#come on— “an earl his valet & their wife”????

[triviareads]

I have to say, as far as Instagram marketing, no HR author out there is doing it like Nicola Davidson and I know because I keep using my work pity money to buy her books this holiday season.

[daphnejane]

Helloooooooo, Polin Nation! I cannot believe that S3 (part 1) will be available on our screens in just under 6 hours. I am so keyed up I could climb the walls right now. I'm also super excited to share the first part of a new story that I am writing with LadyTicklebotham!

Captivating Mr. Bridgerton

Summary: Colin Bridgerton, the esteemed butler-cum-valet of the cavalier Earl of Eastbourne, is more than a little surprised when his employer announces he will soon marry. The weary butler is in for a shock when the Earl brings home the loveliest creature he’s ever set eyes upon. What will the faithful servant do when he must choose between duty and the forbidden?

Rated M

Tags: Colin/Penelope, Penelope/OMC, butler Colin, Lady Pen, all about Polin, marriage of convenience, slow burn, Polin HEA

Snippet!

Colin paused, sure he misheard his employer. “I beg pardon, my Lord. I believe I misheard you.”  Lord Eastbourne’s arms slipped into his sky blue jacket; the earl admired his reflection in the mirror. “Come now, Mr. Bridgerton. You don’t want the rest of the staff to think you reached your position solely based on your handsome visage.”  Colin cleared his throat; even after two years of service, he still felt embarrassed when the earl commented on his appearance—even though he knew it was just a bit of fun for his employer—to see how befuddled he could make the unflappable butler.  “Apologies, my Lord. I thought you said you were getting married,” Colin said, smoothing the fabric across the shoulders on the back of the earl’s coat.  The sandy-haired gentleman gingerly ran his fingertips through the edges of his hair, fluffing it slightly in his attempt to hide his retreating hairline. “Well, then accept my apologies, because you were listening. I am getting married in two days’ time.” “Sir?”  “I was tired of listening to my mother harp on. Really, it’s been dreadful this past year having to listen to her expound upon the merits of one debutante after another—exhausting, really.” “But… you haven’t courted anyone… have you?” He laughed, his head falling back with mirth. “Christ no. Courting isn’t necessary if you find the right woman. The trick is to look not at the popular girls with full dance cards, but those standing at the perimeter of the ballroom, desperate for a glance, a smile, any scrap of attention.” He must have taken in the distress in Colin’s face because he shook his head and said, “Don’t give me that look, Bridgerton. I chose well—the daughter of a baron, intelligent, unnoticed, and desperate to leave her ridiculous family. She will make an excellent wife, and I will make a very amiable husband.” 

Continue reading on AO3!

[unfortunate-arrow]

I’d Still Dance With You

A/N: A quick little story for the prompt “wedding” for Benophie Week 2023. Set in October of 1848 and featuring mentions of my Bridgerton: Next Gen OCs.

“The last one,” Benedict Bridgerton murmured, wrapping his arms around his wife. 

Sophie sighed, leaning back into him and looked out at the ballroom. The celebration had been limited to family only, with a major ball celebrating the three Bridgerton marriages in the next season. But, even with only family, it was still crowded. Her eyes scanned the floor, landing on the corner where all four of her children were waltzing with their spouses. This event, in particular, was to celebrate William’s marriage to the lovely Miss Róisín O’Connolly.

“The last one,” she echoed.

“They look happy, don’t they?” Benedict asked. 

“Yeah. It’s strange that they’re all married now.”

“I didn’t think that Violet would ever marry, not after her proclamation earlier in the season.”

Sophie laughed, remembering the morning that their daughter had come down and proclaimed that this would be her final season and if she wasn’t married by the end of it, well she’d be a spinster. The marquess of Insley, or Jack as he preferred to be called by his Christian name, had come out of nowhere… literally. Jack had a complicated story involving a lady jilting an earl for a valet and a print shop apprentice being the heir to a marquessate and proved to be the man for Violet. “Yes, but Jack is the perfect match for our little girl,” she replied.

“That he is. They all found perfect matches. Just like I did.”

“Do you remember our wedding?”

“Like it was yesterday. Ironically, William’s wedding reminded me of ours.”

“How so? It was almost twice as long as ours.”

“Well, the ton doesn’t approve of Róisín and they didn’t approve of you, Sophie.”

“For different reasons, Benedict. And the ton aren’t exactly fond of Nell, either. Or Grace… and don’t forget that someone tried to kill Charlotte’s husband.”

“Yes. Us Bridgertons certainly know how to cause a scandal. But it was the simplicity of their wedding that reminded me of ours.” He paused for a moment. “Do you ever wish we had had a bigger, grander wedding?”

“No. It was perfect. It was you and me and something that I never believed would ever happen.”

They fell silent again, observing their children waltz. Violet’s head rested against her husband’s chest, a besotted look that only love match newlyweds had on her face. After all, Violet was a newlywed. She and Jack had married two weeks prior, with their niece, Katharine’s wedding the previous week.

Charles held his wife, Nell, close and Sophie had an inkling that she and Benedict would be gaining a second grandchild in the coming year. Their oldest grandchild, little Norman, was up in the nursery, sleeping away while his parents celebrated his uncle’s marriage. Charles and Nell had contented looks on their faces, and were in a light conversation. 

Next to them, Alexander held his wife, Emma, close. It was a different hold than Charles and Nell, a little more protective. Sophie imagined they were feeling the strain of Emma’s grandmother, Lady Ashbourne’s demands for great-grandchildren. But, she knew that Alexander and Emma could stand against the world together. After all, they had convinced Lady Ashbourne to let them marry, although Sophie suspected her mother-in-law had played a vital part in that. 

Finally, there was the happy couple they were all celebrating. William twirled Róisín around, adding an extra flair to the waltz that no one would expect from him. It made Sophie’s heart happy to see her quiet, withdrawn son with so much emotion written on his face. William could be too much like his father when it came to emotions and kept too much inside. 

“Could I have the next dance?” Benedict asked, breaking Sophie out of her musing.

“Of course you can.”

As the music swelled to a waltz (again), Sophie took her husband’s hand and let him lead her out onto the floor. 

[sofarsofastmp3]

we are so incredibly back to literacy.

the footman and i by valerie bowman (the footmen’s club #1) 

the premise of this series got me so good. the first 3 books are all about three nobleman who go undercover as servants at the same house party, all for different reasons. the earl of kendall came into his title after his older brother's untimely death and he wants to find a wife who actually wants him for himself, not his new title. he has baggage from being left for a baron while he was still a "second son." it's a really fun book! it ends kind of abruptly, but i enjoyed it- especially considering books 3 and 4 had my main interest anyways. (book 4 is a prequel about how the friend who agrees to host this house party met his wife. i have not read it)

scoundrel of my heart by lorraine heath (once upon a dukedom #1)

i didn't really care, to be quite honest with you. kathryn wants to marry a titled man so she can conditionally inherit a family cottage in the country. second son griffin stanwick is bitter that he cannot have her, but enables her to be courted by a duke shortly before his father is convicted of treason. he and his siblings go away for a bit, and kathryn is still being courted by this duke when he comes back changed by his circumstances. this all sounds great!!! and yet! i found myself totally apathetic. i'm intrigued by the other stanwick brother, who appears to have a much more interesting thing going on in book 3, but griff is just kind of boring to me. same with kathryn. fun idea, bland execution.

the duchess hunt by lorraine heath (once upon a dukedom #2)

BANGER! if you've been paying any attention (first, i love you), you may have noticed i've been feeling kind of bleh about a solid chunk of the historicals i've read for the last couple months. i think evernight and soulbound were the last ones to really make me Feel Something and that was in MAY. but now, this gorgeous thing. the duke of kingsland had women apply to be his duchess because he, of course, does not believe in love. after his first choice marries another man (hey kathryn), he entrusts his secretary with the task of choosing a new duchess. his secretary who he spends most of his time with, who he trusts above all else, who he insists take breakfast with him each morning. do you see where this is going. penelope, the aforementioned secretary, has been in love with the duke basically since she met him but above all else she does! her! job! i love these two so so so much. i spent so much of this book smiling like a FOOL. there are some complicated topics handled, particularly with penelope's past, but i think they're tackled fairly well and with care on heath's part.

duke looks like a groomsman by valerie bowman (the footmen’s club #2)

i liked this more than i thought i would, and that's the gist of my feeling on it. this is a second chance romance; both rhys and julianna think the other person jilted them, so there's a kind of irritating miscommunication element at play. i'm not anti miscommunication in a romance (it's real! it happens all the time! it's conflict!), but bowman has so much dialogue of them accusing each other of being the selfish one that it starts to feel insane how long it takes anyone to start asking questions.

the valet who loved me by valerie bowman (the footmen’s club #3) 

the end of this book made me so mad after i finished it i had to go downstairs and get a glass of water. it was by far my most anticipated book in the series, and the first 70% is so fucking good, i was LIVID. i still kind of recommend it, because it’s really fun and maybe the end won’t piss someone else off the way it did me. it just happened to do something i'd recently been complaining about, and after such a good setup the ruination of my payoff felt monstrous. i basically gave up on the series, and that's saying a LOT because book 4 is called save a horse, ride a viscount, which is the kind of silliness i crave in a histrom.

foster by claire keegan

oh i love a little book that packs a punch! in foster, a young girl is sent to live with distant relatives while her mother is pregnant with another child. it takes maybe two hours tops to read, but it pulls you in so tightly that when you're done it feels like you've been with this story for much longer. i immediately put more claire keegan on hold at the library and i'm really looking forward to reading more of her.

blue nights: a memoir by joan didion

didion's choice to reckon with her daughter's childhood and death alongside her own aging and mortality is so interesting. i can't fathom what it must be like to lose your husband and your daughter within 18 months of each other, and while as a book i prefer the year of magical thinking, i also really appreciated the explorations here. it's a bit messy, but i don't see a world where it isn't. i always recommend didion, and i'm endlessly working through her backlist.

the library of shadows by rachel moore

this is not something i'd typically read! it's a ya paranormal romance between a girl and a ghost (okay, it is definitely in theory something i would read. love a ghost.), but my sister and i are trying to read at least one book by every author attending a romance book festival. there's a spreadsheet and everything (and the spreadsheet is split into two pages to separate adult and ya authors! we mean business!). this is moore's debut and you can feel it. it's a little half baked in both the paranormal mystery and the romance. definitely a compelling premise and fun characters, though, and i enjoyed my time with it. i have her second book downloaded and i may circle back to it if i get to every author in the spreadsheet and feel ambitious enough to go back around for seconds.

homesick for another world by otessa moshfegh

first, otessa moshfegh has an incredibly bizarre hang-up with fat people. it's impossible not to notice it here. i also agreed with a friend of mine's take that some of these stories, unchanged in the hands of men, would not be nearly as well received. they aren't bad on the whole, but so many of them feel incomplete. i do like how unafraid moshfegh is of being gross and unkind, and the latter half of the collection is much better than the first. short stories can be so hit or miss, even from my very favorite writers, but the worst of this is so middling in a way i found boring? i'd rather she make a huge swing and miss than meander around average the way she does in here.

cleopatra and frankenstein by coco mellors

i keep going back and forth on this. i really liked mellors' writing, and i enjoyed most of this book, but there's something about it that pulls me back from totally raving. cleo and frank meet at a holiday party, and they're married by the next summer. the book follows the next year and some change of their relationship and some of the people in their orbit. cleo's best friend, frank's sister. i think the resolution of cleo's arc in particular still kind of rankles me. i won't go into detail, because i do think it's a book worth reading (and i'm planning on reading mellors' newest, blue sisters), but i was unsatisfied by how a good chunk of the conclusion to this novel plays out.

crazy salad and scribble scribble: some things about women and notes on media by nora ephron

so this is two essay collections from the 70s. because it’s nora ephron, so many of them are so sharp and funny (and frankly still applicable today). however. because it was the 70s, it is incredibly dated in a lot of its feminism. particularly, the last essay in crazy salad is just ephron absolutely ripping a trans woman a new one for having a “girlish” idea of womanhood. it’s not a pleasant reading experience.

boy on ice: the life and death of derek boogaard by john branch  

oh man. oh man. literally just thinking about this for too long still makes me a little misty eyed. it’s such a hard read; i finished it on a plane and just about sobbed my brains out next to some strangers. but i think it’s an important book. there are so many details i keep thinking about. how derek boogaard's dad thought his son's hands were what he had to worry about long term. how many prescriptions were written, seemingly without a thought. how young he was for some of the most brutal fights described in this book. i don't think it's immoral to appreciate the occasional hockey scrap, but i do think it's important to be confronted with this kind of visceral reckoning, the same that's found in major misconduct by jeremy allingham or any of the books that delve into other toxic aspects of the sport and its culture. especially as, nearing ten years on, bettman's stance on cte has stayed the same: outdated and willfully ignorant.

okay thanks for sticking around love you bye

[klaineccfanficlibrary]

Any other fics where one of them is a servant? But not fantasy and not slavery. I read Westerville Abbey and everything in tags servant!Kurt and servant!Blaine

Titles and Roses by shanahane

When Blaine, the second son of a Lord, comes to visit his relatives overseas, his attention and affections are quickly stolen by the valet they appoint to help him. But whatever it is that sparks between them, how could it possibly last?

~~~~~

How Things Should Be by Imogen_LeFay

Kurt Hummel's life is comfortable for a peasant with his work in the kitchen of Earl Anderson. It would be more comfortable, if he could rein in his feelings for the Earl's younger son, Blaine. But Kurt knows, life isn't a fairy tale. And lords marry ladies, they don't fall in love with kitchen servants.

