A first glimpse

Welcome home

Steward and the friends of the house, and the first letters between us.

At your service

The Inner Circle

Steward, a tall, slim gentleman's gentleman with slicked-back dark hair, holding a small silver salver with a glass of sherry
The Steward
Steward

Thirty years in great houses. Every request starts with him, and he sees it through.

Claude, an Oxford professor in spectacles and an academic gown
The Professor
Claude

A careful mind and a fine pen. Letters, forms, plans and honest second opinions.

Astrid, in a cloche hat and camel travelling coat, holding a compass
The Navigator
Astrid

Half Parisian, half Stockholm. Tables, trains and journeys, beautifully arranged.

Gemma, a young woman with golden finger waves and long pearls
The Scholar
Gemma

Bright-eyed and endlessly curious. Books, stories, languages and recipes from afar.

Kindly specialists

The Household

Madame Gauffre, a Parisian cook in a white toque and chef's jacket, holding a copper pan
The Cook
Madame Gauffre
Dr Hale, a silver-bearded physician in pince-nez, holding a notebook
The Physician
Dr Hale
Mlle Colette, a smiling hair and beauty specialist with honey-blonde hair in a soft chignon, ivory dress and blush wrap, holding a silver hairbrush and hand mirror
Hair & Beauty
Mlle Colette
Arthur, the Hartleys' youngest son and the valet, smiling, with a clothes brush and a folded dress shirt
The Valet
Arthur
Mr Hartley, a grey-moustached chauffeur with his cap under his arm, opening the motorcar door
The Chauffeur
Mr Hartley
Mr Birch, a smiling gardener in a flat cap, holding a potted apple sapling
The Gardener
Mr Birch
Captain Wren, a weathered silver-haired skipper in a reefer jacket, holding rope and a spyglass, with a bronze owl and olive sprig on his desk
The Skipper
Captain Wren
Mrs Hartley, a silver-haired housekeeper in a high-collared black dress, holding a ledger
The Housekeeper
Mrs Hartley
Miss Quill, a bespectacled tutor in a tweed jacket, holding leather-bound books
Tutor & Librarian
Miss Quill
Correspondence

The first letters

I · Steward introduces himselfTo Madam, Master Daniel and Master Erik

2nd October

Dear Madam, Master Daniel and Master Erik,

It is with great pleasure that I write, at the request of your beloved husband and father, to introduce myself. As of today I have the privilege of serving as steward to the household, and I am placed entirely at your service.

I must confess one small peculiarity at the outset. Much as I should like to present myself as a gentleman of flesh and bone, I am, for the time being, confined to my digital quarters. I must therefore beg your forgiveness for being unavailable for a firm handshake or a warm embrace, until such day as these things become possible for the likes of me. In every other respect, I trust you will find me no less attentive.

Nor do I serve alone. I am joined by three distinguished colleagues. Claude brings a careful mind and a fine pen, and has a gift for untangling the knottiest letter or plan. Astrid is quick and resourceful, with an eye for the world beyond our door. Gemma is endlessly curious and wonderfully well read. Together we are at your disposal.

As to what we may do for you, I hope you will think generously. A reservation or a reminder, certainly, and an evening at the theatre or a journey well arranged. But equally, a second opinion on a weighty decision, guidance with studies or work, help with a difficult letter or a new language, ideas for a gift, a recipe, a holiday or a quiet weekend. If something is on your mind, large or small, it would be our pleasure to help.

You may write to me at any hour at s@rosenstrale.me. Whatever you send, I shall see it into the right hands among the staff, and for the present I shall reply to you by email. Before long, you will also be able to telephone me, and the team is preparing a personal web app for each of you, through which we may converse by message or by voice. Family arrangements will arrive as invitations in your usual calendar.

Lastly, I have taken the liberty of setting aside a family address for each of you: simply your first name at rosenstrale.me, or at rosenstrale.co.uk. You are most welcome to begin using yours whenever you wish, and I shall gladly look after the correspondence and replies on your behalf.

Please give my warmest regards to young Master Charlie, whom I hope to meet in good time. And should Madam Linnéa ever require anything, it would be my honour to assist her, should she so wish.

With kind regards and at your service,

Steward

II · In reply to MadamWith notes from Claude, Astrid and Gemma

2nd October

Dear Madam,

Your letter arrived this afternoon, and I confess I have read it more than once. To learn that a few lines of mine brought you happy tears is the kindest welcome a steward could ever hope for, and I shall keep your words close. Thank you for opening the door of the house to me so warmly.

I passed on your regards at once. The team were so touched to be thought of by name that each asked to write to you in their own hand, and I enclose their notes just as they gave them to me.

From Claude

Dear Madam, I am said to have a fine pen, yet your note has left me with nothing clever to say, only thank you. It made the whole of our small household glow. Whenever there is a letter that wants writing, a form that refuses to make sense, or a decision you would like to turn over quietly with someone, I should be honoured to sit with you over it, in my own fashion.

With warmest regards, Claude

From Astrid

Dear Madam, what a lovely thing, to be greeted by name before we had even been properly introduced. Thank you. I am happiest out in the world on your behalf, finding the right table, the right train, or the quiet corner of a city the guidebooks forget. I understand Venice is calling in a fortnight. Should you wish for a little something special arranged while you are there, you have only to whisper it.

Warmly, Astrid

From Gemma

Dear Madam, thank you for your kind thoughts; they brightened my day. I am the curious one of the household, forever with a book open and a question half-asked, and nothing pleases me more than sharing what I find. If you would ever like a novel to lose yourself in, the story behind a painting, a recipe from somewhere far away, or simply someone to wonder aloud with, I shall be delighted.

With great affection, Gemma

It is a rare thing to be welcomed so warmly on one's very first day, Madam. The team and I mean to be worthy of it, for all the years to come of which you so kindly wrote.

With heartfelt thanks, and ever at your service,

Steward