Page 75 of A Spinster to Heal the Duke
Anne hoped to please them both, so she said, "I have missed you as well, but your mother understood that her priority was ensuring the best for you. And she had the comfort of knowing the man who raised her had done well enough that I would be given just as much care."
Both women seemed pleased by her response. Then, they made their way through the house for their meal, first the Viscountess, then Phoebe, and Anne.
She admired their home as they walked through and considered how Diana had judged her home when she arrived as the Duke had as well. The seasonal townhouse of the Viscountess was much more luxurious, so her main house could only be more so.
To the Duke and his sister, we must have appeared to be paupers,she thought.I wonder if word reached London that they stayed with us briefly. They probably wouldn't want it to be known.
Anne already carried sadness with her, but now, she carried awareness of the reality of the true difference between her life and that of the Duke.
I should have seen the vast difference between us from the start. Granddaughter of a baron, ha. I am another commoner,she thought.
She felt the urge to cry again but resisted.
Instead, she said, "I don't know how we can improve what you have already done. It is quite lovely, my lady."
"That's what I think too," said Phobe. "We should just have maids deep clean."
"Thank you, dear, but everyone who attended any gathering here last year will expect to see at least a few touches of improvement," the Viscountess explained. "We would hate to fall out of fashion."
"Indeed," said Anne, though she had never considered it before.
Was that the difference in her home? Had they simply fallen out of fashion, or were they simply a different taste by staying confined to Reedley so much. Even when they did travel to London, they rarely visited with anyone in their home to see such a vast difference. And their home seemed richer than those surrounding them, but what did that really mean by comparison?
I imagine even a baron in London would seem more to the Duke's standard than us"she considered.
When the ladies dined, the Viscountess detailed the first steps in her vision for the season.
"I would like us to select new wallpapers throughout. I believe we can hire someone to place it for us. I would also like to either reupholster the seats of these chairs or replace them. The same for the chairs in the parlor and guest bedrooms," she began.
"Shall we do that, or do you have someone to upholster them?" asked Anne.
"We can do these, but I have someone for the large pieces," the viscountess explained, continuing with her thoughts. "I would like new drapes and curtains throughout the house. And I do not believe I like that credenza anymore. I don't know whether to store it somewhere or simply let it go. I would also like to replace the dishes and glassware."
As the woman spoke, Anne listened and considered how daunting it all sounded but consoled herself that it would be a distraction from thinking of Noah.
Perhaps I should speak to Charles. If we can afford to make a few changes at home, perhaps everything about the house won't send me spiraling over Noah,she considered.
"Mother, it doesn't sound like there is anything you aren't changing. It would be easier to purchase a new townhouse and start over than to put us and sweet Anne through all that," Phoebe pointed out, her eyes wide at all the Viscountesses had suggested.
The Viscountess paused and looked around her, seeming to consider her daughter's suggestion.
Then, she said, "No, I like the design and floor plan of this house."
Seeming content with the instruction she had given so far, the Viscountess asked about her father and Anne's brother briefly before changing the subject to the improvements she had just completed in her main house and the treats the Viscount brought her and Phobe from his last outings.
Anne listened politely, but she was pleased when the Viscountess left to take tea with a few other ladies, and she and Phoebe had time alone as she settled in to her room.
"Mother can be a bit much sometimes," Phoebe said.
"Perhaps, but I'm sure that is a good thing. She is never dull, and I imagine it keeps things feeling new and exciting around her," observed Anne.
"New perhaps, but rather than exciting, I would simply say changing. That is not always a good thing. Just as things get comfortable and feel like home and stable, she has the need to tear down the walls and start over again," described Phoebe. "The one saving grace is that my room at each house is left to my discretion. Other than rearranging the placement of things from time to time, I keep things as they are."
Anne thought about it and felt a little better about her own home.
"Perhaps that is what we have done at Reedley Manor, too. I don't think much has changed since your last visit years ago," Anne said. "Perhaps new bedding in a few rooms or moving some things around."
"I love that," Phoebe noted, sitting and looking thoughtful. "That means I could go to Grandfather's and feel like I am returning to something familiar. As it is, I hardly feel that way from one year to the next living with Mother."
