closed the volume, then inwardly groaned because the noise awakened Prudence. From that moment until they stopped at Reading for the night, Diana listened to Prudence propound on her favorite subject. Respectability!
The following day the drive seemed endless, so Diana allowed her thoughts to drift ahead to their destination. She couldn’t wait to see Bath. Its antiquity was legendary. It had been built by the Romans, who had called it Aquae Sulis. The very name conjured pictures that fired her imagination.
When the chaise descended the final hill and crossedthe bridge sporting graceful arches, the sunset had turned Bath into a city of gold. Diana caught her breath, utterly enchanted by such beauty. In that moment she vowed that she would enjoy Bath to the full. She was filled with a thirst for life and she decided this would be the most glorious time she would ever have!
When James paid the toll to enter the city and asked directions to Queen Square, he was informed that Bath was a city for pedestrians and he would have to take the chaise to the White Swan Inn for stabling after he had delivered the ladies to their house.
Though Diana would have preferred a house with a view across the River Avon to the woods and hills beyond where sheep and horses grazed, she had to own that Queen Square was a more convenient location. The fashionable square had been designed by Wood to resemble the courtyard of a palace. Outside, the house had a high facade of Bath stone with pedimented windows. Inside, the elegant house had two communicating L-shaped drawing rooms wrapped around a staircase. The boudoirs and dressing rooms were upstairs while the kitchen and servants’ quarters were below the ground floor.
Diana was amused to see that Richard had spent so freely of her money. The house came with a cook, an upstairs maid, and a butler. Prudence began issuing orders the moment her foot was across the threshold. She informed the staff that she was here for the cure and that her condition was delicate, then ordered a dinner that would kill a female with less than a robust and hardy constitution.
When Prudence pleaded exhaustion, Diana and Biddy helped her upstairs, where she proceeded to issue orders from her bed until midnight. She asked so many questions of the staff that the butler finally produced a map that laid out the entire city, row by row. She couldn’t understand it, of course, and kept Diana at her bedside for two more hours while she pointed out the Grand Parade, the Pump Room, the Assembly Rooms, the Baths, and the Octagonal Chapel.
When Prudence did not appear for breakfast, Diana seized the moment and set out to explore Bath on her own. She was interested in learning the location of the shops, the subscription libraries, and where the hot springs began down by the river. Diana felt free as a bird escaped from its cage. Excitement tingled along every nerve at the thought of being able to choose clothes for herself.
She sauntered along Milsom Street, gazing into shop windows, carefully reading the signs above the doors, trying to decide which establishment would receive her custom. The largest shop was La Belle Mode; its proprietress, Madame Madeleine, who greeted Lady Diana warmly as she opened the door and stepped inside.
“Is there something in particular you are interested in, mademoiselle?”
“Oh yes, everything really.” Diana was entranced at the gowns on display. The shop also had slippers, fans, and every feminine accessory to complete a lady’s wardrobe. She glanced about, noting the fine French furnishings, and then she saw it. Easily the loveliest gown she had ever seen, and she knew she must have it or die. It was jade velvet with a heart-shaped neckline and gathered waist. It had classic lines that would have been fashionable in any age.
Diana’s imagination pictured herself at Elizabeth’s Court wearing the gown, with a magnificent ruff added, of course. It was the vivid color, however, that
The following day the drive seemed endless, so Diana allowed her thoughts to drift ahead to their destination. She couldn’t wait to see Bath. Its antiquity was legendary. It had been built by the Romans, who had called it Aquae Sulis. The very name conjured pictures that fired her imagination.
When the chaise descended the final hill and crossedthe bridge sporting graceful arches, the sunset had turned Bath into a city of gold. Diana caught her breath, utterly enchanted by such beauty. In that moment she vowed that she would enjoy Bath to the full. She was filled with a thirst for life and she decided this would be the most glorious time she would ever have!
When James paid the toll to enter the city and asked directions to Queen Square, he was informed that Bath was a city for pedestrians and he would have to take the chaise to the White Swan Inn for stabling after he had delivered the ladies to their house.
Though Diana would have preferred a house with a view across the River Avon to the woods and hills beyond where sheep and horses grazed, she had to own that Queen Square was a more convenient location. The fashionable square had been designed by Wood to resemble the courtyard of a palace. Outside, the house had a high facade of Bath stone with pedimented windows. Inside, the elegant house had two communicating L-shaped drawing rooms wrapped around a staircase. The boudoirs and dressing rooms were upstairs while the kitchen and servants’ quarters were below the ground floor.
Diana was amused to see that Richard had spent so freely of her money. The house came with a cook, an upstairs maid, and a butler. Prudence began issuing orders the moment her foot was across the threshold. She informed the staff that she was here for the cure and that her condition was delicate, then ordered a dinner that would kill a female with less than a robust and hardy constitution.
When Prudence pleaded exhaustion, Diana and Biddy helped her upstairs, where she proceeded to issue orders from her bed until midnight. She asked so many questions of the staff that the butler finally produced a map that laid out the entire city, row by row. She couldn’t understand it, of course, and kept Diana at her bedside for two more hours while she pointed out the Grand Parade, the Pump Room, the Assembly Rooms, the Baths, and the Octagonal Chapel.
When Prudence did not appear for breakfast, Diana seized the moment and set out to explore Bath on her own. She was interested in learning the location of the shops, the subscription libraries, and where the hot springs began down by the river. Diana felt free as a bird escaped from its cage. Excitement tingled along every nerve at the thought of being able to choose clothes for herself.
She sauntered along Milsom Street, gazing into shop windows, carefully reading the signs above the doors, trying to decide which establishment would receive her custom. The largest shop was La Belle Mode; its proprietress, Madame Madeleine, who greeted Lady Diana warmly as she opened the door and stepped inside.
“Is there something in particular you are interested in, mademoiselle?”
“Oh yes, everything really.” Diana was entranced at the gowns on display. The shop also had slippers, fans, and every feminine accessory to complete a lady’s wardrobe. She glanced about, noting the fine French furnishings, and then she saw it. Easily the loveliest gown she had ever seen, and she knew she must have it or die. It was jade velvet with a heart-shaped neckline and gathered waist. It had classic lines that would have been fashionable in any age.
Diana’s imagination pictured herself at Elizabeth’s Court wearing the gown, with a magnificent ruff added, of course. It was the vivid color, however, that
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