A Change of Fortune by Beryl Matthews

the woman sat down again, studying a letter, then she looked up.
    ‘The only thing I’ve got is for an under housemaid with the Stannard household. They need someone right away.’
    ‘I’ll do it.’ Jenny put her cup down and sat forward eagerly.
    ‘You’ll have to buy your own uniform. Can you afford to do that?’
    Jenny was stunned by that piece of information. Just when she thought things were going to work out, this came up. ‘How much?’
    ‘Four pounds.’
    That wasn’t going to leave her much. Jenny chewed her lip in worry. Thank goodness Fred and Glad had made the pawnbroker give her five pounds. She smiled. ‘I can manage that.’
    ‘Good. The lack of references is not in your favour, but I’ll write a letter to Mrs Stannard explaining your situation. She might agree to take you on for a trial period to see how you work out.’
    ‘I’ll work hard. I won’t let you down, Mrs Dearing.’ She sounded too eager, even to her own ears.
    ‘You’d better go immediately in case there are other applicants.’ She wrote the letter, sealed it in an envelope, then put the address on the front. ‘It’s in Bruton Street, Mayfair. Can you find your way there?’
    ‘Yes, Mrs Dearing.’ Jenny took the envelope and smiled again, but in relief this time. Perhaps things were going to work out after all.
    The house in Mayfair was really elegant. It had three floors and a basement. A beautiful tiled path led up to a sparkling clean step and solid wooden door, with a brass letterbox and doorknocker polished to such a shine you could see your face in it. But Jenny knew servants didn’t go in the front, so she hurried round tothe back entrance. After knocking on the door, she waited, head bowed, praying that the place hadn’t been filled already.
    ‘Yes?’
    Her head shot up at the sound of a man’s voice. He was no more than twenty-five, she guessed, and his dark green and gold livery marked him as a footman. ‘I’ve come from Mrs Dearing’s agency about the job of under housemaid.’
    He stepped aside. ‘Come with me.’ He led her through an enormous kitchen, which was lovely and warm after the cold wind outside. She received curious glances, but the cook and her staff were too busy to stop what they were doing. The footman led her along a dark passage and rapped on a door at the end.
    ‘Young kid here about the job, Mrs Douglas.’
    The door opened to reveal a small, comfortable sitting room, and a woman who was not so small. She was wearing a black dress with a chatelaine at her waist from which hung a large bunch of keys and various useful items. She gave Jenny a quick head-to-toe appraisal, then without a word turned and walked back into the room. The footman winked as he pushed Jenny over the threshold before closing the door behind her.
    The housekeeper held her hand out for the letter Jenny was clutching to her as if it were a good-luck talisman. She fought to stop her hand trembling as she handed it over, though it was so difficult. She was shaking from her feet upwards; it wouldn’t take much for her teeth to start chattering. The words Miss Patterson-Hay haddrummed into them at the school echoed in her mind: ‘Remain serene and composed at all times. Never show fear or anger.’
    Remain serene! She could feel a hysterical laugh bubbling up inside her. That was impossible. She was so terrified that her legs wouldn’t hold her much longer …
    ‘No references.’
    The housekeeper’s voice made her jump, and with a sense of desperation she gathered her scattered thoughts together. ‘No, Mrs Douglas, but I’m a hard worker.’
    ‘You had better be,’ she snapped. ‘I don’t tolerate slackness in this household.’
    Jenny couldn’t help comparing the Winford housekeeper with this one. She didn’t seem quite so severe, but there was little to choose between them. Were they all like this?
    ‘Come with me. I’ll find out if madam will see you.’
    The housekeeper sailed out of the room,