Armand’s First Letter. Amelia’s First Letter. Cathy’s First Letter.

24 May 1024, Bois-de-Bas

Amelia, my dear sister-to-be,

I am ever astonished at the speed at which new houses and shops are built here in Bois-de-Bas. When there is a need the entire community comes together in a way I have never seen in Cumbria. The community says, there shall be a house, and they come together, and lo, there is a house! The community says, this craftsman needs a shop, and they come together, and lo, there is a shop! Many hands make light work, so they say, and if all the homes and shops follow one of a few simple plans and modes of construction, still, they are snug and go up with great speed. 

But then, Bois-de-Bas has been growing ever since it was founded, and that within living memory. In the early days, having stout shelter was a matter of life and death. Jacques-la-Souris has told me stories about men and families savaged by grand-blaireaux that make me shudder!

It is not for free, of course. The couple or family for whom a house is built incurs a debt—for the lumber and other materials, in money or in kind, and for the labor by contributing one’s own when other homes must be built.

All of which is to say that the new quarters are complete for the female staff of the Two Sloops, and Eloise, Corinne, and the others have moved in, to their great delight, and the old quarters dating back to the war have been removed.

I could have moved back to L’Isle du Grand-Blaireaux as well; now that the banns are being read, no one in Bois-de-Bas would think twice about it, save that the ladies at the Hot Springs might give me a knowing smile once in a while.

To my surprise, His Napes has asked me to remain where I am for now. 

“Go on as you’ve begun, my darlin’.” he said. “Everyone knows you moved down to Bois-de-Bas when I began courting you, rather than risk careless talk, so stay the course. You had enough of sly looks and whispers in Nexinghamshire.”

“So I did,” I said. So am I still living with Armand and Amelie, though I am no longer sleeping in the bed that properly belongs to Annie and Margie. The community came, and the community saw, and lo! Armand and Amelie’s home has a new wing! The rooms are as yet unfinished, save for one, where I have a bed, a table, and a chair, in which I am now sitting and writing to you.

I was mortified, until Amelie revealed that she is increasing again, and that they would have added the new wing in any event. 

“And now we may have guests!” she said. “Those here to see Armand on business, bah! They may stay at the Two Sloops. But family, non! They must stay with us.” And she smiled at my tears and handed me her handkerchief.

So it seems that they will have room for you and your Maximilian, and for your parents; though I hope after the wedding you and Max will come to the Two Sloops for a night or two, for I should like to show you the island.

We have more guests than ever at the Sloops, now that the weather has turned, so that I am run off my feet, nearly, and I have been quite looking forward to living back on the island so that I do not to travel back and forth each day. 

But more guests means more income for the Sloops, and so things are changing in ways I had not expected. His Napes saw me rushing about today and told me to slow down. That evening, over our dram, he explained.

“All this hurry was fine for my sergeant and my good right arm; but now you are the Lady of the Two Sloops. There is much to do, I know, but it must seem effortless. I will be hiring two more girls to assist Corinne and Eloise to do the fetching and carrying so that you may always be composed and cheerful.”

“That will certainly be a help. But shouldn’t I be promoted to lieutenant rather than lady?”

“Lady outranks lieutenant,” he said with a grin. “And besides, you could never be a lieutenant. Horrible objects, lieutenants, just horrible. I should know, I was one once.”

“You still are a horrible object, Mr. Napes. That hair, and those eyes. I shall have to hide you away.”

“It is a burden I must bear,” he said, nodding. “But I carry it so well, don’t you think?”

I gave him a look, and then another look, and after a moment or two I asked, “So how does a lady’s job differ from a sergeant’s?”

“A lady is responsible for the care and feeding of her lord and captain, o’ course, darlin’! Or at least she soon will be. Beyond that, you’re still my good right arm in running the inn, the bookkeeping and so forth, but you’ll be helping me with the guests.”

“Playing hostess to your host.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, then, if I am to be the gracious Lady of the Two Sloops, rather than a shadowy figure in the wings, perhaps I need some new dresses.”

“My darlin’, you’re a beauty in anything you wear,” he said, the smooth-tongued jack-a-napes. “But yes. I’ve added a dress allowance to the budget, and I’ve arranged for Captain Grier to take you and Amelie to Mont-Havre to do some shopping.”

“I shall enjoy that, but do I really want to dress like a town mouse here at the rustic Two Sloops Inn? Mont-Havre fashions would be out of place, I think.”

“Quite right. Amelie can help you to choose, and I daresay the dressmaker here in Bois-de-Bas will do. But you need a nice gown or two to wear on special evenings.”

“And on a special day in September?”

“Oh, yes.”

“But you must also remember that though you work here at the Inn, you are now one of the leading ladies of Bois-de-Bas.”

“Is that what I am?”

“Consider the ladies you sit with at the Hot Springs.”

Oh, how my life has changed, Amelia! In Nexinghamshire, the leading ladies were the matriarchs of families that had been gentry for generations. I sit with Amelie, a shopkeeper, and Eloise, a farmer’s wife; but their husbands are undeniably the leading men in town. I had never looked at it that way—I would have said that there were no gentry in Bois-de-Bas, no leading families, but there are. It is just that the folk of Bois-de-Bas measure a person’s worth by his accomplishments rather than by his family history.

“Hmmm. You made me your sergeant because I knew how to pinch pennies. Are you sure this is for the Sloops, and not just for your own enjoyment?”

“Our enjoyment, my darlin’. Our enjoyment. Sometimes it’s worth pinching shillings rather than pence.”

So there we are: I am moving up in the world, from exile to sergeant to lady of the house. God bless you, Amelia! And God bless the lovely, welcoming, helpful folk of Bois-de-Bas!

Cathy

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Photo by Jordyn St. John on Unsplash