TITLE: 1957
RATED: (Late) T
DISCLAIMER : I don't own Eloise or it's characters and I don't make any money from this story. Only the original characters, plots and ideas belong to me.
SUMMARY : Eloise Fan Fic, which takes place in the year 1957 (It will be immediately following "Eloise At Christmastime" ). Based on the relationship of Nanny and Sir Wilkes.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is pretty long. It gives a background of Nanny. The next chapter will give a background of Wilkes. Please, please tell me what you think!
CHAPTER 1: Through the eyes of a nanny
Nanny opened the door to her bedroom, where Wilkes was waiting for her in her bed. He had the covers tucked around his waist, revealing the dusting of gray hair on his chest. As she closed the door behind her, and turned the lock, she winked at him. A wide smile spread across his face. She walked slowly across the room to her bed. He shifted himself as she approached him, and she was pleased to realize that he was immensely excited. She crawled onto the bed, in her peach colored slip and sat straddling him.
"Do you like this?", she asked, rather forwardly, as she ran her hands up and down his chest.
"Oh... Yes!"
"And, ah, this?", she asked, as she bent down, nibbling his ear lobe and kissing his neck.
"Oh Nanny! Please don't stop! That feels so absolutely... remarkably... Wonderful!"
Nanny stopped kissing him, despite his protests and sat up once more. She gave him a crooked smile, before releasing the straps of her slip. His intake of breath let her know that he liked what he saw.
"Na... Nanny... Before we... I feel I must tell you... I would, er, like you to know how I feel... about you"
"Aoww, it's alright Wilkes. I already know Love. You're in love with me. You 'ave been for quite, quite, quite a long time now!"
"Oh, Nanny... Yes! Exactly right"
"I love you too Willie"
"You... You do?"
"Aoww... Yes, yes, yes my sweet'eart!"
"And would you ever care to... you know... marry me?"
"Oh Sir Wilkes! Yes, yes, yes!"
"You... You... Really ?! "
"Yes my knight! Yes!"
"This weekend then?"
She laughed in reply to his eagerness, "Yes my love. This weekend would be divine, divine, divine!"
"Shall we, er..., wait for our wedding night then?", he asked.
She suspected that his question had more to do with his wanting to be a gentleman then his actual wants.
"Would you like to wait?", she asked.
"Oh, well... "
She reached her hand under the covers then, and he groaned and turned them both so that she was on her back, "No!", he replied as he began kissing her, all over.
"Aoww... Wilkes! Yes, yes, yes!", she panted, as she closed her eyes.
"Nanny!", was heard.
"Willie! Wilkes, Wilkes, Wilkes!", she replied.
Just then a shrill "Naaaaaanny!", was heard.
"Wilkes!"
"Naaaaaanny!", she heard again, she realized now that the words had not come from Wilkes.
She opened her eyes and found that the voice had been that of Eloise, who was standing before her, saying something about doing her rounds. It was a dream! It had all been a dream, dream, dream! Well, of course it had.
Nanny got up and started her day. Her disappointment slowly dissipated, as it always did after such dreams. Of course it was a dream. How could she be so foolish as to have allowed herself to believe otherwise.
The thing about the relationship between Nanny and Sir Wilkes, was that they did not exactly have a relationship, not in a definable sense of the word. They were friends, yes, and neighbors, but also... something more, although that "something" had yet to be explored.
As Nanny dressed in her room, she thought about the first time she had seen Sir Wilkes, in the Fall of 1955...
He had been strolling through the lobby of The Plaza, with his walking stick and his bowler hat. Nanny had been outside talking to Margaret, the carriage driver whom she had befriended long ago. She was just stepping inside when she looked up and saw him, so handsome in his three-piece suit. She stood there, looking at him. Which probably had looked utterly foolish on hindsight. He strolled past and tipped his hat politely. She watched him walk out into the busy New York street, before she approached Ms. Thompson at the front desk and asked whom he was. Ms. Thompson explained that Sir Wilkes was a knight, whom had taken up residence at The Plaza for the cooler months. He would return to England the summer. Nanny had tried not to pay much attention to him after learning he was a knight, far too high above her station. Besides, she was too, too, too old for romance.