~~~~~

Like the Sun in a Gloomy Hour by nothingbutgoneness

Blaine is a knight of the kingdom of Dalton. Kurt is the personal servant of Prince David Karofsky. This is the story of how they save each other. [Cover art by artistwriterloverfighter. Warning for mentions of non-con. Rated M for both violent and sexual content. Other genres include Adventure (-ish), Angst, Suspense (maybe), and Friendship.

~~~~~

When the Two Collide by skintightsocks

Kurt tries to ignore it, though he usually finds Blaine's embarrassment about these matters comforting and just a little charming. It's part of why he chose Blaine instead of an older, more experienced servant - that, and because of Kurt's hopeless affection for the boy.

~~~~~

Westerville Abbey by @hkvoyage

Blaine is the second son of the earl of Westerville, and is considered the spare heir. After his 18th birthday, he attends the London Season to fulfill his duty of finding a wife. He soon realizes he is more attracted to the new footman. Kurt, who has just arrived at Westerville Abbey to work alongside his father, becomes equally as smitten with the earl’s youngest son. Will Blaine and Kurt be able to overcome their class differences in 1910s England? Will their forbidden love survive WW1? A Downton Abbey inspired historical Klaine AU.

Happy Reading! - HKVoyage

[simshousewindsor]

DUTY WAITS FOR NO-ONE

[Highpark House, Easton 8:11 AM WST]

Queen Katherine: Good morning, Stella!

Stella: ruff, ruff

(distant music playing)

Queen Katherine: Good morning.

[House Staff]: (bows) Good morning, Your Majesty.

(uptempo music playing)

Prince Phillip: (dancing) Like this! See, Grace?

Princess Grace: (dancing)

Prince Rainier: (dancing) That’s right! Keep moving!

Queen Katherine: (laughs) I knew you three were behind this loud music at 8AM. Good morning, kids.

Prince Phillip: Morning, mom.

Princess Grace: Look at my moves, mommy!

Queen Katherine: I see!

Prince Rainier: We’re getting our morning cardio in!

Queen Katherine: Okay, Rainier, I’m off to the Palace. I have a meeting with mom and granny to discuss an urgent matter. Martin also wants to update me on some things. Don't forget we leave for Brindleton Bay tonight!

Prince Rainier: Yes, the palace sent my new Valet over earlier to show me the outfits they selected for me to wear.

Queen Katherine: Phillip? Grace? I’ll be back soon.

Prince Rainier: When is your meeting with the Prime Minister? Don't forget what we discussed. Us staying here at Highpark House, not moving to Buckingsim Palace, is very important!

Queen Katherine: I know. I won't forget. I have an audience with him on Wednesdays.

Prince Rainier: I love you, Kate. Good luck today. You know how your mother and grandmother can be. And don't be nervous. You look nervous!

(kiss)

Queen Katherine: I’m not nervous. It’s this morning sickness. I’m tired!

Prince Rainier: Yuck! I just kissed you.

Queen Katherine: (laughs) Oh, hush! I brushed my teeth. The car is here. I should go. See you in a few hours.

[House Staff]: (bows) Good morning, Your Majesty.

Queen Katherine: Good morning. Thank you!

- - - - -

[Buckingsim Palace, Buckingsimshire 8:56 AM WST]

[Palace Staff]: (bows)

Queen Katherine: Good morning.

[Palace Staff]: Good morning, Your Majesty.

Queen Katherine: Good morning.

Queen Katherine: (walking)

Queen Katherine: Good morning.

[Palace Staff]: (bows) Your Majesty.

Martin [Private Secretary]: Your Majesty.

Queen Katherine: Martin, you found me...

Martin [P.S.]: If Your Majesty has no objection, I thought we might attend to the Cabinet papers after your meeting with Their Majesties. Your schedule allows for twenty minutes with them.

Queen Katherine: (sigh)

Martin [P.S.]: Your schedule will become more manageable after things calm down, Ma’am.

Queen Katherine: Will it?

Martin [P.S.]: Yes, and once the Palace is your main residence. For today, the paperwork is of the utmost importance.

Queen Katherine: Yes. Okay.

- - - - -

[9:04 AM WST]

Queen Rowena: (sighs) It’s all just too much!

Queen Zarah: I agree. It’s not right and needs to be addressed before the funeral, especially if she’s coming! Byron, has Glimmerbrook confirmed attending?

(doors open)

Queen Zarah: Your Majesty! (curtsy's)

Queen Rowena: (curtsy's) Hello, sweetheart.

Queen Katherine: Mommy. Granny. Byron.

Queen Zarah: How are you, darling? Are you feeling okay? You look pale.

Queen Katherine: “Just first trimester morning sickness. What’s so urgent?”

Byron [Aide]: Last minute adjustments to the funeral arrangements needing your approval, Your Majesty. If you are in agreement, ma’am, with his new elevation we thought the Duke of Hastings should join the Dukes of Kent, Brindleton Bay and the Earl of Boykins.

Queen Rowena: (sighs) That would be the row behind me.

Queen Zarah: (scoffs) I’m sure he’s bringing his nosey little wife, the new Duchess of Hastings.

Byron [Aide]: We could, if Her Majesty likes, move him back a row.

Queen Katherine: (looks at seating chart)

Queen Katherine: (points) What about there?

Byron [Aide]: Oh! That’s perfect, Your Majesty.

Queen Katherine: Yes. Okay. What else? I have about ten more minutes.

- - - - -

[9:42 AM WST]

Martin [P.S.]: The cypher will be changed next week, ma’am.

Queen Katherine: (sighs) I was really hoping all of this would wait.

Martin [P.S.]: I understand, ma’am. With you leaving for Brindleton Bay tonight, and funeral rehearsals consuming your schedule when you return, it’s imperative we review the box now. As sovereign, you must stay current on all matters of government.

Queen Katherine: Shall we?

Martin [P.S.]: “Here’s the key, Your Majesty.”

Queen Katherine: (opens box)

Martin [P.S.]: The top sheet is simply a summary of all the contents in the box. In this case, a four power conference first. The second page contains more details.

Queen Katherine: So, we start with this one?

Martin [P.S.]: Yes, Your Majesty.

Previous | Beginning | Next

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to Royal Households and How they Work

When I say Households, I mean the entourage that follows around the royal family. The household went everywhere with them to care for their needs from the people who would empty their chamber pots to their noble companions. Most royal households are basically the same as noble ones, only on grander scale. Every royal had a household and an entourage as well as every noble at court.

Palace Personnel ~ The Commons

The commons were an intregal part of every household. They made up perhaps 80% of the work force. Royal courts were often on the road and never spent more than a few months at every palace. The court was constantly moving. Some positions were not permanent, meaning certain servants did not travel with the court because they were employed at the palace only. They would be paid by the Monarch's paymaster.

Scullion: The scullion was a relatively easy position to fill so they were often changed as the court went from palace to palace. They would be responsible for scrubbing and cleaning the servants quarters and the kitchens. They would scrub floors with lye, scour pots with sand, sweep put the fireplace and clean up after the other servants. They were the first to rise in a castle and tasked to light all the fires in the kitchens. Scullions would just be employed to the palace and serve a multitude of chambers

Laundress: The laundress was responsible for the cleaning of anything made of fabric in the household. Since they are handling unmentionables, they knew what happened behind closed bedchamber doors. They knew when the King visited the Queen or hadn't, they knew when marriages were consummated or not and they knew when the Queen and royal women were not pregnant. They often sold secrets to pad their pockets. Laundresses might be permanent staff but sometimes not.

Minstrels: The minstrel was a commoner hired to play an instrument or sing for the entertainment of the royal. A royal might staff a few at a time but they would always have one on hand. The minstrel would likely come with their masters as they travelled. The minstrel might serve the main royal household but a royal might retain their own.

Cook: The cook was one of the most important servants in the household. They would have the task of overseeing the running of the kitchens and keeping supplies in order. They would likely be on call at all times. Henry VIII's cook was often woken in the night because his royal master wanted a midnight snack. The cook was a valued member of the household and would have been highly sought after if they were a very skilled cook. They would have travelled with the joint. Cooks were apart of the greater royal household but often royals retained private cooks for their own use.

Maidservant: The maidservant cleans the castle. She would sweep the floors, scrub them, empty the chamberpots, get rid of the ashes from the fire and ready the fire for later. She would make up the bed or strip it for the laundresses. She would wash anything that needed washing including furniture and ornaments. She was likely not a travelling servant and would be strictly employed at a single palace.

Jester: The jester was the hired entertainer. Working under the master of revels, the jester had the daunting task of making the monarch and their family laugh. They would tell jokes, tell stories, cause havoc in the court for laughs and lighten the mood. The most successful jester of all time was Will Somers, jester to Henry VIII. Will broke bad news to the infamously bad tempered monarch and got away with things that would have sent others to the block. Will survived most of Henry's reign, his head intact. Jesters would be apart of the main household though each royal might have one of their own.

Positions within the Royal Household ~ Noble

Nobility were always welcomed at court. They eat at court, slept at court and were cared for by the monarch. Some nobles had to sing for their supper and most were hired as royal servants. They weren't exactly scrubbing floors and would be paid handsomely with land that would generate wealth for them

The Steward/Seneschal: This person was the head of the royal's staff. They would have the task of running the lands and servants their master or mistress. The steward served as a backup and assistant in all the tasks even representing their master or mistress when they were unavailable. Would be a high ranking noble. Each royal household would have them.

Treasurer of the Household: The treasurer was the accountant and pay master. They would be in charge of ensuring debts were settled, wages were paid and the household was running within the budget. This was a coveted position because it gave the treasurer insight into the financial situations of the royals. Such info was wroth its weight in gold. Each royal would have one.

Usher: The Gentleman Usher would be in charge of escorting guests into the royal chambers and into the royal presence. They would act as a go between their royal master/mistress and the guest often going back and forth with messages. It was just as coveted as the position of chamberlain but with less responsibilities.

Master of Horse: The Master of Horse was in charge of seeing to the horses of their master. They would oversee the grooms or the stableboy/hands who were employed at the stables to actually care for the horses. The master of horse would ensure that the stables were in order and the horses were up to parr in order to bear royalty across the kingdom. Each royal would have one but there would a main one who acted as overseer.

Master of the Wardrobe/Mistress of the Robes: These are the nobility who are employed to look after the clothes of the royal they serve. This would mainly involve a managerial position, overseeing the inventory of the royal wardrobe (a warehouse like building that housed the clothing) and placing orders for new clothes. It was a tidy job that rarely involved getting the hands dirty. Each royal would have one.

