The Necklace VII: London, 1815

By Linda S Rice

After crossing the rainbow bridge in 2037...and hoping to spend a new life together without the strife and heartbreak they most recently experienced...James and Susan agree to travel back in time to 1815 Regency England when Susan’s magical necklace was first created.
But after Susan enters the body of Lady Susanna Sheffield, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Bradford and James becomes Lord James Lynton, Viscount Hollingsworth, they discover, much to their dismay, that the difference in their social status is only one obstacle to overcome.
Susan is still the independent, stubborn, and impetuous female she was back in the future and James has not lost his arrogant, bossy and controlling nature despite their vow to change.
And, in addition to the Duchess deciding a mere Viscount isn’t good enough for her daughter, a wealthy Italian Count decides he wants Lady Susanna for his Contessa and commissions a magical necklace from Alchemist Dr. Thaddeus Holloran that will bind her to him for life.
Will the Count succeed in placing the magical necklace around Susan’s neck? Will the Duchess be able to keep James and Susan apart?
But most important of all, will this fiery couple be able to adapt to the strict rules and conflicting morals of an era over 200 years back in time without creating new discord between them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linda S Rice
• Release date: May 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463376331

Linda S Rice

As a child, I was mesmerized by story tellers and my mother always made sure I had a supply of books close at hand while I was growing up. Sitting on her lap and listening to her read to me is one of my earliest memories. I remember drawing pictures and then making up stories to go with them, and as I got older, my stories became longer and more fanciful. At age ten, I began to write them down, and when I was twelve, I wrote my first "book," all handwritten. I wrote during rainy days in gym class when we all had to stay in the locker room and sit on benches. I had a small cult following of friends who waited for me to finish each page which I would then pass down the row. When I got a typewriter for my thirteenth birthday, I typed up my "masterpiece" and put it in a 3-ring binder then hid it away. The story was actually quite silly. Having a typewriter, however, made it possible for me to write even more, which I did on almost a daily basis.But, as happens to many young, aspiring writers, reality grabbed me and when I graduated from high school and headed to college then into the workforce, the dream of becoming an author washed away. It wasn't until I turned 62 and experienced my 3rd job layoff, that I decided to try and make my writing dream come true.Writing has since become an addiction to me, and I'm finding that ideas for numerous scenarios and characters keep flooding my brain, with the characters screaming, "Write about me! Write about me!"And, that's what I intend to do.

Book preview

The Necklace VII

London, 1815

Linda S. Rice

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © by Linda S. Rice. All rights reserved.

ISBN

ISBN

Library of Congress Control Number: 1-7503360711

Also by Linda S Rice

The Necklace – The Dusky Club, June 1962

The Necklace II – Back to Brighton, November 1962

The Necklace III – London, August 1967

The Necklace IV – Brighton, December 1999

The Necklace V – Strawberries & Wine

The Necklace VI – Snow on the Mountain

The Harpist

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to friends, acquaintances and relatives, who encouraged me to move forward with publishing The Necklace – The Dusky Club, June 1962, the first book in the series, the sequels, The Necklace II – Back to Brighton, November 1962, The Necklace III – London, 1967, The Necklace IV – Brighton, December 1999, The Necklace V – Strawberries & Wine, The Necklace VI – Snow on the Mountain, and now this seventh book of the series that takes James and Susan over 200 years back into the past to 1815 Regency England.

Special thanks to my good friend, Peg Jardin, for her editing help, and to my numerous Internet friends, for their encouragement and time spent previewing this work

Lastly, and most importantly, I’d like to thank my husband, Michael, for his never-ending patience and support. Writing can be all-consuming and sometimes frustrating; his encouragement and love do much to keep me inspired.

To contact the author, e-mail Linda at: [e-mail]

Prologue – January 2037

I was beginning to wonder how long I’d have to wait for you, Susan, said James, still holding her hand after they both crossed the bridge to the other side.

Susan shook her head, still in a daze. James led her down a path where they both sat down on a bench under a flowering tree.

Where are we?

