Morina and the Switching Spell Ch. 09
Chapter 9: A fairytale day at Ayresdon Manor.
21 May 1944, Sunday, a little after 4:30 AM.
The sound of cabinet doors opening and closing followed by a chair scraping against the floor woke me up. I opened my eyes, but I couldn't see a thing. It was still dark.
"Who's there?" I called out.
The sound of metal utensils rang out as they clattered onto the floor.
"Oh shit! You frightened me!" Agatha's startled voice responded in the dark.
"Aggie! What the fuck?" Amanda complained nearby.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you," Agatha said, her voice regained some composure.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"It's still early. I have to go back to Ashford and deliver some documents. I'll try to be quieter and let you get back to sleep," she offered.
"I'm too excited to get back to sleep. All I can think about is spending the day at Ayresdon Manor," I replied.
"I'm sure you're going to have a great time. Horseback riding sounds like great fun," Agatha commented.
"I heard that dinners there were eloquent, and the food was divine," Amanda added. Judging from the location of her voice, she was probably still in bed.
"Eloquent dinners? Oh, crap! In all my excitement I forgot all about my outfit. I don't have anything to wear!" I panicked.
"I'm sure Lord Ayresdon would prefer you that way," Amanda said, giggling.
"Mandy don't be crude," Agatha scolded.
"Agatha, we're about the same size, do you have any outfits I could borrow?" I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.
Agatha turned on the lamp and the room was suddenly flooded with light.
"Argh! Not that bloody light again," Amanda complained. She was in bed and pulled the blanket over her head.
"The only decent outfit I have is a black dress, but it might be a little tight up top for you," she said, walking towards the closet.
She pulled out the dress and held it up on the hanger.
"It's a lovely evening dress, but not the sort of thing you can spend the day horseback riding in," she said.
"Horseback riding! I forgot about that. Back in Salem, I have a pair of denim jeans. Do you have anything like that?" I asked.
"I'm afraid not. That's not the type of material women wear here," Agatha responded.
"I don't have anything like that either, not that any of my clothes would fit you," Amanda spoke from under the blanket.
"What am I going to do?" I asked.
"Based upon the agenda in that letter, you're going to need a couple of different outfits. I'm sure Lord Ayresdon will come up with something. You can't be the first guest he's had with wardrobe concerns," Agatha suggested reassuringly.
"This is terrible. Maybe I should cancel," I panicked.
"Don't do that. We both know how much you're looking forward to this," Agatha replied.
"I don't know. What should I do?" I asked.
Amanda pulled the blanket down and sat up.
"GO!" Agatha and Amanda both shouted.
With everyone awake Agatha made a pot of oatmeal, and we had an early breakfast before she left. I was still fussing about what to wear and Amanda did her best to calm me down, but I was too wound up.
At seven, the two of us took a walk to a cafΓ© that opened early on Sunday mornings. It was quite a few blocks away, but the walk helped to settle me a bit. I checked out the few clothing stores along the way, but being Sunday morning, they were all closed. Not that I could have afforded anything even if they were open.
At the cafΓ©, we treated ourselves to coffee. Amanda bought a pastry to share, but I was still too excited to eat more than a couple of bites. We lingered as long as I could stand it before heading back.
I took a shower and that helped. Then I cleaned my uniform, but 10 AM couldn't come fast enough for me.
It was sunny and pleasantly cool as I waited outside in my WASP uniform when a black Rolls Royce pulled up to the front of the building.
The driver got out and stood by the rear door and asked, "Miss Spellman?"
"Yes, I'm she. I mean I'm her," I said, nervously.
"Lord Ayresdon sent me, Miss," he said politely as he opened the door.
I hesitated.
"I'm afraid this is all I have to wear," I said, anxiously.
There was a barely perceptible change in the corners of his mouth, as if he was suppressing a smile.
"No worries, Ma'am. Lord Ayresdon understands," he said in a flat monotone.
I got into the back of the car, and we sped off.
The seats were plush leather and smelled wonderful, but I was too excited to sit back as I looked out the window and watched the London streets fly by. Pedestrians looked at the car as we passed them, no doubt wondering who was inside. I looked back at them nervously, anticipating this new adventure.
Once outside London, I spent more time looking at the back of the driver's head. After about five minutes or so, the silence was killing me.
"My name is Morina. What is yours?" I asked, leaning forward.
"Robert, Ma'am," he answered politely.
"Have you worked for Lord Ayresdon long?" I asked.
"Yes, Ma'am." He answered politely.