Downstairs Rules (3 page)

“You do have an eye…” Lady Baxter asked nearly an hour later as she took in her reflection in the floor length mirror. And my hair! I was worried that since your last employer was older you’d have no concept of the latest styles, but this is wonderful!”

“Lady Chatworth was always ahead of fashion, even in her grooming…” Her voice trailed off and Lady Baxter turned to her.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you loved her very much.” She leaned forward and - much to Ella’s surprise - gave her a quick hug. “Well done,” she said, and then left the room to find her husband.

Ella tidied up and went downstairs. It was getting close to the dinner hour, and she found the servants in the room off the kitchen preparing to eat.

“I was just about to come fetch you but I figured you’d find your way back now that you’ve gotten Lady Baxter looking so fine for her night out,” Miss Pilcher said.

“You saw her then?” Ella asked.

“Oh, we all did. Her hair, her dress…everything looked amazing. Your touch was not exaggerated in the least, my dear. Well done!”

“Thank you.” Ella sat down with the others. She wanted to relax, but the appearance of York made her feel suddenly self-conscious again, so she focused on conversing with the other maids to take her mind off his presence, and the threat she now knew he represented.

Dinner passed soon enough. The cook, Mrs. Hobbs, started yelling to the scullery maid to come help with the dishes and the harried girl who’d been talking to Ella scurried away. Others had gone outside so Ella followed. It would be a long night, she knew, because she would not sleep until Lady Baxter came home since she would need Ella’s help getting ready for bed.

“Smoke?” She turned to see William standing in the shadows. He was holding out a cigarette.

“No,” Ella demurred. “No thank you.”

He took a step towards her. He was quite tall, and his nearness made her nervous. Something about him reminded her of how she used to feel when her grandmother spoke of the wolves that roamed the forests of their homeland.

“You’re a pretty thing,” he said. “But don’t let York see fellows come sniffin’ about. He doesn’t like the girls to have callers.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Ella said, and moved to walk past him.

“Hold on,” William said. “I’m not done talking to you yet, especially since it seems you’re not yet spoken for…”

“But I believe she’s finished talking with you.” For the first time, Ella was pleased to see York. He looked at William and then at her. “Unless I’m mistaken.”

“No. You’re not mistaken, Mr. York. We were quite finished.”

William tossed his cigarette down and scrubbed it out with his foot. “Until the next time then, Ella.” He bowed and glared at Thomas briefly before leaving.

“Thank you,” Ella said. “He makes me uncomfortable, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

“He specializes in making people uncomfortable. William Benton is a good footman, but he’s a conniver. Don’t leave yourself alone with him.”

“Is he dangerous?” Ella asked.

“If a girl were foolish enough to be lured to some secluded spot, then I imagine her virtue may be threatened. But it would be her own fault, and she’d have to take such responsibility for her lack of care. Men will be men, after all.”

This did not seem fair to Ella, but she did not have time to ponder it before York was addressing her again.

“I need to talk to you privately, in the library.”

“’Bout what?” she asked.

“You’ll find out when we get there. It’s not for the ears of others and the library is in a quiet part of the house. Come with me, Miss Carter.”

Ella followed him back inside, wondering what he wanted. The library was in a quiet part of the house. It was a grand room with shelves covering every available wall. Ella had never seen so many books.

“Beautiful,” she said.

“You read for pleasure?” York asked.

“Yes,” she glanced at him and then stared back at the books. “Her Ladyship, Lady Chatworth I mean, loved it when I read to her. I learned to read well as a child; as an adult working for her I learned to read very well..”

“It’s a pleasure to have a well-read maid tending to Lady Baxter,” York said. “Perhaps you could recommend some books on decorum, which she lacks. Her husband was not pleased with the display of spirit she exhibited earlier today. You should know that.”

Ella felt her temper flare, but sought to remain calm.

“I don’t think it’s my business, Mr. York.”

“But it is.” He walked over to her. “I thought I made it clear to you earlier today that her Ladyship’s business is her husband’s business, and so what happens is not just your business, but mine.”