Nanny snapped out of her memories of Wilkes for long enough to pour her coffee and munch her bacon, which William had already brought in. She saw, with a sigh, that Eloise had not touched her oatmeal. She sat eating her breakfast, thinking, once again, about those early days when she would see Sir Wilkes...
She had grown accustomed to peeking at him from behind pillars in the lobby, or from thee other side of the elevator, and more often then not, from behind the doors of her suite. Eloise had introduced herself to him early on, and he had been polite. She also introduced Nanny, as her "mostly companion" and Sir Wilkes had greeted her by name after that. This went on for several months until the time of The Debutante Ball.
That week, Eloise had been so excited. A prince was staying at the hotel and everyone was preparing for the ball. There was activity everywhere. That was a turning point, that week. It had been that week that Eloise had acknowledged that she knew Nanny liked Sir Wilkes, and encouraged her to talk to him. Sir Wilkes began acting differently around her as well. She had first noticed it when he had greeted her in an elevator one afternoon...
"Nanny", he had said, nodding towards her.
She had been surprised to see him, and had jumped at bit, before replying, "Sir Wilkes!"
This was not an uncommon exchange between them, his reaction to her flushing and hurried breathing, however, was. He smiled and looked down at his feet, and she realized that he knew that she liked him. She also realized that he had liked thee attention. They both stood there, blushing. It was then, that Mrs. Daniels, who was standing in front of them, overheard his title and ruined the moment by inviting him to The Debutante Ball. He had nodded as the doors closed on her, acknowledging that he might like to attend. This, of course, had been rather a sad sight for Nanny.
Later that day, however, as a result of a twist of fate and a certain six-year-old, Wilkes and Nanny had tea. Although, Mrs. Daniels had been with them as well. That tea had been quite pivotal, it seemed. Wilkes made it very clear that he found Mrs. Daniels dreadful and that he would very much like Nanny to stay for tea, despite the fact that her invitation had been a ruse by Eloise. Over tea they had smiled at one another and roled their eyes at Mrs. Daniels droning on and on.
At one point they began talking about where Mrs. Daniel's daughter, Molly, might go for college and Nanny had told her to listen to her daughter... She told her that Eloise always reminded her that it wasn't enough to follow your own heart. You had to also listen to what was in other people's hearts. She had been looking directly at Wilkes as she said this. He had nodded, as his face changed, and she could feel that they were really talking about the two of them.
Then came the ball, where she had looked for Wilkes, but thought better of it. After some urging from Eoise, she looked for him some more, and as it turned out he had been looking for her as well. They stood awkwardly by the food, as Wilkes swayed his head to the music. She had worked up the courage, and asked him to dance. He had eagerly agreed... And then things had really changed between them. They had danced, and talked all evening. Neither of them dancing, or talking to anyone else. He smiled at her and breathed in a way that made it clear to her that her feelings were returned. He did admire her.
Sir Wilkes had started calling her by her birthname, Suzanne, after that. Only when it was just the two of them. Nanny dropped the Sir, and called him Wilkes, but not when addressing him to others.
They spent time together taking walks in the park, having tea in The Palm Court or an occasional drink in the oak room. All this ended, however, when summer came and Wilkes returned to England. He made it clear that he would be returning in the fall, and even asked Nanny if she might care to fly out and stay for a week or two in his castle, when her holiday time came. She had declined however. It did just not seem right. He was a knight and she was a nanny. They were friends, and obviously both wanted something more, but it seemed as though that might never happen.
Nanny cleaned up her breakfast and plunked herself down in a chair, with her book. She could not concentrate however, as she thought about the previous summer...
She had missed Wilkes so, so, so much last summer! The weeks stretched on endlessly without their weekly teas or walks. She had gone to Paris with Eloise and her mother, Hillary, but she had not enjoyed it. All she could think about was Wilkes, and she wondered if she had made a dreadful mistake by not visiting him at his castel, as he had suggested.
The fall did eventually come, however, and Sir Wilkes returned to The Plaza. This time, when she had seen him walking across the lobby for the first time, after he arrived home, it had been very different from the year before. Instead of tipping his hat and walking past, he walked directly to her with a broad smile on his face.
