Chapter 2: Laura’s Surrender

Foxglove Hall is an ancient stone mansion located deep in the hills surrounding the villages of the Darwillow valley. For centuries it has been the ancestral home of the Earls of Darwillow. However, the current earl spends most of his time in London as a courtier to Queen Victoria. These days it is his brother, Arthur, and sister, Matilda, who reside at Foxglove Hall.

I walk the three miles to the remote mansion. Several villagers have cautioned me against seeking employment at the Hall. But I’m in desperate need of paid work to help support my ailing mother and younger sisters. Rumour has it that a young woman hired as a housemaid or kitchen worker at the Hall is invariably discharged in disgrace four or five months later as soon as her swollen belly starts to show. Apparently Lord Arthur has a voracious appetite for fucking his young female servants. I find the servants entrance and I knock on the door. A dour looking manservant answers it.

“I hear that his lordship and lady are looking for maids,” I say in answer to the man’s query.

“More fool you,” he snorts. “Name. Age.”

“Laura, nineteen.”

“Hmmph,” he replies. “I guess you are pretty enough for his lordship’s tastes. Come in.”

I follow the servant into a small sparsely furnished room.

“Wait here,” says the servant.

I’m kept waiting for nearly half an hour before a well dressed young woman enters the room. I presume she is Lady Matilda, although she makes no effort to introduce herself. She asks me a lot of questions about my family and my past employment. I answer honestly since I’ve no idea what information she is hoping to glean. Finally she seems satisfied with my answers.

“My brother will need to interview you,” she says. “If he likes you then you can start straight away. All our servants live here. The Hall is too remote to have our staff walking to and from the surrounding villages. I presume that isn’t going to be a problem.”

“No, my lady,” I reply. “I will need to inform my mother, and collect my clothing and personal belongings from home.”

“You can collect your things on your first day off. We provide you with a uniform, and you can borrow whatever you need in the meantime from the other staff. One of the cooks will be going to the market this afternoon, so she can deliver a message to your mother. Is that satisfactory?”

“Yes, my lady,” I reply, feeling that a negative answer would destroy my chances of a job.

“Good. I’m going to suggest to my brother that we hire you as my personal maid. My last maid was careless and I had to send her packing. Unless you want to leave here barefoot and pregnant, I suggest that you take proper precautions.”

In Victorian England, it is accepted practise in the homes of wealthy gentry for the lord’s cock to have free use of any of his female servants’ holes. Herbs to prevent pregnancy are usually available, but they are often too expensive for a young maid to buy.