Clearance

B'ham Hall September 3rd

I never cease to thank Our Lord that I am married to Josiah. Of late, he has taken to urging me to take more rest during the afternoons. He knows I am frequently drained by the constant attention I pay to Cook and he is becoming concerned for my health, the sweet angel. He is also assuming more household responsibility, I have noticed. Only yesterday, I came down from a most refreshing nap to find him overseeing the cleaning of the entrance hall. He had instructed the servants to remove all the furniture, the better to effect a thorough sweeping of the floors, and he was urging the undermaids to do their utmost to shine every surface in sight. I did not feel it my place to interfere - indeed I was glad to see him so involved in the domestic arrangements here. I have in the past been overwhelmed with the responsibility myself. I have been meaning to construct an inventory of furniture and ornaments for a good while but have simply not felt up to the task. So, if Josiah wishes to undertake such a duty I can do nothing but stand back and allow him his freedom.

This afternoon, as I wandered back through the entrance hall after completing my turn of duty with Cook, I was struck by the brightness and fresh welcome of the place. The dark stuffy pieces of furniture, most of which came with me from Hangerworth, have not returned to their place in the hall. Josiah will have found a hiding place for them all in one of the upper floors, I expect. In their stead are some delightful plants in pretty pots, which give one the distinct feeling that one might still be in the garden! How well he knows me and how much I love to feel the outdoors all around me. I do not miss the chairs, or the tables, or even that huge chest which Papa brought back with him from the Indias. I love the open greenery that has taken their place. That is why I thank the very Heavens for sending me Josiah!

Under Pressure

Blindingham Hall
August 26th 1852


This has been a monstrous day, the like of which I hope never to endure again!

I have been concerned that word of Cook's fancy and aspect had got to the village - I have received some strange glances on my way around the place lately - and this afternoon I was proved tragically right.

As I walked with Cook in my small garden this afternoon, we thought we could hear whispering and laughter - at first I thought it must be Nurse since she has such an engaging nature and is often to be heard showing her amusement at Josiah's instruction. Indeed I wish it had been them, for then the rest of the day's dreadful events would not have taken place....

I looked up from helping Cook to sit on my iron reading seat and was truly shocked to see before me a gaggle of smudge-faced boys staring at us over the hedge. I knew them to be village boys at once - there is a certain physiological similarity about many of the children in Blindingham -there can be no questioning their parentage when so many of them clearly come from village stock. I moved towards Cook to protect her from view, but too late I realised they had seen more than enough. Emboldened by the dividing hedge, these boys began to jeer at poor Cook and some of them even threw small apples at her. She stood up and smiled at them, offering a sight gruesome enough to frighten even the hardest of ruffians, I should have thought. But at her stumbling approach, the boys grew more confident in their chanting and fruit tossing. So there she was walking unsteadily towards them and there they were, encouraging her with open disdain, which she appeared to take as confirmation of her status as Mistress of the hall. I was frozen with horror.

I called to the boys to desist and to go home before I reported them to their fathers, who would have been powerless to stop them I am sure. The boys were not surprisingly quite fearless at the thought of being chastised by such a collection of wastrels and redoubled their jeering at Cook and, now, at myself.

After a few more minutes of this I began shouting for the staff - they did not hear me at first, which is precisely why we were in that section of the gardens to begin with - and it was not until I shouted "Help, we are overrun with boys!" that salvation came in the form of Villiers who appeared, breathless in our midst. I have never been so pleased to see him, I do not mind confessing.

Villiers walked calmly towards the boys, who all stopped shouting and stared at him. He was silent for a while, looking at each boy in turn as if sizing him up for work, and then he said "Is there any one of you who wishes to come further into the garden and meet this fine lady, who has served The Hatherwicks royally and who is known fondly to your parents, even if you are not." I was struck with admiration for his poise, and the boys themselves were open mouthed in awe of him. He paused for a mere moment and then whispered " Now, which of you would like to come forward?"

All but one of those urchins turned and fled.

