The House of Orchids

Fleur had a real scare when she bumped into an invisible barrier, until she found it’s huge mouth and entered into the house of orchids. It was a huge majestic place, but to Fleur and the orchids it was just a glass house.

Unknown to anyone, the glass house had a spectacular history, and just no one would believe how it was in it’s former glory. It sat day in day out deteriorating more and more, panes of glass missing and broken, never repaired, it hadn’t always been like that it remembered.

All it had left to it now, were it’s thoughts of what it had been. One of the previous Barons, a long time ago, had seen the glass house at the Great Exhibition, and knew it was exactly what was needed at Grace Manor. He visualized it growing oranges and lemons, and every kind of exotic plant imaginable. He ordered it there and then and returned to Grace Manor to have the ground cleared and levelled for it’s arrival. When this was all done, the Baron waited, finally the great day arrived, the glass house had arrived. It had come from London by dray, he had local workmen standing by to help unload and piece together the frame work. When the Baron was satisfied, he paid them knowing the next day the glazier would arrive to put in all the glass, he was a master craftsman so the Baron had no fears of the work not being of the very highest standard. He just knew how magnificent this Glass House would look.

The following day the glazier arrived, pane after pane he lovingly fitted, lining everything up and securing with connectors. It was a huge area he had to do, and he knew it would take longer than one day, he was loathe to leave it unfinished, he and the Baron agreed he would come back the following day to finish the job.

That evening the Baron accompanied by his wife the Baroness walked down to see the progress of the glass house, she was very impressed with what she saw and shared her plans with the Baron. She would she explained invite all her friends to take tea, which she would have the maids lay out in the glass house, then they could walk around and enjoy all the exotic plants. Old Joe would know how to lay it all out to show everything at it’s very best. The Baroness gloated as she told the Baron, that all her friends would be green with envy, never before would they of seen anything like it. The Baroness was a snob of the first order she enjoyed lording it over her friends. The Baron indulged her whims as she was of very delicate health, he loved her dearly and wanted her to have all she wanted.