Chapter 305: Vanity Fair (K)

Chapter 303 – Vanity Fair (5K)

Hearing this, Arthur looked up and surveyed the girl standing in front of the door.

The light blonde ponytail was coiled behind her head and wrapped up with a white headscarf in a disciplined manner, and the eighty percent new floral white dress, although it was not called gorgeous, looked fresh and neat.

Coupled with the somewhat uneasy look and do not know where to put the hand can only gently pull the edge of the skirt, let a person look at a glance will know that this girl must have just come from the countryside to the London city filled with cold fog and industrial exhaust.

If Arthur had seen this girl anywhere else, he would have taken off his hat and asked her if she needed any help.

As a policeman, Arthur understood all too well just how important it was for such a world-weary lass to take the right first step in London.

Every year countless caravans full of country girls with false dreams come to cold London, thinking that they will find a job here with the right salary, and preferably stumble upon the right kind of destiny.

But while it’s always nice to dream, it doesn’t take long for the city of pickpockets, thieves, robbers, pimps and abductors to teach them a lesson.

According to Arthur’s knowledge, there are some people in London since the last century who specialize in the business of these little girls, and this group of people have a clear division of labor and skillful techniques, specializing in luring these new girls into the city to work in the custom industry.

If it was outside, Arthur most likely wouldn’t take such girls as a threat, instead he would have to politely remind her of the words, “Beware of London’s ubiquitous abyss.”

But now, Arthur didn’t half think about it. For he clearly remembered that the place of work he had registered in the job advertisement published in the newspaper was 36 Lancaster Gate, and he had never disclosed to the public this cottage which served as the secret liaison office of the Police Intelligence Bureau.

How on earth had this girl found her way here? And how had she ascertained that it was Arthur Hastings sitting here?

Arthur winked at Louis, then smiled again and spoke to the girl, “Come in, it’s quite cold outside, and there’s a fire up in the room, so you can warm up with a cup of hot tea as well.”

The girl briefly thanked Arthur and placed her umbrella in the tube by the door, carrying her skirt to sit in front of Arthur.

Louis naturally closed the door to the room and pulled a book from the shelf beside him and leaned it against the wall beside the door.

Arthur asked, as kindly as he could, “Did you find your way here after seeing the job posting in the paper?”

The girl, slightly emboldened by seeing Arthur so affable, carefully pulled a folded newspaper clipping from the knitted purse she carried and spread it out in front of Arthur, the very same job posting he had published.

She plucked up enough courage to reply as confidently as she could in that lark’s voice: “Yes, sir. I can do laundry, cooking, cleaning, and childcare. Besides that, I do needlework very well.”

Although the girl felt that she had answered very well, this answer obviously did not satisfy Arthur, what he wanted to know was not the ability to work, but to ascertain the other party’s origin.

With the attitude of not beating the bushes, Arthur nodded at Louis until he heard the click of the room door locking, only then did he smile and continue to ask, “Although it’s impolite to ask this, but in order to facilitate the next exchange, could I take the liberty of asking your name?”

The girl waved her hand back and forth, she looked as if she didn’t know what was going on, “That’s alright sir, I’m not a noble lady and don’t really value that. My full name is Becky Sharp.”

Seeing that she had already winged her way out, Arthur no longer hid it, he picked up the teapot and filled it for the other party, and asked with a smile, “So, Ms. Sharp, how did you know I was here? I remember I wrote in the newspaper recruitment address is not here ah. I can assure you that the number of people in London, and even the whole world, who know that I am renting an apartment in this place is not more than two hands, but now you have been very lucky to be one of them.”

Arthur had expected Becky Sharp’s tail to show at the end of this paragraph.

To his surprise, the girl with the Cambridge accent was not half so uncomfortable, but rather gave Fiona up rather naturally, “Mr. Hastings, I almost forgot to tell you that it was Miss Evan who told me that you should be here.”

“You’re one of Fiona’s?”

Arthur’s brow furrowed when he heard this.

This small house was specially rented for him to meet with the unofficial employees of the Police Intelligence Bureau, and the people who usually came in and out of this place were undercover agents of the Textile Workers’ Association, spies of the London Political Alliance, or informants of various criminal organizations. Fiona, as one of the contacts of the Police Intelligence Bureau, of course knew about this place.

Becky Sharp’s cheeks burned as she seemed reluctant to mention Fiona’s business, “Well …… you can say that if you insist, but I don’t do that kind of business. I come from the town of Ely in Cambridgeshire, as does Miss Evan. I’m related to Miss Evan, and when she came back to her home town she made a great show of herself, and boasted that she was a maid at the Russian Embassy, and that her food and lodgings were excellent, and that even her salary amounted to twelve shillings a week.

