by Jacqueline Scott
The sounds coming from Mrs Gale's room were a mixture of cries and yells, interspersed, if you were listening closely, with a completely different noise - one of leather striking bare flesh. As the room was at the end of a short corridor, nobody passed the door, and in any case the staff of Riverview House were used to such sounds and nobody paid them much heed.
However, there was one person who could hear. Sitting on a chair a little along the corridor from the door sat a young woman with a very pale face... it had been a very normal face when the woman had arrived and explained that she had an appointment with Mrs Gale. But now, as the unmistakable sounds of a very hard spanking seeped along the corridor to her ears, her face had become paler and her face showed a worried expression.
She hadn't been waiting too long when the noises stopped. Then a minute or so after that the door opened and a young woman with a red, tear-stained face emerged and fled along the corridor without a glance at anything or anyone. Another minute or so passed and then the door opened again.
A tall, slim, older woman with a stern face appeared, looked at the waiting lady and said, "You must be Miss Marsh? I'm Mrs Gale. Come in and make yourself comfortable."
Mrs Gale was the housekeeper of Riverview House, the main residence of Lord and Lady Slough and their family. She was one of those women that are difficult to put an age to if you don't know them well. In fact she had just turned 50 and was an impressive figure, tall and spare with hair the colour of steel and, when annoyed, a stare that would make most people quail. Despite the 'Mrs' (one of those quaint English traditions which insists that all such housekeepers must be given that title irrespective of their marital status) she was a spinster who had been in the Slough household for over thirty years, the last fifteen in her current post.
Lord and Lady Slough, although not among the most ancient families of England, were highly respected among their friends and acquaintances. The family had lived at Riverview House since early Victorian times at least. Lord Slough's ancestor had come from Germany around the time of George I, but they were now thoroughly anglicised. The current Lord Slough spent a lot of time in London where he sometimes attended the House of Lords. His wife preferred to remain at Riverview House as much as possible but of course supported her husband whenever necessary. The couple had four children but Richard, the eldest and only son had been killed in the last few weeks of the war and his death still hung over the family like a black cloud. There were three girls: Beatrice, married to the son of a local landowner; Veronica who was also married; and Emily, the youngest, who was aged 19 and still lived at home.
Both Lord and Lady Slough were strong believers in discipline, and that was extended to their staff. It was made clear to all staff that if they wished to have employment at Riverview House they would be expected to show a high commitment to providing first class service and that any lapses would be punished severely... and painfully. While such stipulations might have resulted in a high turnover of staff, in practice few left the family voluntarily. Wages that were higher than the norm for their positions, and accommodation that was also better than servants generally expected, outweighed the occasional sore bottom and wounded pride!
Hence Rose, the housemaid who was on the receiving end of Mrs Gale's ire and leather strap was not for a moment thinking of leaving her position. As the belt had smacked into her unprotected rear end again and again, she had wailed and wriggled and apologised for her error (failing to dust a room properly - as it hadn't been used for a week she had decided it was unnecessary.) She had simply been glad that she had not been dismissed.
As was the custom of the times, the number of household staff at Riverview House was substantial. As housekeeper, Mrs Gale was in charge of housemaids, chambermaids and the lady's maid, Janice Borrowman, who worked exclusively for Lady Slough. Nonetheless if her mistress was unhappy with her work in any way, she would be referred to Mrs Gale to be dealt with. In addition there was a cook, Mrs Calloway, with all the necessary ancillary staff that such a position requires. While Mrs Calloway was directly responsible to Lady Slough, she preferred not be involved with staff discipline and so any issues in that area were also passed to the housekeeper.
Mrs Gale's opposite number in charge of the male staff was George Brown, the butler, and again there were a considerable number of ancillary male staff under his control. The same disciplinary regime applied to the men and Mr Brown had wielded a cane on a number of occasions. In addition, there was an estate manager and a number of men controlled by him.
All of the indoor staff generally came together for meals and the conversation round the table was always lively with the housekeeper and the butler allowing a free rein of topics but quick to step in if anybody said something untoward.
A New Servant
There was a vacancy for a maid at Riverview House at this point in time, and the young lady who had been sitting listening to the sounds of Rose's punishment was a candidate for that position.
