Chapter Eighteen
Early the next morning, a man who identified himself as “Mr. Froschele,” arrived with two young men, each carrying cut and wrapped cloth. As promised, Lord Thompson had three long tables brought in and lined up along the wall. Victoria suspected they were unused dining tables.
Mr. Froschele busied himself with placing the cut cloth in the order in which she was to complete the projects.
Victoria marveled at the man’s efficiency, but she supposed Lord Thompson would tolerate nothing less.
What little she knew of the gentleman, his lordship was very regimented and very kind at the same time.
She suspected he did not well tolerate failure in himself, but was most forgiving of others.
“I have placed Mr. Sustar’s written orders for each project upon the stacks of cloth, ribbons, lace, and the like, Miss Whitchurch,” the man explained.
“At eleven on the clock, I will bring around eight ladies from whom you are to choose three assistants.
Mr. Sustar agreed it would be too expensive to send your fellow workers across London to work.
Sustar will have the women who assisted you there execute the simpler orders placed in the shop itself. Quick repairs and the like.
“My suggestion is you choose two women to execute hems and to gather the cloth’s pleats.
If the women wish to vary their days and such, depending on family obligations, you may assign more than two, but Mr. Sustar’s expecting six days of work from whomever you employ. If not, he will end this agreement.”
“I understand,” she said, but, in reality, she had never been in charge of such a large undertaking. At the school in Bath, she was one of five teachers, not the head mistress. Victoria was beginning to have second thoughts on this venture.
“The women who you hire will report at seven and leave at five. They will be provided one meal each day. I will see—rather, I should say, one of my clerks will see to their pay. You will report if any do not arrive promptly or if they must leave early. You must accept no excuses, Miss Whitchurch. Lord Thompson says you possess a strong sense of responsibility, but your kind heart could lead you to accepting the laziness of others.” The man smiled.
“Those were not his lordship’s actual words, but rather my interpretation. ”
With Mr. Froschele’s departure, Victoria searched out both Mr. Patterson and Mrs. Gabriel. She discovered Patterson first going about rearranging items in the front foyer.
“Yes, miss,” Patterson said with a look of surprise when she approached him. “May I be of service?”
Victoria rolled her shoulders into place. “I am seeking your and Mrs. Gabriel’s expertise. Mr. Froschele means to bring around several candidates for my choice of those who will assist me with the sewing. I have never been asked…”
“Understandable, miss,” Mr. Patterson declared with a smile of approval. “You want my advice.”
Victoria realized she had approached the task from the wrong point of view.
“Yes and no, sir,” she responded politely.
“If I was to hire another footman to tend my side of the house, I would assuredly wish for your expertise, but, as we are speaking of women sewing draperies, bed linens, and such, might we also ring for Mrs. Gabriel? You hold great knowledge of how the household should respond to people coming in to perform duties to his lordship, and Mrs. Gabriel knows about the proper manner of handling maids and such. I would prefer to speak to you together. I require your expertise in how to keep his lordship’s house from knowing damage and the like and Mrs. Gabriel’s on hiring females who will complete their work. ”
Mr. Patterson frowned, but he did as she asked. Thankfully, Mrs. Gabriel appeared within a minute of being summoned. “You wished to speak to me, Mr. Patterson?”
“Miss Whitchurch wished to speak to the both of us,” Patterson explained.
Victoria nervously wrung her fingers, but she had little time to explain herself to his lordship’s staff before she must meet with the women applying for the position.
“Bear with me,” she began. “I have a short story to share before I ask your opinion.” Victoria uncomfortably shifted her weight.
“When I applied for my position as a teacher in the school in Bath, the headmistress spoke to all the candidates at the same time, saying she wished first to see how well we engaged with one another.
We were all quite nervous and eyeing each other, while wondering how we appeared to our fellow applicants.
“The headmistress served us all a cup of tea and started a conversation.
Initially, answers were short, but soon we were all involved in the conversation.
One of the other girls proved to be also from Hampshire and so forth.
