The Lady's Maid's Secret

When (Column) Inches Matter: Part 2

The Lady's Maid's Secret Part 2

This is the second episode in a serialised story, exclusive to Love's Great Adventure. Be sure to check back each quarter for the next tale.

Last time: Rose Reed, a young ambitious lady's maid is newly employed at the home of Lady Pendrick, a widow of mature years who has fallen on hard times.

While going through household goods to that are to be sold, Rose comes across the diary of the late Mary Fitzpatrick, Lady Pendrick's old lady's maid. There, she discovers the secrets of her employer's so-called friends who have taken advantage of the good Lady over the years.

Rose calls together the household and shares her discovery and announces that she has a plan to help restore what rightfully belongs to their mistress.

Dear Reader,

Do you love the news sheets? You know the type I mean – the ones that cover those delicious glittering society parties in breathless detail. Who is sporting new jewels and who is wearing the latest in fashion?

You can learn a lot from those newspapers, Dear Reader. I highly recommend them for their instructive nature.

Not to mention a little on-dit or two about the things that go on between our betters.

A little bit of fumbling between a parlour maid and a footman is not worthy of column inches, but as soon as one has a title, inches matter, and indulging one's itch, shall we say, is broadcast from one side of the country to the other.

Why, here is an example from a recent edition of The London Examiner – "and what are we to make of the observation that merry widow Lady V— and Baron H— were missing from the box for the entire third act of Amor Und Psyche?"

What indeed, Dear Reader, when I just happen to know Baron H happens to be Baron Honeyfield, the husband of the lady formerly known as Eliza Badgley?

The only thing one can do – and that is throw a party and invite the happy couple.

But alas, which happy couple? Well that is not for me to decide. I suggest to my mistress, Lady Pendrick that she should invite all three. Something discreet, a little whist party would do – perhaps a Faro game for the more adventurous? Yes, I think that will do nicely.

My lady plays cards adequately but not well enough to match wits with the wicked Eliza Badgely – my pardon, Baroness Honeyfield – so I have successfully persuaded her to allow me to play in her stead.

Now you might ask how a young lady of good breeding such as myself would know about gambling, but alas Dear Reader, that it is a sad and tragic story for another time suffice to say that I learned such skill on my father's knee – before he went to Newgate Prison that one time, an innocent man, so he assures me.

My Lady Pendrick has been most accommodating, which is why tonight I'm dressed in one of her ladyship's gowns of powder blue silk (which I have, with her permission, cut and styled just for tonight's event).

I am not the only one similarly out of uniform. Evan, the handsome young footman is dressed in the garb of a young buck in the guise of being my lady's hitherto unknown great-nephew newly arrived from the colonies.

The Australian ruse was his sister Felicity's very clever suggestion to disguise an obvious accent. I was to play Evan's sister.

Evan is an excellent hand at cards. I hadn't believed him at first and the first two hands we played were quite inconclusive.

Over the years, I have discovered that it is one thing to play well and do so within the rules of the game. It is quite another matter to play well using every deceit and guile, knowing your opponent is doing the same. I decided to provide an incentive. I would allow him certain liberties if he employed every trick he knew, and could beat me in a best of three hands of faro, whist and speculation.

Let me say, Dear Reader, that I discovered Evan is not to be faulted in anything he does!

But I digress.

All the preparations are in place for tonight. Everyone has been coached and rehearsed.

The Baron and Baroness are the first to arrive and oh, what a pleasant surprise for all when the Lady Lydia Voss is announced. I had always pondered the phrase 'to look daggers at', and now I was witness to the very saying being brought to life.

Lady Voss was handsome woman but less bright than the adventuress who had fleeced our mistress. And yet there was consolation to be had for the Baroness when Evan entered the room, perfectly playing his part of an Australian returned to the motherland in search of a wife to help him spend the mother lode of gold his father had unearthed in the colony of New South Wales.

And you will not be surprised, Dear Reader, to learn that the Baron was quite taken with me – and that the Baroness is somewhat overfond of the drink.

While Evan and the Baron discussed possible investment opportunities in the drawing room over cigars and brandy, I suggest a game of whist.

I had partnered with my mistress, thus forcing the two women who hated each other the most to form a team – it was all too delicious for words. After we, rather I had won a second rubber. I suggested another game, Speculation and, to spice things up, to put a little coin on the outcome.

The two rivals for the Baron's affections sized each other up and both of them agreed.

It is easy to win at speculation when you have a sharp mind and an excellent memory. It also helps when one's rivals are so fixed on besting one another, they fail to conceive of any other threat to their purses.

By the time the gentlemen returned to the drawing room, I was ahead ten guineas – not nearly enough to reverse my mistress' ill fortune. But this was all a part of my plan, Dear Reader, to ensure that Evan and I are invited by the Baron to one of his private weekend card parties in the country.

That's where the real plan would begin.

Let the Bon Ton worry about inches – I plan to take the mile.

Next edition: Rose plays her Ace. And a certain Lady comes up Trumps.