I’m not exactly sure, but I don’t think we’re on earth anymore. I don’t have any aches or pains, and I can breathe just fine. To demonstrate, he took in a deep breath then exhaled.

Susan stared at him. Did we die? Is that why we crossed the rainbow-colored bridge? I thought only pets crossed the rainbow bridge.

Evidently, people can cross it too…maybe it’s because we were vegetarians…

Susan laughed. Well…maybe…but what happens now? You still look the same…you still look like your 95-year-old self.

And you still look like your 86-year-old self.

Is that how you wish to look? a voice said from behind them.

They both spun around on the bench.

Mika! Susan exclaimed, recognizing the Haiti lady, also known as Grandmere, who had sent her back in time on her first time-travel journey to meet James.

Yes, Susan…it is me…I have been waiting for you and James to arrive. It took you a long time, but that is all right.

What are you doing here? What are we doing here? Are we both really dead?

She laid a hand on each of their shoulders. Yes, you are both what you call on earth, dead, but as you can see death is only a transition into the world of the non-physical. You have lost your physical selves, but the energy that is you remains.

Who are you?! exclaimed James. I’ve never met you before!

Susan reached over and grabbed one of James’s hands. It’s the lady from Haiti I told you about. The one who first sent me back in time to the Dusky Club in June 1962.

He looked up over his shoulder at the dark-skinned woman. Oh…well then…that’s okay, I suppose. But what do you mean that we’ve lost our physical selves? It still looks to me that we have our old bodies!

Not really…what you see is only a perception of yourselves. It is what you last saw and experienced. You are both now non-physical beings.

Susan was puzzled. I don’t understand, Mika. I guess I can accept the fact that we’ve crossed over as I’ve always believed, but what happens now? And exactly where are we?

At the moment, you are nowhere...you are simply part of the Universe. You may remain here as you are, or you may envision yourself differently, and you will become that vision…Or…

Or what? asked James.

Or, I can return you to the first lives you shared together and you can re-live that time-reality experience. It is why I’ve been waiting here for you.

Susan slapped James on his thigh. You were right! We were together in a previous lifetime!

Mika smiled. Yes, indeed you were! I wasn’t sure until I crossed to the other side myself, but then as I observed you together on earth, it became clear. And, yes, it is also connected to your silver ballerina necklace, Susan.

James reached up to his chest, feeling for the necklace, but it was gone. He raised his eyebrows at Mika but she looked at Susan.

The necklace is now back in the past where it was originally created. I do not know, Susan, how your grandmother came into possession of it but it is indeed magical. Just as it bound you to James and him to you in this life you most recently left, the powers it has were imbued in it in an earlier time. It is where I can send you now if you wish.

But who were we in our past lives together? asked James. How did we know each other?

I do not know the details. I just know you were together.

Oh no! Is it going to be another lifetime where history can’t be changed? asked Susan. Where we have to suffer through multiple heartbreaks and separations?

As I said, I do not know for sure, responded Mika. Aside from your receiving the necklace, Susan, you may be able to make your own history, but it will not affect the lives you just now experienced together. It will be up to the both of you to make what you choose of it.

But if we go back, will we know about our future lives? asked James.

Or do we start all over from scratch? added Susan.

That is up to you…you have options…

James and Susan looked at each other before turning their attention back to Mika.

I can send you back to the day you were born, and you can let your lives play out exactly as they did in history…or I can send you back with what you might call a twist.

What kind of twist? queried James?

Just about anything you can imagine, Mika responded. The Universe is limitless. I can send you back to the time you first met, knowing all you do now about the lives you most recently lived…but you might find that rather challenging…

How? asked Susan.

You would have to try to adjust to the time period, adhere to the mores of the day, the speech, and cope without the conveniences you are accustomed to.

Susan was thoughtful. But, if we went back to the time we first met, wouldn’t we already be acclimated to everything, having already lived the first part of our lives there?

Mika nodded. Yes, of course…at least I believe so…but I am not certain. If I send you back into your bodies in that time, however, it will take some adjustment since you will not have the conveniences you now know about and are used to having. You will be able to discuss these things between yourselves but with no one else.

