Time in the Butler Salon

In a sentence, the butler salon is a few hours spent as a queen in a house that has a butler. The reserved time is not shared with any other party; the only people in the residence are your party and the butler who prepared the house for it. A silver bell on the table, a hand at the chair, a pause before the tea, the moment the lamps dim: wishes that never become words are read from expression and pace.

—Women only, one party at a time

Only women may use the salon, and a man may not come in even as an escort. This rule protects the character of the house and has no exceptions. You may come alone, as a pair, or in a party of up to six. What the butler watches changes with the number: for one, a distance that leaves the quiet intact; for two, the rhythm of conversation; for more, the flow of seats and bags.

Nothing need be settled at the time of booking. Having seen the lights and the furnishings, you may choose to move to the fireplace lounge or to settle into the leather chair of the study. Afternoon tea comes with the butler's arrangement of the cup and the pouring from a silver pot. Bring your own food and drink if you like; the house itself serves no meal; if the table is used, the butler draws the chairs and passes on, only where needed, how the silver is handled and where the napkin goes.

—The hearth room and the large screen

The fireplace lounge has a 120-inch screen; once the butler lowers the chandelier, it becomes a small cinema. In the leather chair of the study, on the sofa by the fire, on the French bed of the nineteenth century, the butler sets a lap blanket and the lamps and keeps far enough away not to disturb reading or conversation. Care of the head, the shoulders and the feet, reading aloud and plain company are offered by a limited number of butlers, so please state such wishes when booking. On a visit of four hours or more, the butler can accompany you out into the waterfront district.

The very first thing explained in the salon is how to summon the butler: by the silver bell where one is laid out, by a word where things go on in another room. When you want the butler near, the butler comes near; when you want no eyes on you, the butler steps out beyond the door. Reading, letters, conversation with a friend, preparing for a photograph: each has its own quiet, and the butler chooses a distance to match.

—Butlers of either sex

The residence has male and female butlers, and preferences of sex and age can be discussed at booking. The butler and the date are confirmed together, so that both privacy and safety are kept. Should you wish for the same butler again, there is an arrangement called a "buddy", a butler chosen as your own, who learns your tea, your conversational pace and the corner of the house you settle in, and treats your next visit as the continuation of the previous one.

At the reserved hour the butler is waiting inside the door. A bow, your name confirmed, coat and bags taken, and you are led into the house prepared for the day. First-time guests are told quietly what comes next, so no etiquette need be learned beforehand. Over the first cup the order of the day is briefly discussed; after that you drift between dining room, study, lounge and bedroom as your mood and the hours dictate.

—The bell, and the leaving

Once the butler has stepped away, the silver bell on the table brings the butler back. As the hour of departure approaches, the butler gathers your bags, returns your coat and sees you off beyond the door. The salon is designed so that the first bow and the last are tasted as one span of time. There is no dress code: a favourite outfit for a day of photographs, something comfortable for a quiet one.

Sending butlers out to homes and companies through THE BUTLER, I am reminded how little the profession is understood. People do not know how to ask, or what may be asked, and so the first step is never taken. The salon exists so that the first step can be taken from the receiving side. Once served, you know in your body what a butler watches and what is arranged before you ask.

—Fees and booking sit on the official site

Fees, time slots, charges for larger parties and late stays are set out on the salon page of Queen's Butler's official site. Here I have tried to describe the substance of the hours rather than list the conditions. For reservations and full details, please go to the official site.

A butler who has withdrawn is sometimes taken to be resting. He is not. He sets the water going for the next pot, warms the vessels, and works out by ear alone which thing on the table is about to run out. A cup touching its saucer, the scrape of a chair, the length of a silence. With a single door between, how far the room has gone can be estimated well enough.

—Returning before the bell

What he watches for most is the moment he should return before being called: when someone who came alone closes her book, when the voices of a party fall quiet. Many people are a little startled when the door opens before the bell. So that the surprise is a pleasant one, he judges how quickly to come back.

—One word settles the interval

A word on arrival about how much conversation is wanted settles the day's intervals. On a day for talking, a companion; on a day for being left alone, no more than the sense of someone nearby. Nothing need be settled beforehand, and it may be altered at any point.

The largest share of bookings is for a single guest — more than for friends or for family together. Asked why, people mostly give the same answer: places where one need consider nobody are fewer than you would think.

—Conversation is not manufactured

The house is quiet on such days. The butler does not go looking for conversation. He refills the tea as it goes down, brings a rug if it is cool, adds light as the room darkens. That is all, repeated. Some guests pass several hours without a word exchanged, and we take that to be quite right.

—Everyone drifts to the fire

The room in which guests settle longest is the one with the hearth. At the time of booking most name the dining room, yet as the hours go by every one of them drifts towards the fire. The place imagined and the place the body settles are often two different rooms.