"Satan was not idle"
"The Creaking Board" by B. M. Croker
[....] Lady Millard and her husband were young, gay, and popular; they entertained parties for shooting, cricket, and weekends, as London was only forty miles away; they also were entertained, and frequently from home – or spending a week or two in town. On these occasions, the large number of unemployed servants had ample time to themselves – and Satan was not idle.
"The Creaking Board" (1912) by B. M. Croker (1847-1920) appeared in her collection Odds and Ends (1919).
Audio performance here.
