Lady in Waiting Part 11

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Lady in Waiting Part 11
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By Christina H

Charlotte continues to become the refined lady. After finding out why she cannot give the fiancée children she offers William a way out of the marriage.
While her beloved is with Wellington in Portugal, Charlotte organises a dinner party where she first meets Queen Victoria’s father Prince Edward.

William’s letters were full and very comprehensive and as usual part passionate love letters and part military report. Reading them they were an amusing but interesting mixture.

Not knowing how long it would be before I saw him again I put my thoughts and questions for him in a letter but I worded it ambiguously asking him if he was certain that he wanted to be married to a woman that could not conceive and telling him that should he want to not marry me I would understand and hoped that we would still be friends.

I was surprised at the speed of reply as in just over a month I was reading it. William told me in no uncertain terms that he had thought very carefully and it was me he loved; me he wanted to marry and me that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with!

He also told me not to be silly as his feelings for me were pure and true and with the letter he enclosed a Bloodstone pendant with diamond surround with matching drop earrings. (Bloodstone for absence. Diamonds for harmony between us)
I cried when received this letter for he had declared his love for me - for who I am.

The rest of Williams letter was a report on how the war was progressing despite a forced march the main body of the 95th missed the pitched battle of Talavera so now they were deployed as the eye’s and ears of the main army scouting well ahead and what my beloved calls skirmishing with the French scouts.
He recounted how he had met up with Captain Sharpe again while he and his band of ruffians were on a special mission on the orders of Arthur Wellesley.

From his letters I knew that William regarded Captain Sharpe highly as an excellent soldier and leader and a superb shot with the Baker Rifle.
He also told me about the platoon Captain Sharpe commanded these are hand picked by the Captain and all are excellent shots being able to hit a target at 300 yards! But as he put it they were a bunch of ruffians fiercely loyal to Captain Sharpe.

I re-read my letter then hid it with the rest of Williams letters before I went to help Mama as we had a dinner party this evening so I had tasks to attend to.

Since the success of my betrothal dinner mama now allowed me to help he in organising dinner parties tonight this was for 15 people which was a strange number as dinner parties were always organised for couples.

However our family consisted of Edward, Mama and I and for the present time this made the numbers uneven sometimes Annabelle or Clarissa or a single lady of mama’s acquaintance would be present to partner Edward.
As for mama and myself everyone knew mama was widowed and I was betrothed.

I dressed carefully for dinner as we had for company some friends of Edward. Anna helped me with my corset, which was especially for the gown I had selected.

My gown was a beautiful golden colour consisting of a satin flowing skirt finishing at my ankles the bodice was an overdress, which had a scooped neckline and short puffball sleeves. The shortness of these sleeves restricted my arm movements somewhat but made my movements feminine.

My boned corset was made for the gown. The satin outer of it matched my gown, as it was an integral part of it being seen under the silk floral lace overdress.
This overdress fell from my shoulders to the hem of my gown this was of fine silk lace golden in colour with floral decorations around the hem. This delicate overdress had the short puffball sleeves.

Of course I wore my pendant and earrings that William had sent me. When I looked at my reflection in the mirror I was exceedingly pleased with what I saw I was every inch a Young Lady of Fashion I stroked the pendant that nestled between my soft breasts and thought of my love all those miles away.

Our company was very impressive consisting of Prince Edward who was the forth in line to the throne. He was an impressive man in his mid 40’s going slightly bald.

He was Governor of Gibraltar but for some reason he could not return there so he was now Ranger of Hampton Court.
I found him to be exceedingly pleasant as a raconteur and wit he made the dinner party flow as he was a very confident speaker.

Madame Saint-Laurent accompanied him she as I understood was his mistress. (Must speak to mama about what a mistress is).
Also present was Lord and lady Beaufort and several other people that Edward knew from the House of Lords.

It was now 1810 and I would soon be my 19th birthday thanks to mama’s insistence that I learn about current affairs and politics I was really interested in the conversation the men were having though of course it was not polite for me a woman to offer an opinion.