"Nanny!", he had said, kissing her hand, "I have missed you"
That had been the first night that Nanny had had a dream about Wilkes. Well, she had dreamed about him before, but not... Steamy dreams.
Once he was settled in, they began spending time together once again. They once again went for walks, and had teas, but he also began visiting her in her suite to watch television. She would also visit him, and they would put on his Beethoven records and drink hot toddies. They enjoyed each other's company, although they were still a bit shy and uneasy when they were alone. They began to be seen around The Plaza, she suspected, as companions.
The Holiday season quickly came upon them, and Eloise had encouraged Nanny to find Wilkes the perfect gift to show him how she felt about him. She had obsessively searched for something, but had come up with nothing. What she did, however, end up giving him... Was a kiss on the cheek. It had happened under the Christmas tree, in the lobby of the hotel. He had flushed and his eyes had opened wide, but she smiled when she saw that he was just being shy and had enjoyed it. They quickly began singing carols with thee other tenants and staff, neither wanting to linger on what had fueled the kiss. Hillary arrived home soon after, and the rest of the evening had more or less revolved around her.
She had rode upstairs with Wilkes that night and had paused under the mistletoe above her door, which she suspected Eloise hung after arriving back at their suite with her mother earlier. Wilkes looked at it and glanced back at Nanny, before looking down at the floor. She begged him in her mind to kiss her properly, but he ultimately took her hand and placed a light kiss on it, before saying goodnight and returning to his own suite. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to. Nanny knew that, and used it the fight her instinct to feel rejected. He just simply could not seem to do it.
Wilkes had joined them for Christmas dinner the next day, where he had given her a pair of rare pearl earrings. He seemed to think she would not like them, but she had. Not that she usually wore pearls, but simply because they were from him. They were divine, divine, divine! They had a nice Christmas, drinking eggnog and watching Eloise tear open gifts. They watched a Holiday movie on tv and went for a snowy walk through Central Park. That night Wilkes took her hand and kissed it, as he had Hillary's, before saying goodnight.
He had come by her suite and said goodbye before he left the next morning. He was going to visit his sister in England for the new year. He would return on January second, he had informed Nanny.
"It will be 1957 then, Can you imagine?", Wilkes had said before he departed.
Nanny had watched him go, that morning, and felt a pang of sorrow. Would he ever kiss her? Would they ever be a real couple? She knew that was a silly way of thinking for a woman her age, in her station in life, but she could not help it. They had agreed to meet for tea that afternoon when he returned... This afternoon.
Nanny closed her book and went in her bedroom to choose something to wear for their tea. Hillary had brought her back a gold silk dress from Paris for Christmas. It was beautiful, but not much like something Nanny would normally wear. Nanny had a closet full of things from Hillary. Beautiful things that she never wore. She wanted to wear them, but she hadn't the nerve to wear any of them as of yet. She picked out a pink silk blouse and a grey wool skirt, which she thought might be a little dressier. She decided to also wear the comfortable grey pumps what Hillary had long ago given her, that she seldom wore. She opened her underwear drawer and took out her other gift from Hillary, a new corset. Hillary had given her two. A black one, which she was wearing, and a pink one with lace, which she took out now. They were both made of spandex, which was much, much, much more comfortable then her old fashioned one, which dug into her. Sitting down on the bed to admire her outfit, she wondered why she did not dress up more. She supposed it was because she had been so used to wearing uniforms in her past positions. She reflect then on the career she had had...
Nanny had been a nanny all of her life. She had gotten her first position fifty years before. Caring for the children of a wealthy banker in London, Mr. Shipman, who' s wife was far too busy with her society life to be bothered with the children. She had stayed with them, until the youngest, Liza, had graduated high school. Nanny was 33-years-old by then. She had had a boyfriend whom she had spent the weekends with in her early years with the Shipman's, but he had been killed in the first world war. Along with him, died Nanny's dream of having a family of her own.
After the Shipman children were grown, Nanny went to work for a family in Whales, whom had a lovely estate with lots of servants. She had been one of several nanny's who tended to the children. She worked for them for for six years, but once the depression hit, they cut back their help and Nanny was let go.