Chamberlain/Valet: The chamberlain is employed to look after the Lord's bedchamber. This was the most sought out position as they effectively were the gateway into the royal presence. Their main task was making sure their boss was comfortable and happy. Could be a well born commoner or a noble. Each royal would have one.

The Page: All royal households had pages. They would be a young noble boy about seven years old sent to their royal master. He would be in charge of tidying up after the lord, carrying messages to other servants and occupants of the castle and serving him at meals. Unlike others on the list, the page would not be paid. His experience was his payment as he would learn the running of a court and how to be courtier. Each royal would have one.

Squires: Squires were like pages though they only served the men. They would accompany their royal master to battle, look after his armour and mail, ensure that his lord's horse was saddled, caring for their master's weapons. The squire would always be a young nobleman on the cusp of becoming a knight.

Governess: The governess is a noblewoman woman employed to oversee the Monarch's children's household. She would be the first teacher a royal child would have and would oversee the nursemaids who would have care of the physical person of the child. She would be appointed when the child was four or five. Notable governesses include Katherine Swynford (wife of John of Gaunt and mother to the Beaufort line), Margaret Pole (wife of Tudor Loyal Sir Richard Pole, sister of the last York heir Edward of Warwick, daughter of George Duke of Clarence and niece to King Edward VI and Richard III), Kat Ashley, Margaret Bryan, Madame de Maintenon and Baroness Lehzen. Most unmarried Princesses retained their governesses while Princes generally outgrew their governesses after they were breeched.

Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber: They were the male companions of a King or Prince, sort of like ladies in waiting but manly. They would accompany the King or Prince everywhere they would go and shared duties with Groom of the Stool (royal toilet paper dispenser) and the Chief Gentleman of the Chamber (overseeing the staff and maintaining the chamber). They would help their master get ready, serve him at the table and organize hunting and games to keep him entertained. Gentlemen and companions where often chosen for their connections as well as their master's own opinion. Henry VIII's gentlemen included: Sir William Compton (ward of Henry VII and heir to rich lands), Sir Henry Norris (the grandson of William Norris who fought with Henry's father at Stroke and a relation to the Yorkists Lovells), Sir Anthony Denny (son of Sir Edmund Denny Baron of the Exchequer) Sir Michael Stanhope (brother in law to Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset), Charles Brandon (ward of Henry VII and son of Tudor Loyalists)

Ladies in Waiting and Maids in Waiting or Maids of Honour: These are the female attendants to the Queen or Princess. Ladies in Waiting were married while the Maids were unmarried. They would have to attend their mistress wherever she went, help her get ready, keep her chambers in order, write letters for the Queen and maintaining her honour. They were chosen for their connections. Using Katherine of Aragon as an example, her Ladies in Waiting included: Maria de Salinas (daughter of Juan Sancriz de Salinas secretary to Isabella, Princess of Portugal and a Spanish courtier in the service to Katherine's parents, wife of Baron Willoughby de Ersby), Elizabeth Howard (the daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, sister to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and wife to Thomas Boleyn, ambassador to France), Anne Hastings (daughter of William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, wife to George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury and Lord Steward.), Agnes Tilney (wife to Thomas Howard, Earl of and 2nd Duke of Norfolk.), Elizabeth Scrope (wife of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, a loyal Tudor lord), Margaret Scrope (wife of Sir Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk cousin to the King), Anne Stafford (sister of the Duke of Buckingham, married Sir George Hastings, Earl of Huntington and daughter of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (cousin to the King) and Lady Katherine Woodville (sister of King Henry VIII's grandmother and his great aunt by her marriage), Elizabeth Stafford (sister to Anne Stafford wife Robert Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter and Earl of Sussex around). Their connections are what got them their places and you can see why they were chosen.

Accommodation

Accommodation can be a difficult thing to sort both as a writer and a steward. You might have a palace of 200+ bedchambers in which you must house a staff of 500-/+, a varying amount of nobles, the royal family (of a varying amount) and their own households. When assigning rooms it is best to think of a Russian nesting doll. Start from the inside and work your way to the outside.

The best rooms go to the monarch, their consort and their children/siblings/parent(s). These chambers would include the bedroom, a drawing room/ common area, a privy, a closet (a small chamber that can be used for prayer or work). They would be furnished with the best cloth, the best candles and whatever furniture brought by the resident since most royal courts travelled from palace to palace. They will also have chambers for their personal servants such as ladies in waiting and grooms.

The second best set of rooms would go to the highest ranking nobles/people in the court. These rooms would be less fancy and a little smaller. These would be given to from titled nobility descending from those of Ducal rank (Dukes/Duchesses) or even members of the council such as Thomas Cromwell in Tudor times.

The next set would be considerably smaller, perhaps minus a closet or a drawing room. Given to lower nobility.

The next level of chambers would be smaller perhaps only the bedroom and a common area given to minor nobles.

The last set of rooms would be small and only hold enough room for a bedroom. Servants would have to sleep on the ground on pallets beside their masters.

Any other guests at court would have to stay at off-site locations around the palace in the city. Some nobles at houses around major palaces just in case they arrived late or were kicked out of court.

[fielran]

A (not so) Brief Guide to Titles and Prefixes on Downton Abbey

Married vs Unmarried Women

All downstairs characters should be either Miss or Mrs. The prefix Ms. did not come into common use until the late 1960s and so is anachronistic -- it is not a shortened version of Miss, but rather a marital-status neutral alternative to the other prefixes in use.

"Miss" denotes an unmarried character, regardless of age.

"Mrs" or "Misses" denotes a married or widowed character, or rarely, an upper female servant. Remember the exchange from S1--

Joe Burns: I notice you call yourself Misses.

Mrs Hughes: Housekeepers and cooks are always Misses. You know better than anyone I haven't changed my name.

Joe Burns: Well, I know you wouldn't change it to Burns when you had the chance.

Miss or Mrs are also used for any middle or upper class characters who do not have titles, including courtesy titles.

Use of Prefixes for Servants

The lower servants, including maids and footmen, are referred to by first name only, both by upstairs and downstairs characters.

Lady's maids, valets, and male upper servants are referred to by prefix and last name by downstairs characters, but by only last name by upstairs characters. For example, Mrs. Hughes says "Miss O'Brien" but Cora and Robert say only "O'Brien". Female upper servants get the prefix from everyone, even Lord Grantham:

Mrs Patmore: I promise you, milord, if I could just be allowed a bit more time--

Robert, Earl of Grantham: Mrs Patmore, I've not asked you here to give you your notice.

For example, Thomas Barrow starts as a footman, and everyone calls him Thomas. During the war, he is Corporal or Sergeant Barrow, then he is called Thomas again after, as a footman. When he becomes Robert's valet, he is Mr Barrow downstairs, or Barrow upstairs, and remains that way throughout his remaining promotions. He is also called Mr Barrow by the children. It may be this is a peculiarity, or the children may be expected to refer to unrelated adults using their title.

Anna is a bit of a strange case - she properly ought to be Mrs. Bates downstairs and Bates upstairs after she becomes a lady's maid, but perhaps to avoid confusion with her husband who is also Bates upstairs, the change never happens.

Phyllis Baxter is Baxter upstairs, Miss Baxter downstairs. If Mrs Hughes retires and Phyllis takes her place, she would be Mrs. Baxter. If she actually gets around to marrying Molesley at some point, with no promotion, she would be Mrs Molesley downstairs, Molesley upstairs.

Tom Branson as chauffeur is called Branson by both upstairs and downstairs characters - at least those who are not in a relationship with him. After his marriage to Lady Sybil, he is called Mr Branson by those outside the family.

Daisy is called by only her first name as a scullery and kitchen maid. There are no other undercooks to compare, so I am unsure whether she ought to be Mrs Mason. If Mrs Patmore retires and she becomes the cook, she should become Mrs Mason (or Mrs Parker, if she actually gets around to marrying Andy by then).

Titles for Nobility

There are 2 main types of titles used by the 'nobility': Substantive titles, and courtesy titles.

Substantive titles are for those who hold titles in their own right. This includes hereditary peers, like Lord Grantham, as well as life peers. The title holders have seats in the House of Lords.

Courtesy titles are for those connected to title holders - wives and widows, children, and other male-line heirs. Wives and widows hold legal, though not substantive, titles. Children of title holders are considered socially as nobility; however, legally speaking they are commoners and can be elected to the house of commons.

Lord Grantham is the only member of the Crawley family with a substantive title during the time of the series. All the others use courtesy titles. As the wife and widow of title holders, Cora and Violet are Lady [title], in this case Lady Grantham.

Legitimate daughters of a hereditary Marquess, Duke, or Earl or his direct male-line heirs are Lady [first name]: Lady Sybil, etc. They retain this styling if they marry someone without a title. In Pride and Prejudice, Darcy's aunt Lady Catherine, daughter of an Earl, had been married to Sir Lewis de Bourgh, who held only a knighthood and no title, so she remained Lady Catherine. Violet Crawley married Robert's father, the Earl of Grantham, and so her married title of Lady Grantham took precedence over any title she used previously, even if her father had higher precedence.

This courtesy title does not carry on to their children. Sybbie Branson cannot claim her mother's courtesy title, and her father Tom Branson has no title of his own, so she will be Miss, not Lady. Under formal etiquette, she and any future siblings would be styled like the Bennets - Miss Branson for an adult Sybil, as the eldest unmarried daughter, Miss [first name] for any additional unmarried daughters. However, they would not necessarily follow such protocol unless they are active socially in the upper class - if Mr Branson marries Lucy and she inherits, for example. The middle and lower class, especially more radical members thereof, did not hold closely to this tradition by the time Sybbie would be an adult.

The eldest son and heir of the hereditary holder of a title in the top 3 ranks - duke, marquess, or earl - can use one of the title holder's subsidiary titles as a courtesy title. We don't know if Grantham has a subsidiary title, because nobody alive during the show is entitled to use it. If there is one, Robert would have used it prior to his father's death; however, James was not Robert's son and therefore could not use the title, nor could Patrick or Matthew. George, although he is Robert's grandson and heir, cannot use the title because he is inheriting through Matthew rather than Robert.

The younger sons of Dukes and Marquesses are given the courtesy title Lord [first name]. The younger sons of Earls without subsidiary titles, as well as all sons of other nobles, are styled The Honourable [first name] [last name], as: "The Honourable Evelyn Napier, son and heir to Viscount Branksome." Tim Grey is also "The Honourable", although he will not inherit if Larry has any legitimate sons.

Adopted children were not entitled to a courtesy title at the time Downton Abbey takes place, so there will be no title for Marigold even if Bertie adopts her or Edith acknowledges her.

Young Children

Young children of higher standing than the speaker should be referred to as Master or Miss, regardless of actual titles. So in Downton's nursery we have Master George, Miss Sybbie, Miss Caroline, and Johnny.

So What Does That All Mean for Whoever I'm Writing About?

Robert would have been Master Robert as a child, Viscount Something - the wiki says Viscount Downton - as a young man, prior to his father's death, and of course is Lord Grantham in the time of the show. Had he had a son while his father was still living, that son may have used another subsidiary title, if one exists, or have been styled "The Honourable". Any brothers Robert had would also be styled "The Honourable".

Cora would have been Miss Levinson prior to her marriage, Viscountess Something after, then finally Duchess of Grantham. She may one day become the Dowager Duchess of Grantham.

Mary would remain Lady Mary after both marriages, as neither Matthew or Henry has a title. However, had Matthew lived to become Earl of Grantham, she would have become Countess of Grantham at that time. Carson may have called her Miss Mary as a child.

Sybil Crawley would remain Lady Sybil, though she would use Branson's last name.

Edith would change from Lady Edith to the Marchioness of Hexam on her marriage. Her illegitimate daughter Marigold would have no title, even if adopted by Lord Hexam. Her firstborn son would use a subsidiary title, and younger sons would be called Lord [first name]. The firstborn son of her firstborn son would also likely have a subsidiary title. Additional daughters would be Lady [first name].

