The Gilded Cage - Finding My Place

Home to a Surprise

Thank goodness the October half term lasted for two weeks. Otherwise, a combination of bad jetlag and disorientation would have prevented us all from getting into the swing of things before the girls had to cope with school once more. My new girls, used to both California time and the warm climate, were tired and cold, and we did not leave the nursery for three days, as family and friends rallied round us. Nicola and her little sisters welcomed their cousins well enough, and Helen Montague gave me lots of help, as I must admit the time zone change hit me like a wall coming back the other way, on top of the stresses and strains of our ultimately successful mercy mission in Beverly Hills. And Mr and Mrs Brewster kept their promise and spent lots of time with their granddaughters, doing their best to get to know them and make them feel welcome. Henrietta, Georgina, and Philippa were quiet but biddable, encouraged by my sweet Caris, and seemingly shellshocked by what had happened to them in what was still just a few days. So, I took things gently, and kept them shut away in the nursery, where they received their visitors, getting them used to their new home and settled into some sort of a nursery routine.

But on the fourth day, with the autumn sun shining bravely against the coming winter, I felt more or less normal, and decided that it was time to get the litter out into the fresh air to blow some cobwebs away. Bella, who had been under her grandmother's relentless care during her own recovery, kindly returned to help Helen and me get the seven nurslings wrapped up and into three child-carriers, two doubles and a three-seater, and we set off for the Meadvale park with my friend Annie and her girls. Annie seemed pleased to see me.

"Such sweet girls," Annie commented, looking down on my newbies. "And you seem to have worked your usual magic, Hermione?"

"I think they are all a bit overwhelmed by everything at the moment..." I suggested, taking her arm, and drawing her out of earshot of the children. "It was not magic at all...although I did need my paddle once for each of them...they are just quite used to doing as they are told, I think? They were being worked like slaves by their own father...and that film studio. I am not really sure they know what is happening to them...I am actually quite worried..."

"You are worried that they are behaving?" Annie laughed, shaking her head at me in disbelief and then giving me a hug. "Goodness...I have missed you...come on, let's set the girls free in the play area and grab a coffee?"

That did not take long. We took a table out on the terrace, despite the chill in the air, which allowed us to keep a close eye on the children inside the fenced-off area. They were quite safe in there and we often sat inside, relying on our sharp eyes alone, and letting our older, more responsible girls look after the others, but I did not want the Durante girls to fret if they could not see me. Helen went off to buy large coffees for everyone, Annie gossiped, and I followed Henrietta, Georgina, and Philippa as Caris encouraged them to play. I was glad that I had put them in bright red capes, over warm red tartan dresses, because it was easy to pick them out in the large crowd of Deepdene girls enjoying the last day of their half-term holidays. One more weekend, and they would back in harness, I reminded myself, wondering how the three girls would cope with Deepdene. But then, Helen arrived back, carrying a tray of lovely treats and our drinks, accompanied by a lady I did not know, dressed as most of the Meadvale elite in a gown and cloak, accompanied by a child I certainly did know, who looked less than thrilled to see me again.

"Hermione...this is my cousin...oh, I know, everyone is my cousin...this is Sally Carpenter and her daughter Emily," Helen said, introducing the girl I had let feed Nicola during our short visit to Charlesfield a lifetime ago, although it was actually only fourteen days. Emily, who I had only seen in uniform, was really quite nicely dressed for a girl who I had just assumed was from a moderate background, but her mother did not look at all moderate. But then again, they were in Meadvale, presumably visiting family, so perhaps they were just making an effort for the sake of their relatives. "I have just invited Emily here to spend some quality time with her cousins...maybe for a sleepover, if you think we could squeeze one more in tonight?"