Victoria's Misfortune

Prologue

Victoria was born to Charles and Mary Sessions on the 3^rd of June 1894. She was named after Her Majesty Queen Victoria, stressing her parent's loyalty to the crown and to the establishment within the country.

Charles was a middle-class businessman, with pretensions towards becoming upper-middle class -- perhaps even gaining a title one day. His wife was the youngest daughter of a successful entrepreneur. Charles saw it as an opportunity to extend his contacts and to expand his own business, which was based upon the tailoring industry. He was always dressed in the smartest of suits in order to impress. Naturally, he insisted upon his wife being equally well dressed. He was used to her turning heads.

Although the couple had intended to have a large family (as expected in Victorian England), they were blessed with just the one child -- a daughter. Victoria grew up in a household with a Nanny and half a dozen servants in a town house in the not-quite fashionable area of Hackney. She was sheltered throughout her life, with a private tutor being brought in for her education. She showed a reasonable level of intelligence and took easily to reading and writing. As with her mother and father, she was always dressed in the most attractive clothing.

She was approaching her nineteenth birthday, when her mother began to talk about finding a match for her. Her father was determined that this should be a step up the social ladder, but he needed to find an opening to make this possible. Then, one day in 1912, he announced that he had worked out how to increase trade and make his move into the upper echelons of middle class England. Everyone who was anyone was going to travel to New York on the White Star Line's magnificent new liner.

The ship was due to depart Southampton on April 10^th. Charles took the train from London and hired a taxi to transport him from the station to the White Star Line Dock, where he boarded shortly after 10am. He was shown to his suite by one of the stewards, while a young man followed along carrying his luggage.

The ship left its moorings at around midday and sailed off to meet its destiny (and an iceberg) in the North Atlantic four days later.

Charles Edward Stimpson Sessions was listed as missing presumed lost when the RMS Titanic sank.

*****

Chapter 1

It came as quite a shock to Mary to discover that her husband had left considerable debts behind. He had taken a gamble on the voyage in the hope that he could advance his own position in the world. It had never occurred to him to consider what would happen in the event of his own demise. Fortunately, he had retained a good legal advisor, who took control of the financial situation. It was necessary to sell the town house, but afterwards there would be no remaining debt.

The problem of where to live and how to finance this became an immediate problem. Fortunately, she had one card up her sleeve -- an ageing aunt who had always doted on her. Mary contacted Eleanor, who immediately offered her the position of companion. This would provide food, shelter and an income to enable her to dress well, while escorting her aunt on her travels. Mary asked about Victoria, but Eleanor explained that she wouldn't be able to employ her as well.

For two days Mary pondered what to do, until Aunt Eleanor rang her again. She said that a gentleman she knew would be interested in taking on Victoria as a member of his household staff. Victoria's mother was appalled. Just a month ago they had been discussing the possibility of finding an advantageous marriage for her. Now she was contemplating putting her into service. The fact that someone was prepared to take her on, when she had never done any household work before was a minor miracle. She had no choice but to accept this generous offer.

Victoria left London with her mother the following week. Her new role was a considerable distance from her mother's destination, but fortunately it lay along the same railway line. This allowed them to travel together.

Since being informed of the situation Victoria had said very little. Her world had been torn apart, first by losing her father, then her home and now her leisured lifestyle. She wasn't lazy by any means and had usually kept herself busy with reading, needlework, walking and playing the piano.

Victoria bade her mother goodbye as the woman left the train. Her great aunt had sent a manservant to escort her to the house. As the train pulled out of the station and she lost sight of her mother's waving handkerchief, for the first time in her life she felt alone and afraid.

An hour later the steam engine slowed the carriages to a halt at Victoria's destination. She stepped down carefully clutching her large carpet-bag, which contained the only possessions she had left in the world. She looked along the platform, seeing other passengers being greeted, but knowing that there was nobody to meet her. She put her bag on the ground and retrieved the envelope that contained her instructions. She sighed, picked up her bag and walked through the station exit, handing her ticket to the collector as she passed.

