Rich Girl, Poor Girl by Liz Hedgecock

Author:Liz Hedgecock [Hedgecock, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: White Rhino Books
Published: 2022-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Rose

‘Miss Amelia, put your knife and fork together,’ said Nanny. ‘Jessie, get Miss Amelia and Master Joseph ready for their walk. I shall ask Miss Severs to take Miss Florence downstairs.’ She sneered a little as she said the last words.

Amelia gazed at me with big round eyes. ‘Why isn’t Florence coming with us, Nanny? Why is she going downstairs?’

‘Miss Florence believes she knows all there is to know,’ said Nanny. I opened my mouth to argue, but she held up a hand, a gleam in her eye. ‘Therefore Miss Severs has secured her some time with the servants.’

Amelia gasped. ‘Florence will be a servant?’

‘No, Miss Amelia,’ said Nanny. ‘She will learn practical skills to complement her studies with Miss Severs.’ She gave Jessie a warning look that made me wonder.

‘So Florence was naughty again,’ said Amelia, and sat back with a smirk.

‘Never you mind,’ said Nanny. She rose slowly from the lunch table.

Amelia and Joseph were taken off by Jessie, and presently Miss Severs appeared. ‘Come with me, Florence.’ But when we left the nursery she turned right, not left, and opened a small plain door at the end. Beyond was another, shabbier corridor, and at the end a narrow staircase. ‘As you are spending the afternoon with the servants, we shall use the servants’ stairs today.’ The stairs were uncarpeted, and creaked and groaned as we stepped on them. They reminded me of the stairs at the lodging house, and each landing we came to was dark and dingy.

At the bottom, Miss Severs strode towards an open doorway from which came bustle and noise. ‘This way, Florence.’ She walked straight in without knocking.

Everyone in the kitchen had a task. A woman in a large apron ladled yellow liquid onto a piece of apple pie, while William the footman waited with a tray. Through a doorway at the far end, someone washed dishes, though she was so small that she stood on a box to reach the sink. And at the kitchen table sat a woman in a black dress and Lucy, with cups of tea.

‘Mrs Plimpton, Miss Florence,’ Miss Severs said abruptly.

The woman in the black dress looked me up and down, then gave me a friendly smile. ‘I believe Miss Florence is here to learn domestic skills.’

‘That is correct,’ said Miss Severs. ‘She shall remain with you all afternoon and return for nursery tea.’ She glared at me. ‘And there will be no treats.’

‘No treats,’ repeated Mrs Plimpton. ‘I understand, Miss Severs.’

‘Excellent.’ Miss Severs spun on the spot and marched from the room.

As soon as she was out of sight and hearing, William saluted the door and clicked his heels together. Everyone burst out laughing.

‘Welcome to the kitchen, my dear,’ said Mrs Plimpton. ‘We are just finishing the family lunch service, then we begin afternoon duties. Have you eaten lunch?’

‘Yes, thank you, Mrs Plimpton,’ I said.

She gazed at me. ‘Are you still hungry?’

I wasn’t sure what to say. I was, since lunch had been pea soup with thin bread and butter, followed by a small helping of semolina pudding.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.