News Travels Fast.
Victorian society was a society with a lot of unwritten rules. Suffice to say that if you do not become acquainted and follow these rules you are doomed to life of exclusion and persecution from these terrible human beings. Their more like Vultures than human beings. Descending on the weak and picking at them till there was nothing left. Or in other words just another day in London!
People of Victorian Society are also very well versed gossipers. It does get a bit boring from time to time so when something exciting happens it's in quick busts that leave you more bored than you were before. So when the news that an American business man was planning on moving there well let's just say that they took it a little bit too far. Soon the mysterious Alexander Grayson found himself the topic of almost everyone's conversation.
When women get together it is a contest. They fight one another but not with muscle and fists or with teeth and claws as one might suspect. Women fight with their words
So unwritten rule number one. When attending a female gathering and you are not used to the dealings of privileged women of the 1800's don't wear amour on this battlefield, bring an invisibility cloak and try to shy away from the women's dealings as much as possible. Even if what one woman says is particularly disgusting and downright inhumane, you just smile and nod. When the most dominant of the group makes a joke even if it isn't particularly funny you laugh like Trevor Noah just made another joke about Donald Trump.
A good example of these social gatherings is a baby shower. And it just so happened that on a sunny afternoon the women all went to Mrs Henshaw's estate to congratulate her, it also had something to do with the fact they all had nothing better to do. The life of a house wife can get boring from time to time.
"Welcome Madam, mistress Henshaw is please you could make it. May I take your coat?" asked one of the servants working in the Henshaw house. This was the thirteenth time she asked the same question that day. "Why thank you Nanny." That woman replied. This servant had given up several years ago on reminding these pompous women that her name wasn't Nanny it was Anny, and it still boggled her mind how all these women still thought her name was Nanny. And this was the first time Mrs Henshaw had gotten pregnant! She hadn't even given birth yet and they still insisted that her name was Nanny! For several years!
"Of course Madam." She replied and proceeded to do her job and take the madam's coat and hang it in the closet were she kept all the visiting women's coats. Why these women wore these weird coats made from fox skin or rabbit skin or whatever skin was in fashion nowadays, in the middle of the summer when the temperature is 35 degrees she will never know. Rich women will always be weird. "And mine as well please?" asked a woman who was a few feet behind her. "Yes of course Madam." Anny said.
"Mrs Roffcroft! What a pleasure you made it!" Said Annabeth Henshaw with a polite whom was seated on a couch her six month long belly showing.
"Oh Darling what do you take me for? I would miss today's festivities for anything in the world!" Mrs Roffcroft replied to her friend.
"I hope you will pardon my intrusion?" asked the woman that Mrs Roffcroft had brought with her. "I couldn't help myself. I just wanted to add my good wishes."
"Of course not Lady Weatherby, get rid of such thoughts I say!" Annabeth replied a little too enthusiastically. "You are always welcome to my humble abode." If you can call a four story piece of fine real estate worth more than what most people earned in their entire life time, a humble abode.
In about twenty five minutes the house was filled with the most high class women in all of London, and most of them had invited themselves to the affair.
"Have you had any news on who is the mysterious man building the Manor down the road?" asked one of the women who currently had a glass of wine on her hand.
"They say that he is an American industrialist." A red head woman that was sitting on the chair opposite her answered.
"An American," gasped another woman. By this time all the other women had dropped whatever meaningless conversation they were engaged in and drifted towards the other women's conversation. "Like cowboys and red Indians!" It was at that moment that all the women's imagination went wild. They all pictured some pudgy man with a gold tooth here and there and a cowboy hat wearing a bolo tie and a goatee, talking in that western accent. A shiver of disgust went down their spines at the prospect. "Well how do you do Ma'm!" they imagined him saying, "My name be William Heavesham and I be from down south Alabama, right in Louisiana Georgia!" he said in his overly happy and too optimistic voice. "What a Nightmare!" Elizabeth Grey said snapping them all out of their same images. They all had a good shiver.
