Elizabeth thought it was an obvious question. In fact, as soon as she heard that Mrs. Perkins and Mr. Warburton had received one thousand pounds each, she wondered why they were still there. The will had been read more than a month ago.
Mrs. Perkins looked a bit sheepish. “I admit that I was planning to do so. I have a little cottage nearby where my husband lives and where my children were raised. Both my children are grown now and living in Manchester. I was hoping to take my inheritance and my husband and move there to be closer to my grandchildren.”
“That sounds lovely,” said Jane. “I am very happy that you have this opportunity.”
Mrs. Perkins was clearly surprised at this response. “You are not angry?”
“Of course not,” said Jane. “I am only grateful that you stayed as long as you did. I assume you did so to help with the transition of power.” When Mrs. Perkins nodded, Jane asked, “How much longer will you be here?”
“I told my husband I would be ready to move at the end of May,” said Mrs. Perkins.
“That seems reasonable, generous even,” said Jane. “As long as you can help us replace those who will be leaving, I will have no complaints whatsoever. Do you know if anyone else is planning to leave who is not already gone?”
“A couple of maids want to leave and set up a business in Derby as seamstresses,” said Mrs. Perkins. “They have stayed this long in hopes that you will have a chance to see the quality of their work before they go, so that you can vouch for them.”
“I will be happy to look at it,” said Jane. Then she added firmly, “I will be completely honest, however. If their workmanship is not of the quality I would desire for my own clothing, I will tell them so.”
Elizabeth was surprised to see this side of Jane. Everyone always thought of her as excessively kind, even malleable. Elizabeth knew that Jane could be firm when she knew herself to be right. She just never expected that side of her to emerge in such a situation as this.
“I would expect nothing less,” said Mrs. Perkins. “There is one, rather important, position that will be empty by the end of the month. The cook, Mrs. Barton, has decided to leave. Like the maids, she wishes to set up a shop in Derby. She is a dab hand at making pastry and sweets, and I am certain she will be an immediate success. The only reason she has stayed as long asshe has is because she was waiting for the perfect location to be available.”
“This could be a problem,” said Jane. She thought for a moment then said, “I assume, in a house as large as this, that Mrs. Barton had at least one assistant.”
“Two, my Lady,” said Mrs. Perkins.
“Are either of them skilled enough to take over as the cook? It would be easier to replace an assistant than a head cook.”
“I think Mr. Martin has the skills for the most part, though he doesn’t have quite as wide a range as Mrs. Barton. His only weakness is bread. He can never seem to get it quite right. Mrs. Barton banned him from even trying a few years ago, because she said all he ever did was waste ingredients and give the staff stomach aches.”
“What about the other assistant?” asked Jane. “Can he or she make bread?”
“Miss Smith is still fairly young, but she makes excellent bread.”
“Then when Mrs. Barton leaves, promote Mr. Martin to her position. Just make certain Miss Smith is in charge of the bread from now on,” said Jane. “Now, by my count, we will need to replace one footman, four maids, an assistant cook, and a housekeeper. Is that everyone?”
“I am not certain,” said Mrs. Perkins. “I am not quite as privy to the male servants’ intentions. That is the purview of Mr. Warburton.”
“Would you mind fetching him?” asked Jane. “I would like to know the complete scale of the problem so that we can know how best to move forward.”
Once Mrs. Perkins was out of the room, Jane sagged in her seat. Elizabeth chuckled. “I believe I am grateful to not be in your shoes,” she said. “You have handled yourself marvelously, so far, though. Like a queen.”
Jane sighed and shook her head. “I am merely practicing for the real trials to come. If I am to be a duchess suo jure someday, I will have to learn to deal with anything and everything that comes my way. This is nothing.”
Elizabeth reached out and squeezed Jane’s hand. “I can think of no one better suited to the position.”
Jane rolled her eyes, which entirely astonished Elizabeth. “You are only saying that because I look the part.”
“Of course not,” said Elizabeth. “That will help, I’m certain, but the way you combine grace, kindness, and firmness is astounding. I could not do it. I am certain that I would have been screaming in frustration by the end of that conversation if I were the one making the decisions. Four maids gone? We only had three total at Longbourn, and that includes the one lady’s maid we shared among us.”
“We still have five left,” said Jane. “It is not enough to keep the entire house spotlessly clean and certainly not enough to handle entertaining, but it is enough to keep the rooms that are used clean and warm. We will just have to find new ones.”
“You have just made my point for me,” said Elizabeth. “Your way of looking at setbacks is fundamentally different from my own. I can tell you are genuinely happy for those who have left or who are going to leave, despite the difficulties we face with their departure.”
“Servants are people, too,” said Jane.
Elizabeth did not have a chance to respond, since they heard two sets of footsteps approaching the room from the hall. Moments later, Mrs. Perkins and Mr. Warburton entered.
From their additional discussion Jane and Elizabeth learned that only one additional footman wished to leave. The other four footmen were content to send their windfalls to their families, and the other male servants were outdoor servants, such as the gardener and the stablemaster, who loved their jobs and had no desire to leave no matter how much money they had.