You didn’t tell us where we would be going to or what year it would be, commented James.

And would our names be the same? added Susan.

No. You would have the real names you had when you were together in your last lifetime. You would meet in the year 1815 around the time of your first Season in London, Susan.

Susan’s eyes opened wide. The Regency era in England?!

Yes…that was where you and James lived in your most recent incarnation before the one you just left. And the vision I have is that you met at a ball or a dinner…but it might have been somewhere else…it is vague…maybe a garden.

James looked amused. I know quite a bit about that era. My Auntie Gin used to talk about it all the time when I was a lad. Her and my mum loved that period in time.

And I’ve read a ton of books on that era, mostly all romance novels… said Susan.

You lived there before, remarked Mika. Which is why you were attracted to the books. So, you would both at least know something about that period.

So, what’s the twist? asked James.

When I send you into your past bodies, you would have your current twenty-first-century brains, figure of speech and mannerisms, and as I said a moment ago, you would have to both figure out how to cope with the Regency era. There would be a lot to learn. Only the two of you would know of the future, and you would only be able to discuss it with each other.

Then that would make it more like time-travel! exclaimed Susan. Not so much living a past life over again! We would create a new history for ourselves!

Mika nodded. Exactly. But you would also have memories of the lives you lived in the bodies into which I will send you.

Susan looked puzzled for a moment. Oh! I see! We would obviously have to know what we’d experienced up to the point where we enter our past bodies.

Yes, Mika responded. I will need to plant memories in you from your births to the time where I send you, so you do not feel at a loss or out of place.

She put a finger up to her lip in concentration. This might not be very easy, but I think it can be accomplished if your minds are completely open and free of doubt.

Susan turned to James. So, what do you think? Do you want to travel back in time with me and see if we can fit ourselves into the early 1800’s?

James thought for a moment before giving a secret grin. He was thinking of how men ruled just about everything back in that era of time and how women were required to be submissive and docile. He didn’t think Susan had considered that fact yet and decided to take Mika up on her offer before Susan had a chance to think too hard on it.

Absolutely, Susan! Then we can spend nearly an entire lifetime together instead of just bits and pieces. Other than when we were married, our most recent lifetime wasn’t very pleasant for either of us. He looked at Mika. How soon can we do this?

Why, immediately if you wish… She looked at Susan. Have you considered that your life will be vastly different in this past time period? You could still decide to go back not knowing each other and let history play out as it really did…

James answered for her. No, no…I like the twist option. And I’m sure all Susan cares about is that we’ll be together again…and young again…isn't that right, sweetheart?

Susan looked bewildered for a moment but then nodded. Yes, I want to be with you again, James…and start all over…

Then wrap your arms around each other and close your eyes, instructed Mika.

Wait! exclaimed James. Since you’re not clear when or where we’ll meet once we’re in the past, what if we notify each other by a note or letter first? It could be very awkward to just suddenly see each other across the room in front of a bunch of other people.

But how will we know where to send a note or letter? asked Susan turning to Mika.

The old woman smiled. I was just about to tell you…Both of you will travel back in time to the year 1815. It will be early spring.

She looked at Susan. You will assume the body of 17-year-old Lady Susanna Sheffield, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Bradford. Your country home is Bradford Park and is situated approximately thirty miles from London.

She turned to James. And you will assume the body of 25-year-old Lord James Lynton, Viscount Hollingsworth, who has just recently come into the title after his father’s death. Your home, Hollingsworth Manor, is situated five miles from Bradford Park.

James and Susan glanced at each other, both of their eyebrows raised then focused back on Mika. She was standing in front of them and took a few steps back then raised her arms to her sides, palms facing upwards.

Are you ready then?

They both nodded. James grasped Susan’s hand in his. She looked at him with trepidation in her eyes but said nothing.

Then as I said…wrap your arms around each other and close your eyes.

James released Susan’s hand. She wrapped both arms around his waist laying her head on his shoulder. In turn, he enfolded her completely in his arms pulling her in tight. They both closed their eyes. James could feel her trembling.

