Leonora's Journal Volume Two

The Sequel to 'Ring of Stone' and 'Leonora's Journal Volume One' by Bronwen Welsh

---

Chapter 25 The ball in the Pump Room

Saturday 17th July
Richard suggested today that we have a walk around Bath, just the two of us. After attending to Elizabeth’s needs, I left her in the capable hands of Anna, while making sure that she knew where we would be if an emergency arose. We walked past the Royal Crescent where Lord and Lady Pendragon own a house, safe in the knowledge that they will not be there, having travelled to London. It is indeed a spectacular series of thirty houses, and I image most are owned by the aristocracy. Another notable collection of houses is the Circus where the houses form a circle only broken by roads to allow entry and exit..

It seems that a certain ‘Beau’ Nash was famous for making the town a centre for fashionable people when he arrived in the early eighteenth century. He became the indisputable ‘King of Bath’, arranging for the construction of some notable buildings including the Pump Room at the Baths, and also the Assembly Rooms. He also wrote the rules of behaviour including the banning of duels, since he achieved his position after the previous occupier of the position was killed in a duel.

We also viewed Pultney Bridge across the River Avon which is unusual in having buildings on it like the old London Bridge; then Bath Abbey which is a magnificent building and unusually has a decoration of ladders with angels ascending and descending to and from Heaven and earth on either side of the main entrance, apparently inspired by the dream of the Bishop of Bath and Wells at the time it was built. Originally it was mentioned in the Book of Genesis, so perhaps that inspired the bishop’s dream?

Finally, we arrived at the Roman Baths, the scene of my dramatic rescue of Emily. At first I was somewhat reluctant to enter for fear of being recognized and this fear was fulfilled but in a very nice way when we were welcomed by the staff, who caused me many blushes with their effusive expressions of admiration. When we finally reached the pool where the drama had ensued, Richard expressed his surprise and admiration at what I had achieved.

After this we went to the Pump Room, where the waters are available for tasting. It is a truly remarkable building, with a beautifully decorated interior, and with a balcony at one end where I surmised that musicians play. It is a popular venue for balls, and we saw a notice to indicate that one will take place on Saturday in a week’s time and Richard suggested that I might like to attend. I love dancing, so had no hesitation in acquiescing to his suggestion. Perhaps, Mama, Papa and Emma will attend too. When we enquired about purchasing tickets, the manager of the Baths informed us that they would have great pleasure in providing my whole family with complimentary entry. That was very kind of him.

Friday 23rd July
The week has seen much inclement weather so much of the time has been spent indoors. Elizabeth is a constant source of entertainment for the whole family, despite being only two months old. She is such a sweet child, with an excellent temperament, something for which I am truly grateful since she allows me to get sufficient uninterrupted sleep, which I have heard is not always the case with babies. I hope her siblings to come are equally placid. Anna is an excellent nursery maid and as besotted with her as I am. I expect that one day she will leave us to marry and have children of her own, but for the present I am very happy that she is with us and I can always leave Eliabeth in her care with complete confidence.

Tomorrow is the ball at the Pump Room and Marie and I are deciding what I should wear. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful selection of gowns, even though the number I brought with me is only a small part of my total wardrobe. Richard is so generous, always suggesting that I might like to buy something new to wear. I am cognisant of the fact that a wife must present well as her husband’s companion, but I think I must be innately frugal because I always think that the money could be put to better use.

Depending on what time we arrive home from the ball, I may or may not write in my journal tomorrow.

Sunday 25th July
We attended a service at Bath Abbey this morning. The singing of the choir was very fine and the organ playing and its sound, magnificent. The bishop was in attendance and greeted the congregation at the door as we exited. To my surprise it seems that my exploits in the pool have become known even to him since he said that God will bless me for my good work in rescuing Emily. It hardly requires recording that I blushed at his remarks.

The Pump Room, Bath

However, now to a report of the ball in the Pump Room last night. What a wonderful evening it was. Our whole family attended, the coach taking us to the door to relieve Papa of the need to walk any great distance. He assures me that his gout symptoms are improving, but nonetheless, walking can be painful.

When we entered the room, which sparkled with the light of thousands of candles, the dancing had already started. The orchestra was excellent, and the sight of the ladies in their beautiful gowns and the men in their evening dress moving in unison around the dance floor was very fine indeed. We found our five reserved seats and were glad we had been presented with them since the room was quite full.

Before long, I had a dance with Richard and then he danced with Mama since Papa’s gout has not yet recovered enough for him to dance. Later I danced with Richard again, and as we were returning to our seats we noticed that there was a very distinguished-looking gentleman walking across the room to address Mama and Papa.
Papa rose to accept his greeting and as we resumed our seats, I heard him bow and say “Excuse me introducing myself, sir, madam, but we have no mutual friend to undertake the task for us. My name is Sir Michael Fitzroy, a resident of Bath.”

Papa also bowed, and said “I am very pleased to meet you, sir. I am Professor Sir Robert Bolton of Oxford University. Allow me to introduce my wife, Lady Bolton, my younger daughter Emma, and my elder daughter and her husband, Mr and Mrs d’Anglais.” Emma stood and curtseyed.

By now we were standing and Richard bowed and I curtseyed. Sir Michael said, “Pardon me if I am mistaken, but are you related to the d’Anglais of Grasmere, sir?”

Richard smiled. “Yes indeed, they are my parents and uncle, sir.”

