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Authors: Jennie Walters
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told.’
‘Good,’ she said, settling down in a chair. ‘I have had the misfortune to dance with the clumsiest man in Christendom, and the wretched fellow put his foot on my gown and ripped off half the hem. Just take a look! Can you do anything with it?’
‘I think so, ma’am,’ I said, inspecting the damage. ‘I’ll do my best, anyway.’
‘If you’re quick about it, you shall have a shilling.’ She fanned herself vigorously. ‘What a thing to happen! And a new gown too. My dressmaker only finished it yesterday.’
I had been provided with a sewing box in case of just such an emergency, so I knelt beside her on the floor and began stitching away. It was very quiet and peaceful and I was beginning to think she might have nodded off, when in came another lady who was evidently an old friend of hers and looked much the same sort of person, only not quite so stout. They fell to talking straight away in the kind of easy tones people take when they are well-acquainted. I could not help but overhear, although at first the gossip meant little to me as I did not know the names that were mentioned. But then the talk turned to the Vye family, and my ears pricked up.
‘That Eugenie’s a pretty little thing,’ my large lady said. ‘No wonder Clara wants her married off in a hurry and out of the way - far too much competition.’
Her friend leaned forward and lowered her voice confidentially, although there were no other ladies in the room at the time. ‘They had better hope she makes a good match. You’d never think so to judge from this evening, but I’ve heard somebody needs to bring some money into the family. Nobody can make a living out of farming these days, and a place like Swallowcliffe must cost a fortune to run.’
‘My dear, there’s talk they may have to sell off part of the estate. Really, it’s a disgrace! Our finest houses are all being bought up by bankers and factory owners, and who knows what state England will be in by the end of the century.’
There was a pause while they both fanned themselves. ‘There’s always Edward, I suppose,’ said the other lady eventually. I could tell she was rather put out to find herself the bearer of stale news. ‘Perhaps he can catch one of these rich American girls who seem to be all the rage in London. There’s bound to be a new batch coming over for the season. Some of them are perfectly lovely, I hear, and better manners than one might imagine.’
The conversation turned to more general matters, and shortly afterwards I came to the end of my sewing. I snipped off the thread and got up, my legs half asleep from having been in the same position for so long.
‘Oh! I had quite forgotten you were there,’ my lady said, rather taken aback. ‘You’re a quiet one, aren’t you?’ She glanced down at the hem of her gown and then opened the beaded evening bag hanging from her elbow. ‘I think I shall only give you sixpence, since you have taken such a time.’
I might have said that it was a very long tear and she ought to have given me twice as much as she’d promised for mending it, rather than half, but as a matter of fact I did not. After all, there was a sovereign in my pocket. I did not feel sorry to see those ladies go, and wished I had not had to listen to them talk in that way; it was a worry to think of the Vyes being short of money.
I went to check the bedrooms upstairs, my head spinning with all kinds of thoughts I didn’t know what to do with. What a strange evening it was turning out to be, and shortly to become stranger still. I bumped into a lady on our servants’ staircase; she must have lost her way, although I didn’t see how she could have gone so far astray as to end up there. I curtseyed and stood aside to let her pass, wondering whether it would be rude to offer her directions back to the ballroom. She was wearing a lovely pale green gown, with a white pierrot mask over her fair hair.
And then I had my second shock
‘Good,’ she said, settling down in a chair. ‘I have had the misfortune to dance with the clumsiest man in Christendom, and the wretched fellow put his foot on my gown and ripped off half the hem. Just take a look! Can you do anything with it?’
‘I think so, ma’am,’ I said, inspecting the damage. ‘I’ll do my best, anyway.’
‘If you’re quick about it, you shall have a shilling.’ She fanned herself vigorously. ‘What a thing to happen! And a new gown too. My dressmaker only finished it yesterday.’
I had been provided with a sewing box in case of just such an emergency, so I knelt beside her on the floor and began stitching away. It was very quiet and peaceful and I was beginning to think she might have nodded off, when in came another lady who was evidently an old friend of hers and looked much the same sort of person, only not quite so stout. They fell to talking straight away in the kind of easy tones people take when they are well-acquainted. I could not help but overhear, although at first the gossip meant little to me as I did not know the names that were mentioned. But then the talk turned to the Vye family, and my ears pricked up.
‘That Eugenie’s a pretty little thing,’ my large lady said. ‘No wonder Clara wants her married off in a hurry and out of the way - far too much competition.’
Her friend leaned forward and lowered her voice confidentially, although there were no other ladies in the room at the time. ‘They had better hope she makes a good match. You’d never think so to judge from this evening, but I’ve heard somebody needs to bring some money into the family. Nobody can make a living out of farming these days, and a place like Swallowcliffe must cost a fortune to run.’
‘My dear, there’s talk they may have to sell off part of the estate. Really, it’s a disgrace! Our finest houses are all being bought up by bankers and factory owners, and who knows what state England will be in by the end of the century.’
There was a pause while they both fanned themselves. ‘There’s always Edward, I suppose,’ said the other lady eventually. I could tell she was rather put out to find herself the bearer of stale news. ‘Perhaps he can catch one of these rich American girls who seem to be all the rage in London. There’s bound to be a new batch coming over for the season. Some of them are perfectly lovely, I hear, and better manners than one might imagine.’
The conversation turned to more general matters, and shortly afterwards I came to the end of my sewing. I snipped off the thread and got up, my legs half asleep from having been in the same position for so long.
‘Oh! I had quite forgotten you were there,’ my lady said, rather taken aback. ‘You’re a quiet one, aren’t you?’ She glanced down at the hem of her gown and then opened the beaded evening bag hanging from her elbow. ‘I think I shall only give you sixpence, since you have taken such a time.’
I might have said that it was a very long tear and she ought to have given me twice as much as she’d promised for mending it, rather than half, but as a matter of fact I did not. After all, there was a sovereign in my pocket. I did not feel sorry to see those ladies go, and wished I had not had to listen to them talk in that way; it was a worry to think of the Vyes being short of money.
I went to check the bedrooms upstairs, my head spinning with all kinds of thoughts I didn’t know what to do with. What a strange evening it was turning out to be, and shortly to become stranger still. I bumped into a lady on our servants’ staircase; she must have lost her way, although I didn’t see how she could have gone so far astray as to end up there. I curtseyed and stood aside to let her pass, wondering whether it would be rude to offer her directions back to the ballroom. She was wearing a lovely pale green gown, with a white pierrot mask over her fair hair.
And then I had my second shock
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