Bertie went from an untitled Mr Pelham to the Marquess of Hexam. His mother did not gain a title and is called Mrs Pelham.

Sybbie Branson is Miss Sybbie now, and will be Miss Branson. She will not have a title unless she marries into one.

George Crawley is Master George now, and will be Mr Crawley until he inherits the title Earl of Grantham. He is not Viscount Downton.

Marigold is Miss Marigold, and will be Miss whatever-last-name-they-decide-to-use. I don't know what that is, and there isn't one listed on the wiki. Miss Pelham if Bertie adopts her.

Caroline is Miss Caroline, and will be Miss Talbot.

Evelyn Napier is The Horourable Evelyn Napier. He is addressed directly as Mr Napier. After his father's death, he will be Viscount Branksome.

Anthony Foyle is Viscount Gillingham. Prior to his father's death, he was an Honourable.

Larry and Amelia Grey are styled The Honorable Mr and Mrs Larry Grey. They will be Baron and Baroness Merton on his father's death.

Let me know if there are any other characters you aren’t sure of, and I’ll try to add them.

[wearfinethingsalltoowell]

Downton AU Snippet #1

Set in the opening scene of 3.05, Richard’s been Matthew’s valet since abt 3.03

Returning to his dressing room after his sister-in-law’s false labor pains, Matthew Crawley felt a twinge of guilt at seeing his valet still awake.

“It’s nearly two in the morning, Richard. Have we kept all the servants from their rest this evening?” Matthew asked, trying to keep his tone light but unable to hide his genuine concern for the staff’s welfare.

“It was no trouble at all, sir,” Richard responded, conveniently not answering Matthew’s question, “Is everything all right with Lady Sybil?”

“Clarkson says everything is as it should be, and given that I have no experience on the topic, I am going to trust his judgement.”

“In your defense, sir, most men our age have no experience in this particular field.”

“You can say that again. I’m nearing my twenty-eighth year on Earth and I’ve never been around a pregnant woman!”

“A natural consequence of being your mother’s only child, sir. And you should count yourself lucky. When I was younger, I overheard the rather unpleasant experience of a friend of my sister. Believe me when I tell you it’s all I needed to know about the subject.”

“Oh? What happened to her?”

“Her parents were so concerned about her that they shelled out thousands for a huge London doctor to come and treat her. I think he even had a practice on Harley Street. It was all the neighborhood could talk about for weeks. But, during the birth, I guess he missed the symptoms of some disease or other, and she died.” Richard explained, forcing away the growing feeling that he had said too much.

“That’s horrible,” Matthew said, attempting to console his friend, “did you know her well?”

“Not very, though she had been very close with my sister,” Richard said.

“Still, quite tragic, especially for a young woman. Do you remember who the doctor was?” Matthew asked, not knowing what had prompted this sudden curiosity about such a small detail of Richard’s story, but nearly being swallowed by the feeling that it was of paramount importance that he know.

“I could never forget it,” Richard said with a chuckle, “The village was so furious with him, I thought they’d form a mob and storm his practice with pitchforks. It was a Dr. Tapsell.”

Matthew’s blood ran cold, and suddenly he could hear his heart beat speed up.

“Good God,” he breathed, “you don’t mean Phillip Tapsell, do you?” he asked, praying he was wrong in his assumption.

“Yes, sir, it was him. What’s wrong?” Richard questioned when he saw the horrified look on Matthew’s face.

“That’s the doctor Robert has hired for Sybil. I have to tell him right away!”

“I shouldn’t have mentioned it,” Richard said quickly, trying to take back his words, “I wouldn’t want to cause His Lordship any undue stress before his first grandchild’s birth. I’m sure he’s a fine doctor who just made a mistake.”

“Trust me, Richard, if something happens to Sybil, and Cora, my wife, or, god forbid, the Dowager, finds out I knew this information and withheld it, then my war injury will no longer be the most painful thing that’s ever happened to me. I have to tell Robert as soon as I can.”

“If you think it would help, sir.”

“I do, immensely. And I owe you a debt of gratitude for the warning, God only knows what might have happened otherwise. Goodnight.” Matthew said, retreating to his bedroom.

______________________

“You were in your dressing room so long, I was beginning to worry.” Mary said when her husband finally appeared in their bedchamber.

“So sorry, darling, but I promise it was for good reason. I was having the most enlightening chat with Richard.”

“I’m glad to see you and your new valet get on so well. Molesley was nice, but I sometimes wondered if he’d ever interacted with another human before.”

Nodding in agreement at his wife’s comment, Matthew began to recount Richard’s story for her.

When he’d finished, she looked nearly as panicked as he had when he’d heard it.

“And this is the doctor Papa has hired to treat Sibyl?” Mary nearly screamed.

When Matthew shook his head “yes”, she took it as permission to continue spiraling into fear for her sister.

“We have to tell him, and the earliest possible opprotunity!”

Putting his hand through his wife’s hair in a calming gesture, Matthew tried to soothe her worries while panicking himself.

“Darling, I couldn’t agree more. We’ll find Robert tomorrow morning, as soon as he wakes up. Don’t worry, I’m certain the second he hears what Richard told me, he won’t let Tapsell near Sybil. I’m certain Clarkson won’t mind stepping in at the last minute.”

Her worries not quite gone, but recognizing there was nothing she could do until morning, Mary fell into a restless sleep.

————————————-

Meanwhile, in the servants hall, Richard was replaying his conversation with Matthew in his head when His Lordship’s valet walked in.

“Mr. Barrow,” Richard greeted the man whom he’d taken to calling “Thomas” in his head. Her Ladyship’s maid had pulled him aside his first week on the job, and told him that, as one of the longest serving staff members, getting into Thomas’ good graces would help him advance at the Abbey. Richard hadn’t needed to be told twice, and he was glad that he’d taken her advice. Thomas was now his closest friend at Downton (and if he spent a good chunk of time gauging if more than that was possible, that was his own business).

“Mr. Ellis,” Thomas greeted in return, “how are you?”

“I might have just gotten myself in a bit of trouble with His Lordship.”

“You? What could you have said to get yourself into trouble?”

“I was chatting with Mr. Crawley earlier, and I ended up telling him about a friend of my sister’s, who passed in childbirth. It turned out the doctor who failed her is the same one His Lordship hired to treat Lady Sibyl.”

When Thomas burst out laughing, Richard’s concerned expression turned confused.

“What is amusing about that?”

“I’m sorry,” Thomas said, catching his breath, “It’s just that, His Lordship forgave me for literally stealing from him numerous times, is currently fighting to overturn his valet’s conviction for murder, and his wife has a maid who would be more at home as one of Notre Dame’s gargoyles. I truly doubt that his son-in-law’s valet warning him about a potential threat to the life of his beloved youngest daughter is gonna be the straw that breaks his back.”

Realizing from Thomas’ words that he was being a tad ridiculous, Richard sighed.

“I just didn’t want him to stress out unnecessarily”

“I promise, when Mr. Crawley tells him your story, he’ll be grateful to you.”

————————————

The following morning, both Matthew and Thomas’ predictions from the previous night came true.

Mary and Matthew had corned Robert the second they saw him, and told him everything. Robert cursed, made them promise not to tell his mother, and cancelled Sir Phillip’s services immediately, and asked Cora to telephone Clarkson, which she happily did.

And, that afternoon, Richard jumped to his feet when the Earl of Grantham himself appeared in the servants hall.

“Your Lordship,” he greeted.

“Ellis, I wanted to come down and personally offer my thanks. Your conversation with Matthew yesterday evening may have saved my daughter a traumatic experience, and I am very grateful.”

“Thank you, Your Lordship. I’m glad I was able to help.”

______________

This is my first attempt at any type of fic since my ancient Wattpad account, and it is probably very bad, but I hope it was at least cute. Possibly more snippets from this au coming if anyone likes it

[yetanotheremptypage]

can we get 82. pleaseeee thanks

Apologies for the delay!

no escaping your love #71: fuss (Read 1-70 here.)

“Will we see you at the Wentworths’ ball tonight?” the Earl of Norwich asked Anthony as they exited Parliament that day.

“I don’t believe so,” Anthony replied, palming his pocket watch in his pocket and wondering how long he had to avoid home in order to not run into Kate before she departed for said ball.

“Oh?” Simon said, shooting him a rather odd look.

“I have much work to do,” he said shortly. He nodded to the men and approached his carriage, blissfully far down the line. That meant it would take longer to get home, and he would not have to wait as long. Perhaps it would not be the worst thing to see Kate briefly before she left…

“I’m surprised to hear you’re not going tonight,” Simon called and Anthony turned, not enjoying the smirk on his brother-in-law’s face. “After all, I have it on rather good authority one Mr. Dorset shall be there this evening.”

Anthony froze with one foot poised to step up into the carriage. He turned to Simon.

“Dorset is attending the Wentworth ball?”

“So I’ve heard,” Simon said with a smirk.

Anthony turned to his footman. “I will give you a bonus for the month if you can have us out of here in the next five minutes.”

They made it home after Kate had already departed and he practically growled for his valet. As this was perhaps the fourth such insistence on Anthony’s part that he would not be accompanying Kate out that evening, only to return home and fuss his servants into getting him out the door, they were prepared for him this time.

He found Kate based on her laugh, floating to him from across the ballroom, and stalked right over to her and the man she was speaking to, a man he knew without even studying him was to be Dorset.

“There you are,” he said, smiling as he stepped in next to her, his body much closer to hers than was perhaps appropriate. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Anthony!” she said, her own smile morphing from one of polite interest to that which he only ever saw her sport in his presence. “I thought you couldn’t make it tonight?”

“I was in the neighborhood.” He turned to Dorset with a nod. “Dorset.”

“Bridgerton.”

“If you don’t mind, I owe my wife a dance,” he said, relishing the way ‘wife’ rolled on his tongue and the expression on Dorset’s face when he said it. “Come along, my lady.”

He did pull her a little roughly into the string of waltzers. She gave him a look of false exasperation.

“‘In the neighborhood,’ were you?”

“Yes.”

“Hm,” she said, “And I’m sure that you learned before this evening that Dorset was to be here.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Why do I feel as if I’ve been duped?”

“I’m just wondering if you would’ve made such a fuss about stealing me away had I been engaged in conversation with someone who hadn’t attempted to court me.”

“I’ll always make a fuss for you,” he said, enjoying the way her blush took over her face turning it a shade quite similar to that of the dress she’d worn for her boatride that day, the stirring in his gut at the thought of other men realizing just how beautiful and wonderful Kate could be.

One day, someone like Dorset would--he hoped--come in and make her happy. But for now, she was in his arms, laughing at what he said, welcoming him to her bed. And that was going to have to be enough.

[slippinmickeys]

The Earl (8/13)

If you’d like to read this on AO3, you may do so here. 

CHAPTER EIGHT

When finally her hands were unbound, Scully immediately reached up and removed the blindfold that had been pulled crudely over her head by Spender following the incident with the constable. The door to the room she found herself in closed hurriedly behind the person who had untied her, and she threw herself at it, finding the door solidly locked.

The room was small but well-appointed, with a decently sized bed against one wall, a dresser, wardrobe, and a small stand with a wash basin and screen on the far corner behind which she found an empty chamber pot, which she kicked over in frustration.

She was tired of being frightened, and sick of being intimidated by her situation. She was a smart young woman, and a decently educated one at that. If her station didn’t help her, as it had most of her life, she would help herself.

Through the window of the room, she could see the sea -- shining and vast. She was on the second floor of the building, and when she leaned out of it, could see several other windows to her left and right. It seemed she was in the middle of a non-middling-sized home, which was surrounded by a tall wrought-iron fence. And not far beyond that, the sea. There was nothing that she could use to climb down from the window, which was disappointing. And the drop, such as it was, was a fairly long one, with sharp-looking gravel edging the house. Should she survive the fall without injuring herself (unlikely), she would have to deal with the fence.

She closed the window, sat on the bed, and waited. She would get back to Mulder. But how?

