too.’
Our own maid. I could hardly believe it – and a cook too! I would need some advice, I knew that, and I immediately thought of Mama.
‘Mary, will be delighted when she hears of this,’ I enthused.
Charles coloured a little and said with a cough, ‘I think you will find that Mary already knows. You see, I took her with me to see the house.’ His voice quickened a little in hasty explanation. ‘You have not been well, Kate, and have not felt like venturing out, so, of course, I knew that you could not come with me.’
I tried to hide my disappointment behind a gracious nod. ‘I see. Then I’m sure that if Mary likes it, it will be fine for me too.’
Among the responses to Charles’s advertisement was one from a cook who had worked for a clergyman. Her letter explained that her former employer had had only a small parish and, consequently, they had learned to live frugally. Charles had not wanted to interview her at Furnival’s Inn, so he arranged a meeting at York Place where Mama would also help me to choose a maid.
Mrs Knapman arrived at three o’ clock prompt and, as Charles could not abide lateness, this immediately went in her favour. She waited in the sitting room, while Charles momentarily paced backward and forward in the hallway rehearsing a few questions. When he entered the room with a confident greeting, and began to outline his wishes, no one would have believed that he was a young man of twenty-five who had never before employed a servant.
‘I am sure you appreciate, Mrs Knapman, that I am becoming very well known in the City and will have all sorts of enquiries into my business when you are out and about. But you understand exactly what will be required of you, I hope?’
‘Yes, Mr Dickens, you can rely on me, sir – discretion will be my watch word. And I can reassure you that I will not be wasteful; in my last position I learned to cook on a budget. “Waste not, want not”, was the motto of my previous master, sir,and I have learned to live by it. Yes I have.’
And that is how Mrs Knapman came to be our cook. As for a maid, Mama’s butcher recommended his niece from Yorkshire. She was aged just sixteen and looking for her first position. Mama had thought that as she was younger than me, I would not feel awkward giving her instruction and that I could train her up to suit Charles and myself. With Mama’s help I drew up a list of duties.
I was pleased to see that Mary Williams was a strong-looking girl who looked as though she would handle her work in a capable manner. She arrived with her mother and listened carefully as I outlined the list of tasks. She nodded and said very quietly, ‘Yes, madam, I can do all of those things.’
‘Well then, I am happy with your uncle’s recommendation and will write to let you know when we shall require you to start.’
As a final point, Mama suggested that Mary change her name to Emily so that there would not be any confusion with our own Mary and, as neither Mary nor her mother seemed perturbed by it, Emily she became.
In the weeks that followed, we began to make arrangements to move into 48 Doughty Street. While Georgina circled the room and rocked the baby in her arms, Mary began packing up our clothing and putting it in a trunk. Other than the ornamental table, there was no other furniture of our own to be moved. I took down the miniature of Charles from above my bedside, wrapped it in a shawl and placed it in the trunk. Charles, however, would not allow anyone to touch his desk. He personally emptied each of the drawers, packing every item away with the greatest care.
When the driver arrived to transport our belongings, Charles raced down the stairs to instruct him that everything should be loaded in an orderly fashion. I lingered for a moment and took one last look at the room. The framed faces upon the wall looked down upon me kindly and wished me well. They smiled inanticipation of the new occupants, and they were
Our own maid. I could hardly believe it – and a cook too! I would need some advice, I knew that, and I immediately thought of Mama.
‘Mary, will be delighted when she hears of this,’ I enthused.
Charles coloured a little and said with a cough, ‘I think you will find that Mary already knows. You see, I took her with me to see the house.’ His voice quickened a little in hasty explanation. ‘You have not been well, Kate, and have not felt like venturing out, so, of course, I knew that you could not come with me.’
I tried to hide my disappointment behind a gracious nod. ‘I see. Then I’m sure that if Mary likes it, it will be fine for me too.’
Among the responses to Charles’s advertisement was one from a cook who had worked for a clergyman. Her letter explained that her former employer had had only a small parish and, consequently, they had learned to live frugally. Charles had not wanted to interview her at Furnival’s Inn, so he arranged a meeting at York Place where Mama would also help me to choose a maid.
Mrs Knapman arrived at three o’ clock prompt and, as Charles could not abide lateness, this immediately went in her favour. She waited in the sitting room, while Charles momentarily paced backward and forward in the hallway rehearsing a few questions. When he entered the room with a confident greeting, and began to outline his wishes, no one would have believed that he was a young man of twenty-five who had never before employed a servant.
‘I am sure you appreciate, Mrs Knapman, that I am becoming very well known in the City and will have all sorts of enquiries into my business when you are out and about. But you understand exactly what will be required of you, I hope?’
‘Yes, Mr Dickens, you can rely on me, sir – discretion will be my watch word. And I can reassure you that I will not be wasteful; in my last position I learned to cook on a budget. “Waste not, want not”, was the motto of my previous master, sir,and I have learned to live by it. Yes I have.’
And that is how Mrs Knapman came to be our cook. As for a maid, Mama’s butcher recommended his niece from Yorkshire. She was aged just sixteen and looking for her first position. Mama had thought that as she was younger than me, I would not feel awkward giving her instruction and that I could train her up to suit Charles and myself. With Mama’s help I drew up a list of duties.
I was pleased to see that Mary Williams was a strong-looking girl who looked as though she would handle her work in a capable manner. She arrived with her mother and listened carefully as I outlined the list of tasks. She nodded and said very quietly, ‘Yes, madam, I can do all of those things.’
‘Well then, I am happy with your uncle’s recommendation and will write to let you know when we shall require you to start.’
As a final point, Mama suggested that Mary change her name to Emily so that there would not be any confusion with our own Mary and, as neither Mary nor her mother seemed perturbed by it, Emily she became.
In the weeks that followed, we began to make arrangements to move into 48 Doughty Street. While Georgina circled the room and rocked the baby in her arms, Mary began packing up our clothing and putting it in a trunk. Other than the ornamental table, there was no other furniture of our own to be moved. I took down the miniature of Charles from above my bedside, wrapped it in a shawl and placed it in the trunk. Charles, however, would not allow anyone to touch his desk. He personally emptied each of the drawers, packing every item away with the greatest care.
When the driver arrived to transport our belongings, Charles raced down the stairs to instruct him that everything should be loaded in an orderly fashion. I lingered for a moment and took one last look at the room. The framed faces upon the wall looked down upon me kindly and wished me well. They smiled inanticipation of the new occupants, and they were
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