I also had to maintain conversation with the ladies around the table all in all the evening was a really jolly affair.
I gathered that my brother really moved in exalted circles being close friends with Princes, Lords, Admirals, generals and the like and due to his experiences and steady thinking was sought after for his council.

The Prince flirted with me outrageously but I maintained a polite distance Mama mentioned that I was betrothed to an officer in the 95th. The prince called them a regiment of ruffians who lacked discipline I was upset at this but maintained my docile front.

This caused a heated discussion from a General present who defended the 95th robustly saying that they were the eyes and ears of the army and worked best using their initiative and it was regiments like these that tipped the balance in Portugal.

The gentlemen retired to the billiard room while us ladies went to the drawing room for refreshments.
After the gentlemen re-joined us mama asked me to play the piano and sing which of course I did as I was requested. I was also asked to play my harp – this was an instrument that I loved playing and I cold loose myself in it’s beautiful sound.
After I had finished the Prince kissed my hand complementing me on my singing and playing saying, “A beautiful young Lady with a beautiful voice.”

This compliment made me blush with pleasure. The party broke up around midnight. After everyone had departed my dear brother thanked both mama and I for the success of the evening and mentioned that we could well be seeing more of our guests over the coming years as he (Edward) was now an official advisor.
(Whatever that meant I had no idea)

1810 passed slowly for me William was still fighting in Portugal his letters arrived very infrequently but when they did it brought pleasure to me.
They were still the quaint mix of passionate love letter and military report he told me in one of these letters that the 95th had taken part in the Battle of Brussace where 25000 British Troops plus a similar amount of Portuguese troops took on 65,000 French.

Lord Wellesley ordered that all his troops should take positions slightly below the crest of the mountains so the French had to fight up to them and also hide the exact numbers of the British. According to William it was splendid as the baker rifles were killing the French officers at 300 yards leaving their troops in confusion.
It was a success for the Allied forces with the French loosing 4,500 dead or wounded while the Allies only lost 1250 dead or wounded.

The love letter side told me that he missed me very much and spent a lot of time looking at my portrait that he couldn’t wait to kiss my cheek and touch my soft silken skin a total contrast in one letter.
I must admit that while I found his description of the battles mildly interesting I adored his passionate letters.

Mama decided that for my wedding gown we would reuse the court dress that I had worn when I was presented to the King.
Due to the out-dated style of this gown there was a lot of material, which could be used by a seamstress to make a really fashionable wedding gown. So while in London we visited a seamstress who took all my measurements and my court dress promising to make me a stylish wedding gown and accessories.

Mama explained to me what a mistress was much to my shock as I had no idea what so ever.
After the episode where mama showed me the difference between her and I we were much more at ease speaking about things like this.

She realised that my forthcoming wedding and my married life would be very unconventional so she explained to me a man’s needs and discussed how I could best satisfy my husband.
I found all of this interesting and as it would pleasure my husband I vowed to try them once married.

We moved back to the country and Lady Beaufort and Ffinch along with Annabelle and Clarissa. They remained with us for three months and we had a splendid time when Edward was home we would spend the day in the country painting and having a picnic I took my small harp and we three would sing and play.

Sometimes our mothers would accompany us when it was a really special day.
Edward would take the dogcart with all our painting accoutrements.
While we ladies would ride our horses: for luncheon a cart would come from the house with everything we needed for a picnic plus servants to prepare everything.

Late we would dress for dinner and spend the evening playing parlour games or playing music and singing.
I adored dressing up and some days I would wear up to five different dresses.
My wardrobes were full of gowns dresses skirts with matching tops in the 10 years I had become a young lady of fashion with (apparently) an excellent dress sense.

My wardrobe consisted of Morning dresses these were high-cut and long-sleeved. Constructed of sprigged or plain muslin, wool, or other fabrics, a morning gown was often a “round gown” (bodice and skirt being one piece).
If we were remaining at home this would be worn all day until dinner.

If we were going to a town like Harrogate we would wear a walking dress these could be short or long sleeved, depending on the weather, but generally covered the chest. Its hem might be a bit shorter than a morning gown's for ease of walking.

Of course for Promenading we had really fine dresses worn when one was on display--walking through Hyde Park, perhaps, or taking a carriage ride with mama or William. My gowns were made of more expensive fabrics than a walking dress.

