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dimity_blueTitle: Letters From Henry
Author: Dimity Blue
Rating: Suitable for all
Genre: gen, series epilogue
Characters: Henry, Mabel, Lord Meldrum, The Honourable Teddy, Cissy, Poppy
Word Count: 1919 words
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Letters From Henry
By Dimity Blue
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 25th November, 1928
Dear Ivy,
Persuant from our last correspondence, I hope you are keeping well and Mr. Twelvetrees the same. I am well, though busy, as you know Mabel and me are the only staff left. We have to do all the cooking and cleaning but it don't take that long as there ain't no pictures or ornaments left to dust.
The family are all well, though Lord Meldrum can't get used to travelling by bus. He bought a motorcycle and side-car and I drive him to the factory in that. He says it's quite enlivening to have the breeze in his face in the mornings. Though he has to wash all the dirt off when he gets to the factory, of course.
Miss Poppy - Mrs. Jerry, that is - is married now and Mabel and me are glad to see the back of her. She keeps telling Lord M. to get a proper butler but he says I'm cheap at half the price. Do you think that means I can ask for a raise?
We had some trouble with Rose - Mrs. Teddy, that is - wanting to help out in the kitchen. Mabel was all for it as it'd save her feet running up and downstairs but we can't have the toffs working in the kitchen, even if she is only a toff by marriage. Where would it all end?
I must go and polish the knives and forks now though I have to be careful as the silver plating's wearing off.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 30th December, 1928
Dear Ivy,
Thank you for the Christmas card. I hope mine reached you in a timely manner. Christmas was quiet here as the family went to stay with Mrs. Jerry. Mabel and me stayed here. We weren't alone though as Constable Fraser came for dinner. He's only been in this area a few months, since Constable Wilson retired. He's from the East End and says Mabel's cooking reminds him of his mother's. I said her cooking must be better than Mabel's because he's six foot two. Mabel didn't think that was funny.
The family is coming back on Tuesday and they're having a big dinner on New Year's Eve. They've invited the bishop. Mr. and Mrs. Jerry are coming as well but they won't be stopping long. Mrs. Jerry is even worse than she used to be but she's got such fancy clothes and jewellery and she even brings her own French maid with her. Some people are never happy though, are they?
Did you get your window fixed? I expect Mr. Twelvetrees told the landlord to do it and he did. It must be nice to have people obey your orders. Maybe if I was taller they'd obey mine.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 27th January, 1929
Dear Ivy,
I hope this missive finds you well. We are all well here and Mrs. Teddy has had her baby. It's a little girl. They've called her Lavender. I think they're hoping Lady L. will leave her something in her will. I don't know why they're bothering. All of Lady L's money went to save the factory and Mr. Teddy is selling a lot of cars. He must be making a fortune!
We had some visitors the other day and you'll never guess who. Mrs. Lipton - Mrs. Wilson, I should say. She and Constable Wilson come up from Little Hampstead to visit his brother, and wasn't she furious to find Mabel's the new cook? She said standards have dropped but she ain't the one keeping the house going, is she? And Constable Wilson said Mabel's cherry cake ain't a patch on his wife's. The laugh's on him because that was Mabel's Victoria sponge cake.
I don't think we'll see them again any time soon.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 24th February, 1929
Dear Ivy,
There ain't half been some excitement here. Lord M. bought a pile of shares and they've gone up in price. That means he's got some money again. He sold the motorcycle and sidecar and bought an Austin Twelve automobile from Mr. Teddy. It's only broken down twice. We passed Lady Agatha on the road and she pretended to ignore us so we drove past again to make sure she got a good look.
Miss Cissy is still going to work on the bus. She says it's better for the co-operative if she can be seen to be just like them. Which is silly because they don't live in Park Lane, do they?
Miss Cissy asked after you and asked how the guest house is going. She said she knows you'll make a success of it as you're a jolly hard worker. She also said to not mention it to Mrs. Jerry as she might get upset.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
P.S. Not that I talk to Mrs. Jerry.
P.P.S. Mabel said what Miss Cissy meant was Mrs. Jerry's a spiteful cat. We knew that anyway.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 31st March, 1929
Dear Ivy,
Lord M's shares keep on going up in price. He's talking about taking the factory back from the workers and disbanding the co-operative. Miss Cissy is against it because she said the workers have put time and effort into keeping the factory going. The Austin Twelve broke down again and Lord M. told the Hon. Teddy it wasn't good enough. The Hon. Teddy said it was good enough when the alternative was sitting in the side-car. Lord M. is talking about buying an Austin Twenty but there's no second hand ones yet.
