Dedicated to and Inspired by Marigold
The Beginning
Anne had contacted me about taking care of my home in the Marylebone neighborhood of London. I'd posted the opening on Craigslist and was promptly swamped with email resumes and text messages. Anne stood out from the crowd when she took the time to find my address and have a courier drop off an envelope for me.
The envelope was of old fashioned parchment. At first I suspected the gloriously beautiful Spencerian script that adorned the envelope was computer generated but then when I looked closely I saw the flourishes and embellishments of a truly gifted calligrapher. The letter within the envelope furthered my interest as the language was florid, elegantly simple, and again written by hand in old fashioned Spencerian script. The borders of the letter featured a veritable work of art with hand drawn vines and leaves and flowers.
Anne's letter was written in a graceful and colorful narrative that I soon realized was her way of illustrating her resume. Instead of droll reports of past jobs she instead itemized each of her important postings with a captivating detail of her experiences and the occasional anecdote about the post even if it was a simple babysitting job.
Regardless if I was to hire her I had to meet her just to see the kind of person who would go about an employment inquiry in such a very proper English way!
I called her and suggested to meet. She chose a lovely sidewalk tea room in King's Cross and I admired her taste. The place was a pleasant mix of old fashioned and the modern yet also understated and demure. I suspected the same of Anne.
And I was not at all disappointed when I met her! She came to the interview wearing a simple enough dress that made her look like a very proper English girl yet the bodice was made of that material that's employed for modern tube tops.
What really set it all off was a choker that matched her dress! It's such an insignificant detail yet with Anne it was a very significant statement that she was detail oriented and that she cared most deeply about how she was perceived.
"You must be Anne!" I said as a means of introduction.
She stood and smiled and held out her hand. I took it and was instantly amazed by her softness and her warmth.
"Yes, sir, and I am at your service!"
She sat down and I followed her lead.
We spoke at length and I asked about her old fashioned countenance.
"Sir, I've long believed that a proper lady, if she is to be called a lady, must present herself as a lady at all times. I've endeavored to apply myself in the arts of keeping a house, proper etiquette, penmanship, sewing, and a few other domestic arts that are unfortunately lost to the current time."
I had to challenge her and I gestured at her dress. "For one so proper why do you wear such a dress and without a brassiere?"
She pursed her lips. "First, I should correct you in that this is not a proper question but I will entertain you this time. My preferred era for fashions is the late Edwardian period and this dress is quite proper by those standards. I also do not wear a brassiere because such things came into vogue only after the Second World War."
I stood corrected! Naturally I hired the girl.
I expected her to move into the house forthwith to allow me to pursue a matter of business at home in the United States. She explained this would not be a problem as she had moved from York to London following a difficult estrangement from her family. Her current domicile was a dreadful flat she shared with several other college age women in Islington so I expected the move to my home to be most welcome.
It was the next afternoon when Anne rang my door and I let her in. Her eyes were wide with astonishment at my classic home. She'd fit right in and she knew it.
She looked a bit like something from a BBC costume drama with her khaki dress, proper hat, and matching umbrella.
She arrived with two suitcases and a garment bag and these few meager possessions were everything she owned in the world. I led her up the stairs to her suite on the second floor and told her to settle in before joining me in the parlor for tea.
When she joined me for tea I stood as she entered the room and expected her to react to the gesture yet she acted as if I was supposed to do so! I was going to say something about that but then I noticed the simple peasant dress she was now wearing. It was a light blue and her brunette hair and dark eyes were all the more enhanced by the contrast. It was off the shoulder and her bosom was amply yet modestly displayed.
The obligatory pleasantries were exchanged and then Anne served the tea. I hadn't expected the young lady to do so but then I suppose where she was not a guest it was in her mind the proper thing to do.
"Your house is lovely! Do you know much of it's origins?"
I appreciated her indirect flattery. "Yes, the home was one of the original homes built in the era of the Adams brothers. As best I can tell it was constructed about 1778 and we ascertained that from the coins that we found when we excavated the cellar a few years ago."
See, in London you can't build your house any higher than it had been but for a while you could excavate the basement. Like so many of my neighbors I went a bit daft and had two floors of living space constructed beneath the ground floor. Unlike the original portion of the house that was zealously maintained as original as is practicable I indulged myself and made the two subfloors quite modern. There were also a few, shall we say 'personal' touches to the two subfloors.
When we'd finished with our repast I showed Anne the three floors of the original home and she took the time to ask me about many of the details. She remarked how so much of it appeared original yet things that should have been made of English walnut were instead made of American walnut and she knew the difference.
I explained to her that the family that had owned the house prior to myself had progressively updated the home over the years and that each update had incrementally removed much of the original charm of the home. I'd spent a lavish amount of money restoring the home to an appearance of 1778 while tastefully incorporating modern accoutrement such as electrical outlets, lighting, a television, and a modern kitchen.
Then I led her to a bookcase in the library and had her pull what appeared to be a copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The book was actually a cleverly made door latch and when Anne pulled upon it the bookcase revealed itself to be a hidden door and it swung open onto a proper yet very modern stairway. Anne spoke her approval and then followed me as we descended into the darkness.
At the stairway's first landing the motion detectors saw us and the lights slowly came on. This was my idea to have the lights come on slowly so as not to dazzle the eyes and then after they had risen to about seventy per cent of their brightness they'd dim to a comfortable sixty per cent of their brightness. The effect was that of a permanent evening in the two subfloors.
I showed her my entertainment room with its wall sized modern television and sound system, we stopped at the bar and I made myself a drink. I offered one to Anne and she declined citing her age. I nodded my acceptance and we continued on.
The bedroom suite on the first subfloor was very masculine. It was detailed in hardwoods that had been repurposed from the home's original oak beams and teak floors. Anne took notice of the metal bed frame which was again modern in design with some flourishes that not everyone would have immediately noticed.
She touched one of the several tie-down fittings that was welded onto the side of the bed and she looked at me. "May I ask what purpose these fixtures serve or are they merely decorative?"
I smiled at her. "They're functional and they also serve an aesthetic purpose."
Anne looked at me quizzically and we moved on. Taking her down to the second sublevel I showed her the sauna, the hot tub, and the heated pool.
"You have an underground POOL? That's summat!"
I loved how her veneer of proper English lady briefly faded to reveal her common Yorkshire origins.
She immediately composed herself and continued, "Why would you bother with an underground swimming pool?"
I looked down at the floor and then looked back at her. "Because down here I can swim naked if I so desire. Where up above can you do so?"
She nodded with an unexpected understanding.
The tour concluded and we made our way upstairs.
Anne surprised me by insisting on making dinner for me and I accepted her offer. I keep a well stocked pantry and the girl had no problem finding what she needed.
