Amelia Haylor

Meeting Mr Crewe

Meeting Mr Crewe

          Next morning at breakfast time, a letter arrived for Mrs Crewe. "It's from my husband" she said "he, Alfred and Richard are coming here this afternoon at two. I'm surprised that my husband and eldest son are coming; it's only Alfred that visits me".

          "Would you like me and Amelia to leave you alone with them when they arrive?" Mrs Stowner asked.

          "No you don't need to do that Grace" Mrs Crewe replied "besides I'm sure they would want to meet the both of you".

          Sometime after breakfast, Mrs Stowner and I were taking a walk in a small park together. "Mother I don't really fancy meeting Mrs Crewe's husband and eldest son" I said "Alfred told me that they aren't exactly nice people".

          "Well it's true that they aren't the type people you can get along with easily" Mrs Stowner said "your Father and I don't like them either. But we mustn't be rude to them Amelia". I knew Mrs Stowner was right, so I agreed to see Mr Crewe and Richard Crewe whether I liked it or not.

          Mr Crewe and his sons arrived right on time that afternoon. The maid welcomed them brought them to the lounge, where Mrs Crewe, Mrs Stowner and I were waiting.

          "It's nice seeing you and Richard again John" Mrs Crewe said. Even though she greeted her husband, she didn't exactly look that pleased to see him again. "You too Maria" Mr Crewe replied.

          Mrs Crewe introduced Mr Crewe to Mrs Stowner and me. "It's good to see you again Grace," Mr Crewe said "and I trust you and your family are doing well." "My family is fine thank you," Mrs Stowner replied "and I thank you for your concern. This is my daughter Amelia".

          When Mr Crewe met me he stared at me for a few moments as if he was studying me, then greeted me and then went back to talking to Mrs Crewe. Richard Crewe did the same thing. I felt really scared with Mr Crewe and his eldest son around. Their looks made me shudder. I wanted to get out of the lounge immediately, but I didn't want to be rude. I was glad that Alfred was here. His presence made me feel better. We sat next to each other, while Richard sat next to his father and Mrs Crewe sat next to Mrs Stowner.

          "The reason I came here Maria," said Mr Crewe "was that I've invited an old acquaintance of mine named Bert Werec and his son Henry and his daughter Mary to a dinner party I'm hosting next week. I would like you to come and meet him too. And if you are interested Mrs Stowner, you and your family may come too."

          "I'm sure we will be delighted to," Mrs Stowner said "thank you for your invite Mr Crewe".

          Just then Alfred stood up. "Please excuse me Mother," he said "but do you mind if Amelia and I talk to each other in another room?" "You and Amelia go ahead Alfred" Mrs Crewe replied.

          Alfred and I went into the kitchen to talk. "Sorry I had to drag you in here Amelia," Alfred said "it's just I hate listening to conversations like that." "It's alright Alfred I'm not so keen either" I replied. "For as long as I can remember my father would only talk to my mother, when she lived with us, about his businesses and the parties and banquets he attended," said Alfred "and now he only talks about it to my brother and me. Day after day everyday he would get an invitation from someone to something and he would go there immediately. "He expects my brother and me to do the same too". "I don't really know about the gentry," I said "but aren't you supposed to accept the invites you get?" "Yes you are actually, especially important ones," Alfred said "but we end up with so many invites I can't keep up with them all". "I can understand that," I said "besides you shouldn't really work too hard. My elder brothers Ben and Edward once worked too much and they both ended up collapsing from exhaustion. And I had to ask their wives Kelly and Anne to make sure it didn't happen again". "Oh my father wouldn't care about that," said Alfred "the truth is rising up in the gentry is the only thing he thinks about. He would do anything to rise up even if it would kill him". 

          Just then Richard Crewe came into the kitchen. "Sorry to interrupt you Alfred, but Father said it's time to go home now" he said. We exited the kitchen and said goodbye to each other. "I hope to see you at the dinner party next week Amelia" Alfred said. Alfred and his father and brother got into a cab and went home.

          "It doesn't surprise me that he only came here to ask me to meet an old friend of his," Mrs Crewe sighed "when I still lived with him I had to meet his old friends and attend parties with him all the time. Just thinking about those invites I got in the past still gives me a headache. Not to mention I hated having to meet a lot of rich women who kept on talking about beauty and education and how they showed off about themselves. I'm just sorry you had to get something like that Grace." "Ah don't worry about that Maria;" said Mrs Stowner "besides I'm sure my family will have a good time at the dinner party". "Yes," I said "besides I've never been invited to a dinner party before so I would like to go". Mrs Crewe was relieved to have such good friends like us.

          That night, before going to bed, I spoke to Mrs Stowner for a while. "Mother is rising in the gentry very important to the rich people?" I asked "because Alfred said that his father and brother only care about rising in the gentry". "Well I don't know about that Amelia," Mrs Stowner replied "but those who are rich always want to make sure that nothing embarrassing or bad happens to their family and they like following the old traditions. It's just the way people act sometimes. Don't worry about it Amelia". I couldn't understand people sometimes, whether they'd be rich or poor.