Mabel isn't doing well as her husband's gone. I mean gone with the barmaid from the Rose and Crown. Mabel said she'll never get over it and she's moved into your old bedroom in the attic. It saves her the bus fares every day. There's always a silver lining, isn't there?
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 28th April, 1929
Dear Ivy,
I hope you and Mr. Twelvetrees are well. Mabel is doing quite well, thank you for asking. She says she's almost as rich as Lord M. now she's not spending money on rent and her husband's beer. I don't see how that can be true as she's still only being paid tuppence an hour. Lord M. says things are going well on the stock exchange so maybe Mabel can have her old wages again soon. He hasn't replaced the Austin Twelve yet neither.
Miss Cissy's hardly here no more. She's still working at the factory but is campaigning to get re-elected. She says she can make a difference to the workers' lives. She ain't made a difference so far.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 26th May, 1929
Dear Ivy,
Mr. Stokes (your dad) came to visit us yesterday. Did he tell you he'd seen us? He don't half look posh. He's running his own theatre, he said. He said it's more profitable than being on the stage. He's offered me a job learning the ropes doing all the lighting. He said I could work my way up to being a theatre manager too.
If I was still working as a bootboy, I'd've jumped at a chance like that but butlers don't work in theatres, do they? Anyway, with Lord M. doing so well on the stock exchange, soon I'll have a bootboy to order around myself.
I hope he's not too tall so I can clip him around the ear.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 30th June, 1929
Dear Ivy,
It is with great sadness that I take pen in hand to write to you today. I am no longer Lord Meldrum's butler. Mr. Trenton has been hired as butler and I am now Head Footman. Mr. Trenton says as soon as Lord M. can afford a footman, I'll be bootboy again. He can't afford one yet though because he's hired a cook, Mrs. Jameson. Mabel's the parlourmaid now and she's not happy neither.
Maybe I should've gone and worked for your dad, after all.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 28th July, 1929
Dear Ivy,
Thank you for your letter. I found your words very comforting and I know Mabel did too. Mr. Trenton was talking about making Mabel the char again but Lord M. can't afford that yet. Mabel said she's not staying if she can't be parlourmaid and wishes she was thirty years younger so she could be a chorus girl. I said she'd still be too old and Mrs. Jameson clipped me around the ear.
I wish I was a butler again.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 25th August, 1929
Dear Ivy,
Lord M. is wealthy again. He's bought a new motorcar, new suits, and he's hiring some new staff. Mabel is going to be a kitchenmaid once the new parlourmaid starts. I'm staying on as Head Footman though Mr. Trenton isn't pleased about it. He says I'm not tall enough to be a footman. I was tall enough to be a butler when Lord Meldrum couldn't afford to pay someone else though, wasn't I?
Mabel's still thinking about leaving but she ain't got no home to go to now and she said her legs ain't good enough for the stage.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Saturday, 21st September, 1929
Dear Ivy,
Lord M. is poor again. The extra staff have gone and it's just me and Mabel. I'll write when I know more.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
Regal Theatre
The Strand
Bournemouth
BH2
Sunday, 29th September, 1929
Dear Ivy,
As you can see from my new address, I'm working for your dad now. I arrived early on Friday. Leaving number 12 was a bit of a wrench as I'd never lived anywhere else except the orphanage. I'm sure I'll be happy here, though. Everyone's very friendly even though I'm not used to theatre types. Alf - Mr. Stokes, that is, though everyone calls him Alf - says I'm going to be an asset behind scenes. When they get wobbly, I can stand there and hold them up.
Lord M's having to sell number 12 to cover his debts. The factory's closed down and Miss Cissy's ever so angry about it. She said the co-operative owned the factory, only they didn't own enough of it as Lord M. used it as collateral for money to invest on the stock exchange. Miss Cissy is devoting herself to the United Workers Party now she don't have the factory to look after.
She's not the only one who's angry. Mrs. Jerry's husband - Mr. Jerry, that is - has lost a lot of his money too. Lord M. is moving in with them to pool their resources. I don't think they've got any resources to pool. Lady Lavender is going to live with them but it's only until she and Captain Dolby can elope. She said now they're poor, no one can object to the marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Teddy are going to live in Wimbledon. They said the baby will like the park there.
Will you tell Mabel I said hello? It seems funny to think of her working for you and Mr. Twelvetrees now but at least she's still got a job. Everything turns out alright in the end, that's what I always say.
Yours sincerely,
Henry
The end.
