London, March 1958.
"Edward, have you seen where I put my fur coat?" Eliza called to her husband, who was in the sitting room of their hotel suite reading the paper calmly.
"I've got no idea where you put it sweetie." Edward called back.
Eliza continued on her search for the coat. It wasn't that it was particularly cold in London, even though it was only the beginning of Spring, but rather the fact that, that evening they would be having dinner with Richard's parents who were driving down from their country estate in Yorkshire for the evening. Eliza and Edward had arrived in London three days before, bringing with them Ben's apologies- he had only been working at the firm in New York for seven months and it was too soon to ask for time off. Margaret, who had met them at the pier, wasn't too fussed by his absence. Eliza supposed this was the fact that she'd been living so far away for so long.
*****
Margaret had squealed with excitement when she saw them, and rushed over to hug them both excitedly. Eliza had only had a chance to survey her daughter for the first time in five years, when she finally pulled back from her parents. Her long black hair had been cut shorter, although she still had it in a bun, which set off her tanned, happy face perfectly. She was wearing a skirt and matching jacket, which were surprisingly quite modest, comparing her to the other young girls of her age lately who were beginning to wear shorter skirts, and in some very rare cases even jeans.
"Mama, Papa, I'm so glad to see you. Wait until you meet Richard- you're going to love him. He's simply darling." Margaret had said as they got their bags organized.
"And what is Richard going to do when he's finished at Oxford?" Edward had asked.
"Probably follow in his Father's footsteps.run the family business, go into Politics, the usual." Margaret had explained, with a shrug.
"And you?" Edward asked.
"Me?" Margaret laughed. "I don't know. I suppose I will probably take on some charity work, and hopefully have children. We both want children desperately."
Eliza had smiled politely, but inwardly she was thinking that Margaret seemed too young to be having children. And joining charities- well there was no doubt that Margaret would fit well into the social circles she was going to be part of.
Margaret had a car waiting outside, and she ushered them in. "Richard lets me use this whenever I need to, but he said he will buy me one of my own as a wedding present." She explained, as they all got settled.
"I just hope you've improved your driving skills if you're driving something like this around." Edward said dryly.
Margaret simply laughed. "I'll take you to the hotel to drop your things off first, and then you must come and meet Richard." She said.
"Margaret, has it occurred to you that your mother might want to have a sleep or freshen up first?" Edward asked.
"Oh no, Edward, I'm fine really. I only had a shower a few hours ago, and I'm perfectly fresh, and I'm very much looking forward to meeting Richard." Eliza argued.
Edward sighed. "Very well then." He said.
At the hotel they checked in and made sure that everything was taken care of before getting back in the car. As she drove Margaret explained "We're staying at his parents London residence. They don't use it very much anymore, except when Mr. Monksfield- Richard Senior- is down for some political thing."
Margaret stopped the car in front of an elegant, two-story house, set slightly back from the street. "This is it- home."
"You mean," Edward asked slowly. "You're both staying here. You're not living in your flat anymore?"
"Well no, I mean there was no point was there? I couldn't afford it anymore, and this has plenty of space. And relax Papa- we have separate rooms." Margaret said with a smile.
Edward's face went red, and he said no more as Margaret led them inside the house. "Darling, we're home!" Margaret called as they walked into the large hallway. Eliza, glancing around, noticed a few paintings and pieces of art which she thought would have been pretty expensive.
A man came out of one of the doorways. He was tall, with dark hair, and bright blue eyes, and he was dressed neatly in slacks and a shirt. He smiled at his fiancée first. "Did you make good time?" He asked.
"Yes, great." Margaret replied, smiling back. "Richard, I'd like you to meet my parents."
Richard stepped forward to take Edward's hand in a firm grip. "Delighted to meet you at last Mr. Gracie. I've heard a lot about you- Margaret's always talking about you."
Edward smiled. "It's nice to meet you too. And please-call me Edward."
Eliza smiled too and stepped forward- Edward's words were a sure sign that Richard had been studied and found acceptable. "I'm Eliza." She said. "It's nice to meet my future son-in-law."
Richard smiled, and welcomed her too. "I hope Margaret told you that you didn't have to stay in the hotel- you would have been perfectly welcome to stay here." He told them.
"Well we didn't want to get in the way." Edward explained. "Anyway, I believe we're heading up to your parent's estate in a week or so to get things organized for the wedding up there anyway."
