Free The Noon Lady of Towitta by Patricia Sumerling Page A

twenty years old.
    When I arrived to take up my position I was shown into Mrs Waters’ parlour. ‘I am very pleased that you can come and work for us, Mary, but there are some rules you need to know. Rebekah will be able to tell you of my expectations. But I need to stress that I don’t wish to see you near our private living rooms unless you have good reason. You have the kitchen, the yard and your room as your territory. And it goes without saying that I expect you to work quietly and diligently.’ She then led me to the room I was to share with Rebekah.
    As servants we soon learnt our place. In return for this and doing our chores to the satisfaction of Mrs Waters, we expected that we would be left to work without unnecessary interference. Our reward – or our right as we saw it – was that on special occasions in the evening we could leave the house, as well as on Sundays once breakfast was over and all the chores done. We wanted no obstacle or hindrance to our work for there was so much that had to be done. Rebekah told me Mrs Waters was a fair employer, but to watch out for her beady-eyed mother-in-law who lived in the house. When scrubbing a floor she would be there, watching us. At times she would study what we were doing, complaining, ‘My girl, look at what you’re doing, you’ve missed a bit there in the corner.’
    â€˜Yes, ma’am,’ I’d reply, and set to re-cleaning the floor.
    Sister couldn’t contain herself, ‘Yes, well I know what that is like. Sometimes Matron suddenly appears out of nowhere and does the same thing. It makes you feel so small.’ She paused and smiled warmly, ‘I’ve heard that some of the larger Adelaide villas are very beautiful inside. What was the one like that you lived in, Mary?’
    Although Adelaide had some big houses that were grandly called villas they were not really so big when several servants were expected to live together under the same roof, but independently from the owners. The owners demanded privacy, desiring as little contact as possible with the servants, but this was difficult. The houses were not designed to house servants and not large enough to be adapted effectively. There was no second staircase – backstairs – for exclusive use by the staff, making it difficult to avoid the family. This was a major problem for Rebekah and, after her death, for me. There were also two male staff, Vern who looked after the horses and Stanley who drove the carriage, kept it clean and did the heavy chores around the house and tended the garden. They shared the living area over the stables but came into the kitchen to eat meals with us. Old Mrs Waters was present during these breaks, keeping an eye on us to make sure we behaved to her satisfaction.
    Sister Kathleen interrupted, ‘Why ever did you return to Towitta after you had escaped such a horrible place?’
    â€˜Be patient, Sister, and I’ll tell you. Believe me it was not my choice.’
    I was called home by Father at the time my mistress’s husband, a well-known city businessman, started to become over-friendly with me. By this time I had become attached to his family, especially his little girl. I was happy. I was told he’d made a fortune from the goldfields in Western Australia and in the silver mines at Broken Hill; that their house was built from the profits using the finest materials and one of Adelaide’s best architects.
    Then Rebekah’s troubles began, and I became involved too. Rebekah and I were very close and for the first year we shared a room. Then I was given the tiny boxroom as my own. Madam had decided I should have my own room until such time it could be used as a nursery, when I’d have to return to share a room with Rebekah. I didn’t mind this. Rebekah and I would talk for ages before we went to sleep. She trained me in the running of the household, and told me of all the goings-on as