Of Tea...and Things

Extreme Measures

At dinner, Anastasia was quite put out not to have been wakened for the Queen's visit, never yet having had opportunity to don her Best Dress, but she was still young and who knows, perhaps she'd get a surprise visit in celebration of her wedding, one could always hope. "How was it?" beamed the florid girl, "I've only ever seen her from a distance, for all we attended her Ball last night."

"It was certainly an experience," smiled her ladyship grimly.

"So I've heard," sighed the girl, "I suppose you spent just hours talking of important secrets of state?"

"That would have been preferable," replied the lady quite truthfully, "mostly she drank tea with particular vim."

"I've heard that she does," chuckled the girl, "but then Queens are hardly reckoned as ladies."

"Neither are dowagers," countered Iris.

"Well," simpered the girl, "we all can't be so lucky."

"No," said Iris, "we certainly cannot." The rest of the meal was completed in welcome silence as Anastasia determined just how her own visit with the Queen might go and Iris calculated exactly how many hours remained until Miss Bellaire was safely married.

With no very exciting activities planned for the evening hours or visitors to amuse them, Anastasia withdrew to practice her Accomplishments, hoping to perfect them ere the wedding, for married ladies had no time for such girlish endeavors and she would like to say truthfully after the wedding that yes, indeed she had been a master of that particular fad in embroidery and could sing quite fluently in that vogue foreign tongue. Thus it was that Miss Iris was left alone for the entirety of the evening, much to be preferred to Miss Bellaire's insipid company to be sure, but she felt she ought to be doing something to solve this mystery, both for the Queen and her own odd mission, whatever it be.

Just then the bell rang, but like the proper lady she seemed, she sat, however impatiently, and waited for the servants to deal with the matter before bringing her word of this most welcome distraction from her own muddled musings. At last the butler entered and offered his lady a plain envelope with only a hideous blob of greenish purple wax in lieu of a proper seal. The man disdainfully handed the vulgar missive to his mistress, as if it was a rotting fish. She took it curiously, wondering what it might contain, for certainly it was no Society invitation, unless from a VERY inexperienced hostess. With no answers apparent on the exterior, there was but one thing to do and she delved into the contents.

"Oh dear," sighed she, scanning the epistle a second time just to make sure.

"The carriage madam?" asked the unsurprised butler. At her nod he strode away as imperious as a lion pacing in a cage.

The second best dress was good enough for day visits to anyone in town, the Best Dress sufficed for tea with the Queen, but what did one wear for an audience with the Fairy Queen? She hated to ask, but there was no other option as she rang for her maid. "The Very Best Dress, mam?" gasped the girl, as if she had asked for the Queen's head on a platter, which might be a less egregious request, come to think of it.

Sighed her mistress, "yes, Tiffy, I have no choice and we must make haste." The girl bobbed a curtsy and then hustled her ladyship into her room that she might make the best of these dire tidings. The Very Best Dress was reserved solely for state emergencies, should an Emperor arise and come to tea or a Foreign Invader take over the country, but as far as Iris could ascertain, this was much the same thing.

Tiffy was just putting the last touches on the Lady Dowager's coiffure when Anastasia came bounding in unannounced, "you have taken Extreme Measures, milady! Can I come?"