She moved home to London and stayed with her Aunt Fanny after that. It was a year until she was able to find another nanny position. She finally did in 1930, right after her 40th Birthday. She began working for the Cook family then. A widower, with two daughters aged six and ten. Mr. Cook was a couple of years younger then Nanny. He was subtly handsome and painfully shy. They did many things together as "a family", and spent a great deal of time together in their middle class house in the English countryside. After a few years of working for Mr. Cook, Nanny found that she had fallen in love with him. This terrified her. Especially since she was quite sure the feelings were not returned.
A couple of years later, however, Hubert Cook had his sister come and watch the children for the evening, so that he and Nanny could have dinner together. They were celebrating Nanny's 45th Birthday and her 5th year with the family. He had told Nanny that he loved her that night, much to her surprise, and she had joyfully returned his sentiment.
That night Hubert had tiptoed into her room, after the children had gone to bed, and they had made love. Nanny awoke the next morning feeling sure that he would want to marry her. That day, however, they had taken a walk in the garden alone and he had told her that the night before had been a mistake. He said that he was very fond of her, but with living so close, he believed he had mixed fondness up with love. Nanny's heart was broken. As hard as it was to leave the children, she left the next morning for The United States.
She had stayed with a friend whom she knew from her school days, until she was able to find a position, luckily quite soon thereafter, as a nanny. It had been for Eloise's mother, Hillary. Her father, Mr. Knight had hired Nanny to care for his six-year-old daughter Hillary at their residence in The Plaza Hotel.
Mr. Knight died ten years later, naming Nanny as Hillary's guardian. Hillary graduated from high school the next year and went off to College. Nanny took up watching some of the children at The Plaza part time, while Hillary was away. This went on until right after Hillary graduated from College, came home to The Plaza, and announced she was pregnant.
Hillary asked Nanny if she would care for the child after it was born, while she traveled and fulfilled her dream of entering the fashion industry. Nanny, who was very fond of Hillary, gladly excepted. Seven months later her baby was born, little Eloise, after Hillary's late mother.
Nanny was more fond of Eloise then she had been of any of her previous charges. The child had the most wonderful sense of adventure and zest for life... Much like herself. Although at times that got her into a fair share of trouble. All the same. She loved Eloise as if she was her own granddaughter.
After laying out her outfit, Nanny put her thoughts aside and found Weenie, Eloise's dog, to embark on a walk. She rode down in the elevator, and across the lobby, smiling at all the staff, who knew her so well. She passed the large Christmas tree, which still stood in the lobby, as she made her way to the doors. She looked up and saw a familiar face coming towards her then.
"Sir Wilkes!", she said with a bright smile, as he walked towards.
"Ah! Nanny!", he said, as he placed his suitcase at his feet and kissed her hand, "I have missed you"
... TO BE CONTINUED
"Right. Brilliant... Er, Nanny?... Do you think... Would you ever want
to marry me Nanny?"
"Oh Sir Wilkes! Yes, yes, yes!"
"Really ?! "
"Yes my knight! Yes!"
"This weekend then?"
She laughed in reply to his eagerness, "Yes my love. This weekend
would be divine, divine, divine!"
"Shall we, er..., wait for our wedding night then?", he asked.
She suspected that his question had more to do with his wanting to be
a gentleman then his actual wants.
"Would you like to wait?", she asked.
"Oh, well... "
She reached her hand under the covers then, and he groaned and turned
them both so that she was on her back, "No!", he replied as he began
kissing her, all over.
"Aoww... Wilkes! Yes, yes, yes!", she panted, as she closed her eyes.
"Nanny!", was heard.
"Willie! Wilkes, Wilkes, Wilkes!", she replied.
Just then a shrill "Naaaaaanny!", was heard.
"Wilkes!"
"Naaaaaanny!", she heard again, she realized now that the words had
not come from Wilkes.
She opened her eyes and found that the voice had been that of Eloise,
who was standing before her, saying something about doing her rounds.
It was a dream! It had all been a dream, dream, dream! Well, of course
it had.
Nanny got up and started her day. Her disappointment slowly
dissipated, as it always did after such dreams. Of course it was a
dream. How could she be so foolish as to have allowed herself to
believe otherwise.