"Now Ladies do not fret, This American cannot possibly last long in this society." Lady Jane said trying to console them, "He will be running back home before month's end if I have a say in this." Lady Jane spoke in a polite voice with dignity and confidence.
"I don't know about that my Lady." A shy voice in the background said. The entire room's occupants snapped their heads to the source of the sentence. They all looked pointedly to Anny, one of the maids serving the cakes. Lady Henshaw was very nervous of what the women thought of her at the moment. What kind of Lady couldn't control her own servants!
"And why would you say such young Lady?" asked Lady Jane. "Do you know this American?"
Anny was cursing her big mouth. She didn't know why she actually said that out loud. She was thinking it though. "Oh don't mind me my lady I shouldn't have said that, please excuse me." Anny curtsied to them and tried to make a quick escape and hope that she would still have a job after this.
"No please share with us," Lady Jane said before she was out the door. This was the reason why Lady Jane came here in the first place. This was where she got most of her information on the wealings and dealings of the people of London, from these gossiping women. Sure the information would be a bit flawed from time to time because that's what happens when your source is gossip. The story changes depending on who retells it to whom. But you would be surprised at the amount of knowledge these air heads possessed.
Anny knew she made a terrible mistake not keeping her mouth shut at the time, she made a quick glance at her employer and found her glaring at her with absolute hatred and she knew that if she didn't do what the Lady asked of her then she would surely be out of a job. She turned around and took a deep breath.
"Well my Lady, my friend's cousin's niece works for mister Grayson himself and she always speaks of him in her letters and what it is like working under his employment."
'At last a name!' Lady Jane thought. Anny took a chance and looked to her and saw Lady Weatherby's expression urging her to continue.
"She won't stop writing about his looks and personality I'm afraid." She continued, she noticed all the women's hungry expressions. They were all curious and she that they were all resisting the urge to say "Come on, out with it then you little trollip!"
"She writes that Mr Grayson is terribly attractive she writes." Now that got their attention. "She writes that he has Jet black hair and is fairly athletic, I assure you ladies that Alexander Grayson is far from obese." They were practically eating out of her hand now "He does not wear a bolo tie," at this point Anny didn't even bother to hide the fact that she knew what they were all thinking, she had spent several years as a servant and since most of her family wasn't even middle class everyone had a job and everyone had experience dealing with the overburdened women they worked for. "Mr Grayson is actually somewhere in his late twenties early thirties." She continued, she could practically see the gears turning in their heads and see them forming a picture as well. "Mr Grayson has both a neat moustache and trimmed beard, and he usually has his hair slicked back on formal occasions." The pieces were fitting together almost, almost there! "But his eyes are his greatest features, she described them as both green, blue and grey." They all stopped what they were currently doing and looked at Anny for good measure; Anny began to feel uncomfortable and began to squirm.
"Please continue" Lady Weatherby encouraged; at her request that the girl continue her description the women withdrew their heavy stairs. They knew that if they kept on staring the girl wouldn't do what Lady Weatherby asked and they would end up being on her bad side, and no one wanted that.
Feeling the weight of the pressure lifted Anny continued in her description of the man they all seemed interested in. "She writes that he has a very deep and husky voice." That not only got their attention but held it. Most of these women were married for at least three years and at most thirteen; in short they were all married. They were suddenly brought back to much simpler times back when they were Bachelorettes seeking out a man's attention and an engagement. Back when men actually put in effort to woo them. Back when their current husbands used to actually look at them with desire, and so much new love. Back when their current husbands used to take them out to dinner and a show, used to whisper sweet words in their ears about how beautiful they were, how they were the only one for them. How they could never love another. Back when they were just little tweens all of them whispering and gossiping to their friends about making love, and sensual kisses, and ecstasy, and how it hurts at first but then you will start to feel good, ne? Well times had changed hadn't they?
