Chapter 1. A New Life
The dark room at the end of the corridor in the old house in Oxfordshire had a new occupant. For many years it temporarily housed the occasional maid or nanny, none of whom remained in the position for more than a few months. The room's newest occupant didn't have even the degree of choice that these other girls, poor though they may have been and consequently motivated to try to endure the taxing working conditions they encountered in the house. Those girls, the nannies, housekeepers, and French Maids, who'd spent a anywhere from a few days to a few months living in this room while working for Mr. Edward Weston, and his nephew, Ralph, had all eventually exercised their choice to leave their employ. Their departure usually indicated an act of rebellion against the strange requests and requirements from their employers.
Ashley Bancroft didn't have such choices. Her mother had recently remarried after divorcing her father, and her step-dad and mother had decided that they needed time alone together to start to enjoy their new marriage. The presence of the eightteen-year old Ashley, who'd just finished high school in Boston, her mother and step-father felt, would distract them from one another, and the newly found passion that they were enjoying discovering. Casting about for a suitable place to park the girl for a while, they had chanced upon the idea of sending her abroad to work for a year. From an unexpected quarter they had received an offer which resolved many of their problems at once. Ashley's stepfather's brother, her now Uncle Edward, had proposed that Ashley come to stay with them. He needed, he explained, help around the old house in Oxfordshire, as well as company for his 18 year-old nephew, Ralph. In exchange for some housework duties, Ashley could stay with them.
This arrangement seemed idea to Ashley's parents who realized that they would be freed of both the girl and her upkeep while she stayed at her new Uncle's house. Without inquiring much further into details, Ashley's folks packed her and a suitcase of her belongings off to England, where Ashley was met at the airport by her new family.
The lack of care with which Ashley's mother organized her daughter's new living situation was characteristic of her general lack of warmth and concern for her daughter. Ashley's mother, in early forties, was a handsome woman and had been when younger almost as attractive as her young progeny was now. As her daughter came into the female fullness she'd inherited from her, Sarah Bancroft's resentment of the natural passing of beauty's torch from one generation to the next grew commensurately with her daughter's maturation. As a consequence, Sarah's treatment of Ashley became colder and more severe as her daughter grew older.
Ashley's character, as a result of her mother's disregard and temper, became diffident and meek. She did try to please her mother, in spite of the impossibility of doing so. At school she had friends and was popular, but she had never developed an ability to defend or speak up for herself at home.
Sarah's new marriage, and the evident fondness that her new husband didn't avoid showing for the lovely teenager, was the final catalyst for Ashley's effective banishment. Ashley was unhappy to have to leave her friends, but many of these were off to college in the Fall, and she didn't have prospects of spending much time with them during the Summer. So it was with relief and excitement that she embarked on the adventure of going abroad for the first time.
Her first glimpse of her new family at the airport was reassuring. As she came out of customs, a man approached her and called out her name. Her Uncle Edward had seen her pictures, and recognized her from them. He was about 50, his balding hair was mostly gray as was his beard. Slightly overweight, he had a kindly look and soft eyes which charmed Ashley immediately. She also liked his patrician English accent, and the gentlemanly way he took her suitcase from her and welcomed her. He also had a certain formal stiffness that reminded Ashley of some of the British characters she'd seen in movies and TV shows.
Her uncle carried her two bags for her, and led her towards the parking garage, while they chatted about her flight, about herself a bit. He asked after his brother, her step-father. Before long, they arrived at his car. Ashley was impressed by the shiny, dark green, Jaguar. It was not the latest model, but a somewhat older one evidencing more of a patrician, classic design. The chrome shone. She stood at the door, and he asked her, smiling, whether she intended to drive. She blushed and went around to the left side of the right-hand drive, British car. When he opened the passenger side door for her, she climbed in and sank into the soft, impeccably maintained leather interior. She felt like a character in a PBS television special, or an actress in a commercial.
Edward climbed in opposite his niece, started the engine, which emitted a well-mannered, but powerful, growl. They drove out of the garage, and onto the motorway. Ashley and her Uncle continued to exchange tidbits of information, getting to know one another. Edward drove quickly but solidly along the initially crowded motorway. Beyond Ashley's window, the traffic and development of the airport area quickly thinned to verdant farming communities, and the occasional, picturesque, small town. The overcast sky darkened as they drove, and Edward cautiously turned on the car's headlights well before it was completely dark. The interior of the car was warm and relaxing, fragrant of leather and privilege.
During the drive to his house, he had asked her about her interests and her school, and she had talked freely, quickly becoming comfortable with the avuncular man. He had explained to her that she would be meeting his nephew Ralph the next day, when he returned from an overnight trip with friends. Arriving at the house in Oxfordshire, Ashley felt quickly comfortable with the plush, somewhat old-fashioned, very British, feel of the old home. Edward explained to Ashley that she would be required to work for her keep, but that none of it would be too taxing. Light housekeeping, serving at meals, and running errands would be most of what she would be required to do. In addition, she would serve as a companion and helper to Ralph.
As it was almost 8:00 in the evening, and Ashley had been travelling a long time and was consequently tired, Edward suggested a light snack, and that she then retire to bed, so as to be fresh for the next day. Ashley was grateful, as she was jet lagged and almost unable to keep her eyes open. Edward prepared a sandwich for her, as well as some cocoa, telling her that there would be time the next day or two for her to learn where things were and to start to cook for him and his nephew.
Ashley sipped her cocoa in the living room, while Edward told her stories of his family and entertained the quickly tiring girl, until he suggested that he show her to her room and that she get some sleep. He led the girl up to the room at the end of the hall on the second floor, next to his bedroom, and indicated to her the bathroom down the hall.
Closing the door behind her, Ashley opened her suitcase and unpacked her few belonging into the four-drawer, antique oak, dresser. Looking into the mirror by the dresser, she observed her own features, tired from the long trip. Quickly undressing, she put on the cotton boy's pajamas she had brought, and walked to the bathroom, where she showered and made ready for bed. Almost sleepwalking, she returned to her room, encountering her uncle in the hall as she exited the bathroom, and sleepily and respectfully bidding him goodnight.
In the darkened room at the end of the corridor, Ashley slept profoundly. She lay on her stomach, her arms under the pillow cushioning her face, her shoulder length brown hair splayed decoratively over her the pillow. She was partially rolled onto her left side, with her right leg bent at the knee and hiked up, as if readying herself to climb onto the pillow she embraced.