Then of course these were my very favourites evening gowns and ball gowns I absolutely adores these the fabrics the cut and the exquisite feeling when wearing them excited all of my senses.

My evening gowns were low-cut and extensively trimmed, evening gowns were be made from of muslin, silk, satin, gauze, crepe, or any number of fabrics. I had a selection of long and short-sleeved gowns depending on the time of year.

Ball Gowns these I absolutely adored they were my very favourite gown. Mine were elegant and exquisitely trimmed made of the finest quality fabrics.
Some had a slip (usually satin), which I wore under an over-dress of gauze, sarsnet, or crepe.

Most were in soft colours such as pink or blue though I had some in cerulean, scarlet, Pomona green and bright yellow these were worn over a white slip. All were trimmed in embroidery, lace, artificial flowers, beads, flounces, and scallops of course they all had a coordinated headdress.

So you see after ten years of preparing to be a fashionable woman this is what I became and I adored every second of my life.

Historical Note: in this period a lady’s wardrobe was a very complicates affair apart from the gorgeous dresses and gowns there were outer wear, bonnets and lots of accessories
Outerwear Pelisse: This is something like a long coat. It can completely cover the gown, or be cut knee-length. They were close-fitting and fastened in the front. Depending on the weather or the occasion, they were sewn from wool, velvet, brocade, or kerseymere.
Spencer: Something like a jacket, this coat covered the sleeves and bodice. Sometimes they were collarless. The spencer is cut quite short to accentuate the era’s high-waist gowns. They could be constructed of wool, silk, satin, or other fabrics, and were sometimes quilted.
Cloak: Depending on fabric and style, these could be worn for dressy occasions or daytime tromps through the woods. Hoods were optional.
Mantle: Similar to a cloak, a mantle could be any length and fastened at the neck. They were made of fur, wool, or velvet.
Accessories
Shawl: A mandatory accessory. Lightweight shawls of muslin or gauze were worn in warmer months or with ball gowns, and heavier shawls of cashmere (goat hair) or fine wool were a necessity in cooler weather. Shawls were often brightly colored and patterned.
Bonnets: Bonnets were worn outdoors, and when one paid a short visit or attended church, one did not remove one’s hat or outer garments. They were made of straw or any number of fabrics, from silk to velvet. Feathers, ribbons, artificial flowers, and other trim were often removed and added, to adapt the bonnet to match new ensembles.
For evening events, however, a headdress, toque, or turban was the standard. These were made of satin or silk and they were embellished with jewels or ostrich feathers. Turbans were popular with older ladies.
Caps: Married women, widows, and females who were “on the shelf” wore caps of lace or muslin indoors. Caps could be simple or downright frilly.
Gloves: For formal occasions (including dancing), long, white kid gloves were worn. Short gloves sufficed for daytime, and could be purchased in kid, colored silk, York tan, or wool for cooler months.
Fichu: A triangular piece of netting, lace, or sheer muslin, which is wrapped around the neck and tucked into the bodice of the gown, provides modesty when wearing a low-cut gown.
Muff: PETA would not have approved of the muffs ladies used to keep their hands warm. They were large hollow cylinders made of ermine, sable, swan’s-down, or sealskin.
Parasol: These shaded a lady’s fair skin from the brutal English sun. The frames were made of bamboo, cane, or telescoping steel, and carried by the handle.
These items were not optional a lady was expected to use them as dictated by the fashion of the day failure to do so could result in social ostracism.

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Comments

Yet another very interesting

Yet another very interesting chapter with lots of historical context. I really enjoy your historical facts at the end of each chapter, regarding the clothing or requirements that a young girl/woman or even an older woman was to have and know all about. It does appear that Charlotte had a huge amount of fashion sense to learn about when she was growing up, so she could function properly in the society of her day.

Should I have watched Sharpe?

Rhona McCloud's picture

My education has been clearly lacking until now. Charlotte's education however is going apace as she goes straight from learning what a mistress is to how to ‘pleasure’ William despite her ‘problem’ - her mother was certainly nothing like mine.

Rhona McCloud