I just looked up spunging houses and it seems that usually debtors in them were only confined for 24 hours. If nobody stepped up and paid by then, they woudl be transferred to a debtor's prison.

But I'd question that the servant wasn't a member of respectalbe society fallen on hard times... He may well have been..He might have had employment, lost it and got into debt adn then said "I have soemone who'll help me" and sent for Brandon as soemone who would help him within the short period of time given to pay the debt... and Brandon turned up.

I agree that it seems unlikely that Eliza might be in there.. since the implication seems to be that she's been there for a while.. unless Brandon was just lucky and turned up the one day or so that she was confined there. However again, while she's technically not a "respectable woman", she may have had a few well to do lovers in her time and while she'd fallen into the demi monde, she might not have been totally fallen into the wrold of the poor or the criminal classes. I would say that she coudl have told the bailiffs taht she had a hope of a freind coming to her rescue, and sent a message to her latest lover.. so she would have gone to a spunging house at least for a day or 2.