"Johann kommst du hier. Jetzt!" Whenever Regina was stessed her default was to revert back to German, especially when it involved trying to shout Johann over to her when he was running across the gardens right in front of people. She quickly went up to him, grabbing him out the way.
"I'm so sorry, he gets easily distracted. He didn't bump into you did he?"
Nancy had been in her own world when she felt a child bump into her. Slightly startled out of her own thoughts it took Nancy a few seconds to realise what happened. Nancy crouched to ensure the child wasn’t injured from the bump when she heard somebody approach. “It’s quite alright.” She reassured with a polite smile, “It’s easily as much my error, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”
Despite being fairly new to her position, Nancy had a list as long as her forearm. With the new title, There was an undeniable flurry of activity around the household, which Nancy found quite pleasant. Collecting new finery and fabrics for Lady Kavika and Miss Riya was at the top of Nancy's priority list, after all there was a new social season afoot.
When Nancy landed at the door of the modiste, a small puff of dismay escaped her lips as her eyes scanned the sign on the door which read 'Closed for an errand.' Nancy glanced to the person who had fallen into step next to her. "Excuse me? Do you happen to have the time?" She asked politely with a raised eyebrow, "I'm wondering if it's worth my while waiting around until the modiste returns, or if I'd be better coming back later."
closed starter for The Das Household @nexiliis, @missriyadas and @nancyxrichmond // Das House
The news was official, Nalan’s sister had already had a successful first season in London without having to marry, rendering him all but useless in his parents eyes. Such a thing had him feel as if there was something inside him, coiling through his body, as if each time Kavika’s new title was mentioned was like a pinprick to his pride. Nalan smiled through such a thing, offered his congratulations and accepted some potential callers for Kavika and Riya before he had them fully vetted. He was envious of his sisters but he wanted them to be happy, not saddled to some fortune hunter who only saw them as a way to clear their debts.
As the eldest and only son, Nalan had tried to take control of the Turvey House dealings, even now as the hour was growing late, he was pacing before the fire with the architect's plans in his hands. There was plenty of work to be done on the house but Nalan would ensure they would have the best and their father’s money would gladly cover such a cost, the Das patriarch could hardly deny his daughter this, or so Nalan had voiced such worries to the man.
There was a sound behind him, the faint clicking of his study door that broke his illusion of peace but Nalan did not turn, he did not want to give whoever interrupted him such power or satisfaction. No, instead he continued to go over the plans in his hands, running his fingers along the drawing making it clear that he was focused on this.
“I have been considering some work on Turvey House, and my room is all but picked. I just need the new Baroness to agree on such things. The architect has insisted on adding three more pediments to the exterior but I have settled on two. I believe it is more elegant, any more would make us no better than the Americans.”
Nalan shuddered at the thought of such comparisons and how he would do everything to stop the Das family appearing as gauche as the Lytton’s.
“But I doubt you are here for that, perhaps you have come to inspect my work, to see how the lesser family members spend their idle hours?”
Nalan’s tone was one of amusement but even he knew there was more truth to his words than he would care to admit and would never do so out loud.
When Nalan turned, finally facing the person who ruined his peace, he did so with a smile, a mask that was tightly on his face.
“What do you think of these plans, I could do with a break and you, it seems, are bold enough to interrupt my business so we may as well be of some use to each other.”
Nancy was thankful to have found steady employment so swiftly following her arrival in London. In the first week or so of her arrival to the city, the job market remained fairly tedious, and most positions were not paying a decent enough wage to send back to her family, and maintain herself. It was entirely coincidental that Nancy stumbled across the recently created lady's maid position for the Baroness of Bedford. Finding the available posting had been like striking gold for Nancy, and even more so when the interview with Mr Nalan Das seemed to go in her favour.
The young woman knew she was experienced enough, and capable of finding her feet in such a household, but Nancy found herself entering the interview with bated breath, awaiting the door to be shut in her face the moment her last name was mentioned. Thankfully, note of her family's unruly ways in Scotland had not yet trickled down to London.
From first impressions, the Das household was fairly welcoming, her quarters within the household was comfortable and both Lady Kavika, and Miss Riya seemed fair. It had been a successful first few days, and Nancy was becoming acquainted with the daily requirements and tasks of her job role. Finding her way around the household? Well that was proving a tad more difficult.
The hour was late, and Nancy was completing a few of her final tasks before retiring to her quarters for the evening. A stack of freshly pressed linens in her right arm, Nancy quickly realised that she had entered through the wrong door when she was greeted by the voice of Mr Nalan Das, her lady's elder brother and the man who conducted her interview.
The brunette opened her mouth to apologise but closed it again as Nalan began to speak. Her brow furrowed as the man began to discuss the Baronesses' new household, pediments weren't quite her area of expertise. "Sir, I do apologise, " Nancy responded swiftly, "I still seem to be finding my bearings, I didn't mean to interrupt."
Perhaps it was out of place for Nancy to respond, but it also seemed ignorant to ignore the man's question. "Have you managed to make a visit Turvey House? Witnessing the property firsthand might help with any household planning."
