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Post by Ellie de Winter on Apr 1, 2011 12:12:50 GMT -5
It was really the Butler's job to talk to potential employees, but Ellie Blakeney, nee de Winter, had never done things as they were supposed to be done. The woman was going to be essentially running her house--she wanted to know her personally. She trusted the Butler's judgment, but housekeepers had always been a bit of a finicky subject for Ellie.
She didn't personally remember the fire started by their housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, which had burned down a wing of their house and nearly killed several wedding guests. She had, however, grown up in a house where her mother was closely involved with their housekeeper's business.
She had no intention of constantly peeking in on the woman if she decided to hire her, but she certainly wanted to make sure she was hiring the right person.
So she waited in the drawing room for the woman to arrive, occasionally fixing a pleat or rearranging the flowers.
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Post by Margaret Ahearne on Apr 1, 2011 16:54:37 GMT -5
Of all the things Mrs. Margaret Ahearne expected of a meeting with a potential employer, being imediately shown in to see that employer herself was not near the top of the list. Though she'd been just a girl the last time she was hired to a new household, this was not what she had come to expect. Particularly having been on the other side of such proceedings several times during her tenure as housekeeper. New hires generally met with several members of the staff before meriting an audience with anyone in the employers' family.
Still, she took this unexpected turn of events in stride. Perhaps this was how things were done in France.
"Ma'am." She dipped a short curtsey to Lady Blakeney and waited to see if she would be invited to sit.
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Post by Ellie de Winter on Apr 12, 2011 16:54:42 GMT -5
Ellie did not stand when Margaret entered, out of etiquette or something equally stupid, but she wished she could have in order to shake her hand. She had a feeling, though, that Margaret was a little more old fashioned than her family raised her to be (as was almost everyone Ellie ran into).
"Mrs Ahearne! Please, sit down; it's so lovely to meet you and I'm glad you could come..."
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Post by Margaret Ahearne on Apr 12, 2011 17:09:05 GMT -5
"The pleasure is entirely mine, ma'am, I'm sure." She did as instructed. Hesitating a moment for propriety's sake, she continued. "I'm sorry, I know this is forward of me, but... I didn't have the chance to speak with any of your staff about the specfic duties of the position I'm here to discuss. As you're aware, what is expected of a housekeeper varies based on the needs of the household."
Margaret paused again, considering her wording carefully. It wouldn't do to speak as if she had already been hired. She wanted to ask how long the Blakeneys had been without a housekeeper, as that would impact the level of re-organizing she'd have to do, but that was not the sort of thing to be asked at a first meeting. After all, if she was granted the position, she could just as easily find that out from one of the staff.
"You mentioned children, I believe, in your letter."
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Post by Ellie de Winter on Apr 17, 2011 18:24:47 GMT -5
Ellie thought for a moment. "Um. Well, overseeing the staff, making sure things happen when they should, generally making sure things happen, you know. Keeping me informed if I need to be... I've never hired a housekeeper, you see; the last one was hired by my husband's mother many years ago and she is retiring to the South. I sort of let her run things as they always had been done; there never seemed to be any problem."
She visibly lit up when her children were mentioned. "Yes, four of them. Andrew is twelve, Nora ten, Lilly 6 and Robert 4. And you had a son, you said?" It was oddly comforting to Ellie that Margaret had a child of her own.
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Post by Margaret Ahearne on Apr 18, 2011 18:59:26 GMT -5
"I would do my best to keep things in the way you are accustomed, then." Which would require depending overly on established staff members, to start with, but she would manage. If hired.
"Yes. Liam is nearly eleven." Margaret smiled to herself, perhaps a little sadly- missing her son already, though they'd only been separated a few days. "Do your children have private tutors, or do you send them off to study at school?" While Liam would do quite well with the local school that Lady Blakeney had mentioned in her letter, surely she provided her own children with a higher caliber of education.
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Post by Ellie de Winter on Apr 20, 2011 1:20:13 GMT -5
"Lilly and Robbie are still under the care of the nanny, but we have tutors engaged for Nora. Andrew is away at school during the year." Her own smile was a little sad as well--Andrew was off at school now, far away from his mother in England (Tony and Andrew's namesake had had the benefit of an education in England, and it seemed her eldest would do much the same). She wouldn't see him until he came home for holidays, though due to distance he was spending shorter ones with Ellie's mother.
