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edwardhopkins:

Edward made no move to remove his feet from the oppositechair but turned his head as Samantha took the spot next to him.

“It’s one of the largest parties I can remember.”  There were times when most of the rooms werefull for a few days over the holidays or a ball but there were very clear signsthat all these guests were prepared for an extended stay.  “There is nothing relaxing about theirentertainments at the best of times but this is too much.  If I don’t hear the sounds of the hunt againit will be too soon.”

Edward sighed, too tired to give much energy to hiscomplaints about the lifestyle of those upstairs.  “Doesn’t look like it was any better up here.  Mending already?”

“Understandable. Why every afternoon tea needs to be a full blown tea party considering its the same group that is staying here, I’m unclear. But I have a feeling that isn’t going to change.” Certainly not until this succession issue was settled, and even with the little she’d seen, she could guarantee none of them would concede easily. 

As she spoke, she had easily threaded the needle and started the simple task of mending so the tear would be completely invisible. “So it appears. I’m not sure what Miss Lawson got herself into, but it doesn’t bode well for the rest of her stay.”

Open Starter

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edwardhopkins:

Downstairs | Dining Area

The desire to put his feet up on a neighboring chair and rest was strong.  The duties of the second footman had increased substantially with the influx of guests and the entertainments created for them.  Edward had been on his feet all day and his exhaustion showed.

Giving into temptation, Edward swung his feet onto the chair across the table from him.  There would be a short respite before he was expected to return upstairs and he fully intended to take it.

Samantha saw Edward lounging downstairs in the dining area and slid into the seat next to him, placing the basket of mending on the table in front of her. Somehow Julia had already managed to tear one of her dresses, so Samantha was using this quiet moment to do some of her ladies maid duties. 

“Feeling run ragged? I feel like this is worse than most of the parties we’ve hosted in the past,” she said idly, curious what he would say in response to such a general opening. 

Open Starter

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theschxmxr:

Charlotte turned to see an unfamiliar face, so she assumed at once that it would be no one of any importance (at least to her). “Oh,” she sighed, thankful that it was not one of her sisters or even someone she enjoyed interacting with a bit more, like Miss Hale. She thought for a moment, remaining quiet but clearly on the cusp of speaking, so that the woman wouldn’t walk away. “I’m fine for the moment, thank you.”

Upon a bit of further thought, Charlotte decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to seek out any information on both the house itself and the things that had happened there. And better yet, perhaps gain an informant, an ally of sorts. “Are you busy, though?” Her voice took on the light tone it did when she wanted to charm someone-a vast contrast from the annoyance it had held only a moment before. “I could certainly use some company that isn’t dreadful.”

Samantha waited patiently for Charlotte to speak. In the back of her head, a mental clock was ticking, but the primary aspect of her job was to be of service, and she had always worked hard to give everyone a good impression of her. But of course, the woman didn’t want anything, she had just kept her there for a little while longer to prove a point. She had started to turn away, looking to see if there was something anyone else needed when she was stopped. 

Turning back, she kept a politely interested look on her face. The change in tone was drastic and immediately had her on her mental guard, but she didn’t allow any of that to show on the surface, instead giving her a small smile. “I’m at your service madam, for as long as you need.” At least for as long as Samantha felt safe in the company, but she didn’t look like she wanted that sort of company, so it should be fine. Coming back, she stood just to Charlotte’s side, so she was easy to see without being on her level. 

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theschxmxr:

She’s not certain if more interest will come out of the garden party, or the hunt itself. So she stands there for a moment, indecisive and rocking back and forth on her heels just a bit, since she can’t seem to decide as to which way they should be going. Finally Charlotte decides to let her husband ride out alone, just this once and go back to sit down.

This only lasts a minute before she feels someone’s eyes on her. “I’m certain that there isn’t anything interesting over here,” she snaps. They might be seen her indecisive or just can’t mind their business and let her mind hers. Either way, it has been a long day and it is starting to get to her.

