What Became of Louisa Millingford

Dougles and Rosey Millingford, an academic couple who live in a cottage on the edge of the south downs in Sussex have always been very keen for their three children to go to university since they were toddlers.  Their daughter Louisa did not make it to university as she was a slow learner, did not do well at school and was completely ignored by her parents.  They almost disowned the poor girl as well as looking down on her.  Instead of going to university, Louisa worked ways of making a living from home, but that still did not satisfy her parents.

‘Mum, dad, I’m off upstairs to work on my project’ says Louisa getting up from the breakfast table

‘I don’t see why you couldn’t go out and get a job.  Of course, how could you possibly get one when you haven’t been to university

‘Your mother is right.  However I heard that that stubborn old ox Mrs Henderson is looking for someone to help her in the house’

‘What?’

‘Well it is a job you know’ says Rosey making a pot of tea

‘She’s only up the road, so I’ll go and visit her now’

Liousa walks along the windy country road that has Mrs Hendersons fine Queen Anne gateway at the end of it that leads to the long avenue to her house that has a three hundred old walnut tree at the end of the front lawn.  Louisa approaches the front door and presses the button for the bell and a few minutes later, she hears the sound of a walking stick slowly finding its way towards the door’

‘Hello, ah look who it is, it’s Louisa Millingford, who nice to see you.  Do come into the kitchen and I’ll make us a nice cup of tea.  Forgive me for being a bit slow.  It’s my age and my bones.  I often say to myself that life would be so much easier for us old folk if there was WD40 for human beings.

‘I’m an easy going person so you don’t have to apologise to me’ says Louisa looking around the hall at everything that might have to be cleaned

‘Now here we are.  Sit down there by the aga, and I’ll fill the kettle’ says Mrs Henderson walking towards the kitchen sink, and turning on the brass tap that is for the large Belfast sink.   

‘Do you know I could have taken the advice of many and sold this place and bought something much smaller but I refused because this place brings me so much happiness.  Anyway, what brings you here?’ asks Mrs Henderson as she lifts up the creaking lid of the aga

‘My father heard you are looking for someone to help you in the house’ replies Louisa nervously look around the kitchen

‘I know, you weren’t good enough for your parents because you didn’t do well in your education.  Well Louisa, I have always thought you have been a lovely girl, regardless of your education.  You have the job’

‘Thank you, when would you like me to start?’ asks Louisa in great excitement

‘First.  I am 79 years old, and I am not going to be here forever, so you will need to think about getting another job after I have gone.  Do you know any languages?’

‘I am quite good at French’

‘Everyone wants to learn French, there are evening courses in Southampton University whereby you can get a degree.  One of the courses you could do would be French and get a degree, and then become a French teacher’

‘I think that is a brilliant idea’ says Louisa breaking down

‘What is the matter, you poor thing?’

‘Why didn’t my parents suggest that instead of knocking me all the time?’

‘Because that is the way they are, and they never liked me because I could see right through them, and what they thought of you.  Now, the work in this house’

‘I entertain in the kitchen because I am no longer able to hold dinner parties’

‘I could do dinner parties for you and make sure they are done exactly the way you would have done them’

‘I would really like that, as I miss doing them greatly’

‘Well then that will be done’

‘I don’t really use the drawing room anymore as I have a small room beside the kitchen which I use as my sitting room.  I’ll show it to you after we’ve finished our tea.  Would you like some fruit cake?’ asks Mrs Henderson opening a rickety old painted pine free standing cupboard with squeaky hinges  

‘Thank you, that would be lovely, how often would you host dinner parties?’

‘Once every few months, cake, and tea.  There’s a table beside you’

‘Thank you, the cake is delicious’

‘The recipe came down from my grandmother Dorethy who was a nanny in Kingscourt Palace, and she made it for Dorethy to give to Queen Victoria’

‘Did she like it?’

‘She loved it, and she was most thankful.  Wait a second.  Here is a letter to Dorethy from Queen Victoria thanking her for the cake’

‘Wow, that is amazing’

‘Now, your job.  The only rooms I really use are the kitchen, my sitting room and my bedroom which is over the kitchen as well as the bathroom’

‘There’s the hall as well, you’d want me to clean that?’

‘There is that as well, and the cloakroom.  If you are going to be doing dinner parties for me, I would want you to do the drawing room and the dining room for me as well’

‘That all sounds perfect’

One hour later, Louisa and Mrs Henderson have finished their tea, and Mrs Henderson shows the various rooms that have to be cleaned.  

