The Heroine of Havisham Hall - Part 8

It soon became apparent to all the Havisham Hall staff, and particularly to Miss Craftey, that the new junior maid Betsy had become Madam's latest special favourite.   Miss Craftey was not at all pleased.  It was only a matter of months since she had managed to make the life of Madam's previous favourite - an effeminate young boy who had tried to pretend he was a girl - so miserable that he had decided to run away, never to be seen since.   Now, no sooner had this Betsy arrived than she was being singled out for special services to Madam, even to the extent of being invited to serve her nightly cocoa in Madam's private boudoir.


Of course Miss Craftey realised that, unlike that previous favourite, Betsy could not possibly be a boy.  She was so girlish in every way, that there was no possibility that she too could turn out to be one of those effeminate young transvestites.   Ever since Madam's mother and father, Sir Henry and Lady Havisham, had been tragically killed in that dreadful car crash - leaving the young Gloria as the sole heir to their Estate and the vast wealth which came with it - Miss Craftey had managed to impose her will upon all the inhabitants of Havisham Hall, including Gloria, and, as she could not stand the male of the species, had ensured that the household remained entirely "drone-free".   That is, until that young thing called "Alice" turned out to be "Alec".   So she had to resort to imposing the harshest of disciplinary regimes upon the young lad and soon succeeded in driving him away.  No-one quite knew what had happened to the boy but, Miss Craftey now reflected with pride, at least she could safely say that he had been the only male intruder ever to venture into her all-female domain.


But, even though Betsy so obviously satisfied her female-only rule, Miss Craftey really could not tolerate the way Madam had so blatantly now adopted this new girl as her personal favourite.  Up to now she had always managed to bend Madam's will to her own - in much the same way as she did when Madam, as "Miss Gloria", was a teenager - but Miss Craftey soon began to realise that it was now going to be very difficult to prevent this special relationship between the lady of the house and the new scullery maid from blossoming.   She thought long and hard as to how she could put a stop to the friendship before it got out of hand.  But with the additional burden of receiving some extremely important guests of Madam's in the very near future, this was hardly the time to confront such a threat to her own authority.


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The first few days after his arrival at Havisham Hall had proved to be a traumatic period for Jack as he adjusted to life as the junior housemaid, or "scullery maid" as Miss Craftey insisted on calling him.   Every move he made seemed to be monitored closely by the fearsome housekeeper and, with the stunning new hairstyle which Linda had created for him, he was - to his embarrassment - rapidly becoming the envy of all the other staff.   Young Annabelle, the very pretty parlourmaid with whom Jack was now sharing a bedroom, had previously been nicknamed "the Belle of the Hall" but it seemed that Jack was now rapidly taking over this mantle, for better or worse.


It didn't exactly help the situation when, after a few days as scullery maid, Miss Havisham insisted that Jack (or "Betsy" as he had become known to all at Havisham Hall) should be promoted to parlourmaid, with the requirement to wear the shortest of the household's extensive collection of parlourmaid uniforms, together with seamed silk stockings and four-inch heels, so that guests could "appreciate the full splendour of this lovely child in all her splendour".   Moreover, when Miss Craftey had  eventually opened the suitcase which had been packed for Jack and inadvertently left in the car when he arrived several days earlier, she had discovered a huge collection of lipsticks, eye-liner, mascara and other beauty products which she took great delight in showing to Miss Havisham.   Needless to say, Madam then encouraged her "Betsy" to make maximum use of the make-up, both during the day and in the evening, so there was no respite for Jack from the "pretty doll" role that he had now acquired.  As he spent his days constantly hearing references to "Miss World" and other taunts, Jack privately cursed Rose, his mother's maid who had packed his case for him, no doubt with the firm intention of further embarrassing him with its contents when they were revealed.  It had also contained, Jack discovered, a range of beautiful and expensive lingerie, silky flowing nighties and peignoirs, several pairs of silk stockings and two pairs of black, high-heeled court shoes.


Seeing all his possessions had only served to heighten Miss Havisham's growing admiration for Jack's youthful beauty and femininity.   So Jack's life had now become one of being permanently "on show" to Madam's guests, or to Madam herself.  As parlourmaid he was constantly summoned by various bells which Madam rejoiced in ringing at all times of the day, whether from the morning-room, or the dining-room or the drawing-room, and whether or not she was expecting guests or just simply wanted to spend a little more time admiring her "lovely girlish boy".   She periodically reminded Jack, when they were alone together, that he was of course still a boy, and that she intended to keep him that way, but that no-one else in the household was ever to discover his secret...


With such a treasure to display, Miss Havisham now enjoyed nothing more than to invite her friends round for morning coffee, or a light lunch or afternoon tea, and to have her "prettiest of parlourmaids" greet them at the front door, take their coats, show them through to wherever Madam was sitting, and of course serve their drinks.   Madam would then require Jack to stand silently in the corner of the room, in his beautiful uniform, while she entertained her guests.  On these occasions Jack heard his mistress tell each and every one of these guests all about the party she was throwing for the imminent visit of the world-famous actress Dame Olivia Laurence and her friend Lady Lavinia Lovelace.


One morning, when Jack was looking especially pretty in his latest figure-hugging parlourmaid's uniform, complete with a beautiful "broderie anglaise" lacy bib apron and the ever-present little lace cap, he answered the door to a well-dressed middle-aged lady and a rather less smart,and rather awkward, teenage girl who was looking decidedly uncomfortable in a blouse and skirt.  To his horror Jack immediately recognised them both but, being the very calm and discreet maid that he now was, he quietly enquired their names, took their coats and showed the two ladies through to the drawing-room.


"Mrs Franklin and Miss Melissa Franklin to see you, Madam" he announced as they entered the room.   Only then did a glint of recognition start to become apparent on the faces of the two visitors. Was this not the same shy voice that they had heard in the street a few days earlier, when they encountered Miss Strang from the Stuyvesant Academy and her beautiful niece in the pretty peach blouse?   What was Miss Strang's niece now doing working as one of Gloria Havisham's maids?


(to be continued)