It was a warm day and Victoria set off with a determined stride. She ignored the looks that people gave her as she walked past, concentrating on maintaining a good pace. After a mile she found herself on a country lane. She knew that she was on course, but she was starting to suffer a little from the heat. The outfit that she was wearing didn't help, being of a relatively heavy dark blue material. And, as fashion dictated, the various layers of clothing that she had on only served to exacerbate the problem.

The lane was following the course of a little stream, so Victoria decided to step off of the road and rest in the shade of the trees by the water for a while. She sat down by a fallen tree trunk in a manner that would not have been approved of by her mother, but realised that she wasn't feeling any cooler. She stood up and looked around to ensure that she wasn't being observed, before removing her ankle high boots. Feeling very nervous, she looked round once again and then raised her skirts high enough to be able to untie the ribbons holding up her stockings.

That felt so much better. She slumped back down and smiled at her toes poking out from under her skirt.

Victoria sat like this for as long as 30 minutes. She was trying to persuade herself to begin moving again when an idea occurred to her; there was nobody else around, so why didn't she have a little paddle in the water to help the cooling process?

The stream was about ten inches deep and this meant that she had to lift her skirt and petticoats up to keep them clear of the water. She stepped carefully from the bank onto the gravel at the bottom and stood, feeling the water swirling around her toes. Looking down, she noticed that she had pulled her clothing so high that the frilly edges at the bottom of her open-legged drawers was visible. Standing with her legs apart she could feel the cool breeze upon her thighs. Her face flushed at such a feeling and she rapidly moved back onto the grass.

Victoria had to sit down to don her stockings and re-secure the ribbons at the tops. By necessity her skirts were pulled up above her knees. With her knee raised in order to tie the bow, she could once again feel the gentle caressing breeze on her flesh. She didn't rush to complete the task and remained seated to put on and fasten her boots as well.

She was totally unaware of the young farmhand who had been watching her for some time from behind the bushes on the far side of the stream. His hardened penis was standing out from his unbuttoned fly and he had been gently stroking it as he watched. When Victoria lifted her leg and pulled her stocking up, he was afforded a perfect view of her naked thighs and dark bush. His hand began moving rapidly as she leaned back to pull the second boot on, the glimpse of pink amongst the dark curls became too much for him. His ejaculation was so powerful that the white strings were left hanging from the leaves and branches in his line of fire.

Victoria picked up her carpet-bag and began walking again. The house came into view a few miles later as she passed a small church. The house itself was Georgian in style and quite large, with fairly extensive gardens. For some reason, she had assumed that she was going to work in a household of maybe six servants. This place must have dozens.

Her feet crunched along the gravel drive as she approached the front door. She was looking for a knocker, but there didn't appear to be one. As she raised her hand to rap on the wood it was suddenly opened. The butler stood looking her up and down, sighed and the said; "Round the back with you girl. This door is for guests only."

Victoria tried to say sorry, but she felt it would be pointless to apologise to a piece of wood. She turned and began to walk around the building. There were a number of doorways at the back of the house, but outside one stood a stern looking woman with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Miss Sessions, I presume?" she asked.

"Yes," replied Victoria.

"Not a good start. The front door is for Sir Robert's guests only."

"Yes, I know. The butler told me."

The woman raised her eyebrows. "You will in future refer to him as Mr. Rogers. I am Mrs. Trustworthy, the housekeeper. You will not speak until spoken to in future. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Mrs. Trustworthy."

"That's better. We take discipline very seriously in this household. Try to remember that. "Now, come with me."

Victoria followed Mrs. Trustworthy on what seemed a complicated trek through the house, until they reached her office. It wasn't very large, but she realised that there was a door leading off from it into what she assumed must be a bedroom. The room itself contained a leather-topped desk, behind which was a large leather chair with arms. On this side was a straight-backed wooden chair.

"Sit down," commanded Mrs. Trustworthy. "I shall now explain your duties."

"You will rise each morning at 5am and bathe. You will be sharing a room with another member of staff. You will each be responsible for ensuring that the other is ready on time to start work at 5.30.

