straight ahead over the hill and you'll see the farmhouse in the distance.'

‘Thank you, Tom.'

‘Shall I go on your behalf?' he said.

He was certainly a gentleman.

‘That's a generous offer, Tom, but Mrs Willis wanted me to introduce myself to Mr and Mrs Marshall, and to meet the land girl who lives there.'

‘All right, well do be careful,' he said.

‘I'm more than capable of taking care of myself, but thank you for your concern,' I said.

Tom had only been trying to help and walking away, I regretted using that tone of voice with him. The prospect of going to Home Farm alone was rather daunting but I hadn't wanted him to think that I was a coward.