Episode Five

First impressions count.

Mr Upton stared at the young lady spinning around in her stockinged feet and wondered what the world was coming to. After many years service - twenty-five if he was asked - he was no longer surprised at the things that went on in The Cedars. After all he’d been under butler when the scandal of the Spring Ball broke. But young ladies in their stockings spinning in the hall? Outrageous. 

“Miss? Your name is…?”

“Claudette. I’m here to be a companion to Mrs Howard. You are expecting me, aren’t you? My letter said I’d be arriving today.”

Mr Upton dipped his head in the merest hint of acknowledgment and picked up the tatty suitcase from the porch. Holding it at arm’s length he placed it against the wall and swept his arm towards the left hand door. Claudette glanced first at the door, then at the suitcase and finally at the butler. She tilted her head to one side, placed her hands firmly on her hips and waited.

“If you wouldn’t mind waiting in the library, Miss, I’ll see if madam is available.”

As he turned Mr Upton heard a mutter behind him.

“She’d better be after the journey I’ve just had.”

He stiffened then walked extremely slowly towards the central staircase. He climbed each rise as if it were at the summit of Mont Blanc and disappeared from sight. Claudette went into the library and sat in the only comfortable looking chair in the room. Every inch of wall was covered with cases of books, thousands of them, all brown spines and gold lettering. A table sat in the bay window with a volume open and Claudette wondered who sat on that straight backed, heavily carved chair and ploughed their way through these dull looking books. She only read Harlequin Romance novels so had no interest in the books themselves but she was curious about the owner of the library. In her letter of introduction nobody had mentioned being well read and Claudette worried that she’d have to read these types of books to make polite conversation with Mrs Howard. She unpinned her hat, tossed it onto the side table at her elbow and slumped further into the chintz cushions.