XxXxXxXxXxX

“So according to this,” Frohike held up the aged envelope with the large X, “you have an illegitimate sister.”

“Half-sister, yes,” said the Earl, “and I have been looking for her since I found that letter two years ago in my father’s personal effects after his death.”

“And the ‘X’ on the envelope,” Frohike went on, “bears a striking resemblance to that of this ransom note.”

“Indeed,” Mulder said, looking at each man in turn. “CGB Spender,” he said with finality.

Byers cocked his head in question.

“You asked if I had any enemies. Up until several months ago, I would have said no.”

Mulder went on to tell them of Spender’s insistence that Mulder’s father had owed a debt to Spender and his efforts to collect, though Mulder had never been able to find any evidence of it, and wrote it off as the game of an unscrupulous fortune hunter. He told them of Spender’s offer of marriage to his daughter, and how the man had become incensed when he learned of Mulder’s marriage to Scully; how he’d practically threatened her in Mulder’s own study.

“The ransom note, that letter -- they had to have both come from Spender. The debt he insisted my father owed him -- it must be related to this girl, this Samantha. My sister.”

“And you never made the connection before?” Langly asked.

“I had no reason to,” Mulder explained, “I had found that letter years before I’d ever heard from Mr. Spender, and the letter itself doesn’t demand any recompense. It is merely an accusation.”

The letter was an accusation, nothing more. A veiled threat.

“So why wouldn’t he have mentioned it? Her? Your sister. When he came to collect the debt.”

“The scandal of an illegitimate child would have affected my father far more than it would affect me. By playing it close to his vest, perhaps Spender thought he still had advantage over me -- perhaps thinking there were other skeletons in my closet he could exploit to get the money he’s after. And by God, he does have advantage over me,” Mulder finished a little desperately, raking his hand through his hair and gesturing at the ransom note.

Byers nodded solemnly.

“What do you know of the man?” Frohike asked.

“Not much,” Mulder lamented, “I have reached out to an old friend, a former Captain in His Majesty’s army. He works on Bow Street. I asked him to investigate the gentleman after he threatened my wife. I got a letter from him only yesterday. All he has found so far is that ‘CGB Spender’ is merely one of many aliases used by this… cancer of a man.”

“And have you managed to find evidence of this child, Samantha?” Langly asked, “Perhaps she could lead us to this ‘Spender.’”

“None,” Mulder said bleakly.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Scully awoke to the sound of a key in the lock. She had undressed before bed, pulling off her soiled riding habit and, having nothing else to do with it, laid it over the chair in the corner of the room. She still wore her shift, and pulled the covers of the bed tightly up to her neck as whoever was at the door fiddled with the knob before finally swinging it open.

“My lady?” she heard the voice of the groom, Duane Barry, “Are you decent, my lady?”

Scully was obviously quite cross with the man. In her mind, he was every bit as responsible for her abduction as the tobacco smoking bastard who called himself Spender.

“As decent as I can be in this situation,” she said crossly.

Barry haltingly stuck his head into the doorway, his darting eyes assessing the room before reluctantly entering it, carrying a small tray before him atop which sat a plate of fried eggs and a rasher of bacon. Though she was determined to refuse whatever was offered her in an effort to convey her displeasure, her stomach growled of its own accord.

“Will you take this in bed, my lady?” the man asked, his eyes darting everywhere in the room but where she sat.

“You may put it on the table,” she said, rather harshly.

He set it down and lingered, still very obviously averting his eyes from her person. Eventually he said:

“Is there anything else I can get you?”

She heaved an irritated sigh. He seemed a simpleton, though she suspected he was not -- just a man dealt a difficult hand of cards in his life without the means or the compunction to do anything about it.

“Clothing,” she said.

“My lady?”

She pulled the bed covers down enough to point to her soiled and torn riding frock on the chair in the corner of the room.

“I require clothing, Mr. Barry. My frock was dirtied and torn during my kidnapping. I have nothing else to wear.” She gestured to herself in the bed.

The man turned beet red and nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am. I mean my lady. I will get you what I can, my lady,” seeming to be spurred on by a task he might accomplish, he hastened to leave the room.

Scully took a deep, bracing breath, hearing her mother’s voice in her head: there’s never any reason to treat the servants with anything other than genteel decorum, Dana. None of us choose our lot in life -- we are assigned it by God. Not only did her mother have a point, but she was not in a situation where offending her captor would produce a good outcome. She needed a friend. You catch more flies with honey. She could and would save her enmity for Spender, the man who truly deserved it.

“And tea, Mr. Barry,” she said, regaining some of her composure. “I… I would quite like a cup of tea.”

He paused in the doorway and for the first time met her eyes with his own.

“Yes, my lady,” he said with a halting smile, “I can do that, my lady.”

XxXxXxXxXxX

A note arrived at Ashford Park the next day with brief instructions telling the Earl that a further directive would be given in the village chapel the following day at 3:00 in the afternoon.

Byers had cancelled the remainder of the holiday, and the guests -- somber and avoiding Mulder’s eye -- were departing, each withdrawal leaving the manse just a little more quiet and lonely.

The business associates of Byers were the only ones left by the end of the day -- they had taken Scully’s abduction as a personal affront, and the three men vowed not to rest until they had restored the Countess to the Earl’s side. In fact, the three men planned to head into the village hours early the next day, with plans to keep watch on the village church, hoping to get an idea of where this ‘intermediary’ as Spender had put it, was coming from or going to.

Mulder spent a restless night in a bed that still smelled like his wife, succumbing to exhaustion, though each moment of slumber was wracked with nightmares and dreams, each one more disturbing than the one before it.

When at last he dragged himself out of bed at first light, he was met by Mr. Valadeo, who softened his often stern demeanor and inquired about how the Earl was doing.

“Not well, Danny,” Mulder said morosely.

“That is plain, my lord,” he said kindly, gesturing to the three days worth of stubble that rasped on Mulder’s chin when he absently stroked it. “Could you tolerate a shave?” Danny went on to ask, “you’ll want to look your finest when the Countess is returned.”

Mulder huffed a wan smile and nodded, letting his valet take over, who led him to the chair by the dressing table without a word. Scully’s things were still sitting on the top of it, her tortoiseshell hairbrush with errant strands of red sticking out amongst the bristles.

“There is much talk below stairs,” Danny said, after what seemed like hours of silence. “Everyone is quite concerned.” He rubbed shaving soap purposefully onto Mulder’s face, then sharpened his blade. The same thing he did nearly every day.

“I’m concerned for the Countess myself,” Mulder said, trying not to think of what could be happening to Scully even now, “excessively.”

“Well, yes,” Danny went on, dipping the razor blade into water and then scraping the blade down Mulder’s cheek. “Of course we are all worried for Lady Dana. Poor Prudence is beside herself with worry. But,” he said, rinsing the blade in the small dish of water, “we are just as concerned for you, my lord.” His actions were careful and deliberate, which eased Mulder into a rare calm normalcy he hadn’t felt for days.

“For me?"

"You have not been married long," Danny went on, scraping the blade down his master's neck slowly, taking thoughtful care with his task, "and there was no courtship to speak of..."

Mulder would not normally countenance this kind of talk from his servants, but Danny was allowed more leeway than many. Mulder considered the man a friend.

"But it is clear to everyone that there is love between you and the Countess. Deep-seated, unshakable love. Love is not afforded to many in this world. Particularly one as powerful as that which exists between the two of you. Rare or lucky are those who find it, sir. We are, all of us, praying for her swift and safe return. For both your sakes.”

Danny had not taken his eyes off the contours of Mulder’s face, continuing to gently and carefully groom him. Mulder felt tears form at the corners of his eyes, touched beyond measure. He cleared his throat. “Thank you, Danny.”

Valadeo wiped the errant foam from Mulder’s face, his duty done, and straightened, sniffing in a very English way.

“Sir,” he said. “I shall help you dress.”

XxXxXxXxXxX

Barry came back an hour later with several ill-fitting, dowdy frocks, but at least they were clean and well mended. He came back ten minutes after that -- once Scully was finally dressed and out of bed -- with a hot cup of tea.

He looked in her eyes for only the second time. “Would… would you like milk or sugar?” he asked.

“Sugar,” she said after a moment and gave him a small smile, which he hesitantly returned.

He came back only moments later with several cubes of sugar on a small china plate. He handed it to her deferentially.

Just as he was leaving (and had pulled out the key to lock the door), she called out to him.

“Mr. Barry,” she said. He paused in the doorway and looked up. “Are there any staff in the house? Any maid I might pass along my garments to, to be laundered? Perhaps mended?”

He swallowed and looked to the ground.

“They have been temporarily dismissed, my lady. At the moment, it is only you and I.”

So Spender wasn’t on the property, then. He must be close by, though. A thought struck her. Perhaps there was a way to get out of this locked room. If only to see the lay of the land and get a better idea of her circumstances.

“And do you… intend to launder my unmentionables?”

The man once again turned an impressive shade of red.

“I only ask, as these clothes -- kind that you were to bring to me -- do not fit well. I would very much like the chance to launder and mend what I wear to… save you the embarrassment of having to do it for me.” She took a breath and took a chance. “I am due to begin my courses, you see,” she said, and the man turned almost white, “and that will require… specialized cleaning. I’m happy to mend the clothes in my room, but laundering is a messy business, as you know,” (she had never actually done it) “and if you would permit me, I’d prefer to do it… out of doors.”

“Uh,” he fumbled for a response, “uh…”

“No need to answer me now, Mr. Barry,” she said, “we still have a day or two. I thank you for the excellent breakfast. The eggs were delicious.”

With that she smiled at him kindly, and he closed the door behind him, though he was slow to turn the key.

[moderatelydelusional]

talk about an au or story you came up with

I have two;

one where spencer is a wizard but he doesn’t know it until reader (i would prefer them be an oc buuut apparently fic readers don’t vibe with oc’s so…) slowly introduces him to the reality of magic and helps him understand his abilities (maybe he goes rouge?? Ood dark wizard!spencer reid)

the other is a downton abbey esq au; set in 1910s. everyone is involved and is either an aristocrate or a servant (upstairs/downstairs vibe my beloved) and essentially gideon is an earl but is a bird fanatic and is prone to going off on bird watching adventures. spencer is his son who couldn’t give a flying fk abt inheriting the title; he just wants to study philosophy and dedicate his life to learning. hotch is gideons nephew and comes to take over the estate when gideon dies (which spencer doesnt believe is true so he spends the beginning of the au in complete denial). emily is spencer’s favourite cousin (hotch’s second wife) and she’s in love with jj (a maid at the estate). anderson is spencers’ valet and lowkey bestie in the estate. he’s the only staff member who can talk to spencer in a casual way and be straight with him, and the only one spencer seems to trust in the estate. morgan is the butler and keeps the place running, essentially. he and hotch are a great team and work super well together to keep the estate running and help spencer when he realises his father is actually dead.

im stuck on penelope. i dont know which position she would fill within the au.

anyway those are my two au’s. The wizard one i came up with today and the downton abbey one ive had in my head for a while

[bitletsanddrabbles]

WIP Wednesday, Morning Edition

Since a good portion of my vacation was dedicated to doll customization, there will be a second one of these later, after I’ve snapped some in-progress pictures. For now, though, for my usual Downton audience, a longer-than-usual chunk from one of my novels-in-progress.

I thoroughly blame @alex51324 for writing the wonderful “Jeeves and the Inferior Valet” and thus introducing me to Wodehouse. While this isn’t in anyway related to that fic, other than the obvious subject matter, I feel that is absolutely credit that should be given. I’ve been working on this piece, off and on, for a couple of years now. If we all live to be 90, you may get to read it complete! As it is, I’m trying to nudge it along right now, so here, have the opening:

It seems to me that one must never be too glad to be alive. That is to say, whenever one is feeling his best, his most topping self, Fate seems to take it as a personal affront and sets about correcting things. On the morning of which I speak, I woke perfectly refreshed. I felt so all together zippy that if someone had barged into my bedroom and insisted on a conversation before I’d downed a single cup of tea, I might well have nearly managed. The weather was clement and with the help of a horse named Dark Secret who had managed a rather impressive win the day before, so was my bank account. Of course, a Wooster never has much to worry about when it comes to affording life’s niceties, but it is always nice to come out on the proper side of these things. Yes, it was with this sunny outlook on life that I applied myself to breakfast and was tucking into the eggs and b. when Jeeves appeared with two clouds to shadow my good cheer.