As a maid, no one asked Samantha if she was interested in attending the hunt. Luckily, she also had no interest. Not that this garden party was likely to be more interesting, but at least here she had her feet safely on the ground and she would have the chance to see the way some of the influential ladies interacted with each other. Like Charlotte Cummins. A bit of a wild card she didn’t entirely understand. 

When the women in question snapped at her, she immediately lowered her eyes and gave her a small curtsey. “My apologies madam. I merely wanted to ask which tea you preferred.” After all, she was supposed to be involved in serving, it was as good an excuse as any. 

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anthcnycbrien:

He had come up on the alley behind her, but refrained from sneaking up to the young woman because such an impulse had a touch of inappropriate to it. In the dichotomous decade Anthony had spent at Hudson, divided between the creme of society and the lumpen, he’d taken to note how girls were treated in each. For him, to be mindful of the privacy of a worker carried even more weight than the lese-majesty of a lady. The most decisive reason was because no one ever considered the first… and everyone fawned over the latter. So he tried to rein in his impish instincts of scaring sweet Sam, falling in stride next to her instead. 

“And what might you have there?”, he spoke with no small bemusement, motioning a sweeping arc around the book. He’d seen all kinds of titles sticking to her fingers, specimens of such vast categories that Anthony had given up trying to encompass her tastes. Just a week ago, he’d lent her Morus’s Utopia: an easy read if one had oneself coaxed into it, but rather difficult to be taken as fiction. With a furrowed brow, suspended in genuine interest, the groomsman awaited her answer.

Samantha looked up as Anthony fell in step beside her and smiled to herself. There was something so intense and compelling about him, and she’d never been ale to put her finger on exactly what it was. But far more importantly, he respected her mind, and that meant he respected her. Hours of scraping, cleaning, and bowing could be made worth it for this short time when she was allowed to be some one else. The fact that he also leant her books helped out as well. 

“Paradise Lost by John Milton. It’s an exceptional literary work, and with the number of allusions he makes to other works, it’s challenging to try and understand it in its full complexity.” Internally, she was proud of herself for working ‘allusion’ into the conversation. It was one of the newer concepts she had been introduced to, and the more she talked about it, the more likely she was to remember it and be comfortable with it. 

Alone, Together || Anthony & Samantha

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Alone, Together || Anthony & Samantha

Samantha had waited until everyone was asleep before slipping outside, a book tucked in her pocket, just in case. She and Anthony had long ago organized regular meetings where the two of them could talk more openly than they could during the day. Sometimes they were sharing ideas, sometimes they were discussing what they had been studying, sometimes she listened as Anthony ranted about his new world he envisioned and tried to convince her to believe in it as well. The discourse was important to her, more important than what they actually discussed, because it was the one time she could stretch her intelligence. 

However, with all of the changes and stress that the house had been undergoing recently, she wasn’t sure Anthony would be able to meet her. Hence bringing the book. If she was by herself, she could always get a little reading done. If he did come, maybe they could share their mutual disgust with the remarkably ridiculous situation they had just found themselves in. Either way, the evening wouldn’t be wasted. 

@anthcnycbrien

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Samantha Mckay I 25 I Second Housemaid

“What gift do you think a good servant has that separates them from the others? Its the gift of anticipation. And I’m a good servant; I’m better than good, I’m the best; I’m the perfect servant.”

The Facts:

Samantha was a good housemaid, perhaps the best. She worked harder than anyone else, always the first to rise, always the last to bed. She knew everything about the people who lived at Hudson, knew how to keep them comfortable. She had big dreams, dreams outside of service, and she was sure hard work was the way to make them come true. If only someone would notice.

The Story:

Samantha was born the fifth out of seventh children, the last in a line of daughters before her twin brothers were born. A Mckay of the Scottish Mckay’s, the family was full of clan pride and an appreciation of hard work. Which turned out to be a good thing, because Samantha’s status as the youngest daughter and middle child meant that she had to work hard just to be noticed. She spoke louder than the people around her, she had stronger opinions, she had a bigger laugh. Slowly, everything became more just to be something at all. Her parents were loving in their way, but there was only so much they could do.