“Mr. York, I assure you that Lady Baxter is nothing other than a gentlewoman.”

He sighed and as Ella stood watching, the butler shook his head and began rolling up his sleeve.

“I was afraid of this,” he said. “It would seem that she’s gotten to you already. No doubt the little minx urged you to stick by her. And I can’t blame you for doing so. Not being aware of the consequences of obeying me, you’re more likely to obey her.”

Elle began backing away. “I think it’s time I was going.”

“No.” For a large man, York moved incredibly fast and suddenly Ella found herself in his grasp.

“I believe a taste of what is in store if you don’t do as you were told is just what is in order.” He looked down on her. “I’d hoped I would not have to do this at all, and especially not so soon, but it is clear that while quieter, you are just as willful as your lady.”

York sat down on a leather sofa and Ella cried out as she felt herself pulled across his lap. It was just as she feared. Being so much smaller, she was no match for him and she quickly found herself staring down at the floor, bracing herself for what was to come.

Chapter Three

“Don’t do this!” Ella reached back in an instinctive effort to shield her bottom, but York caught her hand and easily trapped it at her side.

“You are hardly in a position to give orders, young lady.”

“But I didn’t do anything wrong!” she cried.

“No? Will this will guarantee that you won’t even consider it…”

She felt her skirt raised, and wanted to cry for help. But Ella’s voice would not come, for she didn’t know what would be more humiliating - being spanked or having someone discover her being spanked. Part of her had hoped that Lady Baxter had exaggerated the circumstances they faced, but as York’s large hand collided with her bottom in a searing smack, she realized that Her Ladyship probably hadn’t been quite graphic enough.

“Owww!” Ella cried out. “Please sir…”

But York spanked her soundly, his large hand connecting with her bottom over and over until the entire surface felt ablaze. He leveled his hardest smacks low on her bottom cheeks, turning Ella’s pleas into nearly infantile sobs. When he finally lifted the maid to her feet, she was shaking.

She was standing between his knees, facing him. York reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief.

“There, there,” he said. “It’s over. Now dry your eyes.”

“I-I d-d-don’t want your handkerchief!” Ella said. “I w-w-want to g-go-go home!”

York sighed and gently mopped her face, quietly scolding her into submission when she tried to move her head away.

“You are home, Ella. You can’t leave. Her Ladyship adores you already and if you were to return to your father he’d be most displeased…”

“He would not like it that you struck me!” she said.

“I spanked you,” York said, tucking the handkerchief back in his pocket. “There’s a difference. Were you to truly disobey it would be much worse, trust me. And I hardly think your father would disapprove of my taking you under my wing..”

“Under your wing?” Ella wiped more tears from her cheeks. “How is…beating..”

“…spanking,” he said, holding up a finger as he corrected her. He was maddeningly calm.

“How is spanking me taking me under your wing?”

“I have one goal, and that is to run a house where everyone knows their place. I would have Lord and Lady Baxter happy, and I would have the staff happy. I’m especially attentive to those closest to those upstairs, and no one will be closer to anyone upstairs than you. With one look I knew Her Ladyship adored you, and while I appreciate that you want to be loyal I will remind you again that I expect your cooperation.”

“You want me to spy..”

“Not exactly. I want you to help keep Her Ladyship out of trouble. The spanking you got tonight is nothing compared to what His Lordship delivers to his bride. She’s crafty enough now to thinks he can avoid them now, but Lord Baxter is smarter than his wife thinks. She was walking a perilously fine line earlier today with her snide comments, my dear. How will you feel if you don’t steer her away from trouble and you find her lying on her belly sobbing because she’s too sore to sit?”

Ella didn’t even want to think of it.

“It would be terrible to think you’d let her down so, would it not?”

Ella nodded, feeling conflicted. She’d never thought that she’d been hired to keep Lady Baxter out of trouble.

“Why do I have to be involved?” she asked miserably.