“This is indeed a coincidence – my late father was at Oxford with your father and they were quite friendly, but lost touch after graduation since they lived in different parts of the country.”

“I will mention it to my father when I see him next,” said Richard.

Sir Michael then continued, “But I am neglecting the primary reason I approached you. My family is seated yonder, including my wife, and my twelve-year-old son Henry who has been taking dancing lessons and is reported to be becoming quite proficient. He was hoping to ask someone near to his own age to dance but only recently noticed the presence of your young daughter. He has begged me to act as his emissary and enquire if Miss Bolton might be willing to dance with him?”

It was obvious to me that Emma was already looking at young Henry in a very positive fashion. She is now ten, but of course girls do mature more quickly than boys, so a two year gap in their ages was of no consequence. She looked at Mama who said. “If you would like to dance with Master Fitzroy, I have no objection.” I could see that her permission was accepted with great pleasure, as Emma said, “Yes please.”

Sir Michael said “In that case I will ask Henry to come over and introduce himself” and he turned and beckoned to his young son, who crossed the room with some alacrity. Upon being informed of Emma’s name, he bowed and said “Miss Bolton, may I have the pleasure of the next dance?”

Emma stood, curtseyed and replied “With pleasure, Mr Fitzroy.” Young Henry offered his hand and led her onto the dance floor. I looked at Richard and he immediately understood that we could keep a closer eye upon the young couple of we were also on the dance floor and near them, so I took his hand and we joined the dance.

I was pleased to see that both the young people were dancing very proficiently and obviously enjoying themselves greatly. At the conclusion of the second dance, young Master Fitzroy led Emma back to her seat, and bowing, thanked her for the dance. Emma curtseyed and thanked him too. It was all very prettily done, and I confess I was at some pains not to smile broadly in case they thought I was making fun of them.

Following the convention that unmarried couples may only dance two sets together, later Henry asked Emma for another dance and this time we observed them from our seats.

Mama whispered to me “It seems my little girl is growing up!”

I smiled and responded, “It really does seem to happen earlier nowadays!”.

Friday 30th July
We have been spending a delightful time at Bath, walking about the town admiring the elegant buildings most days, and visiting the display of Roman artifacts at the Baths. I have had the opportunity to discuss the archaeology of the site with Papa who is as always a fount of knowledge. He assures me that there is still plenty of interesting sites to be found throughout the country, some of which probably won’t even be discovered in our lifetimes.

“That is not a bad thing,” he explained, “Since I’m sure that in the future, techniques of excavation will probably surpass our own and discover even more amazing things about the past.”

I have really enjoyed my time with my family, being my parents’ daughter once more, not that I would for a moment give up being Richard’s wife which is the most wonderful state I could imagine.

Today, in an overly casual manner, Emma asked me if the family might be attending the ball at the Pump Room tomorrow. Dear child, she thought she was being very clever, but I knew immediately that young Henry Fitzroy must have mentioned the intention of his family to attend, and she was anxious to see him one more time before Richard and I return to Oxford. It is unlikely that our parents will attend another ball once we are gone, with Papa still suffering from gout, even though his recovery is certainly making progress.

I promised to discuss it with Richard and also Mama and Papa. Mama smiled when I broached the subject. She too immediately discerned the reason for Emma’s interest. As a result, the whole family will attend a final ball before we return to Oxford, and young Emma could scarcely contain her excitement when I imparted the news to her. I confess that I had great difficulty in not teasing her about it, but to do so would be cruel.

Saturday 31st July
This evening we attended the ball in the Pump Room, and to our great surprise, who should be there but the Fitzroys! Once again Sir Michael approached us and asked if his son would be making a nuisance of himself if he requested a dance with Emma once more. Upon being reassured that his approach would be acceptable to us, young Henry approached once more and was the epitome of politeness as he bowed to us all in turn, and finally to Emma who returned his greeting with a curtsey.
When she returned from the set of two dances, Emma looked nervous, and the reason soon became apparent.

“Mama, Papa, Henry wonders if you would give him permission to write to me so that we can maintain our friendship?” she said with a blush.

Mama was obviously ready for this request, for she immediately replied, “Your Papa and I will give our permission with two conditions; first, Henry’s parents must agree, and if they do so, you must show me any correspondence you receive from Henry, and also your replies to him.”

“Oh thank you Mama, Papa, of course I agree to that,” Emma replied.

“Because Papa finds it difficult to walk, would you mind approaching them Richard and ask if they would be kind enough to come and discuss this request with us? In the meantime, Emma, Henry may ask you for another dance.”

The result of the conversation with the two sets of parents was that Emma and Henry obtained permission to correspond.

Later, I asked Mama in a joking manner if she was match-making? She blushed slightly and looking very severe said “Of course not, it is at least eight years until Emma could consider marriage!”

“Of course; and both she and Henry will doubtless meet many potential partners before then. What was I thinking?” I said, doing my best to keep a straight face.
We both laughed,

Monday 2nd August.
Today we left Bath for home at Oxford. I confess I was sorry to leave my parents, who will stay on for another month, but Papa is showing definite signs of improvement, and Richard has his legal responsibilities to attend to. It has certainly been an interesting time spent in Bath. I have written to Mrs Danvers to tell her to expect us tomorrow evening. We are staying in an hotel at Cirencester tonight and intend to leave early in the morning.

To be continued