"Your duties will mostly involve cleaning and polishing. Can you sew?"

Victoria nodded.

"Stand up girl." She rose from her chair as Mrs. Trustworthy walked round the desk with a thin walking stick in her hand. Without warning, she lashed out and brought it smartly across Victoria's rump. Even with the thick clothing she felt the sting. She wanted so much to rub the pain away but felt that this would probably be a bad idea. The housekeeper left her standing but returned to her own chair. "In future you will answer correctly. That does not include a nod of your head. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Mrs. Trustworthy."

"Good." She continued, "You will also be expected to make and repair clothes. Five days in each month you will work below stairs in the scullery. On these occasions you will be involved with laundry duties. Your meals will be eaten with the other staff members below stairs.

"You are expected to keep your shared room in an immaculate condition. You will not enter the room of any other member of staff unless you are specifically instructed to do so by either Sir Robert or me.

"You will attend church every Sunday morning and on special occasions. You will wear the household uniform only. I will explain this in detail in due course."

Mrs. Trustworthy stood up and walked to the door. She turned the key in the lock and then walked through into her own bedroom. When she returned, she was carrying a plain brown box, which she laid on the end of the desk and opened. Victoria could see what she assumed were clothes -- possibly the uniform that had been mentioned.

"Sir Robert is very keen on the physical fitness and health of all staff members. Before I can accept you into this household I must examine you fully. Do you understand?"

Victoria wanted to say, 'But you're not a Doctor!', instead she recalled the cane and said, "Yes, Mrs. Trustworthy."

"Very well. Stand up and undress. You can lay your clothes on the chair."

Victoria blushed and wondered if this was some kind of test. From the look on the housekeeper's face it clearly was not. She pulled the pins from her hat and removed it, hooking the hat onto the upright of the chair. Then she unbuttoned her coat and took it off. She laid it across the seat and then started to unfasten the sleeves of her blouse.

The garment was added to the neat pile. She then removed her skirt, aware that she had only ever done this in front of her mother. It was at this point that she realised that to go any further would incur the loss of what little modesty she had left. Victoria could feel her face flush an even deeper crimson as she began to unbutton her over-corset. It slipped from her shoulders, revealing the tops of her breasts pushed up by the corset itself. If she removed this, her breasts would be fully exposed. She hoped that Mrs. Trustworthy would stop her at this point, but she was disappointed.

Victoria decided to remove her petticoat next and pulled the end of the bow undone. She lowered the white cotton material to the ground and stepped out of it. She could feel the cold air of the room on her partially exposed bottom cheeks. She tried to keep her legs together to prevent the split at the front from opening and revealing her most private place. This was - of course -- impossible, as she had to remove her boots and stockings next. She couldn't look the housekeeper in the face.

She was fighting back the tears as she unhooked her corset and removed it, revealing her young, firm breasts. When she finally lowered her drawers to the floor, she achieved something that she had not done since reaching womanhood; she was standing naked. Even when she washed, she normally kept some clothes on, using a flannel underneath her nightgown. She hadn't ever looked at the dark mass of hair between her legs. She raised her head and stood with her eyes closed.

"Hold your arms out straight from your sides." She did as she was ordered.

Mrs. Trustworthy then walked behind Victoria and began to check her arms and back for anything unusual. She was a trained nurse and, as such, was well capable of carrying out a medical examination. She moved closer to Victoria's back and slipped her hands round to her breasts. First, she weighed them and then she squeezed and gently probed with her fingers. She brushed her fingertips across the nipples until they began to respond, at which point she began to pull on them gently using her index fingers and thumbs. Victoria's eyes jerked open at this and she looked down. Victoria couldn't understand why, but she wanted her to continue. But she didn't.

"Bend over," she was instructed.

Mrs. Trustworthy then continued her intimate examination by pulling Victoria's cheeks apart and looking at her anus.

"Stand up." Victoria felt immense relief as she did what she was told, but then felt like bursting into tears as the woman continued, "Now sit on the desk and lay back."