That interview was going well and Mrs Gale had been impressed with the young woman who was an unusual candidate for such a position. She was 20 and lived with her mother and siblings in a village not far from Riverview House. The family had been rocked by the death of the father in the war and with money now very tight it had become necessary for Jane, the eldest, to seek work. Their property was part of the Slough estate and Lady Slough had heard of the matter through some charity work that she did locally and had suggested that Jane should apply for the vacancy.
It was obvious to Mrs Gale as soon as she met Miss Jane Marsh that she was very different from the normal applicant for the post of housemaid. Her complexion did not show the signs of poor feeding and less than ideal hygiene that was so common in the poorer classes, especially now, a few years after a most debilitating war. Having established the credentials of Miss Marsh, Mrs Gale explained about the job.
"As you may know, Lord and Lady Slough have three daughters, two of whom are married. The youngest, Lady Emily, remains at home. The staff here includes a lady's maid who works exclusively for Lady Slough. What is required is somebody who can act as a maid for Lady Emily but also undertake other more routine duties in the household in general. So the successful candidate will be required to assist Lady Emily first thing in the morning and in the evening, while at other times she will join the other staff in keeping the living areas clean and tidy and fulfilling any requests from the other members of the family. Do you think you can do all of these duties?"
Jane Marsh was a reasonably confident, but not pushy, young woman. She hadn't expected to have to seek employment but the circumstances required it so she was determined to make the best of it. That did not mean that she was not nervous about the interview, especially after listening to the punishment of a member of staff while she waited!
However, she was able to control such nerves when answering questions, and she responded, "I would hope so, Ma'am. I am certainly familiar with cleaning and tidying, although obviously not in an establishment such as this. As to assisting Lady Emily, I would do my very best and I think I am a quick learner so I see no reason why I cannot do the job as you describe it."
Mrs Gale nodded, accepting that was as good a response as she could have expected. "Good. Well I think I can recommend you for the position. I will need to introduce you to Lady Slough and Lady Emily of course - they will have the final decision. Unless you have any questions I will go and see if they are available at present."
Jane swallowed hard and then said, "I have just one question. I hope it is not out of order. While I was waiting I couldn't help hearing-"
Before she could continue, Mrs Gale laughed and interrupted her. "Oh yes, of course you would hear! Perhaps I should have mentioned that requirement sooner. Lord and Lady Slough are strong believers in discipline, my dear, and if a member of staff is in error in any way, rather than dismiss them, my instructions are to punish them and then we can all get on with our jobs again. It is uncomfortable for a while of course, but as you will find if you get the post, staff here are well paid and few if any wish to leave. I don't think it is anything to worry about, if you do your job properly, it will not affect you."
Five minutes later Miss Marsh was being introduced to Lady Slough and her youngest daughter. The former was an austere looking woman who looked as if she didn't smile often, while Lady Emily was a vivacious young woman with very dark hair, a healthy complexion and sparking bright eyes. This part of the interview turned out to be very perfunctory. It was clear that if Mrs Gale said that this woman was the best candidate for the position then the only thing that might prevent her being appointed would be if either Lady Slough or her daughter took an instant dislike to the woman concerned. Lady Emily said that she was delighted that somebody close to her own age would be assisting her and Lady Slough was pleasant enough but didn't appear to have anything to add. So it was that ten days later Jane Marsh left home and moved into the servants' quarters at Riverview House.
On her arrival Mrs Gale met her again and explained her duties in greater detail, including when she would be expected to go to Lady Emily's bedroom each morning and who she should report to when she was dismissed for the day. Then she was introduced to Margaret (Mags) Curtis, another housemaid to be shown her quarters and who would be with her for the rest of the day, and indeed with whom she would share a room.
After the two women had left, Mrs Gale sat thinking about the new recruit for a minute or so - it was a welcome change to have a pleasant (and attractive) young woman on the staff - before rising and summoning the person waiting in the corridor into her room.
As the two women left Mrs Gale's room there was another woman standing in the corridor waiting. After they had passed, Jane's mentor whispered, "That's Nancy, she was late this morning - that's the second time recently so she's going to get punished by Mrs Gale. Were you spanked at home, Jane? Because you will do well to avoid it here I can assure you!" Jane confessed that she had been spanked but not for a long time and the other responded, "It's very common here you'll find, but it's over quickly and to be fair, nobody bears any grudges."
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