‘Now before we go anywhere, the rooms I will want you to do every day will be the kitchen, my sitting room, cloakroom and the hall.  As you can see I have a fair amount of antiques, and you need not worry because they do not need to be polished everyday, perhaps once a month’

‘Oh my God’ says Louisa jumping

‘Are you alright my child?’.

‘Those paintings, they made me jump’

‘They make most people jump, so don’t worry too much about them.  You won’t notice the paintings after you’ve passed them a few times.  They were painted by a Giovanni Di Caprio in 1533’

‘Wow, they certainly are old’

‘He only did a few paintings as he died in 1535 at the age of thirty six, and the poor had only just learnt how to paint in 1531 which means there are only a handful of his paintings around’

‘That is all so sad’

‘I count myself so lucky to have them’ says Mrs Henderson opening the brass handle of the fine mahogany dining room door

The following Monday comes, and Louisa starts work at Mrs Henderson’s house. She turns the brass handle of the white painted panelled door and walks into this room that basically tells Mrs Henderson's life with the small marble fireplace in the centre of the room facing the door and what looks to be a very old mantle clock that sits on a bracket that is attached to the wall and a table below it.  I feel a little nervous about cleaning the clock in case I might knock it off and damage it.  I look behind me, and there is a fine mahogany chair sitting beside the small sash window.  It is obvious that it is the chair that Mrs Henderson sits in because beside it is a table with a lot of sewing on it, and looks to be extremely organised so that is best left alone too.  On the other side of the fireplace is a double door glass cabinet that is full of various items that Mrs Henderson has probably collected over the years.  Facing the window is an old sofa, so I’ll start by plumbing out the cushions, and work my way around the room, and about half an hour later, Mrs Henderson checks to see how I am getting on.  

‘This is looking wonderful, were you able for everything?’

‘I didn’t want to polish the clock it case I might knock it over, and I also didn’t polish the table with your knitting on it in case you have it all sorted’

‘If you hold the clock with one hand while you are polishing that will work, and I will move my knitting for you onto the old desk which is behind the door’

‘I am so sorry, I didn’t see that, I’ll do it now’

‘It’s okay, it is your first day, and you are doing very well so far’

‘They you go’

‘Gosh it’s a beautiful table’

Louisa finishes off the sitting room and goes into the hall, first hoovering, and then polishing the antiques, and at lunchtime she enrols for French lessons in Southampton University, and one week later the classes began, and the teachers are quickly impressed with how she is getting o, and have high hopes for her.

The following day, Mrs Henderson decides she doesn’t want the rooms in question polished but instead wants Louisa to start on the dining room as she feels that is going to take the longest with the size of the table.  Louisa begins her morning with the table, and with it being so big and in order to get the perfect finish, it takes most of a morning, and when Mrs Henderson comes in about an hour later, she starts to cry at the thought of having dinner parties again as she can see results in the table already.  Mrs Henderson asks her if she wants to go into another room now that she has finished polishing the table but Louise decides to continue as she can see the happiness in Mrs Henderson's face.  Louisa goes round all twenty five chairs polishing them carefully, and even though she has only finished half of them by the end of the day, she continues on into the evening until they are all done as she knows it will be the beginning of the return of Mrs Henderson's dinner parties.  Around 7.30 pm, Louisa asks Mrs Henderson to come into the dining room as all she knows is that Louisa has been extremely busy cleaning and polishing it up.

‘Mrs Henderson’

‘What is it my dear?’

‘I want you to come into the dining room’

‘Of course’ says Mrs Henderson walking out of her sitting room’

‘Now here we are’ says Louisa standing in the door of the dining room

‘Oh my goodness, my table and chairs are all beautifully polished’ says Mrs Henderson, slowly walking around the table. ‘I cannot thank you enough, you are so kind and caring.  Now I would like to join me for supper’

‘Thank you, that is a very kind offer, I’d love too’

At the end of week, Mrs Henderson pays her, and gives her a comfortable wage which she will be getting every week, and it is not long that Rosey announces to her parents that she will be moving into an apartment.   Two weeks later, Mrs Henderson sends out invitations for the dinner party, and after everyone has been accepted, Louisa gives all the rooms that the guests will use the once over, and the night of the dinner party arrives, and Louisa is fully prepared, and it has been a roaring success with her being able to cope with everything, and she loved hosting it for Mrs Henderson.  Three of the guests were Victoria Davy’s as well as Arthar and Janet Mills who are also friends of Louisa’s parents, who happens to be having tea with her parents the next day.

