A man of the stars visited by a man of the moon | April 4th, afternoon

[Henry Grey]

Quote

Royal Greenwich Observatory

     It was situated on a hill in Greenwich Park, overlooking the river Thames, an octagon tower. Flamsteed House, the original part of the Observatory, was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It was built for a cost of £520 (£20 over budget) out of largely recycled materials on the foundations of Duke Humphrey's Tower.

     The building was of two storeys with cellars, built of red brick with rusticated stone angles, moulded plinth, string-course between the storeys and coved wooden cornice at the roof-level.

     Lord Grey had taken the carriage ride in stride. Although windy, at least it was not raining, and the sun had dried the roads somewhat. That made the task of the three pairs of horses much easier, as the mud did not suck the wheels of the coach as much. Even the hill to reach Flamsteed House was no problem. The time spent by himself had been productive, as his notebook and pencil had seen much use.

     As they arrived at the front door, the coachman jumped from his seat, lowered the step and opened the door for Henry to step out. The baron was dressed in maroon brocade justaucorps and breeches, a moss green silk coat and white silk shirt, cravat and stockings. A gold watch chain came out of his left waistcoat pocket, and on his right hand he carried a walnut walking stick with spherical gold head. As usual, he wore no rings except for his signet, but there was a red coral pin on his cravat. Under his left arm he carried a bottle of green glass, filled with some sort of liquid and sealed with lead and wax.

     Alighting from his vehicle, Lord Grey walked to the front door  with a gift for the Astronomer Royal under his arm, and rapped on it with the head of his walking stick. KNOCK. KNOCK, KNOCK.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Henry Grey

[Hope]

The door was not locked, in fact it was not even properly closed.  From within came the sounds of hammer and sawing, industrious sounds, which might prompt Henry to note that there was a cart pulled up to one side of the building that was piled up with building supplies. 

Over all the ruckus whoever was inside could not hear the sound of Grey's knocking. 

[Henry Grey]

     Shrugging, Henry decided to go in. It would not be the first time nor the last that he did something like that, or that it was done to him. He knew very well how focused a  man could become when in the middle of building something science-related. I wonder what it is he is building?

     Using his walking stick, he pushed the door wide open before stepping in and calling, “Mr Flamsteed, may I come in? I would like to have a word with you if you don’t mind”.

     Meanwhile, the coachman was maneuvering the berline, trying not to obstruct other vehicles that may arrive at Flamesteed House.

[Hope]

It was a round-faced man in a duckbill cap that peeked his head out around a corner, tool belt around his hips and particularly bushy red eyebrows raised. "Mr Flamsteed’s not here, he's staying in Burstow while we do the renovations."  No doubt Henry was aware that the Royal Astronomer had made priest and was Rector for the small village of Burstow in Surry (some few 25miles away). 

"He'd not said he was expecting any visitors?"   

Which was what you might call a spanner in the works!   

[Henry Grey]

     “Oh…” was all Henry was able to say as his plans for hosting an event at the Royal Observatory evaporated. “Renovations? What type of renovations?”  Renovations were not quick, at least not a couple of days quick. And if Flamsteed was not home, but a score and five miles away, it would not be that easy to talk to the man. Still…

     “No, Mr Flamsteed is not expecting me. But I do need to speak with him. What would be the quickest way to do so?” A pause. “Pardon my lack of manners, my good man. Lord Grey”. He nodded towards the man.

    The baron hoped he would not have to ride another 25 miles. His back side would not forgive him for the next two days.

[Hope]

"We are about half way though I suppose."   Snatching up a rag the man wiped his hands of wood dust, then reciprocated with hand shake, "And I’m Angus, pleased to meet you Lord Grey.  Now as for the fastest way to reach him, that would be a horse." 

As for the extent of renovations, the general state of disarray did not suggest it would be completed by Thursday.  Henry was indeed going to need to find a back up plan - there was always his original idea of stargazing from the Saint James.      

[Henry Grey]

     A horse! Of all things, a horse! Henry smiled faintly. That was not going to happen unless his life depended on it. Horses just did not like him, even one bit.

     “I should have announced myself beforehand, my mistake. But would you be kind enough to see to it that Mr Flamsteed receives these…” he handed his calling card and a bottle of claret he had brought to sweeten his request. “Please tell him that I can be reached at the Red Lion Inn at his convenience”. He added a few pennies too, hoping they would be enough for Angus not to drink the wine himself.

     “You do not suppose I could take a look at the telescope, even though Mr Flamsteed is not home, do you…”

     It was a long shot, but perhaps, just perhaps, the trip would give Henry some reward.

[Hope]

"Oh er, alright." Angus was surprise at taking custody of (what was probably an expensive bottle) of liquor and the note.  This was not the job description for a builder.  The financial incentive of helped allay his concerns.  "I'll.. ah, put it in the kitchens for now I suppose, would that be alright? We lock up each night when we leave."  So it would be pretty safe there. 

"He'll be back next week, he's likely to give you a personal tour of the place. But, well It's not my place Milord, I don’t know that he'd appreciate me taking liberties of seeing people though the place while he's not here." he felt put into a corner and frowned with his concern. 

[Henry Grey]

     “The kitchen will be a good place for it, yes…” Henry liked to test people. They were tested with small, unimportant things, like a bottle of claret. If the Astronomer Royal were not to mention the bottle when they met, the baron would. Then he would let the other man know that he had left it in care of the builder and let chips fall where they may.

     “Next week, you say? I will make contact with him then. And you are right, it is best to wait for him to be back”. Minor test passed. Even if Lord Grey would have accepted to tour the place, it spoke volumes of Angus that he did not agree to it, even after getting the coin.

     “Well, then, I will take my leave. Please let Mr Flamsteed that I came calling, and that I’d love to discuss the moon and the stars with him whenever possible”. With that, the baron smiled, nodded, and turned to leave.

OOC: Thanks for a thread that sets up challenges and possibilities!