An Afternoon Nap | Sunday Afternoon

[Francis Kirke]

 

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Apartment of The Duke of Buckingham (& Lord Kingston)

 

The door to the apartment opened directly into the drawing room, a long, narrow space furnished in dark woods and hung with crimson damasks and silks. The bank of windows looks out over the Long Walk and Castle Hill. To the right of the windows, on the west, is a well-lighted fireplace with a carved stone coat of arms placed into the wall directly above. There is a swath of royal blue cloth draping over the mantel, a wreathe of seasonal flowers gracing the center of the swathe. Against the opposite wall is a long table surrounded by several ornate chairs. An iron chandelier hangs from the ceiling to light the chamber at night, the light glinting off the polished wooden floors.

 

Further down the west wall are two doors leading to the apartment’s bedchambers. The first chamber is furnished richly in dark green, or varying shades of the color, with green and gold damask hangings on the mahogany bed, the verdant counterpane worked with fine gold embroidery. A tapestry depicting a boar hunt covers the door to the closet on the north wall, a fireplace crackling merrily between two generously sized windows in the south. Near this fireplace is a table and chair while an iron chandelier hangs from the center of the ceiling, light glinting off the polished wooden floors.

 

The second bedroom is decorated in golds, the rich earthy colors making the room feel warmer than it actually was. A fire crackled in the hearth to the north while a heavy gold velvet curtain covered the door to the closet set into the south wall. In the center of the room was an ornate mahogany bed with similarly colored hangings and counterpane; however, the bed was so high that it required the use of an ornate set of steps to climb into it. The windowless room was lighted by an iron chandelier, light glinting off the polished wooden floors.

 

 

 

Francis was considerably tired by the time Sunday afternoon rolled along. He had not slept Saturday night hardly at all, and Friday night had only gained a few hours sleep. Monday at dawn he was to tour the Thames on a yacht with the prince, Dorothea's brother, so he was not sure he would get many hours of sleep that evening, either.

 

When he finally arrived back at his rooms, he started shedding his clothes as he came through the door. His valet, Archer, took his justacorps, then his waistcoat, and then his cravat. He progressed through to his bedroom, which by now would have clean linens since the King's stay, and ignored Tommy's questioning look. He sat on the bed and toed off his court shoes before Archer to take them off, and then rolled over into the middle of the bed with a happy sigh, fully intent on a nap.