Partly because they had so many children, and partly because her father was never any good with money, the family existed on the edge of a money crisis constantly. Her father made a living thatching the roofs of the surrounding village, but as the railways began to spread and cheap tiles started to become available, the work became more and more scarce. Her mother took in laundry and sewing to try and make extra money, but that was a chancy income at best, as the slightest downturn in their neighbors’ fortunes meant the end of that sort of income.

Her older sisters dreamed of starting their own families and creating homes of their own, but that idea had never appealed to Samantha. She didn’t want to spend her life scraping by, she wanted to be comfortable. That of course meant she needed to look beyond the village she’d been raised in to find her true path in life. The first time she mentioned this to her oldest sister, the woman scoffed before telling her patronizingly that it wasn’t possible. After that, Samantha kept her dreams to herself and decided to make them happen her own way.

Working with her mother, she learned washing, sewing, and even fine embroidery. By staying up later than everyone else, she looked over the household account books and painstakingly taught herself to read the family Bible. The hardest work began the first time she went with her mother to drop off the laundry to the servants of a local aristocratic family, and she noticed how different they sounded. Hours of eavesdropping and studied practice later, she was able to hide her Scottish accent as long as she focused. Now she was ready for the next step in her plan.

Of course, the only reason she was hired at Hudson Hall initially was because they’d had a maid leave abruptly, and they agreed to take Samantha on temporarily until they could find a permanent replacement. After all, she had no training and no references. But here, her determination and her incredible work ethic served her well again. She was the first to rise and the last to fall asleep, the first to volunteer for every task and the last to complain. What she lacked in training, she made up for with her quick mind and her incredible memory. Before long, she had slid permanently into the household and she was never replaced.

From there, she is determined to move up further in the household. The next real step forward would be the chance to be a lady’s maid as they actually have time to themselves during the day and their wages are better, which would allow her to start developing savings. Eventually, she wanted to attend Bedford College and earn a degree for herself. An actual degree, with the chance to study the liberal arts and the sciences, to be able to discuss worldly matters with knowledge and intelligence, and maybe eventually become a teacher at the college.

Until then, she is focused on making herself indispensable at Hudson Hall. The more she works, the more she knows, the better chance she has of rising in the ranks and earning better and better wages. And who knows? If she makes the right connection, she might meet someone wealthy who would be willing to sponsor her education. In the meantime, she uses her maid’s duties to justify sneaking in the library and reading every chance she got. She might be mostly self-educated, but when had she ever let that stand in her way?

Connections:

Anthony O’brien: Samantha has never before met someone like Anthony, his ideas amaze her, a future much brighter than she ever imagined. She isn’t certain she believes the world he envisions is possible, but she enjoys talking to him regardless, together they escape reality.    

Jenifer Barrow: Jenifer and Samantha have become close in their work. They are two of the bolder, more outgoing, maids in the household and enjoy having another whom they can relate to.

Julia Lawson: Samantha has always wanted to be a ladies maid, tending to Julia is the closest she has ever come. She is so eager to do a good job she has allowed her lips to loosen, telling the Lady more than she should. Samantha’s loyalty is not to Julia, but to Hudson, it is hard to remember that, however, when Julia turns on her charm.  

SAMANTHA IS PORTRAYED BY ELINOR TOMLINSON AND IS CURRENTLY TAKEN

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misscassandrahale:

She gave the girl a soft smile.·“That brings me such peace. If she continues to be as noble as she says, then certainly they would be proud.”

Cassandra glanced over her shoulder as if to check for eavesdroppers, and then returned to look at Samantha.·“This is a prying question, but I must know: who would you see inherit the estate? The other guests talk of it constantly, but seeing how you and the other servants will be affected by it makes me wonder about your own take on the situation.”

