Lucy offered. “I will work with her before I leave, if you like. Or I can suggest one of the housemaids who I have found to be very able.”
“I do not think Flossy would take well to being instructed by you. Perhaps the housemaid would be a better choice.”
George looked at Lucy and smiled. They would be going to London.
Chapter 8
George was overseeing one of the footmen loading and securing his paintings in the cargo section and inside the carriage. He made sure each painting was well wrapped and safe from possible damage.
Lucy came to the carriage with her valise, accompanied by Betsy. She would travel light because she did not have a great deal to take with her. She had thought she might want to shop for some new clothes, but she was reluctant to ask her Grace for any spending money, as she felt lucky just to be allowed to go to London. She would have to make do for the foreseeable future with what she already had. Up until now all of her clothes came as hand-me-downs from the sisters, and she had not complained.
Lucy laughed as she asked, “Is there going to be room in the carriage for us? You do have a lot of paintings.”
“Brother, why do you never let us see your work?” Betsy asked George.
“I did not think any of you were interested. Not a single one of the family, other than Father and Mother, has ever come to visit the studio. And they only came to scold me for what they considered to be me wasting my time.”
Betsy led Lucy aside and, reaching into her pocket, pulled out several pound notes and a list. “Lucy, when you are in London would you please go to a nice bookshop and buy me some of these books, please? Mother is very stingy and rather strict when it comes to what she will allow me to read.”
“Of course, if I am able. I have no knowledge of London or where any of the shops are.”
“Aunt Hester will be able to direct you.”
“Then, certainly I shall.”
Betsy then reached into her pocket and pulled out another pound note and handing it to Lucy whispered, “And this is for you. Please buy something nice for yourself.”
Lucy teared up at the kind gesture. “Oh, Betsy, that is so very sweet of you. Thank you.”
“Very good, my man,” George said to the footman as he slipped him a tip for his help. He turned to Lucy and Betsy. “Are you ready to leave?”
“I am,” Lucy said as George took her hand and helped her into the carriage.
Lucy waved to Betsy as the driver called to the horses to start up, and they began moving down the driveway.
It would take them several days to make the trip to London. For Lucy, one of the surprising pleasures was to be able to have a room of her own. For all the years she had been at Grayson Manor she had always shared a room with one of the kitchen maids. And certainly, as a child, with brothers and sisters in a two-room house, she had never been alone. Now, at the first hotel they stayed in on their trip, Lucy had her own room. It was a luxury that George could not imagine because he had at Grayson Manor, not only his own room but his own suite of rooms. He was tickled that Lucy took so much pleasure in, what for him, was an ordinary fact of his everyday existence.
* * *
Lucy and George had chatted endlessly the first day of the journey—she asking endless questions about London—and he excitedly talking about his hope for a positive reception from the gallery owner.
But on the second day, both were more subdued. Riding in a carriage all day was exhausting, even with occasional stops to water the horses and to get out of the carriage and stretch their legs.
Lucy had tried reading, but the motion of the carriage was jarring, and she found it difficult to concentrate—or, for that matter, to even focus steadily on a page. She put her book away, rested her head back against the seat, and occasionally drifted off to sleep.
When they were on the outskirts of London, Lucy perked up and became fascinated with the sights of the city passing by outside the carriage. Never before had she seen so much humanity in one place, not to mention the squalor. Certainly, all of London could not be like this?
“You look troubled, Lucy,” George spoke up.
“I do not like London, at all. Look at all the filth, poverty, and unhappy faces.”
George chuckled. “Not all of London is like this. You are only seeing the outskirts where the workers live. Once we get into the heart of the city, you shall see its many splendors.”
This troubled Lucy even more. The thought that there was one kind of life for the very wealthy and another for the working poor disturbed her. But then she remembered her own family and how they had lived compared to the way the Graysons lived. It was much the same as in London only on a much smaller scale. At least, in the country, the tenant farmers could grow their own food, glean the harvested fields, and forage for wild edible plants.
Soon, however, the tenements were left behind, and the busy and attractive heart of London came into view. That dazzled Lucy as she ogled the many fine houses, shops, government buildings, and monuments.
Finally, the carriage pulled up in front of a fine Georgian house on a quiet side street in Mayfair. Aunt Hester’s butler appeared at the carriage door and assisted Lucy and George from the carriage.
