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View Interior and Crescent - Harald Slott-Møller; 1896.

Danish, 1864-1937

oil on canvas; 55 x 40 cm;

#Harald Slott-Møller #danish artist #interior scene #crescent view #window view

Parker legacy: A great tragedy

Parker School for Girls, spring 1890

After a long week of schoolwork, the headmistress of Parker decided to take the girls to visit Crescent View prep school.

As Olive and Virginia were getting ready for the day ahead, Olive couldn’t help but gush about how excited she was.

“Oh, Ginger, isn’t it so exciting? We’ll get to meet the finest young men in town! Maybe I’ll meet my future husband there”

Virginia sighed as she laced her shoes, “you’d best drop this nonsense before we leave, the boys aren’t going to like a silly little girl like you. Plus, we’re much too young to be thinking of husbands...I’m just excited to see Philip”

Olive had a bit of a scowl on her face, but she perked up at her brothers name “Oh, how exciting! I haven’t seen Philip since mother’s birthday. I’ll get my shoes at once” before her sister could get in another word, she raced down the stairs.

Ada peaked her head out the door at the sound of footsteps going down the stairs, but she was too late to see who was making the commotion.

“Are you nearly ready, Lottie?” She asked impatiently. “I want to see what all the fuss is about.”

“Oh, I’m sure the girls are just excited about visiting Crescent View. Olive has been going on about meeting her future husband ever since I gave her that little romance story last week...she probably thinks she has a chance to meet him there.”

“What a silly thing to be concerned with,” Ada laughed, “I shall never be tempted by boys until I’ve done everything I want to do in life.”

“I don’t know,” Lottie replied, “I think it could be quite romantic to spend your life with someone who understands you”

“I understand you!” Ada scoffed “do I not matter anymore?” She draped herself dramatically across the bed and the girls burst into a fit of laughter.

There was a quick knock at the door and Hazel looked down at them. “We’re leaving now,” she said, “Miss Parker is going to be cross if you don’t come downstairs!”

So Lottie finished lacing her dress and the girls ran down to meet the rest of the group.

------

Once at Crescent View, the younger girls all headed over to greet two young men playing chess.

“Good morning,” Olive said, trying her best to flutter her eyelashes in an attractive manner (but really managing to look more like there was something caught in her eye) “I’m Olive Hill, my brother Philip goes here, do you know him?”

“Philip Hill? Of course we know him! But he never told me he had such a charming sister,” the older boy said with a sly smile. “And might I be so bold as to ask the rest of your names?”

“Lydia Holden,” Lydia said, holding out her hand to shake his.

“And I’m Virginia Hill,” Virginia cut in, not liking how much attention Lydia and Olive her receiving. “Philip is my brother too!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both, I’m Matthew Kelly and this is Ollie Brooks.” The younger boy smiled and waved, but didn’t say anything.

Meanwhile, Ada and Lottie had left to find other amusements. They’d been at Parker for a while and had met most of the boys at Crescent View already.

“Let’s explore the garden!” Ada said cheerfully, pulling Lottie outside and through the field.

“I don’t know, Ada, Miss Parker won’t be pleased if we ruin our dresses...”

“Stop being such a worrywart and follow me!”

When the girls finally reached the small garden, they found the door was locked.

“C’mon, give me a lift over the fence!” Ada began to lift her skirts in preparation, but Lottie looked hesitant.

“It’s probably locked for a reason, let’s just go back and find the boys...maybe they’ll play a round of cards with us. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“This is much more exciting! It’s an adventure, Lottie! Let’s just check it out. We can go back in ten minutes, okay?”

Lottie wasn’t throughly convinced, but she knew arguing with Ada was hopeless, so she got to work lifting her friend over the fence. Just as Ada had swung one leg over the fence, Lottie was startled by a tap on her shoulder.

“It was her idea!” Lottie cried, letting go of Ada and turning around quickly. After being dropped, Ada lost balance and toppled over the fence into the garden.

“Some friend you are,” a blond boy said with a smirk.

“Lawrence, you scared me!” Lottie tried to regain her composure while Ada peaked through the cracks in the fencing.

“Laurie! How lovely to see you...Help me out of here, will you?”

Lawrence laughed and took a key from his pocket, unlocking the gate and allowing Ada to leave the garden in a much more dignified manner than she entered it.

Together, the three of them returned to the school.

-------

The girls were sad to leave Crescent View that evening, but the promise of a ball and possible romance gave them plenty to talk about during their music lesson.

“Lottie,” Olive said over the broken notes of her violin, “you know these boys quite well, don’t you? What do you think of Mr. Kelly?”

“Matthew Kelly? He’s quite admirable, but I don’t fancy him. He’s not the handsomest man, is he?”

“I think he’s quite handsome!” Olive replied. “He did seem a bit pretentious, but that isn’t the worst thing. I’m sure you’re right, he’s probably very admirable once you know him.”

“He’s not handsome or admirable!” Ada shouted, forgetting for a moment that they were supposed to whispering and getting a stern glance from Miss Parker. “Your instincts are quite right,” she continued in a hushed tone, “he’s pretentious as can be. He comes from a wealthy family and thinks that makes him better than the rest of us.”

“I don’t know,” Hazel chimed in, “I think he’s quite nice. He just respects girls who act like proper ladies...”

“I can be proper if I want!” As she said this, the girls all looked doubtingly at Ada. Even Virginia and Lydia, who were much too focused on their work to join in the conversation. “Alright, maybe not. Still, why should it matter to me if Matthew Kelly thinks I’m proper? There are much better boys at Crescent View, like Lawrence!”

Lottie was about to refute this point when the smell of smoke entered the practice room. The girls all dropped their instruments and headed to the kitchen to see what the source of the smell was. As they entered the kitchen, they found the stove had caught fire! They hurried to get out of the house, but some weren’t fast enough...

By the time the fire had been put out, Hazel and Virginia had not made it out alive.

Shocked and sad, the girls were sent home for summer break early so they could grieve and the school could be rebuilt.

To be continued.....