The thing about the relationship between Nanny and Sir Wilkes, was
that they did not exactly have a relationship, not in a definable
sense of the word. They were friends, yes, and neighbors, but also...
something more, although that "something" had yet to be explored.
As Nanny dressed in her room, she thought about the first time she had
seen Sir Wilkes, in the Fall of 1955...
He had been strolling through the lobby of The Plaza, with his walking
stick and his bowler hat. Nanny had been outside talking to Margaret,
the carriage driver whom she had befriended long ago. She was just
stepping inside when she looked up and saw him, so handsome in his
three-piece suit. She stood there, looking at him. Which probably had
looked utterly foolish on hindsight. He strolled past and tipped his
hat politely. She watched him walk out into the busy New York street,
before she approached Ms. Thompson at the front desk and asked whom he
was. Ms. Thompson explained that Sir Wilkes was a knight, whom had
taken up residence at The Plaza for the cooler months. He would
return to England the summer. Nanny had tried not to pay much
attention to him after learning he was a knight, far too high above
her station. Besides, she was too, too, too old for romance.
Nanny snapped out of her memories of Wilkes for long enough to pour
her coffee and munch her bacon, which William had already brought in.
She saw, with a sigh, that Eloise had not touched her oatmeal. She sat
eating her breakfast, thinking, once again, about those early days
when she would see Sir Wilkes...
She had grown accustomed to peeking at him from behind pillars in the
lobby, or from thee other side of the elevator, and more often then
not, from behind the doors of her suite. Eloise had introduced herself
to him early on, and he had been polite. She also introduced Nanny, as
her "mostly companion" and Sir Wilkes had greeted her by name after
that. This went on for several months until the time of The Debutante
Ball.
That week, Eloise had been so excited. A prince was staying at the
hotel and everyone was preparing for the ball. There was activity
everywhere. That was a turning point, that week. It had been that week
that Eloise had acknowledged that she knew Nanny liked Sir Wilkes, and
encouraged her to talk to him. Sir Wilkes began acting differently
around her as well. She had first noticed it when he had greeted her
in an elevator one afternoon...
"Nanny", he had said, nodding towards her.
She had been surprised to see him, and had jumped at bit, before
replying, "Sir Wilkes!"
This was not an uncommon exchange between them, his reaction to her
flushing and hurried breathing, however, was. He smiled and looked
down at his feet, and she realized that he knew that she liked him.
She also realized that he had liked thee attention. They both stood
there, blushing. It was then, that Mrs. Daniels, who was standing in
front of them, overheard his title and ruined the moment by inviting
him to The Debutante Ball. He had nodded as the doors closed on her,
acknowledging that he might like to attend. This, of course, had been
rather a sad sight for her.
Later that day, however, as a result of a twist of fate and a certain
six-year-old, Wilkes and she had tea. Although, Mrs. Daniels had been
with them as well. That tea had been quite pivotal, it seemed. Wilkes
made it very clear that he found Mrs. Daniels dreadful and that he
would very much like Nanny to stay for tea, despite the fact that her
invitation had been a ruse by Eloise. Over tea they had smiled at one
another and roled their eyes at Mrs. Daniels droning on and on.
At one point they began talking about where Mrs. Daniel's daughter,
Molly, might go for college and Nanny had told her to listen to her
daughter... She told her that Eloise always reminded her that it
wasn't enough to follow your own heart. You had to also listen to what
was in other people's hearts. She had been looking directly at Wilkes
as she said this. He had nodded, as his face changed, and she could
feel that they were really talking about the two of them.
Then came the ball, where she had looked for Wilkes, but thought
better of it. After some urging from Eoise, she looked for him some
more, and as it turned out he had been looking for her as well. They
stood awkwardly by the food, as Wilkes swayed his head to the music.
She had worked up the courage, and asked him to dance. He had eagerly
agreed... And then things had really changed between them. They had
danced, and talked all evening. Neither of them dancing, or talking to
anyone else. He smiled at her and breathed in a way that made it clear
to her that her feelings were returned. He did admire her.
Sir Wilkes had started calling her by her birthname, Suzanne, after
that. Only when it was just the two of them. Nanny dropped the Sir,
and called him Wilkes, but not when addressing him to others.
