Charlotte's First Day in London

Charlotte stretched her body as she began to wake in her new, unfamiliar surroundings. She brought her fists to her eyes and rubbed her eyelids in spite of her nanny's insistence that this was terrible for her eyes. Old habits die hard as they say.

She continued to yawn and slowly open her eyes to take in the sumptuous bedding that had been so comfortable cocooning her the night before. It was just the perfect weight, heavy enough to cocoon her and make her feel perfectly safe and snug.

She let her gaze wander further to the furnishings and the like beyond her bed. It was the most elegant room she'd ever been in and she could not believe it was all hers. The draperies were clearly made from a very fine brocade, every little corner of the room was decorated with a refined eye.

Not long after Charlotte took in her surroundings, Evelyn appeared and began to throw open the curtains, letting in the light from what appeared to be a beautifully clear, but crisp day. The sky was robin's egg blue and it made Charlotte inordinately happy.

Charlotte waited a moment while the fire was stoked, warming the room, and then she crawled out from beneath the comfort of her little cocoon. Her toes hit the cool floor but it didn't matter, the blaze in her fireplace was perfectly warming the room.

"What would you like to do today, ma'am," Evelyn asked Charlotte with a smile.

"Well, it's a perfect day to be out of doors so we might as well visit the dressmaker and perhaps the miliner if we've the time," she replied excitedly, "and I'd like to buy you a new dress as well Evelyn. To thank you for everything you've down for me over these years and for being the best maid and friend a girl could imagine."

"I couldn't possibly accept," Evelyn replied.

"You can and you will, your dress is perfectly suitable for the country but when we go for walks and such, I'm sure you'd like something a bit more in the current fashions--which of course, we'll both have to find out about when we find the right dressmaker," Charlotte said.

Charlotte continued, "Besides, it's no fun all by myself, I have enough to share and I want to share it with you, no arguments, I insist."

With that, Evelyn rushed to Charlotte with a tear in her eye. She'd never heard of a ladies maid being taken shopping at some of the most elegant dress shops in London, and she was about to have a new, stylish dress. She was over the moon with excitement.

"Of course we'll also need to see about a fine new bonnet for you and some new gloves as well," Charlotte continued to murmer.

Evelyn was beside herself with joy. Charlotte had always been a lovely and kind employer but they'd never had the opportunity to do anything like this.

Charlotte asked Evelyn to convey the message to the grooms, footmen and drivers that they would need the carriage readied for their shopping trip. When she returned, Evelyn set to helping Charlotte dress and fixing the buttons that she couldn't reach. She also styled her hair in a lovely updo with a few loose tendrils, which was just how Charlotte always liked it. Charlotte told Evelyn to get herself ready and meet her in the foyer in 15 minutes.

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Their shopping trip was a fantastic adventure. The pair laughed a riot in the carriage after each stop. They found suitable dresses for both of them, Charlotte had insisted on purchasing two that Evelyn couldn't decide between. Their mirth was due to the clearly false French accent that was being used by one of the top modistes in London. It was atrocious and the pair wondered aloud how anyone could believe the older woman was French. At least she was an excellent seamstress with very elegant tastes.

They continued on to the miliners for new hats for both of them and new gloves after that. They stopped by the stationers for sealing wax as well so that Evelyn could write to her family. As a Countess, Charlotte had franking privileges and thus would save Evelyn the postage as she knew she'd be writing home quite often.

Finally they stopped in a bakery and sweet shop. They were both famished and they took several different amazing looking little cakes home with them. They also grabbed peppermints and a few other things one likes to have around the house.

Now, exhausted and consumed by joy and laughter, they entered the carriage where they opened each a cake and consumed them slowly.

"You savor your desserts slowly just like I do, ma'am," Evelyn said.

"Well yes, I do, but Evelyn, you shall have to stop calling me ma'am, at least when we're in private. You're far more to me than just a ladies maid, you know," Charlotte replied.

At that, Evelyn's eyes looked a bit glossy but she managed to hold back the tears.

"Yes ma'am.. err... I mean Charlotte" she replied beaming. This was the absolute best day of her entire life and she was savoring every second of it. She couldn't wait for Lady Charlotte to finally have her chance to have a season and meet a wonderful gentleman who might make her his wife. Charlotte was so deserving of happiness.

The pair continued nibbling on their cakes the entire ride home and when they arrived supper had been laid and contrary to the "rules" of the day, Charlotte asked for trays for dinner for herself and Evelyn to be delivered to her room.

Charlotte was daydreaming and realized that this had been the best day of her life.