In her own mind, Cassandra had quite a few ideas about who she would prefer to see the estate go to. At the moment she rallied somewhat for Anne herself - after all, she was the daughter of the Hudsons, biological or not, and after spending some time with the family she saw the potential that the girl had to been an excellent heir. On the other hand, Elizabeth also intrigued the widow - she was witty and, being unmarried as well, saw the power that women could harness if they played their cards right.·

Oh. Well. This was the sort of question she should have anticipated, but honestly, she didn’t care that much who inherited the estate. As long as whoever inherited it still paid her and maybe gave her a raise. Or gave her money outright to leave all of this behind - but that was far too much of a pipe dream to consider for more than a few seconds.·

So, she would fudge. After all, she’d done a lot of listening and she knew what many of the other servants were saying. And maybe if she was seen as a source, Miss Hale would look kindly on her and give her an advantage moving forward.·

Samantha took a step forward, leaning in as if she was confiding a great secret. And maybe she was. “Now, I’m not one to gossip, but I trust you. Many of the servants are hoping that Miss Hudson will inherit. For some of the newer servants, she is the only one they have met, and they would rather have someone they know who will take care of them instead of risking a stranger.”·

She paused again, glancing around as if there might be someone close enough who would care about what she was saying. As if this wasn’t the subject on everyone’s lips.·“But, many of the longtime servants are hoping Miss Bakesley will inherit. After all, she is Lord Hudson’s blood relative and she visited here often when she was growing up. But those two are the current favorites of those downstairs. Of course, opinions could change based on how people behave over the next few weeks.”

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First Impressions || Julia & Samantha

@julialawson

Samantha waited with nervous excitement for Julia to come to her room. Julia Lawson, the supposed bastard daughter of Lord Hudson who was currently vying for a claim to the estate, the same way so many of the other relatives were. Technically of course, as an illegitimate daughter of a mistress, she didn’t really have a claim to anything at all, but that wasn’t Samantha’s problem. After all, Samantha had to admire a woman who could dream so far beyond the boundaries of what other people considered acceptable and who acted on it in so public a fashion. No matter who this woman was, she was bound to be interesting. 

Even better, Samantha was going to be her personal lady’s maid! Of course, since she was just a housemaid and not a trained lady’s maid, the fact that she had been assigned to Miss Lawson was an insult to the woman. And Samantha still had to accomplish the majority of her housemaid duties in addition to those of a lady’s maid, instead of earning any of the free time she was technically supposed to have. But no matter. This was a huge step in the direction she needed to go, and all that mattered was that she made a good impression on the woman now. 

[downstairsdreamersamantha-blog]

Samantha glanced around carefully before slipping into the library, shielding the candle in her hand to hide its glow from anyone who might be there. She had finished Romeo and Juliet, and now she needed to pick up something else. Maybe John Milton. The last guest had spent a solid two hours waxing poetic over his Paradise Lost, which did sound interesting. But his defense of free press also intrigued her. Maybe she would be lucky and they would be printed in the same book, otherwise she would have to wait on that defense. She only ever risked taking a single book at a time. Just in case.

To say that Samantha had secrets would be a touch overdramatic in her opinion. It was more she had plenty she didn’t see the point of sharing, and she had perfectly good reasons to keep it to herself. Added to the fact that if any of those aspects of herself did become common knowledge, it might adversely affect her chances in this household and the rest of her life.

All right, when it was phrased that way, it did sound uncomfortably like a secret. But it wasn’t the same.

It was just that the daughter of a Scottish thatcher and laundress wasn’t supposed to be able to become a maid in an English household, let alone dream any larger than that for herself. The first time she had mentioned to her older sister Amelia that she wanted to learn more books than just the Bible, leave the village, and maybe become a governess, Amelia had scoffed. ‘Don’t be daft Sammy, how are you supposed to do that? We don’t have the money for any of those fancy books, and no one is going to want to learn from someone who talks like us. You’ve seen their looks. Now help finish the chores so we can eat tonight.’