They spent time together taking walks in the park, having tea in The
Palm Court or an occasional drink in the oak room. All this ended,
however, when summer came and Wilkes returned to England. He made it
clear that he would be returning in the fall, and even asked Nanny if
she might care to fly out and stay for a week or two in his castle,
when her holiday time came. She had declined however. It did just not
seem right. He was a knight and she was a nanny. They were friends,
and obviously both wanted something more, but it seemed as though that
might never happen.
Nanny cleaned up her breakfast and plunked herself down in a chair,
with her book. She could not concentrate however, as she thought about
the previous summer...
She had missed Wilkes so, so, so much last summer! The weeks stretched
on endlessly without their weekly teas or walks. She had gone to Paris
with Eloise and her mother, Hillary, but she had not enjoyed it. All
she could think about was Wilkes, and she wondered if she had made a
dreadful mistake by not visiting him at his castle, as he had
suggested.
The fall did eventually come, however, and Sir Wilkes returned to The
Plaza. This time, when she had seen him walking across the lobby for
the first time, after he arrived home, it had been very different from
the year before. Instead of tipping his hat and walking past, he
walked directly to her with a broad smile on his face.
"Nanny!", he had said, kissing her hand, "I have missed you"
That had been the first night that Nanny had had a dream about Wilkes.
Well, she had dreamed about him before, but not... steamy dreams.
Once he was settled in, they began spending time together once again.
They once again went for walks, and had teas, but he also began
visiting her in her suite to watch television. She would also visit
him, and they would put on his Beethoven records and drink hot
toddies. They enjoyed each other's company, although they were still a
bit shy and uneasy when they were alone. They began to be seen around
The Plaza, she suspected, as companions.
The Holiday season quickly came upon them, and Eloise had encouraged
Nanny to find Wilkes the perfect gift to show him how she felt about
him. She had obsessively searched for something, but had come up with
nothing. What she did, however, end up giving him... Was a kiss on the
cheek. It had happened under the Christmas tree, in the lobby of the
hotel. He had flushed and his eyes had opened wide, but she smiled
when she saw that he was just being shy and had enjoyed it. They
quickly began singing carols with thee other tenants and staff,
neither wanting to linger on what had fueled the kiss. Hillary arrived
home soon after, and the rest of the evening had more or less revolved
around her.
She had rode upstairs with Wilkes that night and had paused under the
mistletoe above her door, which she suspected Eloise hung after
arriving back at their suite with her mother earlier. Wilkes looked at
it and glanced back at Nanny, before looking down at the floor. She
begged him in her mind to kiss her properly, but he ultimately took
her hand and placed a light kiss on it, before saying goodnight and
returning to his own suite. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to. Nanny
knew that, and used it the fight her instinct to feel rejected. He
just simply could not seem to do it.
Wilkes had joined them for Christmas dinner the next day, where he had
given her a pair of rare pearl earrings. He seemed to think she would
not like them, but she had. Not that she usually wore pearls, but
simply because they were from him. They were divine, divine, divine!
They had a nice Christmas, drinking eggnog and watching Eloise tear
open gifts. They watched a Holiday movie on tv and went for a snowy
walk through Central Park. That night Wilkes took her hand and kissed
it, as he had Hillary's, before saying goodnight.
He had come by her suite and said goodbye before he left the next
morning. He was going to visit his sister in England for the new year.
He would return on January second, he had informed Nanny.
"It will be 1957 then, Can you imagine?", Wilkes had said before he departed.
Nanny had watched him go, that morning, and felt a pang of sorrow.
Would he ever kiss her? Would they ever be a real couple? She knew
that was a silly way of thinking for a woman her age, in her station
in life, but she could not help it. They had agreed to meet for tea
that afternoon when he returned... This afternoon.
Nanny closed her book and went in her bedroom to choose something to
wear for their tea. Hillary had brought her back a gold silk dress
from Paris for Christmas. It was beautiful, but not much like
something Nanny would normally wear. Nanny had a closet full of things
from Hillary. Beautiful things that she never wore. She wanted to wear
them, but she hadn't the nerve to wear any of them as of yet. She
picked out a pink silk blouse and a grey wool skirt, which she thought
might be a little dressier. She decided to also wear the comfortable
grey pumps what Hillary had long ago given her, that she seldom wore.
