Jillian Chantal

This week is a picture prompt week and I am still working on my short story with the son of an earl hiding out as a dance instructor. Each post is limited to 300 words. I cut come conversation out of the middle of what I am sharing from my WIP as it would have put me over the word limit here. 🙂

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When Henry arrived at his boarding house and entered the hallway, he sniffed the air as a marvelous smell wafted down the hallway from the kitchen. He reflected for a moment about the home he’d been raised in. There were never delightful aromas invading the rest of the house from his father’s kitchens. Of course, he knew they probably existed, but since the cook did her work from the back of the manor and on another floor, they never made their way out of her domain.

He found he quite liked being greeted by a foretaste of what might be in store for the evening meal.

“Good evening, sir. I hope your day went well,” Maggie, the maid said as she passed by on her way to the drawing room.

“It was passable.” He knew she did not want to hear about all the young ladies who had tried to make his day miserable and speaking casually to maids was still new to him.

“What am I smelling? It’s lovely and making me hungry for the evening meal.”

“Oh, that’s Mrs. Richardson’s famous squash soup. It really is a hearty and wonderful meal. She serves it with her special cheese and herb crackers. You will be happy with the meal.” She turned back to the door. “But I must lay the fire in here. There are a couple of guests coming tonight.”

This week, the writers of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt smoke. I am working on a series of short stories and this one is set in the 1870s in England. The main character is a dance instructor. He’s the son of an earl but was sent abroad after getting up to shenanigans. He made his way back to England and took a job as a dance master in Manchester–far enough that no one from home was likely to run into him.

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“Which one of us is going to get to be your partner in the waltz?” Mary Ann asked.

“None of you. I am going to ask Mrs. Perkins to find another student to join us so we will have an even number.  It will be one of the younger girls or perhaps another of the instructors.”

“That would not be nice of you,” Cecily said. “We can manage without an extra person.”

Henry pulled himself up to his full height and stared down his nose at her as his own nanny had done to him many a time when he was behaving badly. “I believe, Miss, that I am the dance master here and I therefore believe it is my decision as to who is or is not in this class while I am in charge.”

“You do not have to be unkind about it.” She crossed her arms and huffed out a breath.

“Good day, ladies. I suggest you all make your way to whatever is next on your agendas. I have another group coming in a few moments.”

The rest of the afternoon went quickly. Henry definitely enjoyed the younger students more than he did the group that would be venturing out for their first seasons soon. His sisters being so much younger than him had not prepared him for how those girls acted today. He had to stay in this job for a while longer if he ever wanted to be able to go home again. Surely his father would soften his stance on him soon. After all, how long could one expect to be punished for mild peccadillos?

As he made his way back to his quarters, he lit a cheroot. The smoke wafted up around his face and he inhaled deeply. Ahh, a bit of bliss after a hard day of dealing with females.

This week, the writers of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt safe. I am still working on my jewelry store short story.

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The next few days at work went by relatively fast and easy. Jocelyn was in an odd mood. Quiet and not giving Siobhan as much of a hard time as usual. To the point Siobhan thought her uncle might have said something after all.

But it wasn’t that. By Friday, Jocelyn was so subdued, Siobhan was worried about her.

Much as she hated to ask and possibly be shot down, she finally said, “What’s going on with you these last few days? You don’t seem like your normal self.”

To her shock, Jocelyn burst into tears.

Taken aback, Siobhan took a step toward her but stopped, torn about how to comfort her. “What is it? Can I help in some way?”

In stuttering words, Jocelyn said, “Only if you can give me a personality transplant.”

“A what?”

“My boyfriend dumped me. He said I was rude and dismissive. He said I treated the waitress horribly when we went out to eat over the weekend. Apparently, he’s overlooked it before but says he can’t any longer.” She put her head on the glass case and sobbed.

This was one of Siobhan’s pet peeves. She’d stopped going out to eat with a couple of people for this very reason. She didn’t really know how to comfort Jocelyn in this situation without a lecture on how to treat people, but she decided to try anyway. “I’m really sorry to hear that about your boyfriend. Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe there will be someone better suited to you than this guy. You’ll see. You’ll find someone.”

“You don’t even like me. How can you say that I’ll find another guy?”

