by Anthony Alba
Various extracts from the Diary of Lady Lucy Harrison…
Diary Entry: Tuesday 10 March 1863
It was with no little astonishment that I today received my good and dear friend Lady Susan Blakeney, though it was perhaps more correct to say my former friend and most certainly former Lady Susan Blakeney. The entire town is abuzz with the news of the death of her grandfather, Sir Percy, who was commonly acknowledged as the wealthiest man in the kingdom. All had expected Susan, as I should call her now, to inherit his vast fortune for was it not the case that she was his sole heir and lived under his care since the death of her parents so many years ago? By all accounts both Sir Percy and Susan had enjoyed amicable relations. Certainly it was for this reason that I spent such considerable time and effort in staying on friendly terms with the girl.
Today I learned that all the rumours and innuendo that have so circulated London these last few days are in fact true. The girl had been cut out of the late Sir Percy's last Will and Testament and left with nought but the dress on her back, and furthermore the executors of her grandfather's Will have given her to the end of the week to vacate the home in which she has resided these last years.
As is understandable, the girl was much distressed and I could not fault her for that. For a time I feared that she had come to my door to seek my aid for she was quick to describe me as her dearest friend in the entire world. I confess my shock at the news left me quite speechless for a time. To think that all of those years I have spent pandering to the whims of this girl in the hopes of her assistance and companionship when she finally came into her inheritance are wasted at the stroke of a pen! Had Sir Percy no consideration for my endeavours at all?
Foolish as she is, Susan mistook my understandable fury for shock. I had it in my mind to explain to her that under no circumstances was I prepared to compound my wasted efforts on giving to her money and resources I could ill afford so that she might regain some small measure of her standing in society. She could starve in the gutter for all I cared or sell her body as a common whore. It was at this point that I learned that as shocking as the morning's news had been I yet retained a capacity to be confounded further.
The girl wishes to enter service! She was abashed and frightfully shamed to make such an appeal and I could only imagine the indignity such a request imposed upon her. For a woman of her breeding and education to seek a servant's position! Who could endure such debasement?
I agreed of course and she thanked me for my kindness and understanding. I could scarce keep my disgust from my face. Did she understand nothing of my nature? I had pinned a great many of my hopes to her star in the expectation that when it rose, my own fortunes would be drawn up alongside it. All my long labours have been wasted due to whatever indiscretion the girl committed to warrant her disinheritance. I am not given to forgiveness when I am thwarted and she will pay me back in kind for all my squandered energies spent in what is now a lost cause.
She is to return tomorrow after she has made certain arrangements. What arrangements I do not know, and I do not care to press her on the matter. I have till tomorrow to consider how she will redeem the debt due to me.
Diary Entry: Wednesday 11 March 1863
I lay in bed for long hours last night considering how I should deal with Susan. My anger at her fall from grace has not lessened. My own finances are by no means certain though I am blessed that my uncle James who, a doddering fool of the highest order, yet controls the bank upon which I may draw credit at need. He stills thinks of me as the child he dangled on his knees in years past and can deny me nothing. I had hoped that with the death of Sir Percy my fortunes would multiply alongside those of Susan but that is not to be. I shall have to turn my attention to Sir Charles Morris who has expressed a desire for a match. The man is a frightful bore but he has an income that should be sufficient to discharge my debts and provide for me in the manner I would require. I must think on this some more as I have no intention to be burdened by a husband that would make too many demands on me.
I have decided to include my butler John Childs in the arrangement for how could I not? He commands all my servants in my name and is exactly the sort of instrument that I require for the task. He came to me some two years past amid some scandal that had been kept quiet so as not to cause public humiliation. There was some protest at his conduct when I first set him to work. Mrs Smith my housekeeper declared that his treatment of the housemaids was most indecent. I spoke to the man and he explained that apparently harsh measures are sometimes required to keep the lower orders in line. After speaking to him and understanding his methods, any qualms I may have had were swept aside. I discharged Mrs Smith for spreading such foul rumours and advised all the remainder of the servants that should they find my service too onerous they were free to seek employment elsewhere but without references. Needless to say, none have chosen to accept my offer, for without references what decent household would employ them? And here they have food and clothing - luxuries the gutter would not be so kind as to provide.
