The Timely Guests of Meadowlark Manor

Gentlemen, Gardens, & Galas

"Group hallucination?" Beatrice offered up without conviction, merely for the fun of it. "Or, maybe this is like Narnia. Maybe we died in a freak explosion and this is where we've ended up. That water heater was pretty precariously situated."

"It's none of those things." A cheerful voice spoke from the door behind the two women, and a tall, pretty, red-haired maid with a large smattering of freckles smiled warmly at them.

"Uwah-ahh!" Wound tightly as a Jack-in-the-box, Beatrice spun around to face the unexpected sound. She'd stopped breathing in that processes, but, upon seeing someone less than threatening, she took up the task again.

After an uncertain, confused pause, the maid continued, "The Baron said there'd be guests today, but I wasn't aware you'd come in overnight, or I'd have prepared a proper supper. There is some breakfast downstairs, if you'd like to follow me." Here she smiled warmly again. "The housekeeper Mrs. Cook will be able to give you more information. I'm sure you must be very confused."

"Uh - who?" Eileen was still trying to grasp the enormity of the room, the splendor of the gardens, and the fact this definitely, absolutely, positively wasn't Texas.

"Oh, forgive me!" The maid turned red with embarrassment and curtsied. "I'm Mary, I'll be your handmaid while you're here."

"Handmaid?"

"It means I'll be attending your daily needs. I can help you dress, and do your hair, and clean up your rooms - I really can do anything you need or want."

"Uhm. Sorry." Beatrice braced the fingers of one hand at her temples before fluttering them in a vague gesture through the air. "We're a bit disoriented. Whose house are we in? Baron...?"

"I'm afraid I'm not very good at the details," Mary looked down, twiddling her fingers before lighting up. "Oh! But Mrs. Cook said there should be a letter!" She quickly strode over to the side table and plucked a heavily folded piece of paper which had been laying on top. Turning to the two women she hesitated, unsure who to give it to first.

Eileen had since recovered herself and, with a small shake of her head, she trotted forward to take the letter. "I'll read it." Breaking the seal with a deft finger as Beatrice came to stand at her shoulder, she unfolded the paper and read aloud, "Dear Miss Winters and Miss Meilleur, I know this must be very disconcerting for you but I assure you that there is nothing untoward going on. As you may have guessed, you're not in your apartment and I must inform you that you are in Meryton, or at least on the very outskirts, England. It is currently 1812 and you are, according to anyone who asks, my two lovely nieces who are in line to inherit my entire fortune. (Yes, that means everything in Meadowlark Manor is yours.)" Eileen stopped, turned the paper around, upside down, and then frowned at the maid. "Is this a joke?"

"No, ma'am!" Mary assured her. "Everything is in your names. I can bring you the paperwork during your breakfast, if you like."

After exchanging a glance with Eileen, Beatrice said, "Please do." Seeing was believing, and all that.

In the meantime, their attention returned to the letter in front of them, and Eileen continued. "I have done up all the paperwork to ensure it is all quite legal. You are to be well cared for while you are here. Now, here comes the more hard-to-believe bit, if you can imagine such a thing: Elizabeth and Jane are currently residing in your apartment. Don't worry! I will keep everything up to date. You will not have to worry about bills or food going bad, nor will you have to worry about your job, Miss Meilleur. Think of it as a kind of... exchange program! You are living in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, and the Miss Bennets are living in your world." Stopping there, Eileen folded the letter and gently tapped it against her hand for a moment before going back over to the window. Once there, she stared out at the garden for a few long moments before opening the paper again.