Mika continued. Breathe deeply and relax. Open your minds to what I tell you and listen closely, so you do not awake in confusion in your new bodies…

She began chanting in a low tone using words that neither James nor Susan understood before all went dark.

Chapter 1 – Lady Susanna Sheffield

She was swirling, swirling, twirling…it was dizzying, and for a minute she felt nauseous, almost like she was going to throw up. She felt weightless, and all she could see was mist. A cacophony of smells assailed her nostrils, but they changed so quickly that she could only identify a few…smoke, like that from a burning candle about to sputter out…the cloying smell of roses, lots of them…horses, like a whole stable full of them…chocolate…she scrunched her nose…she hated chocolate

As the swirling started to slow, she began to hear sounds…the stomping of horses hoofs…bells ringing…they sounded like church bells…gongs…music from a piano that didn’t quite sound like a piano with tinny notes and the twang of a harp in the background…voices whispering in an accent she immediately recognized as British English but some of the words and phrases were unfamiliar…prattle box, pea goose, bosom-bow, fit of the vapors, Friday faced, fagged, at sixes and sevens.

Sixes and sevens?! Whatever could that mean? She wracked her brain trying to recall words and phrases from the Regency era books she’d read, but all was a blur.

All of her senses were suddenly alert and alive; chill bumps raised on her skin; her head felt as if it were being squeezed…then all became still and quiet…and she opened her eyes…

Looking up, she saw the top of a canopied bed, and when she glanced to the right, she saw a young dark-haired woman, not much more than a girl, in an ankle-length black dress with a white apron tied at the back in a neat bow and a frilly white cap on her head. The girl was pulling open draperies across a large window with a window seat enclosure behind it.

Susan froze and held her breath for a moment before giving a large exhale as she realized where she must be. Somewhere in the past! The girl in the aproned dress spun around to look at her before giving a small curtsy and smiling at her.

Good morning, my lady. I hope you slept well. I’ve brought your chocolate.

Susan glanced at the girl, who she assumed must be her maid, and who was holding a tray with a porcelain pot and a fine china cup and saucer set upon it. Steam was rising from the cup, and the odor of chocolate permeated her nostrils.

Composing herself and taking a deep breath, she returned the girl’s smile but wasn’t sure what or how to respond. Glancing toward the window, she saw that the sun was brightly shining and she wondered what time it was. She glanced at the tables on each side of the bed for a clock but saw none. Figuring that asking the time of day would be a safe way to start a conversation, she looked back at the maid.

Can you tell me the time, please?

The girl lifted her eyebrows before glancing across the room to an ormolu clock sitting on the mantle of a fireplace. Why, it be onto noontime, my lady. As in you didn’t get home till well past three this morning, you well deserved a lay-in, and I didn’t want to disturb you sooner.

Susan straightened up in the bed and pushed a pillow behind her back as the maid placed the tray across her lap. She picked up the fine china cup containing the chocolate and brought it up to her nose. Assuming hot chocolate was her preferred morning drink and not wanting to appear anything was wrong, she took a tiny sip but immediately wrinkled up her nose. She really did hate chocolate, and the stuff in her mouth was waxy and bitter. In fact, she found it revolting. She swallowed and grimaced.

I’m obviously in the past…early 1800’s like Mika said. I thought everyone drank tea, not this vile stuff…

She looked back at the girl who had a worried look on her face.

Is something amiss, my lady?

Susan set the cup back down on the saucer.

No…I mean, yes…I mean I just don’t feel like chocolate today. Perhaps you might bring me some tea? …Please? she added as an afterthought, scrambling for the right words to fit the time period she now found herself to be in. Ack! Might there be a book of some kind where she could look up the right lingo? Mika had warned her she would need to cope with being in a different era in time. Was she ready to cope?

And her voice! It sounded like her voice, but then again, it didn’t. It was a young-sounding voice…oh my! It was her younger voice.

The girl raised her eyebrows over a set of clear blue eyes, and Susan wondered if she wasn’t used to someone saying please or if her response didn’t sound right. Or maybe her accent or voice was different than the original Lady Susanna.