‘Good afternoon Arther, how are you, and how was the dinner party last night?’ asks Dougles 

‘Splendid, and it went to absolute perfection’

‘Really, I thought it wouldn’t go well at all as poor Mrs Henderson is unable to hold them any more’ says Rosey

‘It was all thanks to your daughter Louisa’

‘What, Louisa hosting that dinner party, well that is a surprise’

‘That’s not all.  Mrs Henderson would not stop going on to everyone about how well she is doing in Southampton university in her French course.  Then another one of the guests Victoria Davy’s would not stop going on about how good she was at French in secondary school and offered to come and give her grinds to help her even further which she later accepted’

‘I do not know what an earth that child will get out of it but I certainly don’t have much hope for her’

‘Well, all we can do is wait and see’ says Rosey dropping her cup of tea

‘I also hear she has got a lovely apartment’

The following year, Mrs Henderson is about to turn eighty, and Louisa puts on the most fabulous birthday party for her which is a complete surprise for her, and she greatly enjoys it.  It is only two years after her eightieth birthday, that health problems begin to arise for Mrs Henderson, and she is diagnosed with cancer.  Louisa makes sure that she is very well looked after. Sadly the big dinner parties come to an end, however Mrs Henderson is smitten at the idea of having an eight seater dining room table instead as she will be able to cope with that amount

Louisa moves in so she will be there for twenty four hours as she knows that time is limited, and a few months later Mrs Henderson takes her last  breath and passes away.  Her funeral is organised, and at this stage, Louisa has finished her two year course and is lecturing part time in the university.  She has been doing so well that several months later she is invited to a party in London for the university by the French ambassador to England, where is asked and accepts a job to become professor of languages.  The following day she gets home and finds a letter on the floor of her apartment, and opens it up in the living room.

‘Dear Miss Millingford.  I wish to advise you that we are the solicitors for the late Sarah Henderson.  In her will she has left the entire of her estate to you.  This includes her house, and the contents, and a sum of one million pounds for legal fees in case her brother who lives in Australia and has not been in touch with her for forty seven years tries to contest the will.  I would ask you kindly to arrange an appointment to see me so the necessary procedures can be done.

Kind regards.

James Harding

Parker & Buntingford Solicitors

‘G I need to take a breath’

After Louisa takes a breath, she calls Mr Harding's office and gets an appointment to see him the following Wednesday and gets everything sorted.  She gets word of the BBC Antiques Roadshow holding an event in an estate in Gloucestershire and brings the paintings and a few months later it is a cold winter Sunday and her parents sit down by the fire after having friends in for Sunday lunch and switch on the Antiques Roadshow.

‘So can you tell me about these paintings?’

‘Good God I don’t believe it’ says Dougles

‘What is it?’

‘Come and look’ says Dougles in shock

‘Louisa, what on earth is she doing on the Antiques Roadshow?’

‘Listen’ says Doulas as Rosey sits on a chair with her mouth hanging open

‘Well these paintings belonged to the lady who I worked for Mrs Henderson.  She sadly died recently and left me her entire estate, and I never liked these paintings.  I do know they are early and were painted by Giovannie Di Caprio who died only two years after setting out as an artist, and therefore not many of his paintings exist’

‘That is correct, and it would not surprise me in the least that Mrs Henderson knew all that because she was very well known in the art world, and she worked as a freelance art consultant right up until she was 75.  At auction, well it is difficult to guess because there will be an awful lot of interest, and I would expect them to fetch well in excess of one million pounds’

‘What, are you sure?’

‘These are very rare, and the last time a Giovanni Di Caprio came up for auction was in 1983, and it sold for £870’

As the evening goes on in Sussex, things can only get worse for Douglas and Rosey

‘Mrs Henderson leaving her entire estate to Louisa, I am in a state of disbelief’ says Dougles

‘So am I.  Your phone’s ringing’

‘Hello’

‘Douglas, it’s Markess Hemmingway speaking’

‘Markess, how are you, you and Hillary were going to spend some time with your daughter in Australia’

‘That’s right, we left the day after the party for Southampton University that was held by the French Ambassador for England’

‘Oh yes, how was that?’

‘Well, first, I must tell you that your daughter was at the event, and she was made professor of languages for the university’

‘That is unbelievable, and I am still a lecturer in a London university’

‘Dougles, what has happened?’ 

‘Our daughter Louisa has been made professor of languages in Southampton university’ replies Douglas slowly sitting down with his mouth hanging open