“Because.” York was pulling the handkerchief out to mop her face again. “There is only so much a husband can do through force. Lord Baxter doesn’t want to break his wife’s spirit. He’s hoping that your gentle art of persuasion can lessen the necessity for physical correction.”

He stood. “Are you composed enough to leave?”

“I don’t want the other servants to see me. I’m a wreck.”

“You look fine,” he said. “Your color is high, but in the candlelight it won’t be so noticeable. It’s getting late. Lord and Lady Baxter will be home soon. Why don’t you take a book and go sit in Lady Baxter’s room so you’ll be there when she comes home?”

“Will it be OK?”

“With my permission, yes,” he said.

He walked over and stared at a shelf, his hands at his back. “Are you fond of poetry?”

“Yes,” Ella said. “Very much.”

He picked up a book. “Do you like Housman?”

“I do.”

He handed her the book. “So does her Ladyship. You can read to her tonight if you’d like.”

Ella curtseyed. “Thank you, Mr. York.”

He smiled down at her and she could feel him watching as she fled the room.

Lady Baxter got home a short time later. She told Ella all about her dinner party - the boring guests, the dry conversation, the lecherous host who stared at her through the whole thing - as she was helped out of her clothes.

“You’re quiet tonight,” she observed. Lady Baxter sat on the edge of the bed and patted it. “Come sit and talk with me.”

Ella hesitated and then walked over. She sat down, trying not to wince, but couldn’t help it.

“Oh dear…” Lady Baxter sighed. “York got you, didn’t he?”

“Is it so obvious?” Ella asked.

“Why?”

“My lady, I don’t know what to do,” Ella replied miserably. “I feel caught in the middle. I want so much to be your maid, but I want to go home after what’s happened. York sought to make me aware of the consequences of not influencing you towards behavior your husband will find suitable. It seems much to ask of a maid. I’m here to serve; I’m not comfortable interfering with your free will…”

Ann Baxter’s eyes sparkled with tears. “They do ask much, my husband of me and York of you. And I feel responsible for what’s happened. I deliberately provoked my husband earlier today when we first met. I would not have if I’d known York would have ended up punishing you for my actions.”

“He didn’t really punish me for what you did, but apparently to make me aware of the consequences of doing nothing to discourage it.” Ella looked at her mistress. “He told me afterwards that what I endured was but a pittance of what you endure, and made me feel personally responsible should Lord Baxter punish you.”

Lady Baxter frowned. “I should have expected something like this from York. I do not think he is a bad man, but he and my husband are like-minded. They are both very stern. I do not want to put you at risk, Ella. But I don’t want you to leave either.” She smiled a sad smile. “I am just selfish enough to consider your company the bright spot in my life.”

“Do you love your husband?” Ella asked the question before she could stop herself. “Forgive me,” she said. “I should know better than to ask something so personal.”

“Don’t apologize,” Lady Baxter said. “I do love him. I was smitten with him the first time I saw him. I was seven…” She laughed. “He was already a grown man then, and married. He’d just moved here, to Baxter Hall. My father invited him to come for a hunt. He looked so grand on his big horse. When they returned he put me up in the saddle in front of him and rode me around. He told me I was the prettiest little thing he’d ever seen.”

Lady Baxter lay back on the bed and stared up at the canopy, as if watching images from her past play out above her head. “After that, every time he came to the our home I made sure I positioned myself where I could be seen. Oh, I knew he was married, but there’s no reasoning with an infatuation. I saw us together in my mind, pretended when I was walking alone that he was by my side. In the spring of my thirteenth year, I stood in the garden arbor and made believe he was at my side as we took our marriage vows. Of course, I knew my parents were already shopping for mates for me, and I knew parents of potential suitors were eying me - and my huge dowry. We couldn’t have a dinner party without some hungry-eyed matron thrusting her son at me, or without my being subjected to some man facing financial ruin trying to parry a method to claim my money, and me. With each passing year I knew I was growing closer to marriage to a man not of my choosing. I pined for Lord Baxter, but was rational enough not to make a fool of myself from want, even when he and his wife came to visit. I noticed him noticing me. But he was discreet about it. Lord Baxter is a moral man, unlike Chatworth. I hope it will not offend you that I make the observation. Everyone knew how dreadful he was to your former Lady.”