So in a way, that became the first secret. She pretended to her sister that she had given up on that idea and become focused on the same thing the people around her could imagine as a future. Then after everyone else had gone to bed, the tasks she set herself began. Three nights a week, she read from the family Bible until even the most unfamiliar words sounded easy in her mouth and mind. Three nights a week she stayed up going over the family account books to understand at least rudimentary maths and finances. The remaining night was spent scraping together every bit of spare wool and scrap of thread that could theoretically be spared to add whatever style she could to the one outfit she was saving for the day she left.

The hardest work she had to do came from that comment Amelia had made – no one wanted to learn from someone who sounded like her. The Scots had been part of the empire in name for hundreds of years, but even now, the Mckays were looked down on in their village for their clear heritage. She knew people considered Scots nothing but stupid, hot tempered, unreliable, drunk fighters, despite the fact that her family was built of hard working God-fearing folk. They were tolerated, but not respected in town. If Samantha wanted more than that, well, that meant no one else needed to know she was Scottish.

She told herself that she could use any position she earned to start to correct the dark perception of her people, but that was mostly to assuage any guilt she was feeling over what she was trying to do. Which was erase her accent. Countless hours of eavesdropping and practice went into erasing the most outlandish elements of her speech and polishing it into something like what her neighbors sounded like. By the time she arrived at Hudson Hall, she could easily pass as a lowborn English girl. Which she knew was one of the only reasons they had allowed her to gain the increasing responsibility she did instead of keeping her locked in the kitchen where she couldn’t interact with any of the guests.

Even now, after all these years, there are still times Samantha has to be careful not to let her accent betray her. When she becomes exceptionally angry or upset, her control begins to slip and the Scottish burr starts to become more pronounced. Usually, just hearing that is enough to have her calming down and gaining a better control over herself. But there’s a small part of her that can’t help wondering if someday she’ll be forced to end this charade because she slipped in front of the wrong person.

But the beauty of being here was that she finally had access to the books her heart craved. Working as a maid, she had slowly eased herself into being in the position of taking on most of the library duties. Which meant she had the time to look at the books, and she could reasonably justify being there if anyone asked. At first, it had been hard to know where to start because the sheer volume of them had been overwhelming. But time and persistence had taught her why they were organized the way they were, and where best to start.

Before long, she was sneaking books back to her room and hiding them under the mattress in order to read them at her leisure. Carefully, she took notes in a journal she had acquired for that purpose, keeping track of unfamiliar words, thoughts about the material, and any connections she could make to the real world. Occasionally she would be nearby when an intellectual came to visit, and she drank in everything they said and took notes, using that to shape what she paid attention to the next time she read. Someday she was going to be able to converse on their level. Then other people would sneak around, hoping to be able to listen to her.

Actually, she had heard of Lord Hudson allowing some of the staff to use his library, but every person she’d heard about was a man. Not a woman. So for Samantha, it was far better to keep her borrowing and her study a secret, because as long as it was, no one was able to tell her she wasn’t allowed or would think of firing her. It was also possible that what she was doing was completely fine, but she wouldn’t take the chances.

It was the opening of Bedford College that shifted her dream and solidified what she wanted out of life. A university. A women’s university with female teachers and female students, learning and engaging in the arts and sciences. A woman’s place where she wouldn’t have to be in service, and no one would expect her to marry and be satisfied with that. Before, a governess had been the highest she’d been able to dream, but that was just because she hadn’t been exposed to more. Now that she had, her dreams had gotten so much bigger.

All she needed was to find some way to earn the tuition for herself so she could become a student. From there, the world was bound to open up to her in the way she craved, and she could prove herself enough to be accepted as a member of the faculty. Then she wouldn’t ever need to be subject to the whims of the aristocracy again. She would be intelligent, respected, accountable to no one but herself and the other educated women she worked with. Maybe she could even publish her own work and start to expand the bounds of knowledge, truly leaving her mark on the world. No one was going to forget the name of Samantha Mckay. And no one would connect her back to that poor Scottish thatcher’s daughter. She would have finally, truly, remade herself.

