A letter from the journal of Alexandra Margaret Quinn, Head Gardener here in the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India, to her friend who was in Constantinople as of this letter. Alex, as she was known, copied her personal correspondence into her Journal. She noted in her will that her letters were to be part of the Esate Library upon her death. Isabella would live to well over a hundred, even longer than Her Queen would!
Dear Tessa,
I miss you since you left on your collecting tour. It’s too quiet here without your presence.
The new fad here is for tropical fruits so I’ve adapted the Greenhouse to grow them as they’re a queer crop to be growing in our cold, dark winters but the magic of The Border allows enough sunshine to make both bananas and citrus fruits thrive in the warmth of the Greenhouse with its radiant warm stone floor from the remarkable engineering of a guest who designed the present heating system here several decades ago.
The Greenhouse here is typical in construction of the architectural style as pioneered in the early seventeen century by a Dutch botanist who pioneered the use of sloping glass to bring in more light for the plants than the more common tall glass side walls of existing orangeries. With controlled heat and humidity, it provides a year-round growing space for plant material which can’t survive outdoors and has been used for everything for growing flowers for the Estate to my current use of it to grow bananas and citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges.
The Old Man, as the current Steward calls him, or Grímnir as I know him these past thirty years, can often be here warming his old, old bones. He’s more conversational with me than he is with many here as I like his ravens — they’re well-behaved in here and like the warmth like him. He notes that the citrus fruits has been good for him as it’s hard to stay healthy in the deep of Winter without them. He’s less fond of the bananas as the taste does not appeal to him, but he’s ecstatic that there’s a hive of bees in here all winter long to pollinate the various fruits. I reserve that honey for special occasions as it is the only orange flavored honey in Albion these days.
You should be here when the Neverending Session plays selections from Sweden as the snow falls outside and the bees swirl overhead as it’s enough to make me believe that Isabella indeed is right in her beliefs…
The current Head Cook, a gentleman by the name of ap Owen who says he has no first name and one learns not to pry here as it does no good anyways, uses oranges in lovely custards, creams (lemon, orange), spice cakes (lemon) sugar cookies (orange rind for flavour), and bananas in ice cream and muffins. Our Brewmaster has brewed metheglin in small lots using the honey here — I think she’s smitten with Grímnir who she favors with it. I’ve tasted it — it’s really intense. When you get back, we’ll split a bottle and catch up on gossip.
I must sign off for now as Isabella sent down one of the Several Annies whom Isabella had getting a culinary history lesson from ap Owen to tell me what ap Owen needs for the cinnamon dusted apple dumplings they’re making for the students at the School of the Imagination.
Your friend, Alex