17th December 2016
Author: Dimity Blue
Rating: Suitable for all
Genre: gen, series epilogue
Characters: Henry, Mabel, Lord Meldrum, The Honourable Teddy, Cissy, Poppy
Word Count: 1919 words
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Letters From Henry
By Dimity Blue
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 25th November, 1928
Dear Ivy,
Persuant from our last correspondence, I hope you are keeping well and Mr. Twelvetrees the same. I am well, though busy, as you know Mabel and me are the only staff left. We have to do all the cooking and cleaning but it don't take that long as there ain't no pictures or ornaments left to dust.
The family are all well, though Lord Meldrum can't get used to travelling by bus. He bought a motorcycle and side-car and I drive him to the factory in that. He says it's quite enlivening to have the breeze in his face in the mornings. Though he has to wash all the dirt off when he gets to the factory, of course.
Miss Poppy - Mrs. Jerry, that is - is married now and Mabel and me are glad to see the back of her. She keeps telling Lord M. to get a proper butler but he says I'm cheap at half the price. Do you think that means I can ask for a raise?
We had some trouble with Rose - Mrs. Teddy, that is - wanting to help out in the kitchen. Mabel was all for it as it'd save her feet running up and downstairs but we can't have the toffs working in the kitchen, even if she is only a toff by marriage. Where would it all end?
I must go and polish the knives and forks now though I have to be careful as the silver plating's wearing off.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 30th December, 1928
Dear Ivy,
Thank you for the Christmas card. I hope mine reached you in a timely manner. Christmas was quiet here as the family went to stay with Mrs. Jerry. Mabel and me stayed here. We weren't alone though as Constable Fraser came for dinner. He's only been in this area a few months, since Constable Wilson retired. He's from the East End and says Mabel's cooking reminds him of his mother's. I said her cooking must be better than Mabel's because he's six foot two. Mabel didn't think that was funny.
The family is coming back on Tuesday and they're having a big dinner on New Year's Eve. They've invited the bishop. Mr. and Mrs. Jerry are coming as well but they won't be stopping long. Mrs. Jerry is even worse than she used to be but she's got such fancy clothes and jewellery and she even brings her own French maid with her. Some people are never happy though, are they?
Did you get your window fixed? I expect Mr. Twelvetrees told the landlord to do it and he did. It must be nice to have people obey your orders. Maybe if I was taller they'd obey mine.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 27th January, 1929
Dear Ivy,
I hope this missive finds you well. We are all well here and Mrs. Teddy has had her baby. It's a little girl. They've called her Lavender. I think they're hoping Lady L. will leave her something in her will. I don't know why they're bothering. All of Lady L's money went to save the factory and Mr. Teddy is selling a lot of cars. He must be making a fortune!
We had some visitors the other day and you'll never guess who. Mrs. Lipton - Mrs. Wilson, I should say. She and Constable Wilson come up from Little Hampstead to visit his brother, and wasn't she furious to find Mabel's the new cook? She said standards have dropped but she ain't the one keeping the house going, is she? And Constable Wilson said Mabel's cherry cake ain't a patch on his wife's. The laugh's on him because that was Mabel's Victoria sponge cake.
I don't think we'll see them again any time soon.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 24th February, 1929
Dear Ivy,
There ain't half been some excitement here. Lord M. bought a pile of shares and they've gone up in price. That means he's got some money again. He sold the motorcycle and sidecar and bought an Austin Twelve automobile from Mr. Teddy. It's only broken down twice. We passed Lady Agatha on the road and she pretended to ignore us so we drove past again to make sure she got a good look.
Miss Cissy is still going to work on the bus. She says it's better for the co-operative if she can be seen to be just like them. Which is silly because they don't live in Park Lane, do they?
Miss Cissy asked after you and asked how the guest house is going. She said she knows you'll make a success of it as you're a jolly hard worker. She also said to not mention it to Mrs. Jerry as she might get upset.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
P.S. Not that I talk to Mrs. Jerry.
P.P.S. Mabel said what Miss Cissy meant was Mrs. Jerry's a spiteful cat. We knew that anyway.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 31st March, 1929
Dear Ivy,
Lord M's shares keep on going up in price. He's talking about taking the factory back from the workers and disbanding the co-operative. Miss Cissy is against it because she said the workers have put time and effort into keeping the factory going. The Austin Twelve broke down again and Lord M. told the Hon. Teddy it wasn't good enough. The Hon. Teddy said it was good enough when the alternative was sitting in the side-car. Lord M. is talking about buying an Austin Twenty but there's no second hand ones yet.