The slamming of a distant door brought her back to herself with a start. She had no idea how long she had been standing there, hand on the spine of Paradise Lost as she dreamed of the future she wanted so desperately. Quickly, she snatched the book and hid it under her shawl, shifting the other books around it just enough to hide the space that was left by it. Of course, with so many guests in the house it would be assumed that one of them had it if anyone noticed it was gone. But you could never be too careful. After all, the best kept secrets were the ones no one could even imagine were there.

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Headcanon 001: Samantha’s Family

Douglass Mckay (father): Roof thatcher (Richard Dean Anderson) Mairi Taylor Mckay (mother): Laundress/seamstress (Maria Doyle Kennedy) Amelia Mckay Mitchell (31): Seamstress/mother of 4 (Emilia Clarke)

Eileen Mckay Clark (30): Farmwife/mother of 5 (Karen Gillan) Imogen Mckay Reid (28): Grocer’s wife/mother of 2 (Emily Browning) Lydia Mckay Ross (28): Butchers’s wife/mother of 2 (Caitlin Stasey)

Samantha Mckay (25): Housemaid (Eleanor Tomlinson) Robert Mckay (21): Thatcher’s apprentice (Colin Ford) James Mckay (21): Shoemaker’s apprentice (Colin Ford)

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josephbates:

Joe knew there was a great commotion up at the house, and had steered clear of it. He’d shut himself up in his cabin with Shep and Lucy, his terriers, and read the paper, which was now three days old, which hardly mattered considering. He never got a hold of it until everyone downstairs had had a chance to read it, but since very little of the news had to do with him, it didn’t matter. All these people tramping about were going to make finding time for quiet more and more difficult. They’d probably all want to arrange a hunt next, never mind it was the wrong season. He couldn’t imagine it’d be a wise choice to give that lot firearms but he wasn’t the one in charge.

Stepping outside, he dug out a cigar, his one remaining vice from his time overseas. Blowing a cloud relaxed a man and helped chase off some of his more persistent dreams. Shep and Lucy’s ears perked and he knew someone was coming. If they’d come this far, they were either looking for him, lost, or up to something they ought not to be. Whatever it was, he’d do best to meet them head on. “Afternoon. Can I be of service?”

Samantha knew basically nothing about the gameskeeper Joseph. Which was frustrating, because she liked to think she knew at least a fair amount about everyone around her, and what she didn’t know, Jenifer probably had a good chance of finding out. But the gameskeeper was a complete mystery. Of course, for her curious nature that had been enough to keep him in her thoughts, the way you poke at a sore tooth when you aren’t paying attention. But as he was unlikely to have heaps of riches that could send her off to school, she’d never pursued the interest seriously and just left it as a problem to keep herself busy with when she was bored. Which was rarely. 

But she did know the way to his cottage, so when the housekeeper had needed a message to be taken out, Samantha had been the first to volunteer. Hence the reason she was out here now, looking for a man who apparently smoked huge cigars in the company of his dogs. “Miss Conwyn sent me out here with a message. She needs you back at the house for a little while as they sort out everything that’s happening with the guests and what we’re all supposed to do if they try to kill each other.” There were probably nicer ways to say it, but they were alone out here and he seemed like a man who would appreciate bluntness.

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elizabethbakesley:

Elizabeth would be lying if she had said that she would never eavesdrop on anyone. Honestly, it tended to provide more entertainment than actually joining a conversation. Sure, there was a risk of hearing things you rather wouldn’t, but there wasn’t a lot she hadn’t heard about herself, so most of what she overheard was nothing in comparison.

So when she overheard the woman beside her speaking, she felt at ease enough to respond to her, without feeling too guilty of listening in on her. “Well, I would at least hope there will be the chance to have a laugh about all this. The sooner this is over, the sooner we can all stop being so terribly tense around one another.”