“No offense taken,” Ella said. “Sometimes I think she died of a broken heart.”

“It’s my comfort that the woman who preceded me in my husband’s bed did not. As happy as I am to be with Lord Baxter, I never wanted it to be like this. He loved his wife very much, and her death was a terrible blow to him. I know there are those who criticize him for marrying quickly, and to one so young. But Alastair’s late wife never gave him children, and he would have a son before he is too old to teach him to hunt and shoot.”

She stood and walked to the window. “But he is, I think, disappointed in me. I’m not like her. I’m not the grand lady who nods and smiles and has no mind of her own. And I’m afraid I built up an imagined life in my mind so vividly that I find real life failing to match it. In my mind, Lord Baxter was always an indulgent husband. He is the man who lifted me onto his horse on a whim, a man who tells me how pretty I am every day. But the real Lord Baxter, while generous, is also very strict. He does not like how outspoken women have become. He hates talk of the vote, and frowns on women becoming political. He refuses to discuss politics with me and is embarrassed when I engage our guests on matters of the day. This has led me to rebel in my own way, with circumstances.”

“Just for speaking your mind?” Ella felt angry.

“Am I indignant?” she asked. “Yes, but I also try to understand that Lord Baxter’s way of life, the way of life that I enjoy, is rooted in tradition. Change erodes tradition, he said. Too much will threaten the way of life of our kind. He does not want me to be a soldier in such a war, nor even an advocate. He forbids it. He says it is a threat.”

“And York no doubt shares those views.”

“Oh, does he ever,” Lady Baxter affirmed. “York is as protective of our traditions as Lord Baxter, moreso perhaps. His father served Lord Baxter’s father. I’ve always said that David York was born a butler, and probably emerged from the womb in full livery, with clean gloves no less!”

Ella giggled at this.

“They may not be able to stop progress on the outside, Malcolm and York, but I harbor no doubts that Baxter Hall will be the last house in England to fall to any change that sweeps through the kingdom.”

“So what do we do?”

“I don’t know,” Lady Baxter said, furrowing her elegant brow and twirling the end the long braid Ella had put in her hair thoughtfully through her fingers. “My husband was sly, bringing you here. I’m sure he instructed York to be strict with you, and York certainly has no problem with that. I think he knew you would be concerned for me, and that I would be concerned for you. He knew we’d seek to protect one another, and he knew I’d be less likely to be so bold if it mean consequences for both of us.”

She frowned. “He’s a rather crafty fellow, is he not? In a diabolical sense, I mean.”

“You could always just capitulate,” Ella offered. “Even if you do not prefer an obedient life, I’ve seen enough want and sadness to tell you that a grand life with restrictions is better than a free life in poverty.”

“You speak frankly to me,” Lady Baxter observed. “I’m glad for it. Please don’t ever stop. I need to hear what you’re saying. But one of the faults of the aristocracy is that we tend to say what is on our minds. I’ve done it all my life. It hardly seems fair to expect me to stop, or to participate in the excitement of change.”

Ella stood and turned back Lady Baxter’s bed. “We don’t have to make any decisions tonight,” she said. “Perhaps we can sleep on it.”

There was a knock at the door.

“It’s my husband,” Lady Baxter said. “There will be no sleep tonight for me.” But you should see to your quarters. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Ella nodded and went to the door. Lord Baxter was standing there in his robe. He looked down at Ella.

“How was your first day.”

“Busy,” Ella said.

“And I assume York has outlined the expectations of your job accurately?”

“Yes, m’lord.”

“Very good,” he said. “Goodnight then.”

Ella left the room and hastened towards her quarters, not noticing the man who stepped from the shadow in the corner of the stairwell to follow.