Chapter 39 - An Unexpected Guest

The next morning the Porters did sleep in; well after their usual early morning wake up time. Tarzan and Jane snuggled together under the warm covers, the curtains of the four poster bed all drawn as a light frost formed on the windowpanes outside. Tarzan dozily woke up and saw his wife lying beside him, her hair slightly messed up from their lovemaking the night before.

As if by instinct Jane stirred and turned to face her husband, her lips making a dozy, sweet smile.

"Good morning wife."

"Good morning husband," Jane replied as they put their palms up each other's as they did every morning and Tarzan gently kissed her on the lips. "Sleep well?"

"Like a baby!" he grinned back, "This mattress is so comfy! We must get one just like this for the treehouse."

"Yes," Jane smiled as she recalled their robust but now getting slightly lumpy mattress back in Africa. "It's so strange not having everyone sleeping in the same room, especially the children. Strange but nice."

"I have been thinking about that," Tarzan said as he laid down on his side and propped up his head with his elbow. "I think that when we get back home we should buy building supplies and build another storey to the treehouse. I mean Belle is getting too old to sleep beside us now and she should have a room of her own and William too for when he's older. Maybe we should also have another room for your father so then we can have the lower floor to ourselves. He can have a little study in his room too."

"Gosh! You have really given this a lot of thought my dear!"

"So what do you think?"

"I love it," Jane beamed, "it's a stupendous idea darling! Absolutely stupendous!"

As they leaned in to kiss, a rustling sounded in the bedroom and Tarzan instinctively went for his rock knife, hidden under his pillow but Jane stopped him.

"It's only Daisy, she's just come in to light the fire," she explained and then quickly put her nightdress back on before drawing back the curtains at the foot of the bed. "Good morning Daisy," she smiled at the young maid who was kneeling before the fireplace as she finished lighting a small fire in the hearth.

"Good morning Madam!" Daisy immediately stood up and bobbed a polite curtsey, "Would you and the Master like to get ready for breakfast now?"

"Can we have some breakfast in bed please? Just eggs and soldiers, some toast and jam and a pot of tea will do just fine for us. My daughter will have some porridge and jam when she wakes up and I'm sure that my father will order his own breakfast."

"Yes'm," Daisy nodded a little anxiously, curtsied again before dashing down to the kitchen to tell Mrs Griggs what her master and mistress had requested for breakfast.

'She's so nervous," Tarzan remarked after Daisy had left the room, "like a spooked bird!"

"I think this is her first job," Jane replied as she got back into bed beside her husband. "So we must remember to be extra kind to her."

A little while later, Daisy delivered their breakfast to them and Tarzan was glad as he was starting to feel mighty peckish. "Thank you very much Daisy," he said as he took the heavy breakfast tray from her and he noticed that her little hands were slightly shaking. He gave her a big, friendly grin and Daisy seemed to relax a little, relieved that she was doing her task right.

"You're welcome Sir," she curtsied again and gave him a little grateful smile, enough to show the slender gap between her two front teeth before leaving them to eat their breakfast at a leisurely pace.

"So what's our plan for today?" Tarzan asked before he bit into a slice of hot, buttered toast whilst Jane dipped a solider into the golden, runny yolk of her boiled egg.

"I suppose we should unpack first and in a day or so we will go to Dr Willis-Turner and organise William's operation. The sooner the better I suppose."

Tarzan smiled and pecked his wife on the nose, making her giggle and then wiped off the buttery residue of his kiss with the back of her hand.

Later that day, the Porters were all washed and dressed and busy with unpacking their belongings. Tarzan was assisting Archimedes in his study whilst Mrs Fairfax helped Jane put away her and husband's belongings in their bedroom.

"Oh dear Madam, I do believe that something has broken in transit."

"Oh no!" Jane gasped and when she looked up she saw the photograph of Tarzan's parents and the cracked glass of its frame in Mrs Fairfax's hand. "Oh no, it has always been like that. It didn't break whilst travelling Mrs Fairfax."

"Handsome couple," Mrs Fairfax noted as she observed the young couple in the photograph and the bonny baby in the woman's arms. "Who are they if I may ask Madam?"

"They are Tarzan's parents. He must have packed it as I certainly didn't."

"Oh I see... what were their names?"

"We don't know. This photograph, a snuffbox and a signet ring of his father's are the only possessions of theirs that we have. We do believe that they were shipwrecked and then killed by a leopard before Kala, Tarzan's gorilla mother found him."

