‘I thought you had ambitions to be a lady’s maid?’

‘I do, Mrs Feilden. It’s just that I haven’t had the experience and I don’t want you to be disappointed. I can do a simple style, but I’ve seen other ladies with such wonderful hair and I’ve no idea how they get it like that.’

‘Artifice.’ Mrs Feilden smiled. ‘But don’t worry. I’m not one for wigs and hairpieces. A simple style will suit me just fine.’

Hannah brushed out the strands of Mrs Feilden’s fair hair and began to pin it up. She was used to doing her own hair and had often done Jennet’s too, but touching her employer seemed too intimate and she found that her hands were trembling. However, in the end it didn’t look so bad. She teased a few loose tendrils around Mrs Feilden’s face and pinned the feather in place.

‘Will it do?’ she asked.

‘It looks lovely, Hannah.’ Mrs Feilden turned her head as she looked at herself in the mirror, making the fronds on the feather shimmer in the last of the evening sunlight. ‘Now, help me get into my gown, will you?’

Hannah held the blue dress wide whilst Mrs Feilden stepped into it and then eased it up to her shoulders and fastened the row of tiny mother-of-pearl buttons that ran the length of the back.

‘It’s beautifully made,’ she said, admiring the finish of the seams. She couldn’t have done better herself.

She plumped out the upper sleeves and straightened the skirts. The fashion now was for a natural waistline and a full skirt and Hannah loved the new style, even though she would need to save up for much more fabric if she was to make something similar for herself.

‘Thank you, Hannah. The guests will be arriving soon,’ said Mrs Feilden, glancing at her clock. ‘You’d better run down now and help Cook carry up the dishes to the table.’

Hannah could hear Mr Horrocks greeting guests at the door and ushering them into the drawing room as she approached the dining room with the joint of beef on a platter. She was terrified of dropping it. At Woodfold there’d been plenty of footmen to take food up to the table, but here she was a maid of all work and expected to turn her hand to everything.

She’d set the table earlier with a clean white cloth, a knife and fork and soup spoon for each person and a piece of bread by each knife. She’d placed a salt cellar and a pair of tablespoons at each corner and a carving knife and fork at the head of the table where Mr Feilden would slice the chicken and the beef for his guests. She’d brought up the jugs of spring water and tumblers and set them aside before drawing the curtains and lighting the candles to give an air of intimacy to the meal.

She placed the beef next to the chicken and then ran down the back stairs to fetch the other dishes. She had to be quick and make sure everything was placed correctly or she’d catch it from old Horrocks later on. He was a stickler and seemed to think she could do the work of two or three people all at the same time. It hadn’t been so bad when Jane was still here to show her what to do, but on her own she found it impossible to be in two places at the same time.