My parents believed her and begged her to get me a job there. But once I arrived in London, I realized that she wasn’t just in the maid business, and Miss Evans didn’t want to drag me into it, so for the past six months she arranged for me to help out with the laundry and cooking and other odd jobs, and she paid my salary.

But the people in the gang saw that I didn’t go out to look for work, and that I could get almost as much as they did just by doing these things every day, so they weren’t too happy about it. I couldn’t stand their stares, so I told Miss Evans that I was going to go out and look for work myself. Seeing that I was so insistent, Ms. Ivan introduced me to you.

She told me that you were a decent gentleman, a superintendent of Scotland Yard, and that you had a small family, and that you were kind and gentle, and always generous with your salary, so I thought nothing of running to you to try your hand.”

When Arthur heard this, he at last understood what was going on.

He wrapped his hands around and said in surprise: “So it is Fiona who introduced you here?”

Becky Sharp raised her head and pursed her lips and smiled a little, “If it wasn’t for Miss Evan’s introduction, how could I have known that you were recruiting housemaids? Mr. Hastings, you must know that young ladies who can read a newspaper would not want to come and work as maids. They would only go for positions like governesses even if their families had fallen into poverty, and most of the maids can’t read more than a few words, and even if they could, they wouldn’t be willing to pay for a copy of The Times.”

Arthur’s realization dawned on him here, and he smiled back, “Miss Sharp, you are not as dull-witted as you claim to be. At least you are much wiser than I am in this matter. I told you why so few people have come to apply for the maid job after so much time has passed.”

Becky Sharp was complimented, and her white face, which had just been slightly embarrassed, suddenly smiled brightly, “I just have some experience in being a maid. Although I haven’t done it myself, almost half of the people at Miss Ivan’s place used to be maids, and I always like to chat with them when I’m not doing anything, asking them what they have to learn in this line of work, and if there’s any place or anything they should pay attention to.”

Arthur was also interested when he heard this, “What did they say?”

Becky Sharp heard this and answered backwards, “Nothing, most of it is to tell me to be more diligent with my hands and quicker with my brain. Every day I have to get up before you get up, and go to bed after you go to bed, and when I sleep it’s best to sleep on a harder pillow so I don’t sleep too much, and I can get up anytime in the middle of the night when you want something to eat. In the morning, before you get up, clean the house and polish the glass and floors. In the evening, after you have gone to bed, prepare a change of clothes for the next day.

Miss Megan told me to work honestly, that we country girls should be practical and not think, and not make the same mistake as she did. But Miss Catherine was a little different, she told me not to listen to Miss Megan, Miss Megan didn’t make it on her own, and that’s why she’s in this situation today. If she had done it, then it is estimated that this moment would have been lying in the comfortable and soft pine bed, in the house there are four or five maids waiting for, go out also have the coachman and manservant front and back.”

Louis, who was guarding the door, heard this, and his face could not help becoming a little queer. Agares also sat on the table while sizing up the little girl who was giving a gushing speech, while patting his legs and laughing: “Hahaha, do you think this little girl really knows nothing or is she pretending? If it’s true that she doesn’t know anything, then she’s really a white lotus out of the mud. If she’s faking it, oooh, then is she hinting at you? Fiona handpicked and ended up with a load that could potentially crawl into bed tonight?”

Arthur glanced at the Red Devil as he pondered the same question, what was this Becky Sharp all about?
In this day and age, the relationship between a domestic servant and their employer could not be viewed as a simple business relationship.

In this era that had just entered the industrial society not long ago, there were still many feudal remnants of the Middle Ages, such as the apprenticeship system in factories.

Before the repeal of the Artisan Apprenticeship Act of 1814, employers not only had the power to hire underage apprentices, but also had the power to act as guardians, so apprentices who lived and ate in the employer’s home not only had to complete their labor tasks, but also had to help with miscellaneous chores such as cleaning, serving tea and water.

If the work was not done well and they received a scolding or a whipping for it, the public would be offended if word got out. However, as long as the degree of corporal punishment is not too severe, in the eyes of society as a whole, this is actually within the scope of acquiescence.

Nevertheless, while the abolition of the Craftsmen’s Apprenticeship Act had begun to bring about subtle changes in the apprenticeship system, the enactment of the Masters’ and Servants’ Act of 1823 was a constant reminder of the hierarchical relationships of the feudal age that still hovered over Britain.

Especially in the profession of domestic servant, strong medieval ties of control and subordination were still maintained. In this respect, servants in Britain are far inferior to workers, who are at least legally equal to their employers.

Servants, on the other hand, were not equal to their employers, either in law or in practice.

The female servant was at an absolute disadvantage in this employment relationship compared to the male servant.

In British tradition, women, especially unmarried young women, are similar in mind to children, and therefore definitely do not have full capacity for behavior.