"Gosh!" Mrs Fairfax looked back at the photograph and instinctively made a sign of the cross, "may they rest in peace Madam."

Jane nodded and went back to unpacking whilst her housekeeper still observed the photograph.

"Would you like to have it put in a new frame Madam?" Mrs Fairfax eventually spoke. "It simply won't do having in it a splitting wooden frame and cracked glass. I'm sure we can purchase a pretty silver frame in Liberty's."

"Yes," Jane nodded, "that would be lovely Mrs Fairfax, thank you… and thank you for staying. I mean you, Carson and Mrs Griggs could have left and found other employment years ago… why did you decide to stay for all this time?"

"Because your mother and father were the kindest, most respectful employers all of us have ever worked for," Mrs Fairfax replied as she took some of Tarzan's shirts out of a suitcase and placed them in the chest of drawers. "Your father is a very generous man. He let us see our families regularly, he allowed Carson to spend as much paid time off as he needed when his sister had the consumption. He also helped my nephew Albie get into Oxford and then loaned him money to help him pass his bar examination, without interest you know. No other master would ever have done that and now our Albie is one of most respected lawyers in Kent with his own firm. It's very least we can do for all the good that Professor Porter and Mrs Porter have ever done for us."

"Mama! Mama!" the door suddenly burst open and in rushed Annabelle with Pollyanna tucked under her arm.

"What is it Anna?" Jane asked as Annabelle was slightly out of breath from both excitement and bounding down the stairs to their room.

"I saw a bird!" Annabelle replied, her voice full of pent up exhilaration. "Not like those I have seen back home! It was little and brown with a orangey red chest!"

"Why that's a robin redbreast my dear. It must have a nest somewhere in the garden," Mrs Fairfax said as Annabelle rushed over to the window to see if the robin had flown down to her parents' bedroom.

"Can I go out in the garden Mama?" Annabelle turned to her mother, "Can I please? I want to see if I can find the robin redbreast. I'll wrap up warm, I promise! Oh please oh please!" Annabelle pleaded as she sensed her mother preparing to say no.

"It's not the cold that I am worried about darling," Jane sighed sadly, "but if I let you play in the garden the neighbours will see and start to ask questions. Remember, we are in hiding darling."

"If I may be so bold Madam," Mrs Fairfax interjected as she saw Annabelle's bottom lip starting to pout. "If Miss Annabelle is allowed to play in the garden and the neighbours do ask questions then I can say she is one of my nieces or godchildren. I don't think that will raise suspicions."

Jane's face was sceptical and she shook her head. "I'm so sorry darling," she held out her arms to hug her daughter, "I hate to coop you up inside like this, but we have no choice. I cannot let you outside, not for a while anyway. I don't think it's a risk that we can take."

"Tell you what," Mrs Fairfax added, sensing that Annabelle was quite displeased with her mother's decision, "once you have helped Martha finish unpacking your things, then I will take you down to the kitchen and you can help Mrs Griggs prepare afternoon tea. You can help her make her renowned scones if you like?"

"Really? Will they have jam and clotted cream on them?" Annabelle asked, now intrigued by Mrs Fairfax's proposition.

"Of course! So what do you say my dear?"

"Alright," Annabelle conceded and make a sweet smile, "I'll go back up and help Martha unpack… thank you Mrs Fairfax."

"You're welcome Miss Annabelle, off you go now."

As her daughter left the bedroom, Jane silently mouthed 'thank you' to her housekeeper. It had been so long since she had experienced the presence of servants and although it still felt bizarre having everyday household tasks done for her, she could in this moment enjoy its perks.

"Come on dear," Mrs Fairfax led her young charge by the hand, down into the warm kitchen where Mrs Griggs was busy kneading bread dough at the far end of the kitchen table whilst Daisy was polishing the tea service, buffing a silver teapot to a high shine. As soon as they noticed Annabelle they stopped working and gave her a quick curtsey.

"Mrs Griggs, I have brought you an extra helper," Mrs Fairfax said as Annabelle's eyes took in the range and all the gleaming copper pots and pans. "Miss Annabelle would like to learn how to make your famous scones."

Mrs Griggs wiped her floury hands onto her apron and smiled kindly. It seemed to Annabelle that she was in her late 50s and was quite a stocky woman with a more than ample bosom. Her greying black hair was mostly under a white mobcap and underneath her white apron she wore a plain grey dress with the sleeves rolled up, revealing her incredibly strong forearms.