She opened her underwear drawer and took out her other gift from
Hillary, a new corset. Hillary had given her two. A black one, which
she was wearing, and a pink one with lace, which she took out now.
They were both made of spandex, which was much, much, much more
comfortable then her old fashioned one, which dug into her. Sitting
down on the bed to admire her outfit, she wondered why she did not
dress up more. She supposed it was because she had been so used to
wearing uniforms in her past positions. She reflect then on the career
she had had...
Nanny had been a nanny all of her life. She had gotten her first
position fifty years before. Caring for the children of a wealthy
banker in London, Mr. Shipman, who' s wife was far too busy with her
society life to be bothered with the children. She had stayed with
them, until the youngest, Liza, had graduated high school. Nanny was
33-years-old by then. She had had a boyfriend whom she had spent the
weekends with in her early years with the Shipman's, but he had been
killed in the first world war. Along with him, died Nanny's dream of
having a family of her own.
After the Shipman children were grown, Nanny went to work for a family
in Whales, whom had a lovely estate with lots of servants. She had
been one of several nanny's who tended to the children. She worked for
them for for six years, but once the depression hit, they cut back
their help and Nanny was let go.
She moved home to London and stayed with her Aunt Fanny after that. It
was a year until she was able to find another nanny position. She
finally did in 1930, right after her 40th Birthday. She began working
for the Cook family then. A widower, with two daughters aged six and
ten. Mr. Cook was a couple of years younger then Nanny. He was subtly
handsome and painfully shy. They did many things together as "a
family", and spent a great deal of time together in their middle class
house in the English countryside. After a few years of working for Mr.
Cook, Nanny found that she had fallen in love with him. This terrified
her. Especially since she was quite sure the feelings were not
returned.
A couple of years later, however, Hubert Cook had his sister come and
watch the children for the evening, so that he and Nanny could have
dinner together. They were celebrating Nanny's 45th Birthday and her
5th year with the family. He had told Nanny that he loved her that
night, much to her surprise, and she had joyfully returned his
sentiment.
That night Hubert had tiptoed into her room, after the children had
gone to bed, and they had made love. Nanny awoke the next morning
feeling sure that he would want to marry her. That day, however, they
had taken a walk in the garden alone and he had told her that the
night before had been a mistake. He said that he was very fond of her,
but with living so close, he believed he had mixed fondness up with
love. Nanny's heart was broken. As hard as it was to leave the
children, she left the next morning for The United States.
She had stayed with a friend whom she knew from her school days, until
she was able to find a position, luckily quite soon thereafter, as a
nanny. It had been for Eloise's mother, Hillary. Her father, Mr.
Knight had hired Nanny to care for his six-year-old daughter Hillary
at their residence in The Plaza Hotel.
Mr. Knight died ten years later, naming Nanny as Hillary's guardian.
Hillary graduated from high school the next year and went off to
College. Nanny took up watching some of the children at The Plaza part
time, while Hillary was away. This went on until right after Hillary
graduated from College, came home to The Plaza, and announced she was
pregnant.
Hillary asked Nanny if she would care for the child after it was born,
while she traveled and fulfilled her dream of entering the fashion
industry. Nanny, who was very fond of Hillary, gladly excepted. Seven
months later her baby was born, little Eloise, after Hillary's late
mother.
Nanny was more fond of Eloise then she had been of any of her previous
charges. The child had the most wonderful sense of adventure and zest
for life... Much like herself. Although at times that got her into a
fair share of trouble. All the same. She loved Eloise as if she was
her own granddaughter.
After laying out her outfit, Nanny put her thoughts aside and found
Weenie, Eloise's dog, to embark on a walk. She rode down in the
elevator, and across the lobby, smiling at all the staff, who knew her
so well. She passed the large Christmas tree, which still stood in the
lobby, as she made her way to the doors. She looked up and saw a
familiar face coming towards her then.
"Sir Wilkes!", she said with a bright smile, as he walked towards.
"Ah! Nanny!", he said, as he placed his suitcase at his feet and
kissed her hand, "I have missed you"
... TO BE CONTINUED