May You Live in Interesting Times

Chapter Four

“As you all must know by now, I am the owner of this house, since noon today. Some things will change, and this meeting will give us a chance to explain things to everyone,” William started.

“First of all, there will be few, if any changes in staff. All of you who have suffered through the past few years should be proud of your accomplishments in keeping the place going as long as it did. I think all of you are still owed salary. This will be paid in full. If any of you need your money immediately, see Hockings immediately after the meeting. I will also be available to discuss matters until after supper, but I will be out on business tomorrow. Hockings will also meet with most of you, starting after the meal and let you know what you are due to receive at the end of the quarter, when I propose that all arrears be carried forward.”

“Now, this is something for you to think on,” he continued. “Many of you will be receiving six or more quarters of pay at Michaelmas¹. I propose giving you up to half in cash, and a note for the balance. The money on notes will be invested, and I expect that it will grow by about 10% per year in safe investments. Thus someone with 100 pounds will see that amount grow to 110 pounds after a year, and 121 pounds the year following. And if you add half your quarterly income in the future the gains will be more impressive. You will receive a statement at the end of each year telling you what your holdings are. If you leave our employment, then you will receive the full amount at the time you leave, or a week or so later. Imagine leaving to marry or start a business, and having perhaps £500 or more.”

“We will leave the money matters be for now. My sister and I are from overseas, and we have some different ideas about how things work. Hockings and Bentley tell me that most houses have a policy preventing fraternization amongst staff. Thus maids cannot become involved with manservants, etc. This bothers me. It seems that maids will reach a certain age, and then leave to marry and have children. The men will marry outside people, and then find they cannot support a household.”

“What I propose is that any staff member who has been with the house for over a quarter will be able to court any other member of the same status. The process is this: a young man who wishes to court a maid, would speak to the butler. The butler will speak to the housekeeper, who will let the maid know of the interest. If the maid is interested in being courted, then she tells the housekeeper, who tells the butler, who finally tells the manservant his interest is returned. From that point forth, there will be a set policy for courting. While details are yet to be completed, it will be something like this: for the first three months the couple will be allowed to sit and talk privately, with a chaperone present. During the following quarter, touching and holding of hands will be allowed. The quarter will allow kissing on the cheek or hand. The fourth three months will allow kissing, but still only in the presence of the chaperone. After a year, the couple may be engaged to be married, and if they do they will be allowed to continue to work in the house in their current positions. Family quarters will be provided.”

“And for those who are not so amorous, there is another innovation we will introduce. That is the day of rest. I know in most houses in the city staff are expected to work every day of the year. In the city apprentices and others are given at least Christmas off. Well we are proposing that every staff member will get one day of rest each week. For most it will be Sunday, but that is not hard and fast. For instance gardeners might get their rest day on a rainy day. And there needs to be staff to keep the house going at all times. This means that people will need to cross-train, which is a fancy way of saying someone else will have to be able to take over your job when you are off. Additional staff will be hired to ensure that we aren’t just making you all do seven days of work in six. And now my sister has something to say, I think.”

Abigail rose. “That’s a lot to take in, isn’t it,” she said lightly, and saw many heads nod blankly in response. “My offer is not so earthshattering. I understand that there are only a few members of the staff who can read and write. I propose to offer classes each evening to teach reading and writing to any staff member who wishes to learn. It is not a requirement to take these classes, but it will give each person an opportunity to advance. The young man shoveling manure in the barn might eventually become a future butler of this house if he learns to read and write, and do his numbers, which we will teach later. I am going to teach the class myself at first. If many sign up, then I will need help, of course. But this is an offer that this house makes to its employees.”

“It isn’t entirely for your benefit,” she continued. “If most of the staff can read and write, then we can send you a note asking you to do something, rather than going to you ourselves, or sending a message with another staffer with a chance of misinterpretation. It will make running this place more efficient, and hopefully a more fun place to work. Now, if none of you have any questions, we all have duties before supper. I can’t promise the same level as dinner was, but it will be better than you have had recently.”

“Gotta be better ‘n nothing,” one wag suggested as the meeting broke up, and this time it was the staff who returned the benches and chairs to the dining room.

Abigail planned to spend the evening making lists of items that would need to be purchased in her shopping trip tomorrow. She decided to head down to the kitchen first, where it was a hive of activity cleaning up after dinner and getting ready for supper.

