You may know that Hitty Jean was one of the lucky few to have her photo taken in Twin Manor's Grand Entrance. You may or may not know that it is a firm rule that no dolls are allowed anywhere else. The Manor is full of unimaginable treasures and a doll is prone to knocking them over. (And let's not even get into how a doll tends to take away realism, or in Hitty's case completely clash with scale!) Hitty Jean had some idea of this when she had her picture taken. She had heard about how only one person is allowed to touch anything inside (Esther, the curator) and she saw Martha looking (and looking...) with her hands firmly clasped behind her back. Still...
Esther and Martha began chatting. This was Hitty Jean's demise. They had completely forgotten her! She was unsupervised in Twin Manor and bursting with curiosity. She just HAD to know what was on the other side of that door! Surely, one little peek wouldn't hurt?
After that innocent *little peek* - Hitty Jean lost herself. Never had she seen anything like this! The dining room was beyond the door, and Oh! What a dining room! She walked all around the table, admiring the crystal, and the lidded soup tureens, and the portrait of the *Lady of the Manor* on the wall. (She seemed a bit familiar...) The rug was an exquisite needlepoint. Even the moldings were breathtaking.
Well, Hitty Jean remained undiscovered, and this gave her courage. She silently tiptoed (can Hittys tiptoe?) across the hallway to the Drawing Room. She found herself drawn to a corner of the room where a beautiful table stood. She just had to have a closer look!
Hitty Jean had never seen a such a games table. The table was made by Bill Robertson, and the top was needle-pointed by Esther herself. The needlepoint is so fine, it almost looks like an oil painting. Hitty Jean couldn't help but touch it. Fortunately for her, the little bird in the cage is mute, or surely it would have chirped an alarm!
Hitty Jean knew better than to touch anything, let alone sit down, but she just had to try out a chair. It looked so inviting and she wanted to imagine herself a *Lady of Quality*. To her dismay, the chair was too small and not at all cosy.
Hitty Jean couldn't help but feel disappointed about the chair, but she just shrugged and decided to explore the back of the home. What a delight to find the kitchen! It seemed so real she looked around for the cook.
Well, of course no cook was to be found. (Nor were Esther and Martha...) Hitty Jean peeked towards the pantry, but she figured that would lead her back to the dining room, and she wanted to see the rest of the house.
She chose a different doorway instead and found herself in the back of the Grand Entrance. How curious those buckets were! What could they be? When you are sneaking around a Grand Manor on the sly, some questions must remain unasked...and unanswered.
Across the antique cherry floors Hitty Jean tiptoed (!) and discovered the Morning Room. She had heard of morning rooms from reading books and knew that this was the room where the Lady of the Manor would sit in the morning to give the day's agenda to her overseer. But what was this! A music stand with the tiniest, most perfect recorder! Hitty Jean picked it up (she had lost all sense of decency by now) and discovered that it PLAYED!!! After a few quick notes, she remembered herself and placed it back where it belonged. Had Esther and Martha heard? Was Hitty Jean discovered?? (Chatter, chatter.....nope.)
Bah! Hitty Jean realized that Esther and Martha had completely forgotten her. This made her even more bold. She quietly crept upstairs, where she found the Master Bedroom. The bed looked so inviting, and it was getting so late.
Hitty Jean wanted to try the bed, just for a second, but she realized it would require moving too many items. Why, those leather gloves on the bed are sewn - complete with each individual finger! Fortunately for Hitty Jean, she didn't try them on, or they certainly would have stretched and lost their shape.
She wandered into the back hall and noticed a blanket chest. It had the initials "E.R." on it. A curious candle-holder sat on top - did it have a leg?! (Again, sneaking about does not allow for questions and answers.) Hitty Jean loved the sampler, worked in such tiny, tiny stitches.
Remember this cosy room?
Hitty Jean went in there, too! To her delight, it was a little girl's room.
She admired the toys and the dolls - a cornhusk doll on the chair and a peg wooden on the mantle. The doll with its own set of furniture was her favorite, though.
It was really quite late by now. Hitty Jean was tired. That bed...it looked so inviting. There was nothing on it. No one would notice, right?
Hitty Jean had forgotten about the blasted scale! The dollhouse is simply not Hitty sized. How foolish she felt. Uncomfortable, too. Then (and only then...) she had a guilty thought. She remembered "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." She had always thought Goldilocks to be a very rude little girl, traipsing about someone's home uninvited. And how shocking it had been when Goldilocks ate their food, sat in their chairs, and then - horror of horrors! - slept in their beds! Guiltily, and oh, so quickly, Hitty Jean found her way back to the Grand Entrance.
Eventually, Esther and Martha remembered they had left Hitty Jean in Twin Manor. They retrieved her from where she had been placed. "What a patient Hitty she is, standing there so politely while we chatter on like two hens!" exclaimed Martha.
Had they looked closely, they may have noticed Hitty Jean's pegs shaking...
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You can learn more about Twin Manor here.
Hitty Robertson and Hitty Belle are the only other *known* Hittys to have toured Twin Manor. (The difference being that they had Esther's permission and were able to ask questions. Also, they touched nothing.) You can read all about their guided tour here.
♥ And please, please don't tell Hitty Jean's secret! You've lost yourself to curiosity before, haven't you? And Hitty Jean is really quite sorry she was so naughty! ♥
What great fun it is to be sneaky! Shhh - I'll never tell! I've been following Esther's Chapters for years, and I have your blog in my reader now and have followed it for a month or so. My Hitty even started her own blog after seeing what others had done - your blog, Hitty Jean, and your kids are all fabulous. Maybe we'll all meet at a Hitty gathering some day.
Posted by: Happy | October 01, 2008 at 10:27 PM
I am fainting over this preciousness, and swwwwoooooooning!! xoxo
Posted by: A Fanciful Twist | October 12, 2008 at 04:24 PM