Her mother jolted. ‘Oh yes. I suppose you’re not accustomed to the lower rooms of the house. Oh dear, how mortifying! Charles! Accompany your sister to the Yellow Room.’
As they began to leave, her mother seemed to have another thought. ‘And, Charles, you mustn’t call her Hetty any more. Hetty is a name for servants. We should never have started calling you that, Henrietta. I am so sorry.’
‘No, Mama. I understand. I wasn’t myself, was I? Anyway, it’s quite a sweet nickname in the overall scheme of things.’
Lady Bainbridge’s face took on a stubborn look. ‘No, Henrietta. It is not appropriate. You are yourself again. You must not be known by that name any more.’
As vague and as polite as her new mother seemed to be, Etta saw she could also be stern. She filed that thought away for later.
She stared at Charlie’s arm, stuck out like he was expecting a bird to land on it, before realising she was meant to grab it. They went back out into the hall and she tried to calculate how many times her studio flat would fit into the cavernous, gilded entrance to the Bainbridge’s mansion.
How on earth was Hetty going to cope in 2023? She hoped the two old ladies had something lined up because, man oh man, she was most certainly not missing that flat right now.
Chapter 7
2023
Hetty was still shaking from her second terrifying cab ride when she registered her surroundings. The three women stood together, facing a house Hetty vaguely recognised from childhood trips to London doctors.
‘Oh, goodness. How … enlivening.’
Aggie was amused, now. ‘Oh yes. The neighbours hate it. But the colour was very much Jemima’s choice.’
‘Goodness me, Aunt Jemima. The family townhouse is transformed. Most … Most unique.’
Jemima rubbed her hands together mischievously. ‘Thank you, dear. There have been petitions, you know.’
Hetty smothered a smile. ‘I can’t think why.’
‘Well, you know, it surprises me too. But apparently lavender isn’t in keeping with our historic environs, or some such crap.’
‘Oh. Goodness.’
Aggie smiled broadly and turned to Hetty. ‘Well, Hetty, there’s no point in standing around. Grab your bags.’
‘My own bags?’
‘Yes, dear. Welcome to 2023.’
The Bainbridges’ London townhouse was absolutely not decorated in the same fashion as it had been in the early 1800s. As she entered the hallway, Hetty could only stare. Black and white striped wallpaper – ‘zebra print’, Aggie called it – clashed with a huge ornate mirror in a shade of pink that Hetty couldn’t have dreamed up. Meanwhile, paintings of bold shapes and lines contrasted with the more traditional portrait paintings Hetty was used to seeing, some of which she recognised from her family’s time there.
Ornaments could be found on every surface: china shepherdesses, black marble statues of naked men, brightly glazed vases, ill-made bowls and golden lamps.
‘Leave your bags there. We’ll show you your room later,’ said Aggie, shepherding Hetty towards the vast kitchen at the back of the house. There was not a servant to be seen, Hetty thought, as she registered gleaming surfaces everywhere. Everything in 2023 was so … shiny.
Suddenly feeling exhausted, she inelegantly flopped into a reassuringly un-shiny kitchen chair as her new aunts bustled around. A plate of what could only be biscuits appeared in front of her.
‘What is this coating? A preserve?’
‘Solid chocolate, dear. Try it – it’ll change your life,’ said Aggie.
‘And your waistline,’ added a cheerful Jemima, holding a tray of oddly shaped bread. ‘Sandwiches,’ she explained, as the tray clattered onto the table. ‘Thought we’d start you off on something familiar.’
Hetty poked at one. ‘Ham. In between two slices of bread? I suppose one could eat it with one’s fingers and have both ham and bread at once. How ingenious!’
She looked up and saw the aunts looking at each other. A whole conversation seemed to happen, in complete silence, before they looked back at her.
Aggie delicately picked up a sandwich, placing it on a small plate, while Jemima stuffed hers straight into her mouth and chewed loudly. Hetty decided to copy Aggie and pushed the boat out a little by selecting one of the crispy, thinly sliced potato wafers from a bowl. It was delicious, if oddly sweet.
