Chapter 6: Waiting At Table

Back in the classroom, Miss Carson explained that we were to learn how to wait at table. Until she started explaining the protocol involved I had no idea of how complicated it all was. You had to be on the right side of the person you were serving; there was a right and wrong way to hold the tray; a right and a wrong order in which to do things.

Brian said something to the effect that he thought Miss Carson was making it all up, a foolish move that ended up with him being grabbed by the ear, dragged to the front of the class and asked to read out the appropriate passage from a dusty old book that turned out to be a 19th century manual for household servants. The rest of us, all busily pursuing a “let’s keep quiet so we don’t get ourselves into trouble” approach, just tried to remember it all.

Then came the practical. It was a bizarre set up. Seated at a table that stood by a bay window in the lounge were our “guests” for tea; two elegantly dressed, shop-window dummies. “You are all far too inexperienced to practice on any of us,” Miss Carson announced, seeing our looks of disbelief at being expected to wait on mannequins. “When you can do things properly for Amanda and Sally here, you MAY be allowed to try serving Miss Matilda or her guests.”

First of all we had to lay up a table for afternoon tea. Miss Carson stood by explaining how the table cloth needed to be spread just so, completely wrinkle free and hanging down equally on either side. Then the mats and cutlery had to be positioned exactly, not forgetting of course a mat for the tea pot, hot water jug, milk and sugar. All that was relatively normal, I suppose, if irritatingly exact in how Miss Carson wanted it done. The blank stare bestowed on us by the mannequins as we worked made the whole scene feel very peculiar, though.

The strangeness was made worse by the fact that Miss Carson insisted that we curtsy to each of our “guests” before leaving the room to fetch the tea things. Bryony objected and was told that when he’d shown he could do it properly he wouldn’t need to practice, so he could just get on with it and do as he was told. Something about the way in which Miss Carson gave her orders made it plain that disobedience was not a response that would be tolerated. We all had a memory of Mrs Danbury’s cane stinging on our palms and no-one wanted a repeat performance of that. After a few half-hearted protests, Bryony gave in.

After Miss Carson had corrected our actions several times, Daniel, or Danielle as he was now called, complained that he was finding it hard, that he didn’t understand why he was having to do these things in these ways. “Let me make it plain,” Miss Carson said, “you are NOT to imagine that your concerns are in anyway important. You are simply here in order to ensure the comfort and convenience of your Mistress. You will do what is required of you, without drawing attention to yourself, without questioning your betters and without expecting thanks.”