“Mrs. Travers called earlier, sir,” he informed me.

“Aunt Dahlia?” The news was somewhat surprising, I admit, but no cause for alarm. After all, Aunt Dahlia is my good aunt. That is to say, my better aunt. That is to say the aunt who isn’t Aunt Agatha who could turn a gorgon to stone with her glare and is forever trying to shackle me with a job or a wife, preferably both. “What does she want?”

“As the owner and editor of Milady's Boudoir, she has been invited to spend the weekend in Yorkshire at the estate of the Earl of Grantham,” Jeeves reported dutifully. “The Earl’s younger daughter, the Marchioness of Hexham, runs the Sketch and has apparently organized a small gathering of women in the profession.”

“Hexham?” The Woosters might be gentlemen, but none of us can boast of hobnobbing with the upper echelons of the peerage. Once you get past the honorable misses and misters, we find ourselves a bit outclassed, no matter how noble our hearts. Still, one hears of people, in the right circles, and nothing I’d heard about the Marquess of Hexham had lead me to believe he’d be married before the age of sixty, and then under great protest. “When did the Marquess of Hexham find time to get married? Isn’t he the one who’s always off in Tangiers?”

“That was the previous Lord Hexham,” Jeeves corrected my error. “If you’ll recall sir, he died last year. Malaria, I believe.”

“Oh, that’s right. Dashed sorry to hear that.” Admittedly, I never actually met the man in my life, but there are some things you simply feel sorry about. Forgetting someone has died is one of them.

“He was quite well liked in certain circles and will be missed. His cousin, the current Marquess, was married this past December.”

Clearly I was on the right page now, but something still seemed a bit rummy about it. “But isn’t the family home in Northumberland? Why wouldn’t the Marchioness have it there?”

“I have no idea, sir.”

The only thing I could think of was that the size of the building was more accommodating to the cause. “I can’t imaging an Earl having a grander house than a Marquess.”

“It would seem odd, sir.”

“Still, I suppose if you’re a Marchioness who wants to have a to-do at her father’s house, and he’s only an Earl, you can jolly well do as you please and not much he can do about it, what?”

“I would imagine so, yes sir. Whatever the lady’s reasoning for the location, Mr. Travers has been taken ill, and so Mrs. Travers would like you to come with her to help make up the numbers at dinner.”

“That is straight out,” I replied, with a fair amount of relief. I like Aunt Dahlia well enough, but spending more time with her than it takes to enjoy a dinner from her French chef Anatole is generally courting disaster. A fellow could easily find himself in chokey for the theft of a cow creamer, for instance. “I have a very important dinner at the Drone’s club tomorrow night and it is imperative I don’t miss it.”

“Very good, sir. Mrs. Gregson also called.”

“Aunt Agatha?” I nearly choked on a piece of bacon. The day suddenly seemed less sunny. That is to say, while the first cloud didn’t look so alarming, this one promised rain, thunder, and possibly a lightening strike or two. “And the purpose of her call?” I asked, once I’d cleared the old palate.

“She wishes you to have dinner with her tonight,” Jeeves replied, making it seem like a remarkably mundane event. Meals with Aunt Agatha are never mundane, and not because she has an extraordinary French chef. Her chef is of the perfectly ordinary, English variety.  “Apparently there is a young lady by the name of the right Honorable Miss Proops she believes you should meet.”

If there is any announcement perfectly calculated to make the Wooster blood run cold, it’s hearing that Aunt Agatha wants me to meet a young lady. The woman is determined to see me married off and churning out offspring like crumpets from a bakery. I hardly see why since she makes no attempt to disguise the fact she doesn’t like me. I’d think she’d prefer me to die a childless bachelor, rather than populating the world with little Bertrams. What’s worse, she seems to think I should be attached to an ‘improving’ sort of woman, the sort that keeps up on Freud and the other philosophers and carries on the sort of academic conversation one avoided at Oxford. “Grim business, Jeeves. Very grim.”

“I can not imagine it would be a pleasant evening for you, sir.”

“No, not pleasing in the least. Especially since there is only one reason that Aunt Agatha ever wants me to meet a Miss anyone. If I’m not careful, I’ll be engaged by the dessert course. ” I prodded at my e., suddenly devoid of appetite. “Still, I daren’t not attend, not without jolly good reason. What do you suggest?” I gave him my most imploring look. If ever I was in need of that amazing brain of his, it was now.

“I would suggest you go to Yorkshire with Mrs. Travers, sir,” Jeeves replied with a promptness that bespoke forethought. I began to suspect he’d presented the phone calls to me in the order he did for a purpose, and I was soon to be proven correct. “Since you learned of her offer first, Mrs. Gregson can, with a reasonable amount of truthfulness, be told it was a previous engagement. It has the further advantage of being well away from London and, according to an acquaintance of mine who happens to live in the very village we will be visiting, has lovely weather this time of year.”

“The old Metrop. does get a bit oppressive around this season,” I agreed, quickly warming to the idea. There was still only one point of hesitation. “This Earl, though. He doesn’t happen to collect antique silver, does he?”

“No sir. Lord Grantham is known for collecting snuff boxes, which none of your family is interested in, and favors Labradors over terriers for canine companionship. Also, his two living daughters are both safely married.”

I needed no further convincing. “Right-ho, Jeeves! Call Aunt Dahlia and let her know we’d be delighted to accompany her. Then pack my cases for the country. This will be a perfect chance to wear my new tie!”

“Not the Macclesfield, sir, surely.”

I did not like the tone in which he said that. Largely, I have come to accept Jeeves’s view on the contents of my wardrobe, hidebound as it is, but there are days it seems he’s going absolutely backwards. “And what’s wrong with it?”

“While it is a fine tie in many regards, it does not suite your complexion-.”

“Hang my complexion, Jeeves,” I countered gamely, before he could add his customary ‘sir’. “Every once in awhile a man’s complexion needs something new, something zippy to shake it up.” He looked ready to protest, so I fixed him with my steeliest gaze. Absolutely unbendable. “I will wear it, Jeeves!”

“Very good, sir.”

As he was turning to leave, a thought occurred to me. “By the way, you said Lord Grantham’s two living daughters were married. Has he any others?”

“His Lordship’s youngest daughter, Mrs. Sybil Branson nee Crawley, died in childbirth back in 1920. Her husband, Mr. Branson, lives at Downton with his in-laws.”

“Ah. Good to know.” Storing that information away in my head as something not to bring up over dinner, I turned my attention to finishing my breakfast.

So there you go! The suitably improbable intro! At least, I feel it’s pretty durn unlikely, even before the movie, that Edith would hold a writer’s conference at Downton, or if she did that she’d invite Aunt Dahlia, etc. But this isn’t about realism, it’s about having an excuse to write Bertie being an idiot and Thomas being a snark face in the same story. Who says you can’t have everything?

In other news, I fully understand why Wodehouse spent so much time writing Jeeves and Wooster stories. Bertie’s a blast!

[su-o]

The tiaras have been dusted off and the pearls polished. Four long years after the final instalment of Downton Abbey, it’s back, this time on the big screen.

It is a crisp, clear morning at Wentworth Woodhouse, the stately home in South Yorkshire. Built by the 1st Marquess of Rockingham, it has the widest façade in Europe, boasts at least 365 rooms (no one is certain of the exact number), and represents two and a half acres of building.

This perfect specimen of English baroque is the setting for the new Downton Abbey film – in which George V and Queen Mary tour the north of England (which also includes a visit to Downton itself, filmed as usual at Highclere Castle in Berkshire) – and today they are shooting a grand ball at the home of the Countess of Harewood in the film, attended by the royal couple and Downton’s Crawley family.

Inside the house, a production unit zigzags in and out of huge vaulted rooms with cables and film cameras, while extras in 1920s ball attire chat nonchalantly on makeshift chairs. Meanwhile in the ballroom – a giant marble space, adorned with deep-red damask wallpaper and enormous flower arrangements – Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton(two of the stars of the original series) slip through the lines of dancing couples in diaphanous silks, as a small orchestra plays a waltz.

In the background, an assistant producer is being told off by one of the volunteers of Wentworth Woodhouse for wandering into a disused room. This isn’t jobsworthiness. The carpet in some rooms is nearly 300 years old and will disintegrate if anyone breathes on it. The wallpaper, meanwhile, is laced with arsenic (as was the fashion at the time) in order to make it a certain shade of green.

Away from the action, Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary (the eldest Crawley daughter), is sitting in her trailer, her sharp features accentuated by period make-up, feeling slightly in awe of the whole process. ‘It was during my costume fitting when it hit me. I got really emotional.’ 

Downton Abbey made Dockery and many of her fellow cast members international names, and no wonder. The ITV series, which ran from 2010 to 2015 and followed the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, was sold to 220 territories worldwide, achieved a global audience of 120 million and was nominated for 53 International Emmys.

In America, it became the most successful British drama import of all time. It also set the bar for costume dramas, at least in terms of visual sheen. The Crown, Netflix’s lavish regal series (which returns this autumn), has clearly been influenced by Julian Fellowes’ series, which cost, on average, £1 million per episode to make.

Everyone expected that a film would be made, but it was quite a feat getting the cast together. ‘It was like herding cats,’ says Dockery. ‘But I just love it. It’s so familiar and doesn’t feel like work.’

Despite rumours to the contrary, Maggie Smith is back as the Dowager Countess, famous for her withering put-downs, as are Hugh Bonneville’s paterfamilias the Earl of Grantham, his American wife Cora (played by Elizabeth McGovern) and his two surviving daughters, Lady Mary, of course, and Laura Carmichael’s Lady Edith.

Others involved include Penelope Wilton’s sensible cousin Isobel and many of the downstairs staff: Jim Carter’s stentorian Mr Carson and his wife, the no-nonsense housekeeper Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan); Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol), the plain-speaking cook with Escoffier abilities, and her protégée, the occasionally mutinous Daisy (Sophie McShera).

When I talk to Fellowes though, he is adamant that a film was never inevitable. Rumours circulated about a prequel, following Robert’s courting of Cora for her money and subsequently  falling in love with her, but nothing came of it. ‘When we finished the series, we didn’t envisage a film. We had a lovely party at The Ivy and everyone cried, but that was it as far as I was concerned. Then, as the years rolled by, there was a sense that people hadn’t quite finished with it, and eventually I formed an idea for a feature film.’

The Downton Abbey film, directed by Michael Engler, is set in 1927, just over a year after the series ended, and focuses on the Crawleys and their servants as they prepare for a royal visit. It causes much excitement below stairs, but the staff soon find the monarch’s entourage taking over – including a temperamental French chef (played by Philippe Spall) and a pompous head butler, played by David Haig, who refers to himself as the ‘King’s page of the back stairs’.

Other new cast members include Simon Jones and Geraldine James as the King and Queen, Imelda Staunton (real-life wife of Carter) as Lady Bagshaw, lady-in-waiting to the Queen and a relative of the Crawleys, and Tuppence Middleton as her mysterious lady’s maid, Lucy.

Fellowes was inspired, in part, by a book he had read called Black Diamonds by Catherine Bailey, which details a 1912 visit by King George V and Queen Mary to South Yorkshire. As well as tucking into lavish 13-course dinners, which included puddings served in sugar baskets that took four days to weave, they also met local miners and toured  pit villages.

Although the film is set 15 years later, the King and Queen did make similar, unlikely tours around the country, as Fellowes explains. ‘After the First World War, there was a period of unsettled feelings about things – not least the monarchy. It had to re-establish itself as many members of European royalty had disappeared – the German Emperor, the Austrian Emperor, the Tsar of Russia. The structure had to be restated as having an integral role in society and they [George and Mary] were very successful in doing so. By 1930, the Crown was back at the heart of English life.’