Cook whimpered a little at their flight and started to ask me where her subjects had gone. I did my best to soothe her and help her back into the kitchen, hoping that this sorry and frightening episode was ended. I hoped too soon. The next thing I heard was a tiny, terrified voice pleading not to be hurt. I turned and saw the most alarming sight - Villiers was dragging the boy in through the window to the garden room, brandishing one of Josiah's paperweights and bellowing that the boy was about to receive the hiding of his life! I concerned myself with making sure that Cook was safely returned to her rooms - interrupting Josiah and the Nurse as he was teaching her the appropriate way to arrange patient's clothing should they become distressed whilst in her care. He is a very thorough employer, I must say, so he was irked at having to leave his instruction to go downstairs and deal with the situation. Nurse then helped me to get Cook into bed and I went directly to my dressing room to calm down.

I understood at dinner tonight that Josiah and Villiers have ensured that the boy, and probably his entire family and friends, will never return. I do not know exactly what they did and have no wish to be enlightened further. It is enough for me to know that I am protected by a brave servant and a commanding husband. That is more than I could wish for. I shall sleep soundly in my bed tonight and I trust the same can be said for Cook and for Villiers. The boy, I'll wager, will not sleep soundly for some time.

Recipe for the Cook

Blindingham Hall
August 23rd 1852

Dear, Dear Boo

I am so weary of playing nursemaid! I have asked Josiah if he will let Villiers come with me to London - I am beside myself with the need to see you and LB, and Mrs Doughty and all my friends - but he says he cannot spare me from the Hall, not even for a day. I am not entirely sure what it is he needs me for, since he is hidden away in his office much of the day and overseeing the Nurse's progress in the late afternoons. She is a very capable girl and I have told Josiah that I do not think she needs daily supervision, but he insists that Cook deserves only the finest of staff to attend her and that the Nurse is still in need of some training. He is a very conscientious man, my husband, Boo, as you know. So much so that he has asked me to consider keeping the Nurse on after Cook has recovered. He wishes to retain her services so that we may look after other unfortunates, should we ever encounter any. I am overcome with admiration at his thoughtfulness and shall agree to his request.

I walk with Cook in the afternoons now. She is robust enough to withstand a stroll in my little garden, which is by far the best place since it is not overlooked and we can be sure no staff can watch us. No-one approaching from the village would ever see her, thank goodness, because she does present an alarming vision to someone unused to her condition. She has begun to fancy herself as Mistress of the Hall and is wont to give me instructions as I walk with her! I do not correct this delusion - indeed it can be quite amusing - but I do not carry out her orders, of course. She does not notice my insubordination, poor woman, and I have no wish to distress her further by asserting my true position.

My concern is with her appearance, Boo, really you should see her. Nurse gave her some clothes belonging to Josiah's Mama - who has been dead for fifteen years - and dresses her hair each morning in a variety of mountainous arrangements which make her feel quite the fashionable lady. Nurse then allows Cook to wander around the rooms she is occupying as if she were in charge. Her delusion, which gives her a frighteningly haughty demeanour, is thus fuelled by our actions. I do wonder whether this is the best course of treatment for the poor soul, but Josiah assures me that he and Nurse have drawn up a plan which requires us to pander to her fantasies for a while longer. I am tiring of it and should love to see you, as I say, but I fear that cannot be.

This has been the longest Summer in memory. Josiah is already talking about our Winter in London - I simply can not wait!

Yrs

Effie x

Direct Speech

Blindingham Hall
August 8th 1852

While I wrote to Boo earlier today, I told her I wished to find a new avenue of employment for Josiah. The very act of writing has made me think. I am so fond of Boo and so familiar with her that I feel shy using formal letters to communicate with her. Sometimes I wonder how it would be if I could be in instant contact with her even though she is so far away. I attended a lecture in the Village last month on the Wonders of Modern Science. I would not normally attend such a dreary sounding event but I wished my presence to be noted by certain persons I knew would be there. Luckily I did manage to spend a good deal of the lecture catching the eye of some people of influence in village matters. The lecture dealt with findings of a Mr Faraday and others whose names I cannot now recall. Mr Faraday has apparently spent twenty years - goodness me - working on something I did not grasp but which made me think of an idea. I dreamt of distant speech. How lovely it would be if I could be in touch with Boo, or anyone else for that matter, without the necessity of a boy, a postbag and a horse? What if there were a machine that could allow me to speak to her direct?