"OH MAMA!" Margaret cried. "You must come with me to see the dress I am getting. I waited until you got here to get the final approval first. We could go now!"
"Margaret," Richard laughed. "Your parents have just crossed the ocean, don't you think they might be tired?"
"I am a bit tired Margaret. Do you think we could do it tomorrow?" Eliza asked. She wanted to sit down and talk to Richard and get to know the man her daughter was marrying before she did anything else.
Margaret pouted slightly, and then nodded. "That's fine Mama. And Richard's parents are coming down on Saturday night for dinner, so you'll get to meet them before we go up there on Wednesday."
"Shall we go and get a drink and sit down and talk?" Richard asked.
"Good idea." Edward agreed with a nod.
*****
"Found it!" Eliza called out triumphantly. She took the coat and her handbag out to where Edward was waiting.
"And where was it?" Edward asked, with a slight smile. "Where you left it last?"
Eliza laughed, as he got up from his seat and came over to help her put it on. "You look lovely." He said. "But you always do, you don't need a fur coat on to look lovely."
Eliza smiled and kissed him. "Thank you sweetie, but I want to make a good impression with Richard's parents. After all they're a Lady and a Lord!"
Edward snorted. "If we had aristocracy in America you might very well be a Lady too, so don't worry about that. We've only been here a little while and you're already involved in the English social gossip- don't think I didn't notice you pouring over the gossip section in the Times this morning." He said.
"Well I was reading about the Queen- isn't she gorgeous though?" Eliza replied, with a toss of her hair. "Are you ready? Let's go!"
"Do you know," Edward said as he picked up his keys and wallet. "You've been more like a kid than ever since we got here a couple of days ago? Running around like a tourist with Margaret, between dress fittings and whatnot."
"Well what if I have?" Eliza demanded as they left the room.
"I'm not saying it's not a good thing." Edward said hastily, taking her hand as they made their way to the lift. "On the contrary. Apart from at Ben's graduation I don't think I've seen you so happy in a long time."
"I think it's being here, and seeing Margaret and how happy she is." Eliza mused as they waited for the lift. "But you're happy too- you like Richard don't you?"
"Yes, he's a nice kid. Got a good, stable head on his shoulders. And most importantly- he adores Margaret, and she him." Edward replied.
"Edward, have you seen where I put my fur coat?" Eliza called to her husband, who was in the sitting room of their hotel suite reading the paper calmly.
"I've got no idea where you put it sweetie." Edward called back.
Eliza continued on her search for the coat. It wasn't that it was particularly cold in London, even though it was only the beginning of Spring, but rather the fact that, that evening they would be having dinner with Richard's parents who were driving down from their country estate in Yorkshire for the evening. Eliza and Edward had arrived in London three days before, bringing with them Ben's apologies- he had only been working at the firm in New York for seven months and it was too soon to ask for time off. Margaret, who had met them at the pier, wasn't too fussed by his absence. Eliza supposed this was the fact that she'd been living so far away for so long.
*****
Margaret had squealed with excitement when she saw them, and rushed over to hug them both excitedly. Eliza had only had a chance to survey her daughter for the first time in five years, when she finally pulled back from her parents. Her long black hair had been cut shorter, although she still had it in a bun, which set off her tanned, happy face perfectly. She was wearing a skirt and matching jacket, which were surprisingly quite modest, comparing her to the other young girls of her age lately who were beginning to wear shorter skirts, and in some very rare cases even jeans.
"Mama, Papa, I'm so glad to see you. Wait until you meet Richard- you're going to love him. He's simply darling." Margaret had said as they got their bags organized.
"And what is Richard going to do when he's finished at Oxford?" Edward had asked.
"Probably follow in his Father's footsteps.run the family business, go into Politics, the usual." Margaret had explained, with a shrug.
"And you?" Edward asked.
"Me?" Margaret laughed. "I don't know. I suppose I will probably take on some charity work, and hopefully have children. We both want children desperately."
Eliza had smiled politely, but inwardly she was thinking that Margaret seemed too young to be having children. And joining charities- well there was no doubt that Margaret would fit well into the social circles she was going to be part of.
Margaret had a car waiting outside, and she ushered them in. "Richard lets me use this whenever I need to, but he said he will buy me one of my own as a wedding present." She explained, as they all got settled.
"I just hope you've improved your driving skills if you're driving something like this around." Edward said dryly.
Margaret simply laughed. "I'll take you to the hotel to drop your things off first, and then you must come and meet Richard." She said.