The youngest of five children, what Nancy recalls most about her childhood was noise, from both the interior and exterior of the household. Evening meals were spent around the dinner table, making feasts out of the scarcest of materials in a cramped apartment in Cowgate, Edinburgh. Nancy's father was a Wheelwright, servicing carriages that appeased the needs of the richest in society. While her mother came from a long line of domestic servants, working from her teenage years until her eventual passing a mere four years after Nancy was born.
Not long after her mother's passing, her maternal grandmother joined the household to assist Nancy's father in raising the five children. Attempting to wrangle Nancy's three older brothers and older sister was a tough act for the woman who was climbing steadily into her elder years but in Nancy's eyes, her grandmother was nothing short of perfect. One could consider Nancy to be the blue-eye of her family, with fond memories of her grandmother allowing her to stay up later than her siblings, teaching her to sew, mend rips and tears, and navigate simple embroidery patterns.
Looking back with hindsight, Nancy now recognises that her grandmother was teaching Nancy the tricks of the trade, in a pursuit that the young girl would excel in the domestic profession. But as a child, her nature of doing so made the girl feel special. She recalled sitting on the arm of her grandmother's chair, with a small cup of warm milk, listening intently to her grandmother recounting stories of her mother, and late grandfather.
Despite having little, Nancy remembers her childhood with the upmost fondness. Her brothers followed their father into the Carriage Making profession, her eldest brother following closely with their father into the position of Wheelwright, while her two other brothers focused mainly on upholstery. While Nancy and her sister became domestic day servants, returning in the evenings to join the rest of their family in the evening.
While her sister struggled with the life of a domestic servant, Nancy took to the position well. The days were long and the work was difficult, but Nancy enjoyed the bustle and camaraderie with her fellow household workers. At first, the opulence and greed was hard to navigate, watching as people turned their nose up at the finest of garments, food, or people from her own communities. In the evenings, Nancy found herself returning home dismayed at the ignorance, a sentiment that was eased with her father nudging her with a wink, proclaiming with confidence "well Nance, one day they will all be laughing at the other side of their face."
Despite the jest, bitterness was brewing under the surface in the community. It wasn't long until her father and brother's got sucked into the madness. Disheartened with working conditions, and unfair payment in the work place. Nancy's father and brother's fate and trust fell into the hands of a factory whistleblower. A male who proclaimed himself to be for the workers, in pursuit of fair treatment and pay, gained the trust of several workers, igniting tensions and creating discussions of possible strikes. A ploy to lure disgruntled workers to a bar to discuss the strikes was successful, and it wasn't long until the police were in attendance and arresting the workers under the clause of the Combination Act of 1800.
In an instant, the Richmond family was changed for good. Her father and brothers were imprisoned, losing their careers and reputations. Just months prior, her sister had gotten married and begun to care for their grandmother, whose health was declining rapidly. Despite her brother in law's assistance, four people could not survive off the wages of one person. In a bid to provide help provide for their grandmother, Nancy became a live-in domestic servant. Working tirelessly to send money back to Cowgate.
After two years, Nancy was a respected and established domestic servant, rising within the ranks to become a Lady's Maid for an esteemed Scottish household. A position which she was fond of, and found herself forming a close bond with the family and even more so, a particular guest.
It wasn't long until Nancy got word that her father passed away in prison, and after her brothers were released, Nancy received communications that it was quick and sudden, a result of an illness which broke out. A quiet anger began to simmer within Nancy, recounting her father's hope that one day his hard-work would go noticed. A hope that was snubbed under the thumb of power, money, and greed. But these feelings, these notions, quietly quelled within Nancy's head after a brisk walk or ticking an errand off the list. Knowing that her actions would not spur change, but rather added heartbreak for her family.
Her eldest brother? Not so concerned. After returning home, her brother was only further spurred to pursue fair working conditions. Taking to Edinburgh's Royal Mile to preach, debate, and bounce his ideas off anybody who would listen. Landing the older man multiple visits to the jailhouse and making him the headline of many local papers.
Nancy felt the shift within her household quick. How the head of the household quirked his eyebrow at her over the newspaper, and how suddenly the daughters were no longer conversing openly while Nancy was in the room. A stinging reminder that despite how close she had gotten to the women, her position within their life was still dispensable. Her days were numbered, and Nancy had to depart of her own free will before she was sent packing, with no reference, no plan, and certainly no wages.
Applying for multiple positions within Scotland proved unsuccessful, with many shuffling Nancy out of the household the minute she uttered her name was 'Richmond.' In an act of desperation, all arrows pointed to London, a place where news of her outspoken family hadn't yet broke.
Nancy had only been in London a week or so, before the position within the Das Household became available. And with bated breath, Nancy put her name forward, hoping that the Richmonds weren't yet debarred from the London workforce. Only a few days into the new position, Nancy aims to keep her head down and throw herself into work, hoping that news doesn't trickle down to the city and that her own emotions stay safely the surface.
