Brimsley & Reynolds

2

Brimsley awoke to the gentle morning sun this warm spring day brought. It was a quarter until seven in the morning so he rose from his bed. He slid on his undergarments, a white linen shirt and white stockings. He then slipped on his beige breeches and a white cotton turtleneck shirt. Finally, he put on his gold-coloured vest, the crimson-red waistcoat with the gold buttons, his shoes, and of course, his white gloves.

Brimsley made his way to the dining room where, again, we were met with a few servants. He took his seat and took his napkin and put it on his lap, making sure it was neat without any wrinkles.

"Mornin' Brimsley," Mr Lane greeted in his thick Scottish accent.

"Good morning Mr Lane," he responded. A lower-class servant placed a plate of food in front of him, making his mouth water again.
"Touring the grounds today aren't you?" asked another servant, Mr Atkins.

"Yes, I believe I will be visiting the gardens today," he cut his sausage with his fork and knife into perfect two pieces.

"With the king's man is it not?" asked Mr Lincoln.

Brimsley felt his stomach lurch at the thought of Reynolds, "Yes, he is training me so I am ready when the queen arrives."

"Verra lucky one that fella," added Mr Lane, "his Majesty King George handpicked 'im out of his whole court. "

"Of course he did," responded Mr Wells, "those two have known each other for a wee less than a decade now."

"Since his Majesty was four and ten. I believe the two are the same age are they not?" replied Mr Atkins.

"I reckon the King's man is perhaps one or two years older than the King George," answered Mr Wells.

This meant that Reynolds was about Brimsley's age. Perhaps they could be friends.

When Brimsley finished his meal, he pushed in his chair and headed straight off for the gardens. Making his way through the hallways, he paid attention to the fine carvings on the pillars and walls he passed and all the many paintings from far ways. How each corner he passed could very well be the same corner Queen Elizabeth I passed over two hundred years before. Each person he passed was on their way to do a different task that benefited the royal family in some way.

The entrance to the gardens was a large, stone arch next to the start of the walls of the palace. Wisteria hung from the stone draping down making the gardens look even more magical. The path in front of him was made of small white stones, which Brimsley noticed, were perfectly in place. The hedges were trimmed, not a single leaf out of place, and the terrace ahead had ivy growing up the wooden pillars.

Reynolds was standing just in front of the entrance and greeted Brimsley with a slight smile, "Good morning."

Unable to keep from smiling, Brimsley smiled back, "Good morning." Brimsley noticed how light Reynolds' eyes looked in this early sunlight. They sparkled like diamonds and shone the same shade of blue as the sky. His hair was perfectly kept and seemed almost like a golden river reflecting the sunlight. His smile widened slightly more, the most Brimsley had seen so far, which only made his stomach lurch more. Perhaps Brimsley's eyes were sparkling just as much as Reynolds' were because Reynolds could not stop looking into them.

Breaking the silence, Reynolds broke himself and Brimsley out of their trance, "Today, we shall be touring only the first and half of the second portions gardens. There lie a total of three gardens on these grounds." Without another word, Reynolds set off and Brimsley, of course, followed next to him.

After a few hours of walking through what felt like the gardens of Adam and Eve, Brimsley tried to strike up a conversation, "I was told that you started serving the King George when his majesty was just six and ten years of age."