Pemberley's Renaissance: A Pride and Prejudice Continuation by Lise Antunes Simoes

Author:Lise Antunes Simoes [Simoes, Lise Antunes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Austenesque
ISBN: 9782981795922
Google: bJ7pDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B089RW9WNX
Goodreads: 53900656
Publisher: Lise Antunes Simoes
Published: 2020-06-16T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

As planned, Mrs. Darcy visited the servants’ quarters. However, she could not have anticipated the scale of the world awaiting her.

Leading the tour, Mrs. Reynolds began with the suppliers' entrance, a large room where goods delivered on carts were piled against the walls before being dispatched to their final destination. On one side, there were several areas dedicated to storing wood for the various chimneys in the house. On the other side, a small hall could be found, connecting to the kitchen and the rest of the quarters.

The kitchen was certainly impressive. Its two-storey ceiling was curved to allow smoke to escape through the upper sections of large windows. There were three big chimneys that rose above a row of stoves of varying sizes. Large workstations were organised in the centre, and shelves laden with pots and pans lined the walls. Elizabeth visited these quarters early in the afternoon, when everything was quiet, but she had no trouble imagining the sweltering heat, the burning stoves and frantic servants rushing to prepare large, holiday meals.

The two big pantries next to the kitchen were filled with cupboards, crates and baskets laden with food, as well as a locked room for bacon and meat, and a scullery where cauldrons were cleaned. At the end of the corridor, past the entrance leading to the great hall, was the wine cellar, which was reserved exclusively for Weston’s use. Just past it lay a flight of service stairs that climbed up to the first floor. It led to a vestibule adjacent to the dining room from which the footmen could enter and exit when waiting on distinguished guests. This staircase was very wide so as to ensure smooth passage for those going up and down, especially when arms were laden with trays.

The butler and housekeeper’s private rooms were located under the south wing, but Elizabeth declined to enter when Mrs. Reynolds invited her in. The rooms were reserved for her two most eminent servants, and the new mistress of the house did not wish to impose upon their privacy. The housekeeper seemed to appreciate her thoughtfulness.

The silverware was stored next to Weston’s room. As with the wine cellar, the butler was the only one in possession of the key and he regularly drew up an inventory to prevent thieving. A succession of work and cleaning rooms followed, culminating with the servants’ dining room.

It was a large, bright room that could be found in the southwest corner of the house. It had a fireplace on each side and several tables arranged end-to-end, flanked by straw chairs. The servants were too numerous to eat at the same time, so food was served in two waves: the first one well before the masters’ meal and the second one after. The rest of the time, everyone went about his or her business. A few padded chairs had been added around the fireplaces so that staff could unwind when they had a moment to themselves, or a day off. Mrs.

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.