Mabel isn't doing well as her husband's gone. I mean gone with the barmaid from the Rose and Crown. Mabel said she'll never get over it and she's moved into your old bedroom in the attic. It saves her the bus fares every day. There's always a silver lining, isn't there?
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 28th April, 1929
Dear Ivy,
I hope you and Mr. Twelvetrees are well. Mabel is doing quite well, thank you for asking. She says she's almost as rich as Lord M. now she's not spending money on rent and her husband's beer. I don't see how that can be true as she's still only being paid tuppence an hour. Lord M. says things are going well on the stock exchange so maybe Mabel can have her old wages again soon. He hasn't replaced the Austin Twelve yet neither.
Miss Cissy's hardly here no more. She's still working at the factory but is campaigning to get re-elected. She says she can make a difference to the workers' lives. She ain't made a difference so far.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 26th May, 1929
Dear Ivy,
Mr. Stokes (your dad) came to visit us yesterday. Did he tell you he'd seen us? He don't half look posh. He's running his own theatre, he said. He said it's more profitable than being on the stage. He's offered me a job learning the ropes doing all the lighting. He said I could work my way up to being a theatre manager too.
If I was still working as a bootboy, I'd've jumped at a chance like that but butlers don't work in theatres, do they? Anyway, with Lord M. doing so well on the stock exchange, soon I'll have a bootboy to order around myself.
I hope he's not too tall so I can clip him around the ear.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 30th June, 1929
Dear Ivy,
It is with great sadness that I take pen in hand to write to you today. I am no longer Lord Meldrum's butler. Mr. Trenton has been hired as butler and I am now Head Footman. Mr. Trenton says as soon as Lord M. can afford a footman, I'll be bootboy again. He can't afford one yet though because he's hired a cook, Mrs. Jameson. Mabel's the parlourmaid now and she's not happy neither.
Maybe I should've gone and worked for your dad, after all.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 28th July, 1929
Dear Ivy,
Thank you for your letter. I found your words very comforting and I know Mabel did too. Mr. Trenton was talking about making Mabel the char again but Lord M. can't afford that yet. Mabel said she's not staying if she can't be parlourmaid and wishes she was thirty years younger so she could be a chorus girl. I said she'd still be too old and Mrs. Jameson clipped me around the ear.
I wish I was a butler again.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Sunday, 25th August, 1929
Dear Ivy,
Lord M. is wealthy again. He's bought a new motorcar, new suits, and he's hiring some new staff. Mabel is going to be a kitchenmaid once the new parlourmaid starts. I'm staying on as Head Footman though Mr. Trenton isn't pleased about it. He says I'm not tall enough to be a footman. I was tall enough to be a butler when Lord Meldrum couldn't afford to pay someone else though, wasn't I?
Mabel's still thinking about leaving but she ain't got no home to go to now and she said her legs ain't good enough for the stage.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
12 Park Lane
Mayfair
W1
Saturday, 21st September, 1929
Dear Ivy,
Lord M. is poor again. The extra staff have gone and it's just me and Mabel. I'll write when I know more.
Yours sincerely,
Henry.
~~~
Regal Theatre
The Strand
Bournemouth
BH2
Sunday, 29th September, 1929
Dear Ivy,
As you can see from my new address, I'm working for your dad now. I arrived early on Friday. Leaving number 12 was a bit of a wrench as I'd never lived anywhere else except the orphanage. I'm sure I'll be happy here, though. Everyone's very friendly even though I'm not used to theatre types. Alf - Mr. Stokes, that is, though everyone calls him Alf - says I'm going to be an asset behind scenes. When they get wobbly, I can stand there and hold them up.
Lord M's having to sell number 12 to cover his debts. The factory's closed down and Miss Cissy's ever so angry about it. She said the co-operative owned the factory, only they didn't own enough of it as Lord M. used it as collateral for money to invest on the stock exchange. Miss Cissy is devoting herself to the United Workers Party now she don't have the factory to look after.
She's not the only one who's angry. Mrs. Jerry's husband - Mr. Jerry, that is - has lost a lot of his money too. Lord M. is moving in with them to pool their resources. I don't think they've got any resources to pool. Lady Lavender is going to live with them but it's only until she and Captain Dolby can elope. She said now they're poor, no one can object to the marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Teddy are going to live in Wimbledon. They said the baby will like the park there.
Will you tell Mabel I said hello? It seems funny to think of her working for you and Mr. Twelvetrees now but at least she's still got a job. Everything turns out alright in the end, that's what I always say.
Yours sincerely,
Henry
The end.
17th December 2016
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Date: 2016-12-20 10:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-20 01:44 pm (UTC)