Edmund Thackery stepped from his carriage and motioned for the horseman to move along to the stable. He was pleased to see the front door of his London residence on Hayden Street. It had been a madhouse in Parliament that day and he was glad to be home. It was a bad year to serve in the House of Lords. 1775 was coming to a miserable close and 1776 didn't seem to hold much promise either.
Colleen, one of the Thackery's servants, was there to take Edmund's coat as he came in the front door. He walked down the hallway to find his wife, Lady Madeline Thackery waiting for him in the sitting room.
"Hello, love." Edmund said with a tired smile.
"You look exhausted!" Mrs. Thackery said, turning to Jennifer, a servant waiting nearby. "Some sherry." she ordered.
The girl nodded and quickly left the room.
"It's been a devil of a day!" Edmund moaned as he sat down in his chair near the fireplace. "A devil of a day!"
Jennifer came back with a glass of sherry on a silver tray. Mrs. Thackery took the glass from the tray and waved the girl away.
"Trouble in the colonies?" she asked.
Edmund gave his wife an annoyed look.
"You know I never discuss matters of state at home!"
"Of course, dear. I do apologize." she said, handing him the glass.
He took a gulp of the sherry and sighed.
"Yes, trouble in the colonies." he continued. "A damnable insurrection, that's what it is!"
"Oh my!"
"Oh, I can sympathize with their situation, the tax burden and all, but you can't just break off from the empire!"
"Certainly not!"
"The upstarts! They all need a good thrashing!" he said.
Madeline grasped the opportunity to change the subject.
"Speaking of thrashing, we need to deal with the servants. This is Friday."
Friday was the established day of the week for punishing the servants for various misdeeds around the house. Not all punishment took place on Friday. Occasionally a maid would displease Mrs. Thackery and quickly find herself bent over the nearest chair with her dress tossed over her head, having a dose of the Lady's oak hairbrush briskly applied to her bottom. Or perhaps a serving girl would spill something during supper which would result in an immediate spanking over Mr. Thackery's knee. Edmund had no compunction about baring a servant girl's buttocks and spanking them soundly, even in front of guests. In fact, it was when others were present at the table that he was most prone to wallop one of his girls.
The impromptu punishment of a servant was not uncommon at Thackery manor. For the most part however, a record of misdeeds unfinished duties were kept in Mrs. Thackery's ledger and the corresponding punishments were meted out on Friday afternoon, before dinner.
"Right." Edmund said. "Let's get on with it."
Lady Thackery took a small silver bell from the mantelpiece and rang it. Within moments, four servants, all young women, had entered the room and were waiting at attention in front of the lord and lady.
"Are they prepared?" he asked.
"Yes, they are." she said. As always, the girls had been instructed to leave their aprons and undergarments in their rooms in preparation of punishment in order to make their bottoms easily accessible.
"Where are Katherine and Rebecca?"
"Katherine is not in the ledger this week." Mrs. Thackery told her husband. "She has performed without flaw. As for Rebecca, she had to leave for a few days- some family matter. But I settled accounts with her this morning, before she left."
"Did she require the hairbrush?" he asked.
"One of your belts, actually."
"Really?"
"Insufferable girl!" Lady Thackery said. "Always dawdling... always up to mischief! I caught her taking a nip at our dinner wine yesterday!
"Good Lord! I hope you laid it on well!"
"She won't sitting down for a few days, I can promise you." Mrs. Thackery sat across from her husband, opened the ledger and chose a name from the list. "Emily, you will be the first."