Victoria lay on the desk and when she was told to bring her legs up and place her heels on it with her legs apart; she felt the tears beginning to prickle her eyes. Mrs. Trustworthy knelt down and Victoria could feel her breath on her pussy.

As if she hadn't embarrassed her enough, Mrs. Trustworthy said, "My, you are a hairy young lady, aren't you? We'll have to see about that."

She pulled Victoria's labia apart and said, "So, you've been a good girl eh?"

She didn't understand but replied "Yes."

Mrs. Trustworthy deliberately stroked Victoria's clitoris as she rose to her feet. The girl gasped at the sudden spark that this caused within her body.

"Your uniform is in this box. We do not wear corsets, nor do we wear drawers. You will wear two petticoats, black silk stockings and skirt, a chemise and a white blouse. Your hair will be worn up at all times. Your black shoes will suffice."

Victoria, now beyond the horrors of embarrassment and shame, sat down to pull the stockings on. She tied the first petticoat around her waist and then slipped the chemise onto her arms. Once buttoned, she then pulled on her second petticoat. The blouse was followed by the skirt and the finally the boots. Being fully clothed did not wipe from her mind the memory that someone had seen her naked. Into that mind came, unbidden, the curiosity of what it would be like to see a man naked. She shook her head violently to rid herself of the thought.

Mrs. Trustworthy walked to the wall and pulled a cord. In less than a minute there was a knock on the door. "Come," she said.

Another young woman, dressed in the household uniform, walked into the room.

"Jenny, this is Victoria. She will be sharing your room with you. Kindly take her upstairs and look after her. I will not expect her to start work until tomorrow, but it will be your responsibility to show her the ropes."

"Yes, Mrs. Trustworthy."

Jenny led Victoria some distance before she spoke, "Don't worry about Mrs. Trustworthy. She's all right as long as you follow the rules and don't upset her. Where were you working before?"

"I wasn't." Jenny stopped and looked back at her. Victoria explained her circumstances.

"Oh that's awful! You poor thing," she said. "Well at least you've found yourself in employment. There are a lot of people who wouldn't have."

Jenny opened a door and led the way into a small attic room. There were two beds, one on each side and two corresponding chests of drawers. The single window was small and gave only a small amount of light, but the room had a single light bulb operated by a switch next to the door.

"Home sweet home," said Jenny. "That's your bed there. There's another uniform in the drawer. We wash each of them once a week. We get up at 5am and go down the back stairs to the shower room. By 5.30 we have to be in the kitchens to eat breakfast. By 6am we start work."

It took a while for Victoria to consider the unfamiliar phrase she had heard. "Shower room?"

"Mm. Sir Robert had showers fitted at the same time as having the electric lights installed. There are separate ones for men and women. They aren't heated -- except on Sundays before we go to church."

The rest of the day was spent being shown round the house (via the back stairs). Before it was too dark, Jenny showed Victoria around the gardens, but had to make a quick detour when she saw some of Sir Robert's guests coming. She was introduced to some of the gardeners and the stable boy en route and then when they got back to the kitchens she met the rest of the household staff. Cook was very busy preparing the evening meal, but took just enough time to give Victoria a friendly welcome.

Eventually, bedtime came around. The early risers went at 9pm, whilst those who waited on Sir Robert and his guests late into the night lay in bed longer in the morning.

Victoria found a nightgown in one of her drawers and faced away from Jenny in order to undress. She finished as quickly as possible and hopped into her bed. Jenny was already in hers and said, "Light?" She quickly moved across the floor to flick the switch and felt her way back to bed.

*****

Chapter 2

Victoria felt that she had hardly closed her eyes when Jenny shook her awake. She led the way downstairs and into the shower room. To Victoria's horror, the showers (six of them) were completely open. Big shower-heads hung from pipes extending out from the wall. A large lever controlled the flow of each unit.

Jenny lifted her nightgown straight over her head and unselfconsciously walked under one of the showers. She pulled the lever open and jumped up and down as the cold water hit her. She grabbed hold of the soap and washed herself rapidly. Victoria noticed immediately that Jenny was hairless, both under her arms and between her legs.