Margaret would have been raised to command her own grand domestic sphere, with hundreds of servants to carry out her wishes and to tend to her needs. From her birth, she would have been waited on by servants. The complexity of a Victorian lady’s dress and toilette would require at least one maid to help her get in and out of her clothes. Servants would be witness to all her tears and her laughter. There was no concept of a private life and very few opportunities for secrets or intimacy in such a privileged milieu. Parenting was very much done by proxy. Servants were an integral part of her life, yet Margaret would have been expected to ignore all but her closest attendants—one did not converse with a maid or footman, or even acknowledge their presence—though of course, Lady Margaret often does, and indeed treats her maids more as friends, which in her world would have been considered eccentric at best.

Ironically, though she would have been given a thorough grounding the science of running her households, the subject of wedding nights, pregnancy, and giving birth were completely taboo. Many Victorian young women would have had no idea what to expect on their wedding night, and it’s possible a number of their husbands had no clue either!

As a young unmarried woman, Lady Margaret would almost never be alone. If she went out riding, she would have had a groom with her, at the very least, even in the country. If she went walking, she’d have been expected to take her maid. When she reached marriageable age, her key asset was a spotless reputation, so her virginity must be protected at all costs. Heaven forbid a young woman was discovered alone with a man—in a park, in a carriage, on a terrace during a ball, or in a drawing-room. The immediate assumption would be that her virtue was compromised. And once the rumour mill began, it was very difficult to stop. The result would have been an agony of public humiliation, for even the most loyal of friends would be forced to shun such a girl for fear their own reputations would be sullied. And if the rumour took hold, the stain also spread to the girl’s family. The Victorian court was an extremely exclusive club. The Buccleuchs were established members, but that didn’t mean their position was always secure—when you were in, you were in, but when you were out, you were well and truly out. The queen did not forgive or forget whose family had caused a scandal.