Aristocrat | Âœ“ CHAPTER THREE

     The work was easy. I woke up at six in the morning every day and went straight down to the kitchen to pick up the Lord’s breakfast. Maire and I would chat for a bit as the tea boiled, and she would make me promise to feed the chickens or something along that line when I was done with my morning duties.

     Going to the lord’s room for the first time had made me nervous. I had stood at the door for minutes practicing the line I had made in my head to wake him up. I had walked in, dropping the tray of food on the table I had pulled from the side before knocking on the wood of his King-sized bed. The lord’s eyes had peeled open immediately, and we had stared at each other until I backed away, muttering that his food was ready for him before leaving the room in a haste. I shouldn’t have done that, but there was something about him staring at me that made me want to retreat.

     He never mentioned what had happened that first morning when I served him his brunch at the common room and his lunch and dinner at the main dining room. I concluded that he was one to forgive minor mistakes and stopped worrying about being spoken down to as punishment.

     Aside from serving him his food, I also had the duty of laying his clothes out for him and shining his shoes. He had big shoes that correlated with his size, and sometimes I would measure my smaller feet up against them for my own amusement. I cleaned up after him too. Putting away the books he would take out and arranging his mess in the rooms he spent time in. I grew accustomed to his dog as well. It was friendly like the Lord had promised and stayed out of my way when I was working.

     Wandering the castle was something I did in my pass-time. As the Lord had said in our first proper meeting, there weren’t many things visually interesting about the place. There was a drawing-room no one used, and a fireplace that didn’t seem to have been lit even once since the winter started. I went to the common room sometimes, and the first book I ever picked from there was a small catholic prayer book. I didn’t know some words, and I found myself folding pages and telling myself that I would ask somebody about them.

     The women that cleaned came in during my first week. They were a talkative pair. The two were blonde, and the assumed age difference between them made me guess that they were a mother and daughter pair. No gardener had come during the past two weeks since I’ve been here. The ground was frozen over, and the snow was only getting deeper.

     Sometimes I thought about my parents and siblings, and it was usually at night when I was alone in my room. It felt strange, having spent all my life sharing a room with all of them.

     “I’ve been looking for you. You should go get the linens from Evenus’ room,” Marie said out of the blue, bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked up at her. She was standing at the doorway to my bedroom with one hand on the knob and the other holding a basket filled with clothes.

     “I’ll go do that,” I said, sitting up and putting the book I had with me under the pillow.

     “Bring it to me outside. I’ll be waiting,” she said, and I nodded before getting up and making my way out of my room. I walked through the hallway and climbed the stairs to the topmost floor where the master’s bedroom was. His room was conjoined to the tower of the building. I rapped my knuckles on the door, waiting for him to give me permission to come in.

     “Come in.” His voice was low, and it drowned out by the noise of the barking dog. Troy really did follow him everywhere.

     I opened the door and stepped in, but immediately felt the urge to step out.

     “Don’t be shy. We’re both men, aren’t we?” he said. After hesitating for a bit, I walked him. His lower half was covered, but he was still trying to get into one of his shirts. I spotted the hunting rifle by the wall, as well as his thick knee-length boots.

     “I came to grab your beddings,” I said, approaching his bed before going about my business. The lord’s bed had about five layers. It made sense since it was winter. Marie also told me it was important to change the beddings every other week since insects that stuck to the Lord during his hunting trips could crawl up in them and hide. Marie didn’t want to give them a place to stay and lay eggs, saying it was too much work when the master was sick and needed attention.

     “That’s good. Tell Marie that I’d like it if she could clean up my good waistcoat and shirt. I might have to leave the castle for two days in the coming month,” he said, and I nodded, getting the last piece of bedding off the bed.

     The master’s room had rounded walls, following the shape of the tower it was carved into. There was a door that led out to a rounded balcony. The ceiling was high, and a chandelier with burning lamps hug from it. Marie told me the lord lit them and put them off himself, but she told me that with time I would do it for him. Taking incentives and finding things that needed to be done for Lord Evenus was a big part of my job.

    The furnishings in the room were weirdly placed. A stool here, a table there, and a carpet made of a skinned bear just lying by the drawers. As I folded the beddings and fluffed the pillows my eyes wandered a bit, noticing the stack of papers and books. Lord Evenus seemed to be well-read. I wondered where he got the time to between all the hunting and diplomacy.

     “Could you drop that for a bit and help me with my cuffs?” I heard the Lord ask, making me turn to face him. The embarrassment I had felt from seeing him bare-chested had faded a bit. He was now wearing a black long-sleeved shirt. Lord Evenus stretched out his hands, showing me his undone cuffs when I didn’t move. I apologized, hurrying across the room before taking a hold of his right harm. It wasn’t hard to figure out. I hadn’t worn a shirt like this, but I knew how it was supposed to go. One of my friends in the village was good with clothes and she had shown me a lot of things.

     My heart was racing from holding his hand, but I tried not t let it show on my face. My lips were in a thin line, and I tried my best not to stare at his hand as I fiddled with his cuffs. His hands were rough like I had expected. They also had some light scares here and there. No one did so much hunting and warfare and got to keep soft-looking hands. The area of his hand I could see had dark fine hair, and sometimes I would stare for too long, and scold myself when I came out of my daze.

     “It’s too bad you can’t hunt game. I would have liked some company,” the lord said as his greyhound walked about us in a circle. I hummed, taking his left hand to do the cuff on that one. I found that hard to believe. I’ve been in the castle for the past two weeks and I hadn’t seen a soul who wasn’t house help walk past the main doors. The Lord was alone by himself a lot. So much so that I wondered if he had any friends.

     I finished, and let go of his hand, watching The Lord as he examined his cuffs.

     “Thank you,” he said, reaching out to tap my shoulder. “Remind me to teach you how to mount a horse this weekend,” he added before turning his attention to his dog.

     “Come on, time to go,” Lord Evenus said to his dog before clicking his fingers. The two left, leaving me alone in the master’s bedroom. I picked up the bedsheets again, and by the time I left the room and shut the door, the two had already disappeared from the hallway that led downstairs.

     “Thank you, you’re such good help,” Marie told me when I went out to meet here in the backyard with the bedsheets. I smiled at her, taking a seat on the short stool next to the one she was sitting on. I watched her wash clothes on the washing board, letting the fabrics waiting to be washed in a basin just a reach away. Her breath was visible in the cold, and I wondered if the water was ice-cold as well.

     We talked as she washed the clothes. I learned that Marie had been working here for over ten years. She was married, but never had a child of her own, and stopped trying after three miscarriages. She spoke fondly of God when I brought up that my parents were protestants, but her eyes held certain doubt that he was real.

     “The master said you should wash his good waistcoat and shirt,” I said, making Marie lookup. She had a frown on her face.

     “Sorry,” I said, realizing that I had said that out of nowhere. “I just remembered that he told me to tell you that,” I muttered, watching her nod and look away.

     “He must be going to see the Count’s daughter.”

     I didn’t know what Count Marie was speaking of, but I did know that the information did not sit when with me. My chest squeezed a bit, and I let out a breath I had been holding in without realizing it. I might be jumping to conclusions, but the Lord was at a marriageable age. It would make sense if he was courting a woman.

     The rest of the things Marie said were a blur to me as I retreated into my mind, upsetting myself with imagined scenarios of Lord Evenus with women.