For Dockery, making the film was not only a chance to catch up with old friends, but also to further develop a character that the nation took to their hearts.

‘Mary is so complex. We met her at 18 and she was this rebellious teenager – she was bored, and because she was a girl, she wasn’t what her father wanted [an heir to Downton]. Ultimately he became very proud of her, though, and I think  everyone really responded to that. Seeing her journey was what hooked people.’

Now we see Lady Mary very much in control, happily married (to Matthew Goode’s Henry  Talbot) and more than capable of taking over the ancestral pile when the time comes.

‘Julian writes really well for women and I think that has something to do with his wife, Emma [a descendant of Lord Kitchener]. I see a lot of her in Mary, just her expressions and things,’ she says.

Dockery has had a particularly successful career post-Downton. She brought rigour and a dash of fun to her part as an ambitious TV exec in Network (the National Theatre production based on the acclaimed ’70s film), and a sort of watchfulness to the role of a hard-edged widow in Netflix’s warped western Godless. Next year, she will be showing her versatility further in Guy Ritchie’s film The Gentlemen, in which she plays the wife of a drug lord (played by Matthew McConaughey).

One character who has a particularly meaty  storyline in the film is gay footman Thomas, played by Robert James-Collier. We meet at Shepperton Studios, where the kitchen scenes are being filmed. It’s a cavernous setting which production designer Donal Woods describes as ‘like a noirish, Scandi film, as opposed to the glorious technicolor of upstairs’. For the TV series, the servants’ quarters were created at Ealing Studios, but the set has been flat-packed and sent over, as have the copper jelly moulds, kettles and pans.

This time, we see Thomas befriend a footman from the Royal household (played by Max Brown), and he ends up in an illicit gay drinking den in York. This was  an era when homosexuality could result in a prison sentence, but, says James-Collier, for one brief moment his somewhat malevolent character is liberated.

‘He is introduced to this other world that he doesn’t know exists, and there is this sense of relief, this sudden realisation that there are  kindred spirits and that he is not this “foul individual” as Mr Carson once described him.’

The irony that Downton Abbey has been sold to countries where homosexuality can be punished by death is not lost on James-Collier, and he feels a grave sense of responsibility about his role.  ‘I have received letters from young men who say that watching Thomas’s journey has helped them. All I can say is that it’s an utter privilege. It’s the reason why I do it.’

The film’s 1927 setting marks a period in Britain when country houses such as Downton were beginning to feel the austerity of the interwar years. Death duties had to be paid and households streamlined, which meant that many servants lost their jobs. Meanwhile, the General Strike of 1926 – in which the TUC fought against worsening conditions for the country’s miners – underlined a growing sense of solidarity among the working class.

In the film, however, there are no such concerns, and that reflects the point that Downton is in many ways a fantasy. One criticism of the original scripts was that the Crawleys were too benign as employers, that the relationship between master and servant was much more remote, without any of the Earl of Grantham’s well-meaning paternalism. Fellowes disagrees.

‘This notion that people were horrible to their servants is wrong. Most of us, if you think about it logically, and putting aside the moral view that that life should exist at all, would want to get on with the valet or lady’s maid. When you see a character snarling at his butler, you think this isn’t a way of life. None of us would want to be in  a position of speaking to people you disliked.’

If Fellowes is the arbiter of psychological accuracy, then Alastair Bruce is the gatekeeper of  protocol. He was Downton’s historical adviser at the beginning and describes himself, among other things, as the posture monitor.

He explains. ‘The cast tend to put their bums here on the seat,’ he says indicating the back of his chair. ‘But in those days, you didn’t – you would sit at the front. Also, [people’s] shoulders have fallen forward because everyone is on their mobile phone all the time.’

Bruce also helps the actors with their diction and mentions the word ‘room’. Many tended to accentuate the ‘o’s when it fact it should be shortened, so they sound very nearly like a ‘u’.

‘It is pompous bollocks, but if you are recreating the ’20s you may as well get it right,’ Bruce adds. ‘Michelle would quite happily let me describe her evolution in life as a long way from Downton Abbey, but I have some pretty grandiose friends who can’t believe this is the case. I am very proud of the fact that she now has this incredible poise – you never see a curve in her back – and her accent is on point.’

Several months later, I ask Fellowes whether he has plans for a sequel (although in truth, certain scenes in the film suggest a full stop rather than a pause). ‘There is never any point in answering that,’ he says. ‘In this business as soon as someone says that’s the last time I’ll put on my ballet shoes, there they are, a year later, dancing Giselle.’

Downton Abbey is released on 13 September

[in-flagrante]

The wait is over

THE TIARAS HAVE BEEN DUSTED OFF AND THE PEARLS POLISHED. FOUR LONG YEARS AFTER THE FINAL INSTALMENT OF DOWNTON ABBEY, IT’S BACK, THIS TIME ON THE BIG SCREEN. BEN LAWRENCE WENT ON SET TO UNCOVER SOME FAMILY SECRETS

The Daily Telegraph

31 Aug 2019

As Downton Abbey sweeps majestically on to the big screen, Ben Lawrence joins the cast reunion on set

It is a crisp, clear morning at Wentworth Woodhouse, the stately home in South Yorkshire. Built by the 1st Marquess of Rockingham, it has the widest façade in Europe, boasts at least 365 rooms (no one is certain of the exact number), and represents two and a half acres of building. This perfect specimen of English baroque is the setting for the new Downton Abbey film – in which George V and Queen Mary tour the north of England (which also includes a visit to Downton itself, filmed as usual at Highclere Castle in Berkshire) – and today they are shooting a grand ball at the home of the Countess of Harewood in the film, attended by the royal couple and Downton’s Crawley family.

Inside the house, a production unit zigzags in and out of huge vaulted rooms with cables and film cameras, while extras in 1920s ball attire chat nonchalantly on makeshift chairs. Meanwhile in the ballroom – a giant marble space, adorned with deep-red damask wallpaper and enormous flower arrangements – Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton (two of the stars of the original series) slip through the lines of dancing couples in diaphanous silks, as a small orchestra plays a waltz. In the background, an assistant producer is being told off by one of the volunteers of Wentworth Woodhouse for wandering into a disused room. This isn’t jobsworthiness. The carpet in some rooms is nearly 300 years old and will disintegrate

if anyone breathes on it. The wallpaper, meanwhile, is laced with arsenic (as was the fashion at the time) in order to make it a certain shade of green.

Away from the action, Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary (the eldest Crawley daughter), is sitting in her trailer, her sharp features accentuated by period make-up, feeling slightly in awe of the whole process. ‘It was during my costume fitting when it hit me. I got really emotional.’

Downton Abbey made Dockery and many of her fellow cast members international names, and no wonder. The ITV series, which ran from 2010 to 2015 and followed the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, was sold to 220 territories worldwide, achieved a global audience of 120 million and was nominated for 53 International Emmys. In America, it became the most successful British drama import of all time. It also set the bar for costume dramas, at least in terms of visual sheen. The Crown, Netflix’s lavish regal series (which returns this autumn), has clearly been influenced by Julian Fellowes’ series, which cost, on average, £1 million per episode to make.

Everyone expected that a film would be made, but it was quite a feat getting the cast together. ‘It was like herding cats,’ says Dockery. ‘But I just love it. It’s so familiar and doesn’t feel like work.’

Despite rumours to the contrary, Maggie Smith is back as the Dowager Countess, famous for her

‘When we finished the series, we didn’t envisage a film. We had a party at The Ivy and everyone cried’

withering put-downs, as are Hugh Bonneville’s paterfamilias the Earl of Grantham, his American wife Cora (played by Elizabeth Mcgovern) and his two surviving daughters, Lady Mary, of course, and Laura Carmichael’s Lady Edith. Others involved include Penelope Wilton’s sensible cousin Isobel and many of the downstairs staff: Jim Carter’s stentorian Mr Carson and his wife, the no-nonsense housekeeper Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan); Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol), the plainspeaking cook with Escoffier abilities, and her protégée, the occasionally mutinous Daisy (Sophie Mcshera).

When I talk to Fellowes though, he is adamant that a film was never inevitable. Rumours circulated about a prequel, following Robert’s courting of Cora for her money and subsequently falling in love with her, but nothing came of it. ‘When we finished the series, we didn’t envisage a film. We had a lovely party at The Ivy and everyone cried, but that was it as far as I was concerned. Then, as the years rolled by, there was a sense that people hadn’t quite finished with it, and eventually I formed an idea for a feature film.’

The Downton Abbey film, directed by Michael Engler, is set in 1927, just over a year after the series ended, and focuses on the Crawleys and their servants as they prepare for a royal visit. It causes much excitement below stairs, but the staff soon find the monarch’s entourage taking over – including a temperamental French chef (played by Philippe Spall) and a pompous head butler, played by David Haig, who refers to himself as the ‘King’s page of the back stairs’. Other new cast members include Simon Jones and Geraldine James as the King and Queen, Imelda Staunton (real-life wife of Carter) as Lady Bagshaw, lady-in-waiting to the Queen and a relative of the Crawleys, and Tuppence Middleton as her mysterious lady’s maid, Lucy.

Fellowes was inspired, in part, by a book he had read called Black Diamonds by Catherine Bailey, which details a 1912 visit by King George V and Queen Mary to South Yorkshire. As well as tucking into lavish 13-course dinners, which included puddings served in sugar baskets that took four days to weave, they also met local miners and toured pit villages. Although the film is set 15 years later, the King and Queen did make similar, unlikely tours around the country, as Fellowes explains. ‘After the First World War, there was a period of unsettled feelings about things – not least the monarchy. It had to re-establish itself as many members of European royalty had disappeared – the German Emperor, the Austrian Emperor, the Tsar of Russia. The structure had to be restated as having an integral role in society and they [George and Mary] were very successful in doing so. By 1930, the Crown was back at the heart of English life.’

For Dockery, making the film was not only a chance to catch up with old friends, but also to further develop a character that the nation took to their hearts.

‘Mary is so complex. We met her at 18 and she was this rebellious teenager – she was bored, and

‘It is pompous, but if you are recreating the ’20s you may as well get it right’

because she was a girl, she wasn’t what her father wanted [an heir to Downton]. Ultimately he became very proud of her, though, and I think everyone really responded to that. Seeing her journey was what hooked people.’

Now we see Lady Mary very much in control, happily married (to Matthew Goode’s Henry Talbot) and more than capable of taking over the ancestral pile when the time comes.

‘Julian writes really well for women and I think that has something to do with his wife, Emma [a descendant of Lord Kitchener]. I see a lot of her in Mary, just her expressions and things,’ she says.

Dockery has had a particularly successful career post-downton. She brought rigour and a dash of fun to her part as an ambitious TV exec in Network (the National Theatre production based on the acclaimed ’70s film), and a sort of watchfulness to the role of a hard-edged widow in Netflix’s warped western Godless. Next year, she will be showing her versatility further in Guy Ritchie’s film The Gentlemen, in which she plays the wife of a drug lord (played by Matthew Mcconaughey).

One character who has a particularly meaty storyline in the film is gay footman Thomas, played by Robert James-collier. We meet at Shepperton Studios, where the kitchen scenes are being filmed. It’s a cavernous setting which production designer Donal Woods describes as ‘like a noirish, Scandi film, as opposed to the glorious technicolor of upstairs’. For the TV series, the servants’ quarters were created at Ealing Studios, but the set has been flat-packed and sent over, as have the copper jelly moulds, kettles and pans.

This time, we see Thomas befriend a footman from the Royal household (played by Max Brown), and he ends up in an illicit gay drinking den in York. This was an era when homosexuality could result in a prison sentence, but, says James-collier, for one brief moment his somewhat malevolent character is liberated.

‘He is introduced to this other world that he doesn’t know exists, and there is this sense of relief, this sudden realisation that there are kindred spirits and that he is not this “foul individual” as Mr Carson once described him.’

