Author's Note:
This story was inspired by the character Cruella De Vil from Disney's 101 Dalmatians and gender bent artwork of Cruella.
Chapter 1 has a slow build to establish the setting, plot, and characters. Later chapters will be shorter and more focused on the sex!
Synopsis: Set in Victorian England (1830s - 1900), a desperate young woman finds herself as a maid in the rich household of a peculiar man with an even more peculiar taste in fashion.
Disclaimer: All characters are fictitious and created entirely out of my own imagination. All characters are at least 18 years old.
"Ellie! Move your lazy arse and get down 'ere!" my mother shouted up the stairs. I groaned and pulled my ragged, patched-up blanket over my head to see if I could sneak in a few more minutes of rest.
"Eleanor Isabella Silvers!" Oh no-- Mother used my full name. I am clearly trying her patience this dreary morning.
Breathing out a sigh, I pulled the covers off and called down, "I'm getting dressed right this instant, Mother!" I yanked my worn brown day dress over my corset, buttoned it up to the collar, and tied a clean apron over it. With the worst lack of elegance possible, I scrambled down our creaky old stairs, and threw myself onto a half-rotted stool at the kitchen table.
"Honestly, one would think that after you spent all those years in service at the McWilliams' you would have grown to be a bit more ladylike. Did working as a maid do you no good at all?" My mother huffed.
"Oh Mother, you know I worked long and hard and well for our family. It's only for you that I'm so brute-ish." I grinned impishly.
"You cheeky child!" she scolded. "Oh come 'ere, let me put up your hair."
I handed her the horse-hair brush as she combed through my silky, beautiful black hair. It was my pride and joy, seeing as I had no other praise-worthy attributes. Our family was lower-class--in other words, poor-- always have been, always will be. But, a recent depression hit our whole region very hard. I lost my job at the McWilliams' and my father couldn't make a profit from our general store. It wasn't long before we, and all of our neighbors, fell into debt. All of my paychecks, and those of my brothers', Timothy and Richard, went directly to our savings, but even with that, we were still barely afloat. My already meager dowry was gone, and at 18 years old, stuck in this little English country town, I literally had no prospects.
"Oh! How beautiful you are my dear. If only you had a dowry, you could have married anyone you wished!" Mother gushed after she finished putting my hair up in a simple, but feminine chignon.
"Mother..." I blushed, a rosy tint coloring my pale skin.
"But it's true! You have a slim, strong body with just the right amount of womanly curves, and your grandmother's elegant nose and oval face. Why, I wouldn't doubt that you could be a fashion model in those high society magazines!"
"Mother," I sighed, my face scrunching up at her exaggerated compliments. "Enough already. You know at this point I'm lucky to be married at all. Don't we have more pressing matters to attend to? Like earning money to get out of this horrid debt?"
"Yes, yes you do indeed have lots to do today. I have a pile of mending for you, and another basket of laundry, and..." Mother continued to list a lengthy series of chores that was to be entirely my responsibility, and mine alone. Mother had no time to spare because she helped my father run our business everyday, helping to sell whatever it was people needed and keeping the premises neat and clean. Father would be behind the desk, managing the finances and chatting up old customers. Our customers were slowly trickling back in as the depression was waning, but everyone was still practically penniless. My brothers delivered our purchases, but honestly, they should have been married and already had started families of their own if it weren't for our family's desperate circumstances.
It was early evening before I finally had a moments' rest. I knew I shouldn't have been complaining about my family's lack of money, but sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if my mother was right. If I was wealthy, who could I have married? What kind of life could I have lived? I could almost see myself wearing expensive silks and wools on my curves, rubies and pearls decorating my slender neck, and turning heads because of my beauty and of course, plentiful riches. With a rough shake of my head, I quickly snapped myself out of that fantasy. I didn't want to grow conceited and prideful and most of all, hopeful for something I could never have.
Suddenly, an expensive, fancy black coach clattered down the dirt street right past my family's humble little shop. Everyone outside stopped and stared. It's not everyday that somebody from the city, let alone a rich patron, comes through our little town. To my even greater surprise, a handsome young gentleman with a shiny black top hat, shiny black shoes--bloody hell, expensive
everything,
stepped out of the vehicle and began walking towards
me.
"Miss, I know this is incredibly forward of me, but I couldn't help but notice your ravishing beauty. My name is Robert Mulligan and I have a friend by the name of Mr. de Vil who is looking for a beautiful maid for his household. Would you be interested in the position?"
My green eyes widened and my jaw fell open at this unexpected prospect.