Escape

       And the doves called 'Bon-jour, Bon-jour' in the early morning mist as Emily ran barefoot from her boudoir in her broderie-anglais shift. The illicit pleasure of escaping the rest of the household while they snored and burped unseen, the joy of this secret time for herself was immense, rising like champagne bubbles from the pit of her belly. She could escape into the Botanical Gardens cared for her by her father and revel in their beauty without petticoats and parasols, backlit as they were by the rising light and warmth of the sun.
      The complex was one of enormity but she knew always where she would go. The Rose bower would be thick with scent trapped by the heavier cool night air and she could drink it in. She glanced back at the White House with its jade roof and white balustraded verandah feeling the bond as strong as blood with the familial vessel that held safe all those dear to her. " God, let Father keep this post" she prayed fervently.
     She left the crumbling biscuit of the path and ran barefoot in the cool fragrant grass of early Summer enjoying the delicious waft of mint on the breeze. Oh Frabjous day, calu callay! She passed the broad bed of succulents perching between boulders, the flowers bejewelled with sap leaking from their bulbous bottoms. She had seen Simeon bludgeon one with a machete last week in an attempt to control its inexorable growth, but it was a bold Agave and it would soon bring forth new buds.
      As she entered the bower she inhaled deeply. What better beginning to her birthday? Sweet sixteen and never been kissed. She sank her nose into the secret heart of the flower and inhaled notes of tea-rose, lemon, peach,sherbet freshness. Father would be cross if she was not back for breakfast but she made her leisurely circuit of the pond dancing and skipping her arms floating in a dance all of their own, her skin swimming in scent.
      The time came all too soon when she dare not stay longer and she belligerently plucked a boulder from the flower bed and threw it into the blue tiled pond. 'Bellum' it said with a drink of satisfaction. This was not a day to hide in the dark cupboards of her mind. This was a day to be at one with the wisdom of the ancients. She could behave though, now she had had her moment of peace. When she was good she was very good...