I shall speak to Josiah at breakfast and ask him if he could put his entrepreneurial mind to such a marvel!

Ladygardening

Dearest Boo

I have discovered a passion for husbandry!

I was in desperate need of something to distract me from the daily task of caring for Cook - I spend an hour with her every single afternoon, Boo, and I am drained as a result. I mentioned to Villiers that I wished for some creative outlet and the next thing I knew he had presented Jennet at the kitchen door, both of them flushed with enthusiasm for my new venture.

So now I have become a keen gardener. I do not dig or weed, of course, I am far too slight to manage the utensils needed for that. Jennet is better suited to the heavy work. But I have become quite adept at pulling away dead leaves and flower heads hanging there beyond their allotted time. I am able to see which plants look well with others and can even make a drawing of a proper garden plan. Oh, but it is so pleasing, Boo. You would not, as a Londoner, know the pleasure to be got from the land!

I am to be found most evenings walking amongst my flowers and shrubs, giving them gentle encouragement and a little nourishment if they need it. Josiah has given me a basket for collecting cuttings, bless him. He sits sometimes on the bench to watch me but I know he is keen to get back to business. I am trying to think of a new direction for him but have such an empty head by the afternoons that I fear I am little use to him. He is such a generous man, my husband, that he freely gives his time helping the Nurse to care for Cook. I knew he was a kind and thoughtful soul, Boo, but I did not honestly expect him to take his responsibility to her so seriously. I suspect Mrs Everdown does not much care for Josiah, but it is of no matter as their paths need hardly cross.

I trust you and Mrs Doughty have walked enough around Town to choose new Offices for the Press? When you have the time, do please come down and visit. We shall not give a lavish party as we did last year - it would not be fair to frighten Cook with such crowds and revelry - but I still ache for congenial company. Do come to Blindingham if you can?

Yrs

Effie x

Blood Money

Blindingham Hall
August 3rd 1852

Looking after Cook is proving to be a taxing business. The Nurse does what she can, but I do not wish to leave the poor raving creature in her care all day, so I could not possibly spare any time for a trip up to London. I have assuaged my guilt at leaving all the Press work to Boo and Mrs Doughty by lightening their load a little and sending a sum of money to help ease their search. I can only hope they will not view this as negligence. I am too tired to write this journal any more tonight. I shall sleep as well as I can and prepare myself for another morning with the patient.

Wherewithal

News from the front

Hawksmoor Lane
London
July 23rd 1852


Dear Euphemia

I trust you are well, and will not mind my interrupting your Summer in the country with my metropolitan prattle. Your absence from our social - and business - lives is a trial we must bear, my dear, but we cannot forget you entirely. We spoke fondly of you when I was last at Mrs Pitt's home. Indeed, Rowena and I spent a most enjoyable few minutes remembering that spectacular Ball we were lucky enough to attend.

The purpose of this letter is not simply to tell you how keenly we miss you, dear Euphemia, although that would be a perfectly good reason to write. My intention is to inform you of the progress of the press girls. Mrs Pitt and I are excited to announce that we are in need of new premises to house our expanding workload and burgeoning workforce. It is in no small measure thanks to you that we can plan so confidently for our future. You may be in the country for the Summer, but you are a London Lady entrepreneur all year round, Euphemia, and you should be proud of your contribution.

The move will require funding, of course, and Mrs Pitt and I are spending a good deal of time searching the City for suitable premises. When we have some addresses to show you, do you think you might be able to come to Town to help us choose wisely? I do hope you can.

I cannot leave off writing without telling you that Little Bradstone is becoming a lively child with a great reserves of energy and vigour. I come from a generation who hid their children away in nurseries and schoolrooms, so to take tea in the company of the boy and his playmates was certainly enlightening. Being a spinster myself, I am unused to the chatter and clatter of children. My head only just seems clear of it after two days.

