Nanny Diaries 3 - Pride and Prejudice

Deepdene

"Such a beautiful house, Mrs Radcliffe...right in the middle of the school, too." Grandmama commented as we settled in Sheila's drawing room, which did indeed appear to be attached to the main building at Deepdene. I have to admit to being quite confused by our arrival, because it involved endless corridors and dozens of electronic doors, all of which needed our guide, one of the many staff members in a navy-blue gown, to use her keycard to get us through. We had walked up to the main school entrance, as per our instructions after Grandmama had invited us for morning coffee with Mrs Radcliffe. And then we had been led through a maze of corridors and swooshing doors, until we reached the headmaster's residence. "I would imagine you enjoy being right in the thick of things?"

"My husband finds it a great convenience, Mrs Hughes." Sheila replied politely, as another young lady in a blue gown served coffee to everyone. The blue gowns seemed to be a uniform as Annie had been wearing when we saw her on the Saturday when the boarders arrived, but Mrs Radcliffe was wearing a green plaid gown, and looking elegant, if a trifle downcast.

"And you seem to have the blessing of a considerable staff at your disposal?"

"Matron makes sure that I am well looked after, Ma'am."

"This would be Miss Stewart...Daphne has told me all about her...Mr Radcliffe has tasked her with...advising you...I believe, Mrs Radcliffe?" Grandmama purred, patting my knee as she mentioned my name, and clearly in the mood to get right to the heart of the matter. Mama had talked to her about Sheila, who she knew from her childhood, and Grandmama was easily persuaded to take on the challenge of freeing Sheila Radcliffe. As Mama had expected, she was of the opinion that good teachers ought to be allowed to teach, and that Mrs Radcliffe was of a suitable age to work if her husband approved of her endeavours, being past childbearing, of course. Grandmama, like Mama in her own way, believed in the sanctity of marriage, and in a bride keeping her vows. She was in no way subservient to her husband, and was certainly not afraid to tell him what she thought of things, but if he told her to do something specific, she obeyed him, once she had her say in private. I had no doubt that she would argue with him, if she needed to, but she believed that a wife should love, honour and obey her husband, as long as he respected her, too. "She is a capable girl...used to our ways...and she is acting on Mr Radcliffe's instructions, I presume?"

"Matron...Miss Stewart...is more than capable...a real asset to the school...but my husband has been counselled to use her services...and those of the house staff...to help me set the right example to all our pupils and their parents, Mrs Hughes." Sheila replied, offering us all a rather pained smile. Obviously, I was reasonably comfortable with the idea of obedience. I had taken my vows, as had every other lady in the room, and I had kept them, one way or another. Mama and Papa were my guardians, and I had been quite happy to let them advise me. And although Grandmama had rather taken on that role from Mama in recent days, I was still happy to do as they all suggested, because I believed that they would always act in my best interests. Sheila had done the same. Despite being a widow in her mid-fifties, she was reliant on her sons, and they had persuaded her to marry. Indeed, I knew that she had more or less chosen Mr Kieran Radcliffe for herself, as I understood it, because she thought that he would let her teach at the new school. But she had never challenged his right to decide her fate. Marriage was a serious business to any Christian, and especially to a Reformist, because divorce was unthinkable and any union would last a lifetime. And Sheila had realised that if she wanted to teach at the new Deepdene, she would have to marry, because that was what the traditionalists had demanded of the new institution, so she had sought a husband who would appreciate her skills when she worked out which way the wind was blowing. But she had clearly not really expected Kieran Radcliffe to come under so much pressure from Mr Ellesmere and his cronies, including her oldest son, Joshua Blackstone.