"And please, I've no idea if the way things are being run is even convenient or logical. If you are engaged, you have my full permission to restructure." Ellie already had a feeling she would. There would be references to read, and a few more questions to ask, but she had the right feel about Margaret. Right enough to feel comfortable with Margaret running her home.
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Post by Margaret Ahearne on Apr 20, 2011 10:14:29 GMT -5
"I'm sure I would be glad of that liberty, ma'am." It was a weight off her mind not to have to worry about working within the constraints of someone else's system- though either way, the first priority was always the employers' comfort.
"If there's anything you'd like to know, that our previous correspondence hasn't addressed..." Margaret trailed off, again unsure of the etiquette required in this rather different sort of interview.
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Post by Ellie de Winter on May 4, 2011 2:01:36 GMT -5
"Nothing your references won't tell me... but I have to say, the house is mostly French-speaking. My husband is half-French, and he was raised there, so it's always been more convenient to get the staff from Paris... most of them speak some English, and we'd be willing to pay for French lessons if you need them. I know you said you were proficient as a lady's maid, but I wanted to make sure you'd be fully aware." It had been weighing on Ellie's mind, as she'd had her own troubles with communication in the past as a result of language barrier.
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Post by Margaret Ahearne on May 4, 2011 10:31:44 GMT -5
"Thank you for your concern. I'm able to communicate effectively, but I'm not entirely familiar with colloquial expressions. I'm afraid I'll sound like a schoolbook, at first, but I'm confident that I'll be able to pick up less awkward speech patterns. If I could perhaps speak to one of the more senior staff members about it, I'm sure no formal lessons will be required." So long as the entire staff did not communicate solely through idiomatic phrases, Margaret was sure she could manage.
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Post by Ellie de Winter on May 4, 2011 16:27:10 GMT -5
"Forgive me; it is not at all my intention to doubt your abilities," Ellie assured. "I simply wished you to enter the situation with full disclosure. The butler's English is quite good, as is the cook's. Were there any questions you had for me? About the house, or the current staff, you know." Ellie was unsure what a prospective housekeeper might need to know, so hopefully Margaret did.
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Post by Margaret Ahearne on May 5, 2011 10:03:03 GMT -5
It was not the first time Margaret had taken over the management of a household, certainly, but it was the first time she was not already acquainted with the staff of said household. Still, assuming she didn't offend anyone terribly by accident, she had faith that her authority would be accepted.
"The only area in which I would consider myself quite out of my depth in a French household is in planning meals." She decided, once again, to be honest rather than skirt around the issue. "In my experience, the housekeeper, cook, and lady of the house typically work together, after a fashion, to decide on the menu for the evening meal. I have been accustomed to the British mode of cuisine for so long that I will probably be of very little help in that area for the first few weeks, until I have a better idea of what dishes are deemed complimentary to one another."
"And, if you wouldn't find it too soon for such an inquiry, an idea of the basic layout of the house itself would be most useful." Here, again, she found herself wary of asking questions of Lady Blakeney that would better be put to a senior member of the staff, but she saw no alternative at the moment.
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Post by Ellie de Winter on May 11, 2011 2:34:46 GMT -5
"Oh, that's alright. I'm sure you'll adjust, and our cook's not opposed to being given a little extra leeway. Most of our meals don't require too much planning, really--the children are so young that we don't often dine formally anyway, and the cook has a good idea of what we like. Sunday's the only regular full supper service, and other than that it's only when we've got guests."
At the request for plans, she had to think for a moment. "Not at all... I think they're in France, though, and a plan of the London house won't help you much since we're rarely here. The girls are too young to be out and we're at no loss for society in Paris, so it's usually closed... I could have them sent on when I go home next week, if that's convenient."
((STORYTIME: Sir Percy presumably had a house in London and his own actual house in the English countryside, however, since this is the 'verse, it got transplanted to France, and the London house still exists. Family property, don't want to sell, etc.))
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