So, dear Euphemia, enjoy your rural sojourn happy in the knowledge that your city friends are keeping your interests safe.

Yours in great affection


Sarah Doughty

Bounty

Blindingham
June 3rd 1852

Josiah has surprised and impressed me. I mentioned that Cook was in a dreadful position and that I could hardly sleep for my concerns. I was trying to work out how best I could raise the subject of our bringing her here when he announced that he would not stand to see her so cruelly treated and that we should collect her at once! Bless his compassionate heart!

His only condition was that we should employ a nurse to care for her. He seemed confident that a girl from the village would do perfectly well and instructed Villiers to place notices in the little shop and in the Church meeting rooms. How thoughtful he is. We have had a steady stream of applicants over the past two days and once Josiah has made his decision we shall send immediately for Cook. I shall make sure she is cared for until she recovers, or until she is beyond saving, whichever is the sooner. She shall have rooms in the West Wing of the Hall, where she will be able to see the sun from her windows. I am not sure she should walk in the grounds yet - her infirmity means she is given to fits of raving and I should not like visitors to have to see that. I feel quite emotional at the prospect of rewarding her years of service to us!

Loyalty

Bedlam

Blindingham
May 27th 1852

May the Lord save me from ill-health and infirmity. I decided to repay Mrs Everdown's loyal service by re-engaging her silly daughter as a maid. I reasoned that her parlous misuse of the mangle could not be replicated with hair combs and I was, to an extent, correct. So, newly dressed and arranged, I set off for Horsham to see Cook.

I have never been in such a terrible place and pray that I shall have no need to return. I do not refer to Horsham as a whole, of course, but to its hospital for the demented, where Cook has been incarcerated for the past three months. My journey was spent listening to the carriage driver slavering over gruesome tales of the inmates there, to the point that when we turned into the gates of the hospital I could not help but cry out. How, then, must it feel to be taken there against one's will?

The sound of the inmates was the sound of hell itself. Crying, cursing and keening in turns. I should have run mad there myself in minutes.

Cook was brought to me shackled to a miserable nurse who looked no better than the patients. I wept to see her. She was thin with dull eyes and dank hair. Her cheeks were paler than my washstand. She has not seen daylight since she arrived there, I shouldn't wonder. She thanked me for coming and began to apologise for leaving the Hall without proper instructions for its maintenance. I begged her not to be concerned with domestic matters but to concentrate on getting herself well - I fear, though, if I am truthful, that she may never leave that place. The poor, deranged soul. I gave the matron a sum of money and insisted it be spent on Cook's personal upkeep since I could not bear to see her so dishevelled.

The carriage ride home was no more comfortable than before and I was glad to see the lights of Blindingham welcoming me home. The new maid was kind enough to comfort me as she prepared me for bed, but I spent a terrible night thinking about how Cook would manage. I shall speak to Josiah and try to arrange special nursing for her. For two pins I would have her back here with us and care for her myself - if only I could be sure she would not come to, or cause us, any harm.

Mistress of all I survey

Blindingham
May 10th 1852


Goodness me, Boo!

Last year when we returned here I was as nervous as a kitten about entering my own home. But now I am a confident Lady I almost ran up the steps to reclaim my empire! Villiers had gathered the staff as usual - sorely depleted by the absence of Cook and the Girl - and I thanked them for looking after the Hall so well. I shall find out in due course whether or not they actually have.

The Girl is still in London. Josiah tells me his associate still has want of her and since I do not care ever to see her or the child again I was happy to let her stay behind. We continue paying her wages, I believe, but I may put an end to that arrangement soon. And Cook is still in the sanatorium, poor woman. I shall visit her just as soon as I have found a personal maid to attend to me - if I do not, and I go about in public having dressed my own hair, I may be in danger of being mistaken for an inmate!