“I firmly believe there’s someone for everyone. It sounds like you haven’t found your someone yet.”

Jocelyn looked up, mascara running down her cheeks. “How about you? I bet you have a wonderful man who adores you and make you feel safe. You’re so perfect.”

“I am in no way perfect. And I don’t have a boyfriend of any sort. I’m not looking for one. I have other priorities.” Siobhan couldn’t believe how this conversation was going. She’d certainly never put herself out there as perfect.

“But that little girl last week liked you more than me, other customers come in and ask for you. More than they ask for me. It’s not fair.” Jocelyn wailed some more.

This week, the writers of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt Green. I am still working on my story that takes place in a jewelry store.

Check out the other tales here

Cara reached out with a shaking hand. “Can I hold them?”

“Of course. You can try them if you want.”

The look of joy on Cara’s face was all Siobhan needed to make her day perfect. It was always a lovely moment when someone found their perfect item.

“I can? I never thought you could do that. I mean, everything is so pretty and it’s kind of scary, but I can try them?”

“Yes. If you don’t like them, we clean them and put them back in the case for the next customer. No worries.” Siobhan leaned forward and whispered. “Don’t let places like this scare you. We who work here are privileged and excited to help people find their treasure.”

“That other lady wasn’t so happy to help a kid like me.”

“Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but she’s afraid of children. They scare her.”

Cara’s eyes widened. “Really? How can that be?”

“Well, people who haven’t been around children in their lives don’t really realize they are just like us grownups. Only shorter.”

Cara’s dad laughed. “You know what, Car, this lady is right. I never thought of it that way but she’s absolutely right. Try those on, honey. Let’s see how they look.”

When the earrings were in her ears, Cara couldn’t take her eyes off them in the mirror. She kept turning her head to watch them flutter. “I love them. They’re perfect.”

Siobhan nodded. “They look great with your dark hair. Are you sure these are the ones? We have a bunch to choose from.”

“No. I’m sure. I like your idea of picking a stone that represents the month of the event. I’m going to make that a jewelry tradition in my life. It’s a great way to remember things.”

Cara’s dad handed Siobhan his credit card. He mouthed the words, “Thank you.”

Siobhan was sure he was thanking her for treating his child like she had opinions and was entitled to express them. She truly believed children were miniature adults and deserved respect. She wished Jocelyn did. But Jocelyn didn’t even think an older lady like Dorothy deserved respect in a jewelry store. It was that kind of attitude that made people not want to venture into fine jewelry stores. Snobbery by the salespeople was ridiculous. It set Siobhan’s teeth on edge. Some days she wanted to blast Jocelyn for her attitude.

She packed the case for the earrings into a small silver bag with the green logo of the store on the outside, slipping her card inside as well. “Good luck with your debut. I hope the earrings help give you a confidence boost.”

This week, the writers of Tuesday Tales are writing to a picture prompt. I’m working on a series of short stories to be released in the fall. This I the beginning of one that takes place in a jewelry store.

check out the other tales here

Siobhan Connery stood behind the jewelry counter, placing the tray of engagement rings back in the case and locking it. The young couple who just left reminded her of her sister and her husband to be. Cute and so clearly in love that people smiled just by being in their presence. One of the many reasons she loved her job was how everyone who came in the store was looking for something to either commemorate an occasion or to gift to someone they loved. 

Her last job of working at the county jail as the receptionist allowing in visitors was super depressing. 

When the chance to work at her uncle’s Jewelry store came up, she leapt at it. Little did she know how much she would love being in the store and learning about the gems and precious metals. Her dream now was to be a certified gemologist. 

Her uncle didn’t really have time to give her the proper education in all the various skills needed to get the certification as he was more interested in his bottom line profit on a day to day basis than training her. She saved as much as she could toward taking the year or so off that she would need in order to actually attend one of the institutes that offered a course. 

Once she had that, she could pick any kind of job in the field. She could even be an appraiser or work for an antiquarian jeweler. That idea intrigued her. 

The store wasn’t busy at the moment, so she took the opportunity to wander to the back where the two jewelry repairmen worked. Of course, one was a woman but that was what her uncle called them so she did as well. To the customers, that was.