They weren't those little tween girls anymore. They weren't so naive to the ways of passion and sex any more… if you can call their wedding night of their husband's total and utterly astounding lack of skill and finesse! If you can call their husband's inability to get her there! Or his damn clumsiness and cluelessness on where exactly this went! Or worst of all their rush! 11 seconds and they release just like and collapse on them that! Passion or sex!
This was what they were all thinking but unlike Anny these women were well versed in the art of keeping their thoughts to themselves, you didn't even see the change in their facial expressions or the position in which they were sited, all of these thought raged through them in the course of thirty seconds and it would have been longer if Anny hadn't cleared her throat quite loudly too.
"May I be excused my Ladies?" she asked.
"Yes girl yes." Said a particularly out of breath Mrs Dare. And with that debacle out of the way Anny went back to the kitchen. Maybe if she pretended that this job was still hers… than maybe…
When the maid Shanny… no that's not her name, um Nanny that's right Nanny left. The women of the party were left alone in a deep silence…
"I'm sure what she said was rubbish," Lady Dare said, trying make sense of the situation they now found themselves in.
"I wouldn't mind if my husband had a far from obese body." One woman found herself blurting out loud without even thinking about what she said.
"I wouldn't mind those eyes." Another said.
"I wouldn't mind if mine still had hair to actually do something with." That woman one the competition nobody realized had started.
"We'll all know when he arrives won't we?" said a very calm Lady Weatherby. It wasn't long after that they all started to leave.
All the women were gone except for Lady Weatherby.
"Annabeth my darling." She said. "Were did you quire such a servant?"
"Do not fret Madam, I will have her unemployed in no time." Annabeth Answered. She was scared to death that it was her servant that had embarrassed her so, and in front of Lady Weatherby of all people!
"No need for such drastic measures darling." Lady Jane assured her. "I am sure the girl meant no harm."
"Thank you for your mercy Lady Weatherby."
"But there is something you could do for me."
"Anything my Lady!"
"Double her wage." she said sipping her final cup of tea before she would make her departure from the estate. Annabeth just looked at her weirdly.
"No your right what am I thinking?" Annabeth seemed to calm down; she knew that Lady Weatherby was merely jesting with her.
"Pay her six times what you pay her." That did it. A sharp kick from the baby in her womb. "And please tell her that the next time she receives a letter from her friend's cousin's niece that she shows it to you, and please tell me what it entails. Please, for me?" she asked with one of those strong and serine smiles she harbored. But there was also an edge to her smile. Her smile also said do what I tell you and don't ask too many questions. Do what I say or I will destroy you. Annabeth nodded and watched as Lady Weatherby collected her coat from Nanny. As Lady Jane left in her carriage Annabeth watched from a distance until it disappeared from sit.
"I heard your conversation with Lady Jane mistress." Nanny said to the lady of the house. But Annabeth just remained calm. "And if you want access to my acquaintances letters and her news on the American." Nanny continued. "You not only have to pay what Lady Weatherby says but I also have a request."
Annabeth looked at Nanny and took a very good look. Nanny had been working here since she was fourteen and now she was twenty one. She realized that Nanny had been her employee for about several years now. She would probably ask for more money or her own private quarters.
"I want you to start calling by my real name mistress." She descended from the stairwell and walked closer and closer to Annabeth.
"You're insane! I already know your name Nanny." She looked at Nanny with a new found feeling of being better than Nanny.
"My name is Anny."
Author's Note.
I know that this chapter had a lot of Oc's in it. I also know that this chapter only has one original character from the series I still like it. I stayed up all night writing this chapter because I had the idea since the first episode of the show. I noticed that the people that attended Alexander's ball all came there to flaunt their superiority above the new American. They came there to outdo him not welcome him.
When Alexander met Jane for the first time she said that she 'I would be in a nice warm bath but I just had to see what all the fuss was about.' So this Chapter is dedicated to said fuss.