"So do you know how to cook or bake Miss Annabelle?" she asked as she placed a clean mixing bowl on the long kitchen table for the young girl to use.

"Yes," Annabelle nodded, "I help my mother cook most days but we don't bake much."

"Well you learn something new everyday! Daisy, go and get Miss Annabelle one of your spare aprons, I can see that you're both similar in size."

Daisy nodded as she got up and soon came back with a clean white apron, which she slipped over Annabelle's head and tied the strings carefully around her waist. As she went back to polishing the teapot, she smiled at Annabelle and Annabelle blushed and smiled back a little nervously, both girls being a little shy. Annabelle was fascinated at actually being in the company of another girl of a similar age and wondered if they would end up being friends.

"So first of all you need to weigh out 8oz of flour, then 2oz of butter and put them into the mixing bowl," Mrs Griggs instructed Annabelle, "rub the butter and flour together with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs."

"Thank you Agnes," Mrs Fairfax nodded as Annabelle happily got stuck into weighing the flour. "Right, I'd better go back upstairs and help the Mistress finish unpacking."

"Can you also ask the Mistress if she has decided what she wants for the week yet Elizabeth? I need to go grocery shopping soon, especially to the butchers."

Mrs Fairfax nodded and left the kitchen. Annabelle was a little surprised at learning the two women's first names but she was soon back to making scones.

"Well, after all that hard work I think you deserve a nice glass of blackcurrant cordial," Mrs Griggs said as Annabelle carefully slid the tray of scones into the range to bake. "The bottle is in the pantry, on the second shelf."

"Thanks Mrs Griggs… would you like one too Daisy?" Annabelle asked the young maid. "She has been up for ages and she must be very thirsty after all that polishing and cleaning," she thought.

Daisy was a little taken aback at the offer and looked at Mrs Griggs wide eyed, unsure of what protocol to follow.

"I think we will all have a glass of cordial," Mrs Griggs nodded, she knew that the Porter household was much more relaxed and modern than any other households she cooked in. She also knew that the young miss did not have many friends of her age or species for that matter! She felt duty bound to help the young girl to develop at least a cordial relationship with Daisy.

As Annabelle went to the pantry to get the blackcurrant cordial, she was stopped in her tracks by a strange sound!

"Meow," a grey brown tabby cat with a white belly and paws came pattering out of the pantry and at seeing the strange face, cocked its head.

"Don't mind Simpkin Miss Annabelle," Mrs Griggs said as Annabelle watched the cat a little nervously. The only cats she knew were leopards and she had been told to stay away from the feral ones in the port in case they had rabies.

"Don't worry he won't bite," Daisy piped up as she came over to stroke the cat and to reassure Annabelle that he was harmless. "He's our residence mouser -"

"Not that we suffer with mice mind you!" Mrs Griggs interrupted and Daisy stifled a giggle.

"He likes being stroked, especially under the chin and behind his ears. Sometimes I get some string and dangle it so he tries to catch it or drag it across the kitchen floor and he chases after it! It's so funny!" Daisy giggled as she stroked Simpkin, who purred happily at the attention being bestowed upon him. "Come on Simpkin, aren't you going to greet Miss Annabelle?" Daisy asked him as she stopped stroking his back.

Simpkin observed Annabelle for a moment or so, meowed and came over to her, slowly weaving his body in between her legs, nuzzling his head against her calves and began to purr softly.

"See, he's saying hello," Daisy grinned, "I think he likes you Miss Annabelle!"

Annabelle's nerves were soon gone as she felt the softness of Simpkin's fur through her thick black stockings and giggled at the tickling sensation of Simpkin's lithe tail as it brushed against her legs. She was immediately taken with the lovely purring sound and began carefully stroking the cat's head, making it purr even more contently. Mrs Griggs beamed at the sight, glad that the young girl was beginning to bond with not just Daisy but also Simpkin. It seemed that Miss Annabelle certainly a knack for making friends, both human and animal!

After afternoon tea Jane and Tarzan were relaxing in their bedroom, Tarzan walking around the room and observing all the ornaments as Jane read a book on the bed. His fingers gently stroked the mahogany jewellery box and the differently shaped glass perfume bottles on her dressing table. He had always been fascinated with all the trinkets that his wife liked to have and collect, like a bird decorating its nest.

He looked at the family photographs; most of them formal, serious family portraits but there were a couple of a younger Jane demurely smiling. He noticed in a small frame a sweet watercolour of a beautiful woman, with brown hair and wearing an ivory day dress with small sprigs of pink flowers printed onto the fabric.

