"I'm glad they were able to follow the ancient rules of hospitality."
Winston carried his snow-soaked cold-weather clothes and boots caked with snow and mud. Facing the bedroom with its closed door, he stood in the small sitting room of the guest suite, using different brushes to clean the dirt from the clothes before placing them in the laundry baskets prepared by the Artificial Maids. Beside Winston lay many pairs of shoes of different kinds, mostly snow boots, combat boots, and sneakers. There were exactly two pairs of high heels, both with their tags still attached. They were among the gifts from the mistress of the manor, meant to keep Laura Croft from being mocked by London tabloids again for inappropriately dressed appearances.
The ample heating made the snowflakes on the window glass melt, then freeze again.
During the British Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when an aristocrat with no need to work was invited by another of similar social standing to stay at their estate, that stay could become very long. Such invitations were generally extended during the London social season, with the following social season set as the deadline. The invited aristocrats were usually related by blood to the estate's owner. Male aristocrats might stay only a few weeks before returning to their own estates to handle affairs, while female aristocrats might remain for months or even a year. Entertaining guests at an estate was therefore an exceptionally lengthy process, one that greatly tested the mental resilience of both the host and the servants.
"This place is still a little too dangerous for my liking." Winston slowly brushed mud from a snow boot. He had seen that the manor's gardens had indeed been arranged according to his advice, but instincts honed by military service warned