The irony that Downton Abbey has been sold to countries where homosexuality can be punished by death is not lost on James-collier, and he feels a grave sense of responsibility about his role. ‘I have received letters from young men who say that watching Thomas’s journey has helped them. All I can say is that it’s an utter privilege. It’s the reason why I do it.’

The film’s 1927 setting marks a period in Britain when country houses such as Downton were beginning to feel the austerity of the interwar years. Death duties had to be paid and households streamlined, which meant that many servants lost their jobs. Meanwhile, the General Strike of 1926 – in which the TUC fought against worsening conditions for the country’s miners – underlined a growing sense of solidarity among the working class. In the film, however, there are no such concerns, and that reflects the point that Downton is in many ways a fantasy. One criticism of the original scripts was that the Crawleys were too benign as employers, that the relationship between master and servant was much more remote, without any of the Earl of Grantham’s well-meaning paternalism. Fellowes disagrees.

‘This notion that people were horrible to their servants is wrong. Most of us, if you think about it logically, and putting aside the moral view that that life should exist at all, would want to get on with the valet or lady’s maid. When you see a character snarling at his butler, you think this isn’t a way of life. None of us would want to be in a position of speaking to people you disliked.’

If Fellowes is the arbiter of psychological accuracy, then Alastair Bruce is the gatekeeper of protocol. He was Downton’s historical adviser at the beginning and describes himself, among other things, as the posture monitor.

He explains. ‘The cast tend to put their bums here on the seat,’ he says indicating the back of his chair. ‘But in those days, you didn’t – you would sit at the front. Also, [people’s] shoulders have fallen forward because everyone is on their mobile phone all the time.’

Bruce also helps the actors with their diction and mentions the word ‘room’. Many tended to accentuate the ‘o’s when it fact it should be shortened, so they sound very nearly like a ‘u’.

‘It is pompous bollocks, but if you are recreating the ’20s you may as well get it right,’ Bruce adds. ‘Michelle would quite happily let me describe her evolution in life as a long way from Downton Abbey, but I have some pretty grandiose friends who can’t believe this is the case. I am very proud of the fact that she now has this incredible poise – you never see a curve in her back – and her accent is on point.’

Several months later, I ask Fellowes whether he has plans for a sequel (although in truth, certain scenes in the film suggest a full stop rather than a pause). ‘There is never any point in answering that,’ he says. ‘In this business as soon as someone says that’s the last time I’ll put on my ballet shoes, there they are, a year later, dancing Giselle.’ Downton Abbey is released on 13 September

[hedwigsaardvark]

From the Telegraph.

The wait is over: Downton Abbey hits the big screen - and a visit to the set uncovers family secrets 

By Ben Lawrence

30 AUGUST 2019

Harry Hadden-Paton, director Michael Engler and Matthew Goode CREDIT: CHARLIE GRAY

CREDIT: CHARLIE GRAY

It is a crisp, clear morning at Wentworth Woodhouse, the stately home in South Yorkshire. Built by the 1st Marquess of Rockingham, it has the widest façade in Europe, boasts at least 365 rooms (no one is certain of the exact number), and represents two and a half acres of building.

The tiaras have been dusted off and the pearls polished. Four long years after the final instalment of Downton Abbey, it’s back, this time on the big screen. 

This perfect specimen of English baroque is the setting for the new Downton Abbey film – in which George V and Queen Mary tour the north of England (which also includes a visit to Downton itself, filmed as usual at Highclere Castle in Berkshire) – and today they are shooting a grand ball at the home of the Countess of Harewood in the film, attended by the royal couple and Downton’s Crawley family. 

Inside the house, a production unit zigzags in and out of huge vaulted rooms with cables and film cameras, while extras in 1920s ball attire chat nonchalantly on makeshift chairs. Meanwhile in the ballroom – a giant marble space, adorned with deep-red damask wallpaper and enormous flower arrangements – Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton(two of the stars of the original series) slip through the lines of dancing couples in diaphanous silks, as a small orchestra plays a waltz.

In the background, an assistant producer is being told off by one of the volunteers of Wentworth Woodhouse for wandering into a disused room. This isn’t jobsworthiness. The carpet in some rooms is nearly 300 years old and will disintegrate if anyone breathes on it. The wallpaper, meanwhile, is laced with arsenic (as was the fashion at the time) in order to make it a certain shade of green.

Away from the action, Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary (the eldest Crawley daughter), is sitting in her trailer, her sharp features accentuated by period make-up, feeling slightly in awe of the whole process. ‘It was during my costume fitting when it hit me. I got really emotional.’

Downton Abbey made Dockery and many of her fellow cast members international names, and no wonder. The ITV series, which ran from 2010 to 2015 and followed the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, was sold to 220 territories worldwide, achieved a global audience of 120 million and was nominated for 53 International Emmys.

In America, it became the most successful British drama import of all time. It also set the bar for costume dramas, at least in terms of visual sheen. The Crown, Netflix’s lavish regal series (which returns this autumn), has clearly been influenced by Julian Fellowes’ series, which cost, on average, £1 million per episode to make.

Everyone expected that a film would be made, but it was quite a feat getting the cast together. ‘It was like herding cats,’ says Dockery. ‘But I just love it. It’s so familiar and doesn’t feel like work.’

Despite rumours to the contrary, Maggie Smith is back as the Dowager Countess, famous for her withering put-downs, as are Hugh Bonneville’s paterfamilias the Earl of Grantham, his American wife Cora (played by Elizabeth McGovern) and his two surviving daughters, Lady Mary, of course, and Laura Carmichael’s Lady Edith. 

Others involved include Penelope Wilton’s sensible cousin Isobel and many of the downstairs staff: Jim Carter’s stentorian Mr Carson and his wife, the no-nonsense housekeeper Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan); Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol), the plain-speaking cook with Escoffierabilities, and her protégée, the occasionally mutinous Daisy (Sophie McShera).

When I talk to Fellowes though, he is adamant that a film was never inevitable. Rumours circulated about a prequel, following Robert’s courting of Cora for her money and subsequently  falling in love with her, but nothing came of it. ‘When we finished the series, we didn’t envisage a film. We had a lovely party at The Ivy and everyone cried, but that was it as far as I was concerned. Then, as the years rolled by, there was a sense that people hadn’t quite finished with it, and eventually I formed an idea for a feature film.’

The Downton Abbey film, directed by Michael Engler, is set in 1927, just over a year after the series ended, and focuses on the Crawleys and their servants as they prepare for a royal visit. It causes much excitement below stairs, but the staff soon find the monarch’s entourage taking over – including a temperamental French chef (played by Philippe Spall) and a pompous head butler, played by David Haig, who refers to himself as the ‘King’s page of the back stairs’.

Other new cast members include Simon Jones and Geraldine James as the King and Queen, Imelda Staunton (real-life wife of Carter) as Lady Bagshaw, lady-in-waiting to the Queen and a relative of the Crawleys, and Tuppence Middleton as her mysterious lady’s maid, Lucy.

Fellowes was inspired, in part, by a book he had read called Black Diamonds by Catherine Bailey, which details a 1912 visit by King George V and Queen Mary to South Yorkshire. As well as tucking into lavish 13-course dinners, which included puddings served in sugar baskets that took four days to weave, they also met local miners and toured  pit villages.

Although the film is set 15 years later, the King and Queen did make similar, unlikely tours around the country, as Fellowes explains. ‘After the First World War, there was a period of unsettled feelings about things – not least the monarchy. It had to re-establish itself as many members of European royalty had disappeared – the German Emperor, the Austrian Emperor, the Tsar of Russia. The structure had to be restated as having an integral role in society and they [George and Mary] were very successful in doing so. By 1930, the Crown was back at the heart of English life.’

For Dockery, making the film was not only a chance to catch up with old friends, but also to further develop a character that the nation took to their hearts. 

‘Mary is so complex. We met her at 18 and she was this rebellious teenager – she was bored, and because she was a girl, she wasn’t what her father wanted [an heir to Downton]. Ultimately he became very proud of her, though, and I think  everyone really responded to that. Seeing her journey was what hooked people.’

Now we see Lady Mary very much in control, happily married (to Matthew Goode’s Henry  Talbot) and more than capable of taking over the ancestral pile when the time comes.

‘Julian writes really well for women and I think that has something to do with his wife, Emma [a descendant of Lord Kitchener]. I see a lot of her in Mary, just her expressions and things,’ she says.

Dockery has had a particularly successful career post-Downton. She brought rigour and a dash of fun to her part as an ambitious TV exec in Network (the National Theatre production based on the acclaimed ’70s film), and a sort of watchfulness to the role of a hard-edged widow in Netflix’s warped western Godless. Next year, she will be showing her versatility further in Guy Ritchie’s film The Gentlemen, in which she plays the wife of a drug lord (played by Matthew McConaughey).

One character who has a particularly meaty  storyline in the film is gay footman Thomas, played by Robert James-Collier. We meet at Shepperton Studios, where the kitchen scenes are being filmed. It’s a cavernous setting which production designer Donal Woods describes as ‘like a noirish, Scandi film, as opposed to the glorious technicolor of upstairs’. For the TV series, the servants’ quarters were created at Ealing Studios, but the set has been flat-packed and sent over, as have the copper jelly moulds, kettles and pans. 

This time, we see Thomas befriend a footman from the Royal household (played by Max Brown), and he ends up in an illicit gay drinking den in York. This was  an era when homosexuality could result in a prison sentence, but, says James-Collier, for one brief moment his somewhat malevolent character is liberated.

‘He is introduced to this other world that he doesn’t know exists, and there is this sense of relief, this sudden realisation that there are  kindred spirits and that he is not this “foul individual” as Mr Carson once described him.’

The irony that Downton Abbey has been sold to countries where homosexuality can be punished by death is not lost on James-Collier, and he feels a grave sense of responsibility about his role.  ‘I have received letters from young men who say that watching Thomas’s journey has helped them. All I can say is that it’s an utter privilege. It’s the reason why I do it.’

The film’s 1927 setting marks a period in Britain when country houses such as Downton were beginning to feel the austerity of the interwar years. Death duties had to be paid and households streamlined, which meant that many servants lost their jobs. Meanwhile, the General Strike of 1926 – in which the TUC fought against worsening conditions for the country’s miners – underlined a growing sense of solidarity among the working class.

In the film, however, there are no such concerns, and that reflects the point that Downton is in many ways a fantasy. One criticism of the original scripts was that the Crawleys were too benign as employers, that the relationship between master and servant was much more remote, without any of the Earl of Grantham’s well-meaning paternalism. Fellowes disagrees.

‘This notion that people were horrible to their servants is wrong. Most of us, if you think about it logically, and putting aside the moral view that that life should exist at all, would want to get on with the valet or lady’s maid. When you see a character snarling at his butler, you think this isn’t a way of life. None of us would want to be in  a position of speaking to people you disliked.’

If Fellowes is the arbiter of psychological accuracy, then Alastair Bruce is the gatekeeper of  protocol. He was Downton’s historical adviser at the beginning and describes himself, among other things, as the posture monitor.

He explains. ‘The cast tend to put their bums here on the seat,’ he says indicating the back of his chair. ‘But in those days, you didn’t – you would sit at the front. Also, [people’s] shoulders have fallen forward because everyone is on their mobile phone all the time.’

Bruce also helps the actors with their diction and mentions the word ‘room’. Many tended to accentuate the ‘o’s when it fact it should be shortened, so they sound very nearly like a ‘u’.

‘It is pompous bollocks, but if you are recreating the ’20s you may as well get it right,’ Bruce adds. ‘Michelle would quite happily let me describe her evolution in life as a long way from Downton Abbey, but I have some pretty grandiose friends who can’t believe this is the case. I am very proud of the fact that she now has this incredible poise – you never see a curve in her back – and her accent is on point.’

Several months later, I ask Fellowes whether he has plans for a sequel (although in truth, certain scenes in the film suggest a full stop rather than a pause). ‘There is never any point in answering that,’ he says. ‘In this business as soon as someone says that’s the last time I’ll put on my ballet shoes, there they are, a year later, dancing Giselle.’

Downton Abbey is released on 13 September 

Source and copyright The Telegraph