"Who's this?" he asked, holding out the picture to Jane.

"Oh that's my mother," Jane replied as she got off the bed and came over to him, "I painted that picture for her birthday. I was only 9 then, I hadn't honed my skills of drawing people yet as you can see her eyes are little wonky! But she loved it and insisted of having it on her dressing table. I moved it into my room… after she passed away."

"How did she die?" Tarzan asked before he could stop himself and immediately wished that he hadn't asked.

"She had a lump in her breast," Jane replied, her voice remaining steady. "Cancer. She hid it for ages, frightened that she would die if a surgeon tried to cut it out and also frightened of the sheer pain she would have to suffer during the operation. By the time Daddy and I both found out, it had spread and had gone putrid. I nursed her until the day she died."

"I'm so sorry Jane," Tarzan put the picture back down on the dressing table and hugged his wife in great sympathy.

"It's fine," Jane insisted when he released her, "it was so long ago anyway. She was a wonderful woman and mother, she would have adored you." Images flashed in Jane's mind of her mother lying in bed, pale as death, crying, almost screaming with the sheer pain of the cancerous tumour and of her having to administer her mother countless doses of laudanum. It was only thing that gave her mother some relief but Jane could never forget the putrid stink of the cancer, rotting away in her mother's breast.

"Say, why don't you do a watercolour of me?" Tarzan said, hoping that this would raise his wife's spirits, "You haven't painted for a while, where's the paper?" He went over to the writing desk and started to open drawers.

"No not that one!" Jane rushed over as Tarzan tried to pull out a small drawer in the middle of the desk, but it was locked.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Oh it's just where I kept my diaries and personal letters. A lady needs somewhere safe to keep her innermost feelings and secrets."

"Not too scandalous secrets I hope!" Tarzan teased as Jane quickly tried to recover from her sudden outburst.

"Oh hardly salacious, dreadfully dull really!" Jane replied, her heart still beating rather fast, "just silly childhood diaries that I'd like to remain private if you don't mind."

Tarzan nodded and let his wife get some paper out of her writing desk. He didn't press the matter any further; he respected his wife's privacy and certainly had no interest in reading any of her diaries. They were hers and hers alone and he wouldn't dream of reading them, certainly not without her permission.

As Jane started to sketch her husband, she was still nervous as hell, the pencil in her hand slightly shaking. If that drawer had been unlocked and if he had saw those letters… it was a thought she couldn't even bear thinking about! She had to get rid of them, the sooner the better!

"What was that?" Tarzan asked as a loud, imperious knock suddenly sounded at the front door! Jane's eyes widened and her heart began to pound in her chest. No one knew that they were here, except the staff. Who was knocking on their front door?

"Stay here," she instructed her husband, "I will go and see who it is." She walked along the landing as quietly as she could and tiptoed down the stairs until she could see the hallway but was out of sight. Carson and Mrs Fairfax were both in the hallway, trying to usher the unwelcome visitor towards the front door.

"I'm sorry Madam but there is no one living here in this residence and haven't for a long time," Mrs Fairfax replied to a elegantly dressed woman whose large feathered and veiled hat obscured her face.

"Don't lie to me!" the woman was adamant and refused to budge. "I know that the Porters are back!"

"Madam if you would kindly leave please -"

"Jane Catherine Porter! I know that you are here!" the woman called out and Jane instantly recognised the voice. This was it. There was no point hiding anymore, it was completely futile. Jane came down the stairs and entered the hallway.

"Madam!" Mrs Fairfax protested but Jane put out her hand, signalling to her housekeeper that it was alright and that she knew whom the visitor was.

The woman was wearing an exquisite dark green dress decorated with black tape lace and a black coat trimmed with the softest, deepest black fur. The wide brimmed hat on her head sported a large dark green grosgrain hatband with a big bow as well as a huge plume of black ostrich feathers. A lady of leisure suitably and fashionably dressed against the bitter cold outside. As she took her gloved hands out of her large black fur muff and lifted up the veil obscuring her face, Jane gasped at the face gazing back at her, especially those eyes, those amber eyes.

"Cecilia!" Jane was astounded as she took in the face of the woman standing in her hallway, her oldest and dearest friend that she had not seen in over 15 years!

"Hello Jane," the corners of Cecilia's lips formed a mischievous grin, "well, well, it's been a long time hasn't it!"