The girl in the apron was most likely Susan’s personal maid, and Susan was a Lady, meaning she was a member of the titled nobility. She wondered what the girl’s name was but knew it would sound stupid if she asked. She would obviously be expected to know the name of her personal maid!

I thought Mika told me I’d have the memories of the person in this body…why can’t I remember?

Before she could say anything else, however, the girl picked up the tray, bobbed a curtsy, and left the room, saying she would return shortly with the tea and to assist her in dressing for the day.

The moment the door closed behind her, Susan leaped from the bed and ran to the window. A vast expanse of green lawn spread out below her, and she could see beyond it a lake with swans floating across. The sky was blue with just a few wisps of clouds, and in the distance, she could see a forest of trees that were very green. That must mean the time of year was most likely spring or summer.

Reaching across the window seat, she tried to open the casement window, but it was stuck shut. She recalled that people during the Regency period, assuming that’s where she was, didn’t open windows very often, believing that fresh air could be injurious to one’s health.

Ugh! She thought, noticing that the room felt too warm and smelled rather stale and stuffy. I’m gonna roast in here! A cool breeze and some fresh air would feel damn good right now.

She thought she’d ask the maid with the unknown name to open the window for her when she came back with her tea.

But then, another thought rushed into her head, and she looked around the room for a mirror. Spying a rather large one across the room attached to the top of a dressing table, she flew over to it and looked at her reflection.

The mirror looked a bit foggy, and she leaned in closer. Oh my god!

A younger version of herself as it had been in the future started back at her, mouth agape. She closed her mouth, bringing her hands up to her face where she gently touched her chin, then her cheeks and her nose, feeling for a moment as if they weren’t real. The skin was warm, smooth, and soft to the touch…and it was a very young face…her young face, identical to the one she’d had in the future when she was around 17-years-old.

Then she laughed, looking at the cap on her head. It was white with a lacy edge around the brim with a few stray hairs peeking out the sides, and when she turned sideways, she saw there was a long braid trailing down her back to her waistline.

The hair was a golden blonde, just as it had been in the future, and the eyes that looked back at her from the glass were the same emerald green.

Removing the cap and tossing it on the floor, she untied the ribbons at the top of the floor-length nightgown she was wearing, letting it slip off her onto the floor. She wore nothing underneath and turned a critical eye to the naked body beneath the young face. A slow smile spread from cheek to cheek. Not so bad…well, by the standards of the 2000’s it would be considered quite nice. Pert, nicely rounded breasts…a trim waistline tapering to slender hips with no discernable flaws. Her height also seemed to be the same as she’d had in her late teens in the future, not too tall, not too short.

Well, that’s a relief! How horrid if I’d been sent back into the past and discovered myself in a chubby, short body with spots all over my face!

Just then the door opened, and she heard a loud gasp as the maid came in with another tray, presumably with the tea Susan had asked for. Susan spun around, reached down and snatched the nightgown off the floor, bringing it up to try and cover her nakedness. She typically wasn’t shy about showing her body, but when she saw another red-haired girl behind the first maid, she felt rather foolish to be caught admiring her naked form in the looking glass.

She thought quickly. I ahhh…I had an itch on my back…and I thought maybe I was bitten by a spider or a bug or something in the night, and…

Both girls looked at her, eyes opened wide. The first maid started forward.

My lady! Did you indeed get a spider bite?! They can be fatal!

Susan held up her hand. No…oh no…I thought I might have, but I looked in the glass and saw there was no sign of a bite…

Shit! I’m babbling like an idiot…just like I did the first time I went back to the past in my previous lifetime. They must think I’m feverish or something.

She decided to change the subject. I see you’ve brought the tea then…

Looking at the tray that the second girl was holding, she added, Oh! And that looks like a pastry! How lovely…I’m feeling quite famished.

She strolled back to the bed in as dignified a walk as she could muster with her bare rear to the maids. Slipping the gown back over her head, she accepted and donned a wrapper that was handed to her, and crawled back under the covers adding another pillow behind her back.

