Time to meet the Wormwells, our first and so far only professional family. They're also our first visit into the upper middle class. I built a small row of cutesy painted lady houses for this class, and I'm very much looking forward to servants!
Eric Wormwell is a 4-7-4-4-6 Libra--outgoing and nice--and a fortune/popularity sim. He's a hard-working sim who has managed to claw his way up the middle class with a prestigious job at a lawfirm and a marriage to a woman just slightly above his station.
His traits are ambitious, excitable, schmoozer, loves to swim, and virtuoso.
Diana on the other hand, is a somewhat spoiled child of the lesser nobility and used to a standard of living that her husband might not be able to provide. She's much more interested in her painting and social pursuits than raising children or sweltering away in the kitchen.
She's a 6-4-6-8-2 Taurus (playful but mean) and a pleasure/fortune sim. Her traits are diva, dramatic, irresistible, childish, and snob.
We'll see how this upwards/downwards mobile family works out. Diana is used to having servants around to do things for her, which means a good portion of Eric's wages will go towards paying the help. Hopefully he'll earn a few promotions to tide them over. If he doesn't, they might see a visits from the repo man. Three visits means the family is demoted to the trade class.
The rules say professional families must employ a maid, but I went for the butler instead, figuring that it'd be alright since he's more expensive than the maid and the gardener put together.
Diana is finally able to earn money from painting, so she spends much of her day by the easel. When she's not, she's making friends with the other ladies in the neighbourhood to help Eric advance in his career.
And Eric spends his afternoons at the pub. I think he may have to wait for the next generation to grow up before he can make enough friends to reach the top of his career. Law requires an awful lot of friends. But once they have a bit more money it'll be fun to throw dinner parties!
Diana turns out to be remarkably resistant to getting pregnant. Between work and his social engagements, Eric has a hard time keeping up with his husbandly duties several times a day.
But finally there's success. Diana has Mrs Meadowsweet over for tea to share the news. Diana isn't sure if she's happy about it yet, and Constance has some very different ideas about child raring than she has.
"I feel it's my duty to warn you against relying on a nurse, my dear."
"You can't mean to say you intend to raise your children yourself? With no nursemaid?"
"How else can I ensure that they're brought up to my standards? A nursemaid is well and good if she's truly worth her mettle, but that's a risk I'm unwilling to take."
Despite Constance's strong thoughts on the matter, Diana has no interest in dirty nappies and grubby children. It's time for Joy Hayward to join the family.
"I see that you don't have any experience in domestic service or child-rearing, which is, I suppose, why you come so cheaply. Alec is in charge of the general running of the household and you report to him. You may be required to prepare meals when he's unavailable, but your primary task is to look after the children. And me, of course, while I'm indisposed."
"Of course ma'am. You have nothing to worry about. I'll take good care of you as well as the little ones when they come, you'll see!
Diana is less than convinced, but Joy is the only maid available in town at the moment. And her mother works for Lord and Lady Applewhite, which does speak in her favour.
Joy's family, the Haywards, had a small farm which they were forced to give up after the death of Hope's husband. All three sought jobs in domestic service to avoid the poor house, but Increase, Joy's older brother, hopes to one day reclaim their old farm.
Joy's first task is to go and buy some maternity clothes for Mrs Wormwell. She runs into both her brother and her mother, who takes the time to give her some words of wisdom.
"Always keep a look out for rain and remember to take the children and the laundry in!"
Joy is also put in charge of the Wormwells' apple trees. Which is perfect, because the family is allowed two, but I couldn't see them caring for them. It's also realistic. Often servants of small households were expected to take on far more tasks than the position they had originally agreed to. The work was so hard and the pay so meager that middle-class women struggled to hold on to their maids. The ones who stayed were often the ones who didn't have any other options. This was particularly true for teenage girls who didn't have any experience or schooling.
The Wormwells' first daughter, Georgiana, finally arrives in the dead of night. She looks pretty striking with her pale skin and black hair. I was hoping for something a bit closer to Eric's skintone, but oh well.
"Woohoo! Well done, ma'am!"
"Now take this thing off my hands, will you?"
It was pretty funny. I kept telling Diana to nurse her daughter and she just kept handing her over to Eric or Joy.
Despite her lack of experience, Joy is a good nurse. She managed to read a book on parenting just before the baby arrived, so she's able to take Georgiana down to her mother when she needs feeding. This way Diana doesn't have to walk up and down the stairs, and she can stay focused on her own affairs. It's night-and-day difference to the mothers in the poorer households!
And that's where we leave the Wormwell as the winter season starts. Eric's career is going well and they've been able to pay their bills and the butler so far, but their nest egg is drying up and the house looks very bare. Will they ever manage to afford curtains? Whether they can keep afloat and if Diana's next pregnancy results in a boy we'll see next season.
They paid Joy §200 in wages. That is super low, but I wanted to emphasize how shitty wages were for young women in service. The money will go into Joy's account and it'll help her if she ever moves out and gets married.
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