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Hit The Ground Running | 31/12, before the ball (CD)- Xmas 1677


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She didn't think she would ever get used to the stench.

 

The air had been so fresh in Barbados, and in the English countryside as well. Anne-Elisabeth had not been prepared for the foul smells of London, and when she had arrived in the city yesterday, she had stopped at a shop that sold pomanders and had bought quite a few of them along with some perfume to scent them with.

 

I wonder if the people stink too, she thought, as she gazed out of the window of her room. It was much smaller than the suites she was accustomed to, but it was decorated prettily, the bed was soft, and she hadn't seen or heard a single rat. She'd heard no noise from her neighbors either. Maybe the rooms next to hers were vacant or their occupants were quiet individuals. If they proved to be annoying, she would ask to be relocated. A Countess should have certain privileges, after all.

 

Anne-Elisabeth turned around, watching as her maidservant laid out the gown she was to wear tonight to the ball. She had come at a good time. Balls were excellent places to meet people and at the moment, she didn't know a single soul. To some ladies, that fact might have been daunting, but Anne-Elisabeth found it exciting. She would be mysterious and intriguing and people would be curious about her. After a year in mourning for her late husband and her entire family, she was ready to move on with her life and make a place for herself at court. Confident in her own charms, she had no doubt that she would succeed.

 

Had anyone heard of her, she wondered? The ship that had taken her family from Barbados to England and been wrecked somewhere on the coast. As she had been injured and barely conscious, she wasn't sure exactly where and she had never asked. She and her husband, the Earl of Cambray, had been the only survivors and Arthur had passed away less than a week after their rescue. Anne-Elisabeth was all alone in the world now, but for the first time in her life, she was able to do whatever she wished without answering to any gentleman, be he husband or father.

 

The world was her oyster, and she planned to make the most of the freedom that widowhood had granted her.

 

Watch out, London. Her smile was smug. Ready or not, here I come!

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