12 June
Monday (at Dahlia's garden party)
During the tea party, Mrs.
Frazer and Mrs. Salmaline came over to let me know they had to
leave. Miss Pinker and I would be the only ones on
chaperone duty.
After the tea party, we headed over to a concert. There
were many of our acquaintances there. The music is very
twinkly.
As an aside, it's always so unfair that they call them petit
fours but they only ever offer a body one at a time. Those
French are so stingy.
Heh. Mr. Atlas and Prudence both fell asleep. Mr.
Atlas woke up and started clapping just before Prudence
did. How sweet!
Tuesday
I accompanied Wilamina and the Copperthwaits and Mrs. Frazer to
a soap factory in Islesworth. Not any soap factory,
though: Piers! The fancy soaps. Maybe there will be
free samples! Or possibly the ability to buy at a
discount.
We were apparently invited because they were having problems
with getting a larger percentage of the grade B soap than usual
and are trying to find out why.
We had to wear odd masks before we could go into the manufactury
area. Apparently, there is a lot of alchohol in the
air. Most of the workers have developed an imunity to it
and don't get drunk by breathing the air. I wonder if they
ever drink away from work... I hope I don't have a
headache by the time it's all over. There is a strong
smell of alchohol all over the place.
We ended up on the roof looking for air currents. Diana
appeared and joined us. Good thing I started keeping Diana
treats on me after Uncle Percy arrived. While I was giving
her treats and scritches, Wilamina found something interesting
with one of the chimneys.
After some poking, they found proof that someone had tampered
and was forcing more venting than usual which was causing the
more B grade soap.
---later---
That Man is in such trouble! Mrs. Salmaline came up to me
at the ball tonight and told me that Henry has apparently
invested in a soap maker. I never!
While I was practicing some meditation to the music, I overheard
a couple ladies say something about “if she doesn’t wear the
Tove pearls at Lord Emsworth’s ball, I don’t know where she
would wear them.” I went to tell Mrs. Salmaline. She
reminded me that the Tove pearls belonged to Henry’s Great Aunt
Betty. I decided that perhaps Great Aunt Betty might like
to know. Mrs. Salmaline said she’d help me with the
wording of the note on the way home. Good thing we did it
then. The Copperthwaits had gotten home just before us and
had had a more interesting time on their excursion than
expected. Everyone was ok, but they were still picking
greenery bits out of their hair and clothes.
And now, time for bed. Tomorrow will come much too early.
Wednesday
This morning we followed
Wilamina to meet with someone at a bookstore. She met with
someone while there and got an address that we are now heading
to. While en route, I heard Henry calling. We
stopped to pick Him and Mr. Atlas up. The carriage got
very full.
Conversation went back to soap. This is the week for soap!
My husband is investing in soap (without checking in with me
first, by the way, and, probably, having to do with the tub full
of open soaps.). My employer is hired to find out why soap
isn’t turning out properly. We are searching for a missing
soap maker. I might have to stop using my lovely Piers
Grade B soap if Henry has a soap…
Crazy making.
---later---
When we got to the address
Wilamina got, Mrs. Salmaline asked me and Mr. Atlas to go to the
back of the house and stop anyone who might come running
out. I gathered a nice pile of rocks since Mrs. Salmaline
asked me to use non-lethal force. We waited. And
waited some more. Finally, Henry came out the back and
said that everything was fine and, oh by the by, this was Lord
Emsworth’s house. We came in. Things were kind of
awkward and the only servant had been sent out on a message for
Mrs. Salmaline. I offered to go make tea.
Unfortunately, the tea kettle seems to have been pressed into
service in the lab the missing soap maker had set up. Oh,
did I mention that the missing soap maker was staying here and
Lord Emsworth had stolen him back from Duke Dunstansomething or
other. I had Wilamina come back and help me find an
alternate tea kettle and get the tea made.
---later---
After a long wait, a lawyer came
to look over Mr. Snailman’s contract, all the partners (hmpf)
gathered to sign paperwork, we brought in additional biscuits
and a slightly more substantial tea, and Mrs. Salmaline
interrogated Mr. Snailman about his intentions toward
Abagail. Wilamina poked through the soap lab. We
kept her from poking through the chemist’s books.
And now it looks like everything is wrapped up here. I
believe it’s time to head back home for dinner. It has
been a very long day. It was very nice to cuddle the
babies!
Proceed to
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