In Victorian England slums, the oldest and quietest girl of four trying to keep a roof over her family's head accepts a job with an odd staff and mysterious employer. Until she finds out all the maids before her are dead and she must face a mystifyi...
Welcome Back this is the 2nd part to the story and I hope you're ready to read some more, without further ado here is the Part 2 to The Greatest Journey....
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Traveling through the country was fascinating to find most houses were smaller than Mr. Howard's except my grandfather's which was around the same size after closer inspection though on a smaller estate. Unlike Mr. Howard's country estate my new home had manicured gardens, a smaller stable and the same amount of servants except we were to hire a ladies' maid for mama and I, a governess for me, and a nanny for Joan. Daniel got sent away to a boys school while the new governess had an arduous task ahead of her when it came to teaching me French and playing the piano. The easiest subjects I excelled were reading, writing and singing though Mrs. Miller, the governess, would always take me back to the piano to practice even if I had no talent for the instrument.
The time I spent in the country in mourning was used to train over and over of my only pursuit moving forward: to marry, and marry well, into title like the one my grandfather left me; Lady Alice Stewart. If title was not possible due to the circumstances of my birth and my mother not being of title then at least someone widely accepted in society so that my family may also be received in society. Of course not forgetting this specific gentleman should not be in dire financial circumstances as for other people to not make me the laughingstock of London. Yet this whole goal hinged on my capacity to be pretty enough, a proficient singer with reading abilities, light manners, and a penchant for not making myself the center of attention or silliness. Mrs. Miller was tough and the more she tried to talk of eligibility the more I sunk into the practices of activities so that I may avoid at some of her talk of my conduct and the dreaded thoughts of a future husband for me.
After spending a whole of eight months without seeing another single soul and daily lessons of corrections from Mrs. Miller we were finally to go to London for the season. The London season lasted from the beginning of January to the start of spring where the families would then go back to their country homes or to Bath for a retreat. Mother listened to everything silently and without much input on anything leaving the decisions to everyone else. Most days mother sat in one attitude for so long looking so woebegone that it gave me the notion our family was happier in poverty.
As for Mr. Howard and Joseph, I never heard of them again, I was instructed to never think on anything previous to do with my poor life. It looked for the best since I would see if I looked in the past was this; heartbreak, sin, death, deceitfulness and things that went bump in the night. Though our frightfully big country house had less than tasteful evenings when everything was quiet and asleep it was so still any noise raised my hairs. But when the sun came up on the horizon until sun down it was a beautiful palace filled with people out and about moving along with their country lives.
We arrived in London in the beginning of the cold January in our carriage passing through the slums where mother thought our family would always belong to. In a fine London bedchamber the lady's maid, Edna, who had been recommended by Adelia was accepted because I told mama of her discretion when I attempted to be a lady's maid. Edna was from Bridgeston, though we never talked about anything to do with the town, or Stanley Hall, I wondered if she ever knew I was one of the maids there. Yet she daily exercised a respectful expression and helped me out of the dress and into my night gown like any other normal lady but I did not feel entirely like one yet.