The employer is not only their employer, but also their guardian, and therefore enjoys power over their lives.

Such power naturally brings many problems, such as the various financial or physical punishments the employer takes against the maids, or the drama that often occurs in those one-volume novels in Elder’s bookcase.

Former maids like Miss Megan and Miss Kathryn, whom Becky Sharp described as having turned to the customary trade, were basically fired after being discovered because of inappropriate relationships with their employers.

And once you have such a reputation in the maid industry, it is unlikely that you will continue to find work.

Therefore, after losing their means of subsistence, many of these maids are forced to join the industry due to the pressure of survival.

According to general statistics, housemaids are indeed one of the main sources of street urchins. Their proportion is so large that some social commentators have said in exasperation, “London is overrun with prostitutes, owing to the constant influx of maids from all corners of the country into the city.”

However, despite the unacceptable physical penalties and risks associated with the maid trade, the free accommodation and freedom from the risk of dismissal during the off-season made housemaids more desirable to girls than textile workers earning as little as sixpence a day, or laundresses earning a much lower salary.

Not to mention the fact that the stories that circulated in the maid’s circle still kept them from leaving this profession, which was the easiest way for women to move up the social ladder.

Generally speaking, maids who have served the families of the great nobility are naturally sought after in the marriage market, and they are as sought after by the emerging middle class as fashion novels.

Maids who have served wealthy families are usually given a dowry from their employer when they marry and retire, with the share of the dowry usually ranging from ten pounds to several dozen pounds, and in rare cases even up to a hundred pounds.

Other maids were given a portion of their master’s inheritance.

As for the last remaining maids, their ultimate dream was to raise the mistress who rode atop their heads in a complete turnaround.

Even if none of these purposes were in mind, most Britannian girls would still choose to become maids as their preferred career once they were able to work. For no other reason than the fact that being a maid has become such an important part of traditional British values that Southampton even legislated in the 17th century that unmarried women between the ages of 12 and 40 were required to work in the servant trade, or else it would be considered illegal.

A woman’s work as a maid became almost as necessary as a man’s military service, and those who defied this path were almost certainly poked and prodded and secretly referred to as ‘unruly women’.

On an island where everyone is labeled and a conservative ethos prevails, it is natural that ordinary people cannot afford to take the great risk of deviating from the conventional path.

So, whether or not they need to make money by doing this, most people would be better off doing it for a year while they’re young anyway.

If one considered things from that perspective, there was nothing suspicious about Becky Sharp, and since she was the one who had been sent over from Fiona’s place, with her shrewdness, it was always better not to pick out a stupid girl.

But could a smart girl speak out indiscriminately to pull out such a big story?
As Arthur thought of this, he suddenly heard Becky Sharp, who was sitting opposite him, speak.

“I heard Miss Evan say that the maid you need should preferably be familiar with sewing and syringing clothes, as you don’t seem to be very good at handling this aspect of affairs.”

Arthur asked with a raised eyebrow, “It’s true that I don’t handle that area very well, but compared to the fat man I live with, I think I do a pretty good job, at least I don’t rub a few holes in my own pants.”

Becky Sharp’s face was flushed and her eyes seemed to sparkle when she heard this, “Then you’re in the right place if you hire me! Brick dust and clay will remove oil stains, alcohol will wash away grass stains, kerosene and blood, and milk will wash away urine and juice. But if you come across lemon or onion juice you’ll have to use a bit of a secret weapon, but that’s my own recipe, so please forgive me if I can’t tell you the truth. But if you’ll leave the laundry to me, you’ll never have to worry about clothes soiled at a reception again from now on.”

The Red Devil whistled, “Wow …… that’s pretty professional! Arthur, this girl has come prepared, it looks like she’s going to have to take this job today.”

Arthur looked at Becky Sharp’s eyes full of anticipation, although he felt that he was quite passable in terms of looks, he was definitely not so handsome that he could make the girl’s eyes light up. The twinkle in Becky Sharp’s eyes was mostly due to his offer of twelve shillings a week, a price that would normally be enough to hire a qualified housekeeper.

Arthur thought for a moment, but finally smiled and nodded, “Well, Miss Sharp, it does seem that I will not be able to find a more suitable one than you for the time being; your excellence has impressed me.”

Becky couldn t help but smile at the words, she stood up joyfully and said, “So …… you promise?”

Arthur smiled and pointed to the address written on the newspaper clipping in front of him, “36 Lancaster Gate, you can move over anytime you pack your bags. I’ll have the job contract ready by tomorrow, but it’s fine if you want to take a few days off first, but from my personal point of view I’d prefer you to move in early. There’s just too much chemical paint on my expensive shirts and jackets that’s hard to clean due to the show.”

(End of chapter)