Come with Dienece Darling to a London terrace house in Georgian England to meet the heroine of Hearts Unknown, releasing November 15th, 2024.
Brr, it's cold out here, but I thought I saw Miss Howard rush outside. She must be out here somewhere. “Edith?” I yell.
“Do, please, keep your voice down, Mrs. Darling.”
Oh, that’s her. But where is she?
I lower my voice. “Edith, where are you?”
“I’m up here.”
“Up where?”
“In Father's Weymouth Pine.”
Oh, there she is, hanging off a snow encrusted branch. “Why are you in a tree, Edith?”
“Never you mind that. To what do I owe the honour of your visit?”
I blink. Never mind why she's in a tree? That will be a little hard to do. Good thing I brought a list of questions. “First, I'd like to know more about living on Bruton Street and the neighbourhood, if you would please.”
“Still on about that, are you? Well, all your neighbours will be most respectable. We’re from old families around here.”
Respectable is hard to believe when she's hanging onto the side of a tree, but she's always been the epitome of grace my last few visits. Maybe she has a good reason for being up there.
"Is there anything else, Mrs. Darling?" Edith sounds a little stressed, which I suppose is reasonable considering her precarious situation.
"Ah, yes." I consult my list. "But what specifically about the houses. What could I expect if I let out a terrace house on Bruton Street?"
“The drawing rooms tend to be quite large and therefore drafty, and the bedrooms can be bad. But we’ve easy access to Berkeley Square. You know that's a favourite of mine.”
Not ringing indorsements if you ask me. “How can Berkeley Square offset drafty drawing rooms and bad bedrooms?”
“The Pot and Pineapple of course. Oh, look! I can see the pineapple on their shop sign from up here. The proprietor makes the most delectable ices. Have you gone to try one yet? May I recommend the coffee flavour? It's my favourite.”
"Coffee?" I try not to gag. "My husband likes coffee, but I must confess I only love the smell of it."
"Oh, that's a shame."
“Does it get a little cramped living in the terrace houses?" Or up that tree. "What if you don't get along with your neighbours?” Is that why she's in a tree?
Edith laughs. "That's never been a problem for us. Lord and Lady Liffey are wonderful.” And yet, her face takes on a sad quality to it. I'm pretty sure I know why.
“Any word on their son, Clarence Beauchamp? Has he come back to the city?”
"No."
Yep, definitely sad, and maybe even worried.
I don't know much about Mr. Beauchamp, the second son of Lord Liffey. He was Edith's dearest friend until he left for university and didn't come back to London. Edith hasn't seen him in years, but last time I was here, the servants were muttering something about 'more than friendship between those two.'
“About Clarence—"
“Mrs. Darling, I'm afraid I’ll have to take my leave now. I've most pressing business to complete. Good day.”
Well, that was abrupt. What could she have possibly remembered in the middle of our conversation? Does it have to do with why she's up there, or because I started asking about Clarence. She has clammed up the last few times I tried to pry more info out of her.
Oh well, there will be no more answers today. I best be going for now. It's so cold here. There's even snow. Actually, there's been snow my last few visits.
I thought snow was rare in London. Most puzzling.
Want to know what Edith's doing in a tree? Subscribers will be given a sneak peek into the very adorable reason in September 2oth's newsletter. Non-subscribers will have to wait until November's character interview.
Next month, I'll bring you Clarence's introduction!
Has anyone ever tried Regency styled ices before? I'd love to know!
And here's one more photo. These are terraced houses on Berkeley Square 50 years after Edith's story.
Until next month. Take care!
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