loki100: Indeed. Since there are only 4 countries that explore at the outset and 3 of them are dead, me or a vassal, only Portugal was serious rival for exploring and colonising. Since I had 100 year spread turned on as well it made things more interesting.
Rockingduke: That's...a great idea. I had meant it as a sign of Henry Bolingbroke, but I might work your idea in instead!
Chapter 12: Above and Below Stairs
21/1/1820
John had eventually sent the bored maid away after lunch. He certainly found historical minutiae more interesting than she did! Dinner had come, but her Ladyship and Tempest had not come, so John ate the exquisite meal alone on a table large enough to accommodate a score of people.
He had been led to a bedroom of very expensive furnishings and bade goodnight.
The next morning he was woken by a knock on the door. Peering out from under the quilt he replied rather muzzily. “Come in.”
A young maid entered, probably only nineteen or so, and quite attractive. She was a bit shorter than her Ladyship, with very fair hair and blue eyes, possibly Nordic in origin. She smiled at him. “Good morning, sir. Her Ladyship apologises for not being at dinner last night, but important business came up. She sent me to make sure that you were looked after today.”
“Oh, thank you. What’s your name?” John asked, sitting up.
“Victoria, sir. Would you like me to bathe you?”
John blinked. He shook his head. “No thank you, Victoria. But please bring the water.”
“As you wish, sir. If there is anything else you desire, please tell me.” She curtseyed and left.
John frowned as she left, then went to unpack his trunk.
An hour later after he had washed, dressed and eaten he found himself standing outside as a cool wind blew in from the north.
He had a mind to explore the gardens this morning, then continue his examination of the gallery later. He was just about to set off when Victoria hurried up.
“Apologies for being late, sir. Would you like me to come with you?” she asked, smiling. She had changed into heavier clothes to endure the chill.
Seeing as she seemed more enthusiastic than the maid the day before had been John nodded. “Please do. However, I tend to get quite sidetracked, so do tell me if you wish to go back. I shall not hold it against you.”
“I will, sir!” Victoria replied.
As they walked down the hill and into the gardens John was glad he had someone to talk to of around his age.
“So, Victoria, how long have you been working here?” John asked. In the distance he could see a half dozen gardeners and groundsmen maintaining her Ladyship’s land.
“Just over a year, sir. Mr Forbes is my uncle, and he got me a job here. The Mistress is very nice,” she said, and evidently meant it. There was something though in her words that John could not quite figure out, something she wasn’t saying.
“Is she away often?” John asked.
“Yes, sir, always very busy, sir. Everyone wants to work here, sir,” she said with obvious sincerity.
“And how long has your uncle worked here?”
“Not sure exactly, sir, ten years I think. He worked for Lord Daguerre in Normandy before, I think.”
“So I guess he must have met Lady Mendenhall’s husband?” he asked, enjoying the discussion.
“I don’t know about that, sir, he never said. I think there’s always only been her Ladyship here. Of course, his Lordship might have lived in London or America.”
“I see.”
Victoria looked at him, smiled, then looked demurely down again. “My Lady is very generous. She gave me this,” she said. From under the neckline of her conservative coat she pulled out a thin gold necklace. On the end was an engraved crucifix, also of gold.
John was struck by how much it was worth. If it was pure gold, and he suspected it was, it would be worth as much as a normal junior maid’s pay for a year.
“It’s beautiful,” he said. He didn’t pry into why she had been given it; her Ladyship was free to reward her staff as she pleased.
“Thank you, sir.”
They walked for a little while in silence until John started to steer them back towards the house. “I’m going to look through the gallery again, but you need not come unless you want to, Victoria.”
“I will come with you, sir,” Victoria said obediently.
As they reached the house again they headed for the gallery. It was then that John saw something strange. Artworks, many of them very valuable, were arrayed on the walls and covered a great array of subjects. However there was one aspect none of them showed; her Ladyship’s family.
“Are there no paintings of her Ladyship?” John asked.
“Not that I’ve seen, sir. Why?” Victoria replied.
“No reason. She must keep them to herself,” John reasoned, nodding.
As he reached the end of the gallery John saw a gleam from inside a case. Looking down he saw a broken crown. It was a piece of magnificence from the long past. Gold and gems glittered in the light of an open window. Alas though it was smashed and broken, one side dented, and several lose gems were on the velvet beside it.
John couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. This was the long forgotten, long lost crown of France, taken when the last King was forced to renounce it in 1479.
“This is incredible,” he said.
“Her Ladyship told me this was the most valuable of all the items she owned in here,” Victoria said.
John could only agree. The stones alone would be worth tens of thousands, but the whole thing was invaluable.
In the distance, but still clearly audible, a bell rung.
“Lunch, sir, and her Ladyship is back.”
“How can you tell?” John asked.
“She has two bells that she uses. Come, sir, come!”
John let himself be led away. He had much to discuss with Lady Mendenhall indeed!