Victoria is pale, with bright blue eyes and long, wavy blonde hair. She wears very practical dresses, never anything too extravagant though, and her favourite colour is blue. She owns many bonnets, and particularly enjoys having her hair done by Bertha. She spends most of her days indoors, but is more than eager to walk down to the town centre whenever the opportunity arises. Her hobbies include collecting flowers from pastures and reading the collection of books in her father's library, although she rarely does so, as to read such books were not acceptable. Her longing to educate herself is constantly undermined by her mother, who insists that a woman had no business in education or intellect. Victoria also loves going to parties and balls, and has a particular passion for dancing. Every day she spends hours writing in her diary - about what she did, whom she met, and her thoughts about certain people/places. The following is an extract from Victoria's diary:
Tuesday March 17th 1884
Dear Diary,
Today has been the most exciting day! I have never experienced such infinite excitement as today. The day began with the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Klein, who you know are my dearest aunt and uncle in the whole of the universe. They have come all the way from Templeton to pay us a visit, and are planning to stay with us for an entire fortnight; one week more than they had stated in their letter! Mary and Cecilia were just as happy to see them as I, and I could see that the feeling was mutual. Mother was extremely eager to show them around the house for we had just moved here recently, and this was their first ever visit.
As soon as they unpacked their belongings and settled into the guest room, I suggested that we walk down to Faulkner to visit the town square. Both Mary and Cecilia agreed to join us, and it was the most splendid walk, for the weather was most agreeable and the gentle breeze very soothing. When we reached Faulkner, we were fortunate enough to bump into Sir Robert Gould, father of Katherine Gould, who most kindly invited us to join him at the Hefton ball, which was to be held that night. We thanked him, and told him that we would be honoured to attend, and bid him good day. It was almost impossible to hide my excitement for I absolutely loved balls and could not wait. When we returned home, we told mother the good news and she was more than excited and immediately ordered Bertha to find a suitable dress for Mary, Cecilia and I.
As soon as the fuss was over (mind you, it lasted almost three hours!), we got into the carriage (all except father) and headed for Hefton. On arrival we were greeted by Sir Robert and Miss Gould, who might I add was wearing the most magnificent dress! Upon entering, I noticed a tall, handsome, dark-haired man standing in the corner of the room, surrounded by a rather large group of men. Miss Gould kindly informed me that he was a well-known professor from the University of Saphron, and was visiting his mother, Mrs. Turner, who had unfortunately fallen ill. Miss Gould then went on to introduce me to many of the women at the ball, most of which were extremely agreeable, except for this one girl, who was young and frivolous, with fiery red hair and blue eyes. Upon introduction she was most rude, for as I was speaking, her attention was elsewhere, and she hardly even noticed that I was there! I was vexed at such treatment, and decided almost immediately that she was one of the rudest, and ill-mannered women that I was ever to meet. I was more than relieved when Sir Robert interrupted the conversation and offered to take me, Mary and Cecilia around to room and to introduce me to some of his fellow acquaintances. We were introduced to many men, most of who were familiar to us, and were fortunate enough to be asked to dance several dances, which, as you know, I enjoyed most thoroughly. We were then introduced to Mr. Cameron, the tall man I spotted in the corner earlier, who turned out to be most delightful, and I was lucky enough to be asked to dance with him not once, nor twice, but three times! The thing that was most striking about him was how open he was. He and I conversed for the entire night, and what surprised me was that we spoke about meaningful issues - such as his job, his family, and even politics! I could see that Mr. Cameron was not wealthy, nor did he come from a highly respected family, yet I was drawn to him, and enjoyed speaking to him so much I lost track of time!
As the night came to an end, Mr. Cameron promised to write me regarding the dinner that was to be held in a week's time. I thanked him for a wonderful night, and told him that I would eagerly await the arrival of his letter. On the journey home, mother asked me who the man I spent all my time with was, and what he did. To that I replied – “That ma'm, is Mr. Cameron, and he is a true gentleman”. And that is all I said for the entire journey. And that is all I have to say for tonight.
Sincerely,
Victoria Miller
