Starting the Tour
1 Timothy 5:14
I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
The butler was indeed waiting for them in the entryway, as were a dozen other servants. She hadn’t really meant to make such a big thing of this!
“My Lady,” the butler said, with his butlerian nod: brief but dignified. The others all gave more profound obeisance, and she gave a slight curtsey in response.
“If you do not mind, My Lady, we will start our tour here. I give this tour regularly, My Lady, as the estate is open every second Thursday of the month to those who wish to see it. For a small fee, of course, which we use to throw a party once a year for the staff.”
“Oh, well, that is fine,” Lady Hadassah said, suddenly remembering how, a couple of Thursdays ago, her husband had insisted, for no reason she could discern, that they go on a carriage ride to a nearby village and luncheon there. It had been a nice ride but had left her rather confused until now.
“But of course, My Lady, you may at any time request a change in the tour or ask any question you might have. This entryway…” he began, sounding… eager? Had she discovered his secret joy? Or not so secret, if he did these tours regularly. “…holds several pieces of art which have been collected over the years. To your right, you will see a statue that was brought back by the first Duke from the continent during the wars of succession under Henry the Fifth. It had been in the home of a French noble who resisted the campaign of Henry V, the famous conquerer. It shows an unclothed female holding a book and is believed to represent wisdom, although, as the owner died in his resistance, we have not been able to confirm this.”
Lady Hadassah stared at the statue, which she hadn’t really noticed before. It looked really old, with that pitting faded look that marble got with great age. And she supposed it was a book that the lady was holding up, but it was rather too worn out to tell. And the first duke had brought it back from France! During a war!
The butler had politely paused his speech while she looked at the statue, but when she turned back to him he pointed to a painting on the wall just next to the statue, “This painting was bought by the current duke immediately before his recent wedding. It shows a street scene in Paris…”
Her heart froze a bit at the butler’s very formal mention of ‘his recent wedding’, which meant right before he married her! Did he buy it for her? Because she was coming? Because he knew she loved Paris and loved street scenes? Did he maybe even buy it when she was in Paris? Had he been there too?
Lady Hadassah followed the butler through the house, and the staff followed her. It wasn’t until they reached the ‘small’ dining room that she had her first question. “What does My Lord use this dining room for, if you please, Jeremy?”
The butler had been opening his mouth to describe a rather ugly painting on the far wall, and he closed it and looked a bit confused. “My Lady?”
“What kind of event? I suppose it might change now that I am here, but, say, when his mother and sisters come to visit, do they use this dining room or another one?”
“Oh, I understand,” he said. “I don’t know that I have a good answer for you, however. I believe that it depends on the level of formality that he wishes for the encounter. When he wishes for a formal dinner, he uses the larger dining room.”
She nodded. “And how does it affect the servants? Is this one farther away or closer to the kitchen?”
His mouth opened a bit, and he turned to one of the footmen. “I do not typically bring food from the kitchen. James, I believe that you can answer that question better than I can.”
“Sir,” James said. “This dining room is closer, My Lady.”
“Well, then the food should be hotter, at least.” And, she thought to herself, less work for the staff carting the food halfway through the house. But she knew it was impolitic of her to say so. Servants never liked to have people speak of making their lives easier.
Thank you for coming round Arthur’s Substack. I hope and pray it will be a blessing to you.
Arthur publishes with Wise Path Books and include the children’s/YA books:
The Bobtails meet the Preacher’s Kid: A Christian historical fiction chapter book about four orphans who go to live with their aunt on a dairy farm.
The Bobtails and the Cousins: The sequel to Preacher’s Kid. The aunt has married, and the cousins come to visit. Meaning town kids dealing with chores and manure and…
The Bobtails go to France: The sequel to cousins. The Bobtails, and Preacher’s Kid, get to take a trip to New York, London, Paris, and a small town in France. To get some cheese.
and
No Ordinary School: A brilliant but socially clueless boy gets recruited for a special school. Where he makes a lot of money, gets a girl, and solves a mystery.
As well as GK Chesterton’s wonderful book, “What’s Wrong with the World”, for which ‘Arthur’ wrote most of the annotations. The book is a series of essays on how modern politics has gotten the wrong prescription for the wrong diagnosis.
Quite a few chapters of the Bobtails and No Ordinary School are here on this substack as audio.
I also write as Von, and I encourage you to check out that substack. There is a lot of theology and politics there, as well as quotes, poems, other articles, and links to other Science Fiction. But ‘Von’ also is publishing some serial books and stories. Much more adult and serious books than here, for the most part. Some of them.