The Future Belongs To The Builders

Once through the gates, Ms Silke warns you to be careful of the ornamental pools - "they're deeper than they look!" - and pauses for you to admire the topiaries and statues. "The horse statue was donated by the Stone family, and the lion was donated by the Horsts. Both families have been very generous in providing paintings and treasures - well, all three of Holtwood's noble families have supported the museum. The Grabens provided the fountain in the garden. I'll tell you more about the families as we go on with the tour. Holtwood may seem small and far-flung, but we have more high society and culture than you might expect."

"To the side is our romantic garden with a view of the parklands. Visitors are welcome to picnic here, and we've recently been granted permission to conduct wedding ceremonies on the grounds. Chairs can be provided, and booking ahead is essential."

Up the steps and inside through the heavy doors, you see a flight of stairs with a large framed painting on either side of it. "Views of Holtwood, from our resident artist. This one is a rural scene, looking over the farms towards the town and the bay. I think it's a pity he's made the day look so rainy and drab, but people say it's atmospheric. I prefer the other one - it can't have been nice to sit out on the island in that cold sea breeze, but painters go to great lengths and the town does look pretty under the snow. This was painted before the museum was built, but you can see where it will be - almost in the centre of the painting, next to the Governor's Gardens. Very well situated in the noble quarter above the town."

Ms Silke gestures to the left. "The refreshments area. It's only tea and chocolates, I'm afraid - if you're hungry after this, I can recommend an excellent restaurant in the town. Visitors quite often like to look at the exhibits upstairs first, then come down here for a pot of tea afterwards; I listen out for them and have the kettle boiling in the back room by the time I hear their feet on the stairs. Chocolate wrappers are to be disposed of in the receptacle provided, if you would be so kind."

To the right of the entrance, Ms Silke shows you two chess tables, a standing easel and some sort of curtained alcove. "The noble families are all very enthusiastic about chess. An elegant game, they say, and good for gaining an understanding of strategic warfare. Visitors are encouraged to have a game as a way to understand the minds of our leaders."

"Oh, Finchley, I was just about to tell these guests more about your art. This is Finchley Kanuka, who's a most talented young man. He has painted a number of the works in our gallery, and this easel is here so that he can paint portraits of visitors. There will be an extra fee. If you don't have time for a full painting, you can step into the booth and sit for a miniature likeness or silhouette in just ten minutes."

"It puts bread on the table," says Finchley, with the air of one who would rather row to a rocky island in the middle of winter. "My parents are pleased to hear I'm making some regular money, at least."

"The museum has been a wonderful opportunity for him," Ms Silke says. "More people are seeing his work now. He's been quite the little success story! Thank you, Finchley, we'll call if we have work for you after the tour." As she moves on, she adds in an undertone, "I'm afraid some of the younger patrons have shown an excess of high spirits. The booth is only to be used for sketching miniatures and I do expect all visitors to conduct themselves with decorum."

She opens the door beside her. "Restrooms are through here; there's a wardrobe for coats and a mirror to freshen up. That's the back entrance, which leads to the hitching posts - but you came up here on foot, of course."

She leads you up the wide stairs; at the top are two portraits. "This one on the right is of Holtwood's first Governor, Jacqueline Stone. Appointed by the Empress and sent out here to bring order to the region. She did well at first, by all accounts, and guided Holtwood for decades, but somehow lost favour later on. I was a little too young to understand the situation at the time, but the records point to setbacks in the commissioning of an expanded sea port that cost Madame Stone her position. Elmas Horst, in the blue painting, was appointed Governor in her place and has led the town ever since."

"Now, the Stone family provided many of the artworks and treasures on this side. They have always been a military family - you see the display of weapons here. Aurelia Stone, daughter of Jacqueline, was a highly respected military commander who led Holtwood's forces to victory in two wars, despite the cost to her health; she died fairly young."

"They're also a well travelled and adventurous family, as you can see from the maps and globe; they've brought back treasures from far-off lands. The current head of the family is Diana Stone, who's in this portrait with her husband Claude."

"In this corner, a few items from the collection of the Graben family. They are rather less motivated by wealth and reputation than the Stones and Horsts; they seem to care most about breeding their pedigree dogs. There's a portrait of Perpetua Graben and her young husband Sebastian - they've recently had their first child. And the rest of the paintings are of dogs. There's a breed registry you can look through, if you're interested - it will tell you which dog is which. I don't know much about dogs myself, but I don't think the sculptor made a very good likeness - maybe that's why the family donated the statue instead of keeping it."

"Now this side of the room is devoted to the Horsts, the current Governor's family. They're very educated and accomplished all around; some of their rare books are on display, and here's a telescope - they've made quite a study of the stars and planets. Maybe their advanced knowledge about the cosmos gives them some sort of protection, because nobody from their family has ever been snatched by the sky chariot of the Visitors - I know of two farmers and a merchant man who suffered that dreadful experience."

"Here's a painting of the younger generations of the Horst family. Governor Elmas Horst's two daughters, Nergis and Nesrin, with Nergis's husband Everett and their two daughters, Pinar and Hazan. The Governor wanted the best education possible for her granddaughters and has endowed a university some days' travel distant from here; this portrait was done to commemorate Pinar leaving to begin her studies, along with Demetria, heir of the Stone family, and a studious merchant girl who was lucky enough to benefit from the Governor's scholarship. And there is a painting of their beautiful house, which has recently had its roof redesigned, sparing no expense."

"This stone lion is our latest acquisition. The Horsts commissioned it when they heard that the Stones were having a winged horse sculpture delivered. Then they weren't satisfied with it and ordered another for their grounds - so the museum was lucky enough to receive the rejected one. I think he's perfectly nice, don't you?"

She pauses at a painting in the corner. "This is Nikolai Horst, the Governor's late husband - son of former Governor Jacqueline Stone. The marriage united the Stone and Horst families, so he's a rather important person. Some people are still passing around unkind rumours about him - they criticise him for being a little wild in his youth, but I beg you won't pay any attention to such things. He was always particularly kind to my mother when I was small, so I remember him fondly."

Ms Silke waits while you explore the exhibits and answers questions about the objects on display, then accompanies you back downstairs - but she is a little taken aback at your next request. "The office and back rooms? Those areas are off limits to visitors. Oh, you're sure you need to inspect them too? It's a little irregular, but I can make an exception this once."

"Here's my little office. There's a lot of paperwork to do, cataloguing everything, arranging for new acquisitions - I spend hours each day writing letters and answering scrolls." *

"Here's the staff room. This is the stove, here's a washbasin, and this little pantry is where I store my lunch - and my dinner too, most days. There's a small sitting area and coat cupboard; the staff privy is next to the basement stairs."

Down in the basement, she shows you some packing cases of various objects and artworks and some canvases awaiting framing - "Finchley would like more of his landscapes on display, but we don't have room for all of them" - and stacks of chairs which are ready for use in a garden wedding. "I like to keep things tidy down here, but there's so much to store, sometimes all I can do is throw a dust sheet over the clutter."

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