The second girl who was dressed in the same black dress with an apron and cap on her head, bobbed a curtsy before crossing the room and setting the tray across her lap. Dead silence permeated the room as the girl proceeded to pour a cup of tea that smelled so much better than the disgusting chocolate.

Thank you, Susan softly mumbled, not sure what to do or say next as she sipped at the fragrant brew before picking up the pastry and taking a dainty bite. It was flakey and delicious and filled with something that tasted like cherries. She wondered if she could somehow get the recipe.

Not likely! If I’m back in time where I think I am…and where Mika told me I would be…it would seem very odd for me to ask for a recipe, especially considering that I would never be allowed to do my own cooking.

She surreptitiously glanced at the two girls as they bustled around her room, one retrieving a large porcelain pot from under her bed and taking it across the room where she placed it behind a large patterned screen, while the other poured water from a pitcher into a basin on a small table near the window. She wondered what the large pot was when it suddenly struck her that it was a chamber pot and it was under the bed for her to use during the night in case she needed to relieve herself.

Damn! No flush toilet! Am I really going to have to pee into a pot every time I have to go?! And what about when…

She was startled out of the dismal thought of no flushing toilet when the first maid spoke to the second.

Mary! You forgot to bring up the roses and card that was delivered to Lady Susanna this morning!

Mary blushed, mumbled an apology, and raced from the room.

Turning to Susan, the first maid continued, My lady, when you’ve finished with your tea, Mary and I will help you to dress. Will you be partaking of a late breakfast downstairs or going for your morning walk or ride first?

Susan stared at her for a moment, needing to collect herself again, her mind swirling.

Roses and a card? What roses? From who? And…it’s past noon…why would I want breakfast? Isn’t this pastry like a continental breakfast? Morning walk or ride? Well, I guess it would be an afternoon walk or ride now. So I know how to ride a horse then? Who else is here? Do I have parents? What did Mika say? Why can’t I remember, damn it all!?

Shut up, Susan! She admonished herself. Too many questions!

I…ah…I think I shall forgo breakfast and a ride for today. I…ah…would prefer to walk I think.

As the girl busied herself around the room, straightening the things on the dressing table and pulling back the drapery from a set of French doors that led out onto a balcony, Susan leaned back in the bed again to try and relax, to open her mind as Mika had told her. A few moments later she sat back up and glanced around the room taking in more of the details. She taxed her brain to try and recall them from the previous Susanna’s memory.

It was quite a lovely room and large as well. A small damask settee, a comfortable chair with a footstool and two small tables were arranged in front of a fireplace framed in pink marble. The walls were of a pale pink hue, and the plush floor carpeting was of a shade slightly darker. The bed hangings, in contrast, were forest green as were the draperies. The settee, chair, footstool and bed hangings were patterned in the colors of green and mauve to blend in with the rest of the room. All in all, everything was pleasing to the eye, lavish but not gaudy or ostentatious.

A few moments later, Mary bustled back into the room bearing a large vase with two dozen red roses which she set on one of the tables in front of the fireplace. Plucking the card from amongst the stems, she came over to the bed and handed it to Susan with a small curtsy.

Sorry but I forget to bring this sooner, my lady.

Accepting the card, Susan nodded, mumbling something about nothing to be sorry for, which again caused the two girls to raise their eyebrows before Mary disappeared into a door on the other side of the room, which she assumed must be her walk-in closet.

Walk-in closet! Wrong term! No such thing in this era. It’s called a dressing room and there, by the French doors, are two large armoires that probably contain other items of clothing…

Susan assumed Mary was going into the dressing room to get whatever it was that she was to wear. A moment later, she stuck her head out the door. Susan saw that she had a dress draped over her arm.

Betsy, I can’t seem to find her lady’s half boots…those she likes to walk in…her walking boots as they be called.

Ah ha! Betsy is maid number one…she must be what’s known as my Lady’s Maid and Mary is maid number two, who must be the Chambermaid. I wonder what I’m supposed to call them…or do they have last names? Do I call them by their first names or do I say, Miss, whatever their last names are? Shit! Why don’t I know this crap? I really need to have a chat with Mika!

