The Life of a Domestic Servant Part 3

[lisamum10]

The life of a domestic servant Part 3
Time has moved on; summer had given way to winter and Christmas was fast approaching. With the changing of the season I now had extra chores, such as bringing in coal for the fires which I also had to light as well as cleaning out the grates first thing in the morning. The first time I did this I earned myself a caning. I spilled some ashes on the carpet and forgot to clean it up. Needless to say Mrs Tyson found them and immediately called me.
“What is the meaning of this Adams?”
“Oh, I’m sorry Madam; I meant to clean it up.”
“That is no excuse, go to the study immediately.”
“Feeling really annoyed with myself at forgetting I made my way to the study. I wasn’t in the least bit worried about the impending caning although there was always just a niggling of doubt as to whether I would have to remove my girdle before being caned. There was now another routine in place. Instead of standing outside the study to wait for Mrs Tyson I now had to go in, take the cane from the cupboard and lay it on the desk. Then I had to pull up my skirt and underslip and bend over the arm of the chair to await Mrs Tyson’s arrival. She arrived after making me wait for the customary length of time and straight away picked up the cane.
“I shall give you two strokes for forgetfulness,” she announced.
“Thank you Madam.”
I was always expected to say thank you after the punishment was announced.
I then received the two strokes, which seemed a lot harder than usual and made me wince. Was this a new era I wondered.
As Christmas drew nearer, it was time to prepare for the return of the children from school. I was looking forward to their return, mainly for a diversion from my regular routine. The day before they were due home, a letter arrived addressed to Mr & Mrs Tyson from the school. When I went in to serve the nightcap for Mr & Mrs Tyson they were in deep conversation and as I put down the tray, I noticed that Mrs Tyson had a letter on her lap on school headed notepaper; I assumed this to be an end of term report.
Next day the children were due to arrive at the railway station and I went with Mrs Tyson to meet them. Much to my embarrassment Miss Bella ran towards me and flung her arms around me.
“Hello Nanny, I’ve been so looking forward to seeing you.”
I noticed Mrs Tyson looking at Miss Bella with a face as black as thunder. She then took Master Freddie to one side and spoke to him. I couldn’t hear what she said clearly but I heard the words, wait, father, deal with and home. I concluded that what I had seen last night was in fact Freddie’s end of term report and it wasn’t good. We all made our way to the car and headed for home; Miss Bella chattering nineteen to the dozen; Master Freddie remaining silent. On arriving at the house, we quickly unloaded the car and went inside. The children were instructed to go to their rooms and change out of their school uniform and then go to the nursery. I was instructed to unpack their cases and then attend the nursery. When I got their Mrs Tyson was there with two very subdued children.
“Master Freddie has been given a bad end of term report and will be dealt with by his father this evening,” announced Mrs Tyson. “You will take Miss Bella to her bedroom and discipline her for being rude and showing a lack of manners at the station.
I looked at Miss Bella; she looked so sad that I wanted to cry.
“Come along Miss Bella,” I said, taking her by the hand.
We made our way upstairs to her bedroom.
“I’m sorry that I have to do this,” I said.
“It’s alright Nanny, I’m used to it; besides its so delightful being spanked by someone as young and pretty as you.”
“Thank you,” I replied. I certainly had not ever considered myself as pretty, especially in my maid’s uniform.
Miss Bella took the hairbrush from her dressing table and handed it to me. I was so reluctant to carry out the punishment but I had no choice. I sat down and Miss Bella pulled up her dress and petticoat, took her knickers down and went straight over my lap.
“How many do I have to give you?” I asked.
“Six for being rude and four for forgetting my manners, that makes ten in all Nanny.”
She knew exactly how many whacks she was supposed to get that I wondered if at some early stage her mother had given her a list of punishment whacks to memorise. I set to work with a heavy heart.
Whack Whack Whack Whack “owwch.” Whack “oooww.” Whack “yeeowch.” Whack “oowww.” Whack “Oooooch.”
“Nearly there,” I assured a now tearful Miss Bella.
“Yes Nanny,” she sobbed.
Whack “Ooooouch.” Whack “ooooohh”
“All over now.”
Miss Bella lay sobbing across my lap.
“Up you get,” I said after a few minutes.
Miss Bella got up, pulled up her knickers, wiped her eyes and gave me a watery smile. Then she took the hairbrush and replaced it. As she came back to me, I couldn’t resist putting my arms around her and giving her a big hug.
“Don’t let mother see you doing that, we’re supposed to take our punishment stoically,” she said.
Stoically? I had no idea what the word meant and I wasn’t going to show my ignorance. I took her back down to the nursery and Mrs Tyson.
“She has been suitably punished?” said Mrs Tyson.
“Yes Madam.”
“You may leave us Adams.”
“Thank you Madam.”
I left the room with a sigh of relief to commence my work.
Dinnertime came round and I waited at table. I noticed a frosty atmosphere and conversation was stilted. After the meal ended Mr Tyson spoke to Master Freddie.
“Go and wait outside the study, boy.”
To me he sounded like a headmaster. It just seemed so unnatural to me for a father to speak to his son like that. I later found out from Master Freddie that at school as well as at home boys were expected to take a thrashing without comment and expected to be spoken to in that fashion. The idea was to toughen a boy up to help maintain the British Empire. I started to clear away the dirty crockery from the table while Mr and Mrs Tyson sent Miss Bella to the nursery to await my arrival to take her to bed. Mr Tyson seemed in no hurry and as I left the room, I glanced down the corridor and saw Master Freddie standing at the study door. He seemed such a pathetic figure and I couldn’t help wondering what was going through his mind. As I cleared the last of the things from the table and Mr and Mrs Tyson got up and left the room. She went to the nursery and he went to the study. I went down to the kitchen and then came back to go to the nursery. I had to cross the end of the corridor leading to the study and as I did so I heard Master Freddie’s loud scream of pain. I shuddered to think of that poor little boy suffering like that. I wanted to run to the study and scream at Mr Tyson to leave him alone. Alas, my courage failed me especially as I would have been on my way out of the door immediately had I done so.
I entered the nursery to find Miss Bella reading a story to her mother, not the other way round. Reading to children in that class of society by a mother was unheard of.
“Bella, go with Adams to your bedroom.”
Miss Bella closed the book, put her arms round her mother and said goodnight. There was no response from Mrs Tyson. I took Miss Bella by the hand and led her out of the nursery. Before going upstairs, we had to pass the end of the corridor and we heard another scream from the study. We both looked at one another and I could see the look of distress in Miss Bella’s eyes. We said nothing and went to the bathroom for Miss Bella to have a wash. Then we went to her bedroom to get her ready for bed. She undressed, folded her clothes neatly on a chair, put on her nightdress and climbed into bed. I sat down beside her on the bed and gave her a long hug. Then she sat up in bed and said her prayers after which I kissed her and she snuggled down under the bedclothes. Many years later, she told me how much she enjoyed being put to bed by me. I said goodnight and returned to the kitchen to do the washing up. I didn’t see Master Freddie again that night; I had been forbidden to get him ready for bed; I suppose they didn’t want me to see him in such a distressed state. I finally retired to bed and it was a long time before I fell asleep; I just kept hearing Master Freddie’s screams in my head.

[Martin8]

A most excellent series, thank you!
M8