Chapter 1: A New Start
Yes, I remember it well. What a day that was! My "darling" uncle, who by some terrible quirk of the gods, had become my "guardian". He had total control of what should have been a decent, if stringent at the moment, inheritance. There was all that land, the beautiful home, and possibly the chance of doing what my parents had dreamed of doing on that fateful day. Somehow he managed to take it all and left me with the choice of marrying his odious new wife's son from a previous marriage, joining a convent, or moving out. I opted for out. He agreed to make sure I had adequate clothing, (having taken all my lovely saris!), and a ticket to a place called Newcrest. Fortunately, he did not have ALL my money as my parents had wisely set aside a little sum in my "dowry" that no one, even the most greedy, grasping, person could touch. A perfect description of Uncle Cicero! It would have become mine on my majority, or the unlikely prospect of their joint deaths. Unfortunately, it was the latter that gave me just what I needed to start over Apparently they had known Cicero all too well, because true to form, he got it all. Well, almost.
So he dolled me up, as he called it. Like a "doll" I was dressed for travel in my ancient ancestresses clothing! She was quite the Victorian fashion plate, but somehow I didn't think it would do, and it certainly saved him the expense of having someone come and "haul all that old junk" away!
I arrived full of both anticipation and trepidation. It was wonderful! A nice big piece of land surrounded by distant houses and with a gorgeous vista of fountain, waterfall, and trees. Not many people. It would seem mine would be the only home in town!
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It was exhilarating! Oh, would Uncle be upset if he knew how lovely it was! And, it was all mine. A perfect, untouched piece of ground to start over with. I could almost imagine the gardens now!
First to get out of this black nightmare of a dress and hat. Grandmother, forgive me, but I think your time has past. And while I can honor you by wearing the black, it was time for a change!
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Much better, but still not de rigueur. Ah well, nothing to be done, and at least I looked less pathetic. The ensemble was quite pretty really, but made me wonder what people were wearing in this part of the Simiverse. I urgently needed the facilities and since there was no loo handy, I made my way to the park next door. What a relief! At least I wouldn't embarrass myself. Living on an empty lot left a lot to be desired, but with limited funds I knew I'd have to be wise and at least having a restroom close by took care of one problem!
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As I left the rest room I noticed there was a kiosk close by in the park. Ah hah! Food and maybe a cup of tea? The female vendor looked at me strangely and asked if I was an actress in costume. Oops. Gauging by her clothing I knew I had a lot of shopping to do! We chatted for a bit and lo and behold, after a quaint social convenience called "Cloud gazing", we became very good friends! Eva Cappriciola was my first real friend in Newcrest.
Eva clued me in on a lot things, like, having a club for more friends, and where to find things I might need. Apparently this land had many fruits and herbs ready for harvesting and planting in my first garden. I was in heaven and thanked my wonderful parents who were looking down on me and smiling. I knew I could make this work!
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Just what I need right now is a cup of my Earl Grey premium blend. The smell of bergamot is wafting up now, calling me to reach for the cup. This time with some milk, no sugar for me, the way "Americans" drink it, unlike the "British" who prefer lemon and sugar. (That's a generalization. My British step-mum drank it with milk, in the cup first if you please, and sugar.) Mmmmmm, Earl Grey hot hits the spot every time no matter how you drink it or whether it is Earl Grey or Lady Earl Grey, which has blue cornflower blossoms blended in as well as orange and lemon, or any of the other varieties, like London Fog, black tea, oolong, bergamot oil, lavender and vanilla, or Paris, Black tea, oolong tea, black currant flavor, vanilla flavor, bergamot oil, caramel, or even Red Earl Grey which is rooibos blended with bergamot. No matter what, it is a base of black tea, often Assam or milder, Ceylon, but it must have the bergamot!
Bergamot, one of the key ingredients and where most of the fragrance rises from the tea, is a citrus fruit the best of which comes from Calabria, Italy, known for it's spicy Calabrian chilies on pizza! The fruit is similar to the Meyer Lemon. The flavor is very floral, you could imagine it as a cologne!, very citrus-y with a hint of grapefruit.
No one knows for sure how the blend came to be, but one thing is certain, it was named after the second Earl Grey, now known around the world for the delightful beverage he gave his name to rather than the passing of the Great Reform Act of 1832 and the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833. I raise my cup to you!
