An Unexpected Change in Status

I came across this pic on Tumblr.  I have no idea of its origin beyond that, but a title immediately sprung to mind - 'An unexpected change in status' - and from that point on, the annotation kind of took care of itself.

I have quite deliberately left the details to the imagination, but I have to say this is one of my favourite themes.  Yes, a theme I shall have to explore more fully at some date.  I have always been fascinated by the idea of the heiress put to work in what should have been her own home.  By the way, rather than 'maid' the term I'd prefer would be 'skivvy'.  I love that tittle, skivvy; it's so much more demeaning sounding than 'maid'.  The one exception I can think of to that latter statement is when or if the term 'maidservent' is applied.  "Pay no attention to the girl.  She's just a skivvy."

I like to think they would once have lived quite separate lives in two quite separate locales.  But with the death of a central family figure, both girls have been brought together under one roof for the sake of convenience, partly to make it easier to exert control over them, and partly because from time to time there will be certain documentation requiring both their signatures as gradually their inheritance is creamed off.