Thursday: Welcome to Bath! The Queen will be welcoming everyone as they arrive so make a good first impression! You may move into your quarters but this being the country space is limited so girls will be bunking up unless they are married or royalty.
Sorry this is so very late! Collab with ~Vanney~
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It would be a lie to say that I was not sorry to leave London behind. There had truly been so much excitement while I was there, and I was sorry to have wasted so much time by my foolish mistake and getting into trouble. But a thought had been growing in my mind that made the prospect of returning to the country far more agreeable than usual. It was, of course, Sir Ramsey’s love for the country. Whatever had called--or driven--him away was sure to be overcome with his longing to be back with his friend, the Prince, and in his beloved countryside.
I looked down at the room assignment in my hands. “The Queen welcomes Miss Evangeline Wingrave to Bath! You will be staying in the blue room along with Miss Minerva Peirse. Mrs. Caudle, the housekeeper, will show you to your room upon arrival.” I knew of Miss Peirse and had seen her a few times, although they had never spoken. She was supposed to be an excellent pianist, and though she seemed the quiet type, I felt that we would get along swimmingly. Duets were in my near future. I smiled warmly at the thought.
I stepped from the carriage to behold a lovelyl sight. The house was beautiful, more so than the London palace, with large gardens and very extensive grounds. It made my heart beat faster to take in the stables and think of the wonderful adventures to be had here. I took a deep breath of clear air. I had not realized it at the time, but the London air had been stifling.
Carriages were scattered all around the drive, and the air was full of the sound of ladies’ excited chattering as they met their new roommates and took in their surroundings. In the crowd I spotted my old friend Lucy Hale speaking cheerily with a pretty brunette with big eyes, whom I believed to be none other than Miss Peirse herself. I immediately called out to Lucy, hoping for an introduction.
“Hello, Evangeline,” said Lucy, kissing me on each cheek, “how are you?”
“Great,” I replied with a smile, “The air is so much clearer here.” I turned to Miss Peirse, “You are Minerva Peirse, am I right?” I asked, turning to her, “I have seen you a few times.”
She smiled at me and answered, “Yes, you are right. You do not know how excited I am.”
Lucy looked between us, confused. “Why are you excited?” she asked.
“Oh, you do not know?” said Miss Peirse, “we are roommates here in Bath.”
I giggled and we excused ourselves from Miss Hale. On the way in we were greeted by my aunt, the Queen. Miss Peirse was quite nervous, but I assured her there was nothing to fear. My aunt was very agreeable and very kind to any of her son’s friends. Mrs. Caudle found us at the foot of the stairs, looking very flustered and overworked. She began to lead us to our room, but I assured her that I had a keen sense of direction and it would be no trouble since my room assignment card had been very specific in the color of the room. Mrs. Caudle seemed relieved, and began attending to the next set of ladies coming in behind us.
The room was larger than I expected. As described, it was indeed blue. I had assumed there would be two beds in one room, or even that we might have had to share a bed, but instead I was pleased to find that our room was actually two rooms, conjoined with a door between them. I wondered if all the ladies were being treated like this or if I got a special room for being the Queen’s niece.
I had just begun to open up my trunk containing my books in things, when I heard Miss Peirse call from the other room. “Evangeline? Where are you?” she sang.
“Here,” I replied, and poked my head through the door, “I will take this room, if that is alright.”
She nodded her assent and then asked, “What shall we do now?”
I remembered the grounds, the way they seemed to call to me: a land enchanted and undisturbed. “Let’s go out and discover the area, how about that?”
The idea seemed to please Miss Peirse, as she nodded eagerly. I could tell we were going to get along very well indeed.