Patchwork Universe

Lady Violetta Kingsley

The large gilt grandfather clock at the bottom of the main staircase chimed 8 o'clock, and as was habitual, in synchroncity the under-butler sounded the gong for dinner. Tonight the Earl and his wife were not entertaining, so the west dining room was set. Dinner conversation mostly revolved around the Earl's successful hunt earlier in the day, but, as was unfortunately so often the case, Lady Violetta, the Earl's only daughter, a plain somewhat mousey woman in her mid twenties, managed to upset her mother barely before the main course had been served.

"Did you know that the wood is surrounded by mist?" Violetta asked, casually, at a natural lull in the conversation. Her mother, the redoubtable Lady Beatrice, gave Violetta one of her customary Looks, but the Earl, being in an affable mood, chose to continue the conversation. Violetta herself seemed quite oblivious to Lady Beatrice's annoyance.

"Really?" asked the Earl. "What kind of mist?"

"Well, it's more like a fog really, except I can almost see things through it. Not that there's much to see to the south or east, but there seem to be some big hills that move occasionally to the west. I'm pretty much entirely certain that there weren't hills there before, especially moving ones. I think it must be some sort of optical illusion, a what do you call it, mirage."

"Not really the time of year for fog though, is it dear?" The Earl smiled at his wife, who returned the smile in a somewhat tight lipped fashion but for the moment forbore from comment.

Violetta continued. "Well, I think it must be some sort of magical fog, you see. I've never seen fog that has corners before. I went all the way around it quite carefully on Blackie this afternoon, and it definitely has four corners. It even goes across Aldersley road."

The Earl didn't seem to regard this as at all strange. "Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much Violetta. I'm sure it won't last long."

"I don't think so, daddy. It's been there for a week now and it hasn't changed a bit."

At this point, Lady Beatrice's fragile self-control snapped, and she barked at Violetta in an irritated fashion. "Oh, do stop it, Violetta. You know very well that your father and I went to the village yesterday and there wasn't a shred of fog around." Turning to the Earl for support, Beatrice addressed him rather crossly. "I do wish you wouldn't indulge her in her fantasies. It isn't doing her any good at all. Fog indeed - I really do wander how you come up with these ideas."

The Earl shrugged his shoulders. "But it doesn't do any good to contradict her either, Beatrice. You know she just gets that hurt look in her eyes, and what's the harm, anyway?"

Beatrice scowled. "She is not a child any more and you shold stop treating her like one. No man is going to come near her while she insists on blathering such obvious rubbish."

The Earl's generous face hardened. "That's enough, Beatrice. This is not appropriate dinnertime conversation." Lady Beatrice nodded her head in acquiescence and the meal continued in a companionable silence, although there was still a slight air of tension to the atmosphere.

As for Lady Violetta, she seemed entirely unaffected by this small domestic contretemps, and chewed her vegetables thoughtfully, clearly lost in contemplation.