The headmistress had each of us sketch another of those applying to measure our artist skills.
We sang a song together and did our sums and minuses and other simple lessons.
Soon, despite each of us desiring the two open positions, it was evident to everyone which of us were the most qualified.
“I was thinking of sharing tea and having a sewing circle. Does such sound too risky?” Victoria pleaded.
“I may only hire three, but as I must spend some ten hours each day with those women, I would enjoy a bit of conversation. Moreover, I worry about rumors plaguing both me and the child.” She sighed heavily. “Does anything I said make sense?”
His lordship’s servants presented each other with a knowing nod.
Mrs. Gabriel spoke first. “Mr. Patterson and I have executed something similar in the past, especially when we first opened Macalhey House. If it would be acceptable to you, I shall sit with you and the others. My position in his lordship’s household shall keep others from taking advantage of you, and I am accustomed to employing seamstresses for this household, while you know what Mr. Sustar expects. ”
“Thank you, Mrs. Gabriel. I did not wish to draw you away from your duties, but I am grateful for your willingness to assist me.”
“You are home,” Miss Whitchurch declared with a small smile, and Benjamin’s heart jumped for joy. He would consider his days blessed if she greeted him as such every day going forward.
“I understand you had a productive day,” he said as he descended the last few stairs to where she awaited him.
He offered her his arm as they came together.
“Have you set it all to right with Mr. Sustar’s and Mr. Froschele’s stipulations?
Are you prepared to serve Sustar from your home, not his shop? ”
The lady laced her arm through his as they walked together into supper. “Mrs. Gabriel was absolutely wonderful. I could not have handled the hiring of even one person without her guidance.”
Benjamin smiled knowingly, for Mrs. Gabriel had already sung Miss Whitchurch’s engaging, but strict, manner.
“You would be quite proud of our girl, my lord,” Mrs. Gabriel had declared with a sweet chuckle.
“Miss Whitchurch sat with the women. She offered them tea, needles, thread, and the hem of a cut piece of cloth. Then, as she set her stitches just so, she explained Mr. Sustar’s expectations, stopping periodically to show them what would be required of them, and then she asked them to replicate her expertise. ”
Benjamin turned to the lady who had stolen his heart. “Mrs. Gabriel presented you with all the praise.”
Miss Whitchurch shrugged, but she said, “I just recalled how angry Mr. Sustar had been when Cassandra spent all her time gossiping rather than completing her tasks. I wanted to view for myself if the women Mr. Froschele sent over could continue to work while being congenial. Also, I wished to view the quality of the work. With your vision, we are being afforded positions close to our homes,” she continued.
“Something unheard of in most of London, and I imagine the same could be said for thousands in England.”
Benjamin was not comfortable with her praise, for he had only acted to save her.
The other women had never been a part of the equation in his mind.
Though, in truth, he had already initiated a review of the possibility of employing more of his tenants in the estate’s business, an idea he had borrowed from her.
“I believe we should share the praise, my dear.” He seated her before asking, “Where is the boy?”
“The women took turns holding him and playing with him. He was late in taking a nap,” she explained as she sat.
“Hopefully, I will see him before I leave for Parliament.”
“Will the government break for its recess soon?” she asked.
“Yes,” he told her. “Elections must occur before we come back in November with a new Prime Minister and, perhaps, a few new faces in the House of Commons.” He nodded to Mr. Patterson to begin the service.
“All we are accomplishing at this point is last minute bills that are necessary to keep the government going until then.”
“Does that mean that you will return to your home seat soon?” she asked in what appeared to be some fear of being left alone. The idea secretly pleased Benjamin, for he did not want to be far from her and the boy.
“I cannot consider leaving until sometime in August,” he shared.
“Duncan and the Home Office are investigating an attack that undermines the government’s stability.
I am not permitted to speak to the specifics, but, if our sources are correct, something will occur within the next couple of weeks, when one of the leaders of the scheme returns from France in a matter of days. ”