Abigail approached the cook when it seemed that she had gotten all of her staff busy. “Mistress Boyle,” she said. “I am taking some of the ladies shopping tomorrow, and I wonder what you might need to get the kitchen fully equipped again. I heard earlier today that you have a shortage of pots.”

“Aye, milady, much of what was needed had been sold. I suspect that if you were to supply, say £50 or so I would be able to make up the supplies. The food you brought yesterday is enough for now, but we will need more in a day or two. Without ice, the meat will not last. And there are a few other things we are in need of. I could make a shopping trip one morning to replenish what we need.”

“I hope to get the icehouse restocked,” Abigail said. “Do you know who will have ice for sale?”

“I does, milady,” the cook said. “It will be dear to fill the house at this time, and really we only need half filled, since the hottest weather is past. It will probably cost £20 or so to meet our needs. If you could get me the money, I can arrange it.”

Abigail’s sixth sense flared. Why did the cook need cash? Suppliers were again accepting orders on account with the house. She leaned over to Joe, who was walking past, and whispered a few words into his ear. He immediately grinned widely, and then darted off.

“There is no need for you to go shopping, as several of us are making a trip tomorrow,” Abigail said. “We will pick things up for you. We just need to make a list”

“But you might not buy the right type of pots and such,” the cook protested. “I should see them so we get the right ones.”

“Surely you can describe them, and I will tell the merchant. If they are not the style or quality you need, you can return them and get what is needed. I don’t say that you will not go shopping in the future. It just doesn’t make sense for you to go tomorrow. And there will be no need for you to receive cash. Now that all our suppliers are accepting orders on account, you need not pay on the spot.”

The last sentence floored the cook. She finally accepted that goods could be purchased for her, and started to help make the list. About an hour later Joe returned with an even larger smile on his face. He slipped something to Abigail, whispering a few words and then backed up to watch the fun. Abigail dropped a cloth bag on the table.

“I am alerted that this was found in your room. Apparently it contains £68 in coin, mostly shillings and smaller. Can you explain it?”

“That is mine,” the cook screeched. “How dare you search my room? And take my possessions.”

“This is now my brother’s house, and he has a right to know what is in it,” Abigail retorted back. “And I would still like to know where this money came from?”

“From my wages, if you must,” the cook said hotly.

“My understanding is that no wages were paid for the past three years. I know you have only been here for five quarters, and that you were paid cash in advance for your first quarter, and nothing since. Your pay is £12/10 per quarter. Even if you were paid, there is no way you could have saved £68 in five quarters. Again, I ask you ‘where is the money from?’”

“I will not spend another night in this house,” the woman screeched, and snatched up the sack of money, dropping it down the front of her bosom.

“No, you will not,” Abigail said. “And you will not need to expect any payment on Michaelmas, since it seems you have been paying yourself out of the limited cash that was meant to feed your coworkers. And don’t ask for a reference. Go to your room. Joe and …” she pointed to one of the undercooks “ … she will go with you to make sure that you don’t appropriate anything that belongs to the house.

Fifteen minutes later the cook was gone and the kitchen was in a bit of an uproar. “How did you get into the cooks room, and how did you find the money?” Abi asked Joe.

“It were a good lock on ‘er door,” the boy said. “Took me near five minute to open hit. But I could get in under two now I knows how. The purse were harder to find. It were behind a loose brick ‘neath her pillow. Most people likes to sleep on their cash, so I looks there first.”

“Good work,” Abigail said. “And since I fired the cook, I guess I will have to take her place.” She clapped her hands to get the attention of the undercooks, who were all gossiping about what they had witnessed. Clearly the cook was not well liked in the kitchens. “I will need all of your help to keep things going here. Is there anyone here who is capable of running the kitchens?”

There were a lot of looks back and forth, all negative. “Milady,” one finally said. “Cook tended to get rid of anyone who threatened her position. We all know our own tasks, but none of use could be head cooks. Not yet, anyway.”

“Well then we will muddle through,” Abigail said. “Does anyone know what was planned for supper? Something with leftover ham, I suppose.”

It turns out that the sides and dessert were planned and in preparations. Abigail looked at the remaining ham. Dinner had been roast ham. There was a lot of bacon, but Abi wanted that for breakfasts for the next few days. In the end she managed to come up with five pork chops that would be used for supper. She felt apologetic that there would be no meat for the staff, but the undercooks said that there should be no concern, since all had ample pork at dinner. It was unusual for staff to have meat more than one meal a week, they said. When Abigail promised bacon for the morning rolls, they were all ecstatic.

