Hi all, Hope you are doing well and still following this story! I am coming back to update it, so we'll see what happens next. Stay tuned!
After a long dinner with endless gourmet food, drinks, and laughter, the friends finally called it a night since they didn't want to overexcite themselves and needed to save the energy for more fun-filled activities that they had planned around the dining table. At 10:30 PM, everyone went to their separate sleeping quarters and so did the Duchess and her bride-to-be. As Violet and Claire entered their room, a sense of unease settled upon them. The space was cozy, with soft lighting casting a warm glow on the floral-patterned wallpaper. A large, inviting bed stood in the center, its pristine white silk sheets looked like inviting soft clouds. But for Violet and Claire, it felt more like a shared burden than a place of comfort. Awkward silences hung in the air as they tiptoed around the elephant in the room—the bed they were meant to share tonight and every night for the rest of their trip. The two women exchanged nervous glances, their discomfort palpable. Violet and Claire stood i
Violet was positive that this long-drawn meeting was going to ruin not just her spine but also her sanity. The squeaking sound of leathered chairs continued to irritate her, but she remained seated in silence.After weeks of organized chaos, Violet still found herself dealing with endless herds of strangers. She was sick of them floating around in their crisp fancy three-piece suits, murmuring like wasps. This particular group had got to be the last one she had to face or else she would have to temporarily move out of her own house.
The east wing was a cheerful apartment —or would have been cheerful if it had not been so painfully clean. It gave the appearance of an unused parlor. It took seven housekeepers to keep every inch of it spotless. The tall windows looked east and west. Through the west one, facing out to the rose hedges, came a flood of mellow June sunlight. The east side gave a pleasant view of the bloom white cherry-trees in the orchard.The east wing was used mainly for all household affairs.
Shirley took a deep breath before knocking on the polished wooden door. She hadn't been that nervous working with the late Duke, but now she was somewhat intimidated by his daughter.Perhaps, it was because, for the past few months, Shirley had witnessed a few hissy fits from the young Duchess that would make even an army sergeant flinch. There were about fifty-four servants before Violet took the sovereignty of Averbury. By now the Duchess had already fired half of them.
Clare carried her empty tray back to the kitchen. The heat from the stoves and ovens started to make her body perspire and her face flush. All the kitchen staff wheezed about the counters, but her orders had been sent out, so Clare headed for a cooler area to sit down.Against the walk-in freezer, she found a fold-up chair and settled on it for a little break. She gently massaged her right arm. The muscle had gone sore and stiff. Her feet were in a semi-state of cramping. It had been three hours now that she had stood on those
Albeit trying to avoid the crowd, Violet's presence didn't go unnoticed. Women and men circled around her like sharks wherever she went. As if she existed to be admired, they couldn't stop looking at her. The men agonized over all the candor of youth and beauty that were out of reach. The women were in a constant state of awe and envy, not because they weren't rich or noble, but because they weren't Violet Wintour.The young duchess also possessed a razor-sharp intelligence. Not in a dominating way but one wrong move and she would cut you open, leaving a scare of embarrassment for others to laugh at. Yet she could
"Couldn't you contrive a meeting between them first? I think they would be ideally suited," a slightly quivering voice spoke from the other end of the line."No, that won't do," Shirley said. "She prefers it like a package delivery.""Well, that's tough, Shirley," her mother said.
Clare returned home with a box of pepperoni pizza and went straight to the kitchen. The light in the kitchen was off except the one hovering over the table. Then she found her mother pacing back and forth with a look of contemplation on her face."Mom, are you okay?" she said, noticing Jenny's furrowed brows. "Did the debt collectors call again?"Her mother glanced up, her expression seemed dazed for a moment. When she came to