"Margaret, has it occurred to you that your mother might want to have a sleep or freshen up first?" Edward asked.
"Oh no, Edward, I'm fine really. I only had a shower a few hours ago, and I'm perfectly fresh, and I'm very much looking forward to meeting Richard." Eliza argued.
Edward sighed. "Very well then." He said.
At the hotel they checked in and made sure that everything was taken care of before getting back in the car. As she drove Margaret explained "We're staying at his parents London residence. They don't use it very much anymore, except when Mr. Monksfield- Richard Senior- is down for some political thing."
Margaret stopped the car in front of an elegant, two-story house, set slightly back from the street. "This is it- home."
"You mean," Edward asked slowly. "You're both staying here. You're not living in your flat anymore?"
"Well no, I mean there was no point was there? I couldn't afford it anymore, and this has plenty of space. And relax Papa- we have separate rooms." Margaret said with a smile.
Edward's face went red, and he said no more as Margaret led them inside the house. "Darling, we're home!" Margaret called as they walked into the large hallway. Eliza, glancing around, noticed a few paintings and pieces of art which she thought would have been pretty expensive.
A man came out of one of the doorways. He was tall, with dark hair, and bright blue eyes, and he was dressed neatly in slacks and a shirt. He smiled at his fiancée first. "Did you make good time?" He asked.
"Yes, great." Margaret replied, smiling back. "Richard, I'd like you to meet my parents."
Richard stepped forward to take Edward's hand in a firm grip. "Delighted to meet you at last Mr. Gracie. I've heard a lot about you- Margaret's always talking about you."
Edward smiled. "It's nice to meet you too. And please-call me Edward."
Eliza smiled too and stepped forward- Edward's words were a sure sign that Richard had been studied and found acceptable. "I'm Eliza." She said. "It's nice to meet my future son-in-law."
Richard smiled, and welcomed her too. "I hope Margaret told you that you didn't have to stay in the hotel- you would have been perfectly welcome to stay here." He told them.
"Well we didn't want to get in the way." Edward explained. "Anyway, I believe we're heading up to your parent's estate in a week or so to get things organized for the wedding up there anyway."
"OH MAMA!" Margaret cried. "You must come with me to see the dress I am getting. I waited until you got here to get the final approval first. We could go now!"
"Margaret," Richard laughed. "Your parents have just crossed the ocean, don't you think they might be tired?"
"I am a bit tired Margaret. Do you think we could do it tomorrow?" Eliza asked. She wanted to sit down and talk to Richard and get to know the man her daughter was marrying before she did anything else.
Margaret pouted slightly, and then nodded. "That's fine Mama. And Richard's parents are coming down on Saturday night for dinner, so you'll get to meet them before we go up there on Wednesday."
"Shall we go and get a drink and sit down and talk?" Richard asked.
"Good idea." Edward agreed with a nod.
*****
"Found it!" Eliza called out triumphantly. She took the coat and her handbag out to where Edward was waiting.
"And where was it?" Edward asked, with a slight smile. "Where you left it last?"
Eliza laughed, as he got up from his seat and came over to help her put it on. "You look lovely." He said. "But you always do, you don't need a fur coat on to look lovely."
Eliza smiled and kissed him. "Thank you sweetie, but I want to make a good impression with Richard's parents. After all they're a Lady and a Lord!"
Edward snorted. "If we had aristocracy in America you might very well be a Lady too, so don't worry about that. We've only been here a little while and you're already involved in the English social gossip- don't think I didn't notice you pouring over the gossip section in the Times this morning." He said.
"Well I was reading about the Queen- isn't she gorgeous though?" Eliza replied, with a toss of her hair. "Are you ready? Let's go!"
"Do you know," Edward said as he picked up his keys and wallet. "You've been more like a kid than ever since we got here a couple of days ago? Running around like a tourist with Margaret, between dress fittings and whatnot."
"Well what if I have?" Eliza demanded as they left the room.
"I'm not saying it's not a good thing." Edward said hastily, taking her hand as they made their way to the lift. "On the contrary. Apart from at Ben's graduation I don't think I've seen you so happy in a long time."
"I think it's being here, and seeing Margaret and how happy she is." Eliza mused as they waited for the lift. "But you're happy too- you like Richard don't you?"
"Yes, he's a nice kid. Got a good, stable head on his shoulders. And most importantly- he adores Margaret, and she him." Edward replied.