Abigail spent the next several hours in the kitchen, spoiling another gown. When she finally went up to change, she was exhausted, even though the undercooks had done most of the hard work.

William was astonished to find that his sister had made the supper, and agreed with her that the cook had been dealt with fairly, but too softly. She could have spent time in prison for her theft of funds. Hockings admitted he wondered if some skimming was taking place, but had no proof to accuse the woman. He was astounded at the amount she had taken.

After the meal broke up, there was a large contingent of the staff preparing Abigail’s bath. The stone tub in the basement hadn’t been sold or pawned. After scouting out the room, Abigail decided that a new tub upstairs would not be needed. The rainwater cistern was downstairs, as was the kitchen for heating water. She decided instead that she would use the basement tub in the future rather than having countless staff trailing water through the entire house.

The kitchen’s largest five pots had been filled with water and were heating during the supper, so that hot water was ready. And filling with cold water from the nearby cistern was fairly easy, so in no time at all the tub was ready. It was a little cool, but Abigail didn’t want to wait for more water to boil: the first water would cool during that time. She decided that next bath she would have her maid Gloria get a stick from the gardeners, and mark the level of the cold water. In a few tries she should be able to calculate the ratio to have the tub filled with a warm bath.

Abigail didn’t linger long in the tub. She used the hard soap to rub her body clean, and then had Gloria wash her long hair with the same soap. Apparently shampoo had not yet been invented. When she was done, she wrapped herself in towels that Winthrope had bought today, and then finally put on a night cloak that was sufficiently modest to allow her to walk through the mansion. Of course, without her corset her large breasts flopped about rather alarmingly, but she could do nothing about that other than hold an arm under them.

An hour after leaving the meeting she was in her bedroom, where she found William waiting for her. “A short meeting,” he suggested.

“En francais,” Abigail suggested, glancing at Gloria.

“We could just ask her to leave,” William said in French.

“Yes, and then face gossip about the brother and sister who spend evenings together in her bedroom without a chaperone.”

“Good point. Speaking French will make sure our conversations don’t spread. Do any in the house speak French?”

“Something to find out. I suspect that Hockings, Bentley, and Kensing, the literate stableman are the only possibles. Anyway, what did you want to speak about?”

“Well, I think we should touch base every night or two to make sure we know what the other is doing and what the plans are. Our goal is to get as much information as possible about these times. I admit that I haven’t been able to do much, other than getting the house set up. How about you?” William asked.

“I haven’t really learned much either. I wish that coffee houses existed, so that we could use them for getting information. They won’t exist for another 20 years,” Abi said.

“There are only a few places that a man can currently keep up on the news,” William said. “For the nobles there are the gambling sites, and I really want to avoid that due to the Duke’s history. A common man can go to the pubs, but if a Lord sat down in one, the others would clam up immediately.”

“What if you go as a commoner? When I am shopping tomorrow, I will pick up a used workman’s garb. If you get back from your mission soon enough, you will be able to go to one of the pubs for a bit. Just don’t come barging in here if you are drunk tomorrow night.”

“That sounds like a plan,” William said. “Also, we should each start writing a journal. Do we need to encode them? We could write them in Esperanto?”

“I am ahead of you on that,” Abi said. “I purchased paper, quills, and ink for you, and you will find it in your room. As for code, I think we should write in 1600s English. There will be nothing in them that needs to be kept secret. I will call mine a diary, and you can call yours a Chronicle of our time in London. We will have to come up with some way to make sure they survive to the 21st century.”

“Oh, I wanted to tell you about a note we got in the satchel. I sent a message explaining about your er, additional attributes,” William looked briefly at Abi’s large bust line, barely concealed in her night attire. “You were right. One of the grad students in the physics department did make changes, as you surmised. The department investigated and was able to determine which computer made the changes, and the lad confessed. I don’t know why he would do such a thing: it was not like he would ever see the new you. Maybe he was able to get off just thinking about it. Anyway, he was not only kicked off the team, but was expelled from the university. It will be interesting to see if he gets his Master’s elsewhere.”

The pair chatted for another few minutes, then William left the room, and Abigail spent an hour on her journal before she laid down to sleep.

1. 1 Michaelmas was one of the four quarter days in England at this time (Lady Day, Midsummer, and Christmas being the others). Michaelmas fell on September 29. Servants were hired and paid on the quarter days.