When Susan was admitted to my drawing room she was naturally ill at ease and I most certainly drew a degree of satisfaction to see her so out of countenance. It was then that I explained my requirement to her. I could no longer consider her a friend, for to do so while she wore a servant's dress could only breed disharmony among the balance of my servants. She seemed to accept this concept with some understanding but I fear that she did not fully understand what I meant. I allowed her to wallow in her innocence and ignorance for a moment longer before I instructed her that I required her to remove her dress and undergarments.
To say that she was shocked would not do justice to the emotions that crossed her pretty little face. As was to be expected she protested until I advised her that it was my practice to inspect all my servants on first engaging them so that I could judge for myself their health and fitness. It would never do to assign to a servant a task or role they lacked the physical ability to perform. As Childs commanded the servants, he too was required to be present in such inspections. Susan protested that that it was most improper for any lady to disrobe before a man to whom she was not wedded. It was with some considerable glee that I advised her that she was no longer a lady and that if she deemed my terms too harsh she was certainly free to leave my service. After all, slavery was no longer practiced in the land.
It was a marvel to see her modesty and sense of dignity war with her understanding of the circumstance she found herself in. Where else could she go? In the end her practical nature won out and she divested herself of her garments though she was still slow to remove her chemise and drawers, but under a stern rebuke for her tardiness from Childs they too soon fell to the floor before her.
The girl was not without beauty and at nineteen she had a thin waist and pleasant bosom with long, radiant, sun-kissed blonde hair. As was to be expected her limbs were long and limber without the muscle that could only come from long physical labour. Her face turned a most delightful red as she was ordered to stand with her hands by her sides and her legs somewhat apart so that Childs and I could complete our inspection.
The shame she must have felt was a heady aroma that I could easily have spent the rest of the day enjoying, but there were matters to be attended to. After some time had passed and the girl had been most thoroughly examined I allowed Susan to don her chemise. The rest of her garb I gave into the custody of Childs with strict instructions that they were to be kept, and should Susan ever seek their return they were to be given to her and, after she was given no more than ten minutes to dress, she was to be put out of my house never to return.
Until her wages were sufficient to cover the cost of a proper uniform she was to wear nothing but her chemise and even after her wages were of sufficient amount to fund the purchase at Childs' urgings she was to be kept barefoot until she had learned humility more becoming to her new station in life.
I half thought that Susan's eyes would pop from her head as these requirements were given to her and amid the shock I saw hurt cross her face. It seemed she truly thought that I was a friend to whom she could turn in her hour of need. I was happy to disabuse her of that notion. As the look of injury passed from her countenance, I chanced to see what I believed to be expressions of resolve and, dare I say, impudent calculation thoughts that passed quickly.
Childs inquired if the girl was to be shaved as was his custom and I saw no reason to refuse. There was some confusion on Susan's face at this but I gave her no time to contemplate what this might mean when I directed that she was to be given a sound thrashing. When she had arrived in the morning she had come by the main door and not the servants' side door as was more proper. To compound her impudence, in the midst of her protests before she disrobed she had dared to call me Lucy. Such insolent conduct would not be tolerated in my household.
Diary Entry: Thursday 12 March 1863
I received correspondence from my business manager that was ill news indeed. I had invested in a ship to bring cotton from Egypt to the hungry textile factories of Manchester. It seemed a prudent course of action as the factories require cotton to manufacture their wares and the supply from the southern states of America had dwindled to a trickle due to the Union navy blockade. Why the Royal Navy could not be ordered to break the blockade of the Yankees I do not know. Do we not yet rule the waves? In any event, this blockade had opened up new opportunities and new supplies of cotton had been sourced in both Egypt and India. The ship was heavily loaded as per my instructions. The Captain had protested that there were dangers in weighing down the ship with too great a cargo but I had made my instructions clear. Apparently the vessel foundered in rough seas and while the crew survived in lifeboats the precious cargo was lost. I had planned to use the proceeds of the sale to discharge some of my liabilities but it seems that is not to be.
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