Betsy crossed to the dressing room, and both girls disappeared through the door. Susan set the card on the table next to the bed and quickly finished the pastry. Tipping the last of the tea down her throat, she set the tray aside and hopped back out of bed. She would read the card later after the maids left as she didn’t want to appear too anxious to see what it was or who it was from. She knew that below-stairs gossip was rife and didn’t want her response to the card to show anything to either Betsy or Mary. She looked across the room.

I think the basin with water in it is for me to wash my face.

She walked over to the table with the basin and looked to see if there was any soap or face wash. No face wash…but there was a lump of waxy looking stuff that she assumed was a bar of soap.

Of course no face wash! What am I thinking?! Maybe I could invent it…

Sighing, she dipped her hands into the water in the basin. It was cold!

How in the hell can I wash with cold water?!

She turned as Betsy came out of the dressing room thinking she might ask her if there was any hot or even warm water but stopped herself just in time, picking up the soap and doing her best to lather it up in the cold water. Hot water would have to be brought up to her room in a pail and asking for it would probably sound strange. She thought she already sounded strange enough. She leaned over the basin and applied the soap to her face, a thought popping into the back of her head that seemed familiar as if this is what she did every day.

Suddenly, a wash of memories of who she had been up to this point in her life in the past flooded her brain, flashing through her head at record speed. It was all a blur but made her feel more anchored and a part of where she now was even though she still felt a bit confused. She figured it would take time for it all to settle into her head in logical order.

Maybe a few hours? In that case, a walk will be good as long as I don’t run into anyone and blurt out something stupid.

Yes, she decided…washing her face in the cold water in the basin was one of her regular morning rituals.

She accepted the linen towel that Betsy proffered to her and dried her face before walking to the other side of the room to the tall screen. Going behind it, she spied the chamber pot sitting atop a wooden box, lowered herself onto it and relieved herself. How she knew to do this she assumed was a part of the memories coming into her head.

Coming out from behind the screen, she saw Betsy standing by the neatly made up bed with a pale yellow muslin dress lying across it. The dress was beautiful, and Susan could hardly wait to try it on but schooled her face to one of impassiveness. Dressing, after all, was an everyday occurrence and she figured this was just one of many dresses in her wardrobe. It would appear stupid if she acted overly enthusiastic about it even though she was rather excited to see what she looked like in Regency-era fashions.

Your chemise, my lady, Mary said, holding out a white garment and instructing Susan to step into it. Once this was accomplished, Betsy held out what Susan recognized as a corset, not a whalebone corset, thank god, but one made of a soft material with laces up the front instead of down the back. Slipping into it over the chemise, she allowed the maid to lace it up for her but not too tight.

Mary then held out a petticoat for her to step into.

What about underwear? Like panties? Did she forget them? What are they called here? Hmmm…oh yes! Drawers!

She looked at Betsy. Ummm…Excuse me, but did you forget my…ah…drawers?

Betsy and Mary exchanged another puzzled look.

But, my lady, responded Betsy. You don’t like wearing drawers.

I can fetch some for you if you like, added Mary.

Susan thought for a moment.

No underwear! Regency women didn’t wear panties! And this corset thing isn’t quite a bra, but it does hold my boobs up a bit. Wow! James will appreciate this part of women’s dress…no drawers…but I better not tell him, or he’ll get ideas…

No…that’s okay, Susan responded. My mind must be somewhere else today…I don’t need the drawers…

Susann stepped into the petticoat which was followed by two more made from an even stiffer material; the topmost one had boning around the bottom.

The dress was next. Susan was surprised at how thin the material was, suddenly realizing that without the chemise, corset, and petticoats that it would be virtually see-through!

After Mary tied the sash in the back, Betsy motioned Susan to the corner of the room to the right of the fireplace where stood a full-length cheval mirror on legs. Susan stared at her reflection and liked what she saw. In fact, she liked it very much.

The dress made her