Josiah, as I predicted, set about changing the furniture in the entrance hall - he said something about making more room but I paid him scant attention because Mrs Everdown was trying to tell me what changes she had made. I had been concerned about what she would do, as you know, but I do believe she has made things run more smoothly. I resolved to be less judgemental about her in future and can only assume that someone else was responsible for bringing up her stupid daughter. She has more than compensated for the pitiful mess her child made of our linen last year.

Villiers is happier than I have seem him for a long time. His illness has quite vanished and he is charming to Josiah, myself and the rest of the staff. Something about the country air must agree with him and although I am still not convinced he is a natural servant, I hold him in almost affectionate regard these days.

I must dash now, there is so much to do when regaining control of an estate such as ours and I wish to reassure myself that Cook is in good hands.

Do let me know how it goes in the City!

Yrs

Effie x

Adieu

Dearest Boo,

Sadly, we are at the end of our lease in the Square and must return to Blindingham next week. I cannot tell you how much I shall miss you, LB, the girls at the Press and all the good friends I have made this second season in London. But I am excited at the thought of seeing Blindingham again and of renewing my standing in the village. I shall always be interested to hear about the business, of course, and can furnish you with banker's drafts with only a few days' notice if necessary.

Villiers has been laid low for a week or so, but has sprung back more effervescent than ever. He claims to be unable to wait til next week to get to the country and has suggested he go on ahead to prepare the house. That will be a shock for Mrs Everdown!

So, I must see you before we leave - I shall call on Friday if I may?

Kisses to your gorgeous Boy,

Yrs

E xx

Satisfaction

B'grave Square
April 26th 1852

I have had the most enjoyable day. I walked to the Press to meet Boo and Mrs Doughty - Boo had her boy with her so I had plenty of cuddles - and we took tea in an office just like business folk!

Mrs Doughty said the girls were working well - hard at it throughout the day and much of the night, she said - but the funds were disappointingly low due to overseas export prices, or something. I tried my best but I could not really grasp the financial situation fully. She had presented us with a very impressive sheet of paper full of numbers and lists - my head was spinning just looking at it - but I understood the main issue was that a further amount of money was required to purchase materials. I was more than happy to access 'my' account at Papa's bank, so that problem was dealt with straight away. Boo reported that two of the girls had recently left the Press for domestic reasons, I suppose they were needed back at home to nurse ailing relatives or something of the like. But she had immediately found replacements and the work had not suffered at all. I asked how she recruited suitable staff so quickly - she is a marvel, what with having a child to care for as well - and she said girls were so keen to work there she could almost pick them from the street. What high regard we must be held in to have staff so eager to be in our employ!

After we had concluded our business I wanted to spend a while with the girls and introduce my self-improvement programme to them. I have long harboured a wish to educate the disadvantaged and the Press seems to present the perfect opportunity to realise my vision. Mrs Doughty said she would ask a couple of girls to meet me but said she could not spare more and that I really should not walk on the shop floor - for reasons to do with my own safety, I think. I suppose printing machinery is a little frightening at close quarters - it is certainly very loud. The whole time I was there I could hear banging and clattering and the occasional screechings of the workers. In truth, I was not sorry to miss out on that part of my visit.

The employees I met came to the office together, giggling like schoolgirls and fiddling incessantly with their hair. I expect they were nervous to meet a proper Lady. They had a high colour in their cheeks, the pair of them and appeared to have spent time preparing their appearance with perfumes and powdering - which I thought flattering but unnecessary. They showed some interest in my plans for workforce education but when I suggested that they still had much to learn of the world they behaved very oddly. I had heard that it is possible to dissolve into laughter but have never witnessed such a thing until today. The girls clearly have no experience of schooling - it is a wonder they can construct a printer's block at all - and they do not seem to feel themselves worthy of it. I am even more determined to educate them now!

When I came back, Josiah met me on the steps with the news that Villiers has been taken ill. He is in bed under strict orders from a doctor not to leave the house until his fever subsides. He has something mild but contagious, apparently, I did not catch the name of it. The Old Girl is taking charge of his care and she tells me that he is most put out at having his night time walks curtailed. I passed her on the stairs as she was on her way to treat him with a poultice - she was positively revelling in her new authority over him! I am sure that as soon as he is fit and well we shall not see him for a week.