Samantha mentally cursed in her head as the woman spoke up, clearly having heard Samantha’s ill advised comment. Her tendency to speak when she shouldn’t had always gotten her in trouble, and apparently that wasn’t changing even when she could least afford to do that. Luckily, the Lady Elizabeth was known for being a bit eccentric so it was probably fine. 

“Many tragedies develop elements of comedy the more time passes. I imagine it will be much the same in this case. Of course, with such varied personalities here together, there are bound to be interesting discussions.”

[downstairsdreamersamantha-blog]

misscassandrahale:

Cassandra nodded. “The estate needs some life. And, I’m afraid..my title has been revoked. Miss Hale will do just fine.”

She hated to admit the loss of her title. It stung her deeply to say it, to even think it, but there was no way she could keep it secret. When Alexander passed, it was revealed to Cassandra that he actually had a son many years ago with his first wife. At his death, Alexander’s son inherited the title of Lord Hale, and his wife the title of Lady Hale. Now, especially with the distancing of her by Alexander’s surviving family, the title was no longer Cassandra’s to claim, and she was reverted back to what her mother was before she married. Nothing but a miss.

The only reason Cassandra was still afloat in noble society was because her father had inherited land from a distant relative, enough to consider him wealthy enough to converse with the lowest of the nobility. Marrying Alexander Hale had been a way for her to escape the prison that was being the daughter of an Eldridge, but now all she had left was the skeleton of a name without a title.

She had come to hate Cassandra Hale.

“How is Anne treating you?” the young widow asked, breaking the awkward silence. “I know her as a kind girl, but you know what grief can do to a person.”

Actually, Samantha thought that since the two of them had been married, it technically meant that Cassandra could use the title of Dowager, or it was Cassandra, Lady Hale to differentiate from the new Lady whatever Hale. So she would still be more than a Miss. 

But the last thing Samantha was going to do was run around correcting people on their courtesy titles when she was trying to make them actually think nicely of her. If Cassandra wanted to be a miss, Samantha would call her miss until someone else did the business of setting her straight on her status. The bigger problem was that she had already managed to make two mis steps with this woman, and as someone who prided herself on not doing that, she couldn’t afford to make a third. 

“Miss Hudson has continued to be kind in her grief. She has taken on all the duties of the household, but she has also allowed us the chance to grieve if necessary. Lord and Lady Hudson would be proud.”

Not that Samantha ever actually spoke to Anne being nothing but a housemaid, but the principle was the same. 

[downstairsdreamersamantha-blog]

misscassandrahale:

Cassandra cleared her throat, suppressing a small smile as she did so. “It certainly isn’t the best occasion to gather on, but I’m sure it’s a change of pace.”

Taking a pause, she took a drink from the young woman’s tray and sipped on it, trying her best to convey to her the comment was not in any way offensive to her. “I don’t believe we’ve met before. Tell me your name?”

Samantha had to hide her surprise, but years of practice had her turning a servile smile to the woman next to her. Not a Hudson, dressed clearly as a lady. A second look had her recognizing the second wife of Lord Hale who was only actually married to him briefly before he chucked it. She’d seen her once, but that was enough. 

She curtsied, tray staying perfectly level. “My name is Samantha, Lady Hale. And yes, it is a dark occasion but it is also wonderful to have so many people here after all this time.”

[downstairsdreamersamantha-blog]

Samantha moved through the gathering quietly, nimbly stepping in between the small groups as she carried the tray of drinks to serve them. Normally she wouldn’t be doing this, but considering this was the first day with all of these sudden guests, the Housekeeper was scrambling duties around to cover everything necessary until she could be sure everything was properly covered. She didn’t mind because it gave her a first look at all the people who had the chance to shape her destiny. 

Pausing for a moment by the wall, Samantha just looked around, amused and baffled by the strange group in front of her. “You know, if you had told me Hudson Hall would be this full a few weeks ago, I would have assumed you were having a laugh. Now look at everyone.” She was talking to herself, and she didn’t realize there was anyone to overhear her until they spoke. 

[downstairsdreamersamantha-blog]