So now I am ready to retire and am feeling quite pleased with myself - Josiah is already planning a new business venture, the Press is thriving, I am being treated with respect as a professional investor and I have had the warmth and eagerness of a small child on my lap. It has quite given me the taste for motherhood - I am surely grown up enough now!

Disappointment

Boo!

Disaster has struck! A proper correspondent would give you a preparatory paragraph here lest you be shocked by the main content of this letter, but the truth is I cannot wait to say it - Josiah's business venture has crumbled to dust!

He had been visiting the factory less often for the last few days - as a result of a womanly wile I employed whilst in want of some company - and yesterday he came clattering home to tell me that the factory had been closed while he was not there!

It seems his associates had looked at some recent accounts and decided the business could not continue. They blamed the cost of construction materials, he said, and said that their other investors had lost confidence in this underground transport system they were building. So Mr Price laid off all the workers and locked the gates, according to Josiah. There will be some resolution soon - they have called an investors meeting for next week - but it is a great shock to Josiah and to me.

So now I have a husband who is both more present and more grumpy than ever before. Which is not what I wished for at all.

Josiah is adamant that the underground system will be successful in the future and is consoling himself with lodging some patents in the meanwhile. I am sure he will bounce back from this soon - he is not a man given to self-pity. Had he been so, I should never have married him.

I shall still be free to come to the Press on Tuesday - I understand Papa is very taken with the commitment Mrs Doughty shows to those girls, Boo, although he never speaks of it directly to me. I can tell by a renewed vigour he has shown lately. He is not the irascible man he has been since we lost Mama.

Anyway, til Tuesday!

yrs

Effie xx

Husbandry

B'grave Square
April 21st 1852

I have been feeling much less alone of late. After our picnic, which was a lesson in lunch preparation and one of Villiers' finest, Josiah and I resolved to spend more time in each other's company. He has been very loving and I could not want for a better husband - not even if granted three wishes by a wizard!

Togetherness and Persuasion

B'Grave Square
April 16th 1852


I have been thinking for some time of a ruse to persuade Josiah to take a little time away from his business, and on Monday evening I happened upon the perfect plan! I waited until he had taken off his outdoor shoes and settled by the fire with his usual glass of wine before dinner and then I laid my trap. I shall report it here to remind myself of how cleverly I bent him to my will....


Me: Josiah my darling you are working so hard these days, I am quite worried for your health.

Josiah: Nonsense, Eff! A man needs to be busy. I am working hard for us both, you know that.

Me: Of course you are and I love you for it. But could they spare you from the factory for half a day?

Josiah: Half a day is a long time in business, Eff. Have some sense!

Me: Oh, well of course I can see that, it's just.....

J: Just what?

Me: I want us to have some time together, Josiah.

J: Time together? What in Heaven's name are you talking about? I have told you already I am a businessman. Time is something women have, not entrepreneurs like me!

Me:Oh, Josiah I should so like us to take a picnic to Hyde Park or some such place.

J: Picnic?

Me: Yes. You remember what lovely times we have had on picnics, don't you?

J: I do, Eff, I do....

Me: Do you remember that time at Hangerworth when Mama made sandwiches and lemonade for us and we set off to find the lake? When Papa was out walking and he found us....

J: ....stop it, Eff!

I sat at his feet and took gentle hold of his heels to rub them at this point - Josiah has a weakness where his heels are concerned - and after a short while I played my final card.

Me: So, do you think they will allow it, Josiah, at the factory?

J: It is not for them to 'allow' me anything! I make the decisions there you must not think otherwise. And if I want half a day to take my wife on a picnic I shall jolly well take half a day!

Me: Oh, sweetheart you are so lovely to your lucky wife. I shall instruct the staff to make up a hamper first thing tomorrow morning!

We then enjoyed a most agreeable dinner together and retired early in preparation for a sumptuous outdoor feast the next day. I am royally pleased with myself and my cunning! I must report for future reference that a man is more open to persuasion after he has removed his shoes....