NOVEL WEB Chapter 31: Package
Hamish leaned back in his seat at the table and stared at the empty seat to his left at the head of the table. His sister hadn’t returned home in time for dinner which meant it was just him and his brother Kaden at the table tonight. “Well, I have to say, I can’t think of the last time Rayne missed dinner without warning.”
“Normally there would be at least a two day warning,” Kaden said, also looking at the empty chair.
That caused the eldest brother to smile as Kaden wasn’t wrong. “I wish I was as good at planning ahead as she was, but alas, I am not.” He sighed and looked at his now finished plate of food. Even though he was used to eating without his family while at university, he didn’t like not being with them when he was home. “What do you think she has gotten herself up to?”
“Probably something to do with that fox,” Kaden said without missing a beat.
Pursing his lips, Hamish studied Kaden. He looked slightly annoyed but Hamish wasn’t sure he could place exactly why. Obviously it was about Rayne and Hannah but the specific reason alluded him. “Why do you say that?”
Kaden sighed. “Since Hannah arrived Rayne has been all but obsessed about her.”
That was the first time Hamish had heard Kaden use Hannah’s name, which felt like an important progression. “I wouldn’t say obsessed.”
“Nearly every conversation with Rayne somehow relates back to the fox.” Kaden set down his knife and fork down before leaning back in his seat as well. “I can understand that she’s a new thing to Rayne, to the house, but everything doesn’t have to come back to her.”
“New things are exciting, and they occupy our minds quite a lot. I think we’re just going to have to get used to her being the object of attention for a little while.” Hamish shrugged. “Technically we are also talking about her, even without Rayne here.” Kaden went to say something but stopped himself. “By the time Margret arrives I think things are going to have calmed down and returned to normal.”
“Margret is also bringing a beastkin of her own.”
“Fair point, but I still think what I said stands. Even if it doesn’t calm down as fast as that, the season will soon start and I can promise you that it will occupy nearly all of our minds till it is over. There is always so much that goes on during the season, and you are absolutely going to have to contend with a mass of mamas all looking to push their daughters on you. When all of that is happening the last thing that will be on your mind is Hannah.”
“It's not really going to be that bad is it? It is my first season after all and men aren’t expected to marry as young as women are.”
Hamish chuckled and picked up his wine glass. “Oh just you wait and see. A new Hayward on the market, no matter the age, is going to draw a lot of attention.”
~~~
The day had gone by faster for the vixen after the chat Hannah and Eda shared. The nerves had still been there but they weren’t nearly as bad as they had been. They also didn’t occur as frequently and Hannah was able to spend good chunks of time not thinking about it as she worked. Now the work day was done and Hannah was ready for a nice meal before going to see Mistress for their nightly meeting. Most of the staff was already at the table waiting as Hannah arrived, but there were still a few needing to join before everything got started.
“There you are, Hannah,” Mr. Williams said as the fox arrived. Immediately that fear from earlier in the day made itself known in Hannah as she stared at the butler. “This arrived about an hour ago for you.” He pointed to a large box wrapped with twine sitting on the table.” Hannah looked at the box confused as she approached.
“Who's sending mail to the fox?” Anna asked, annoyance clear in her voice.
“I don’t know,” Hannah admitted. The box was too big to be the journals Hannah had asked her mistress for last night. Everybody watched as Hannah extended a claw and cut through the twine.
“You shouldn’t have those,” Anna said before Hannah could open the box.
Hannah looked up confused. Neither of them knew what was in the box so how could she say Hannah shouldn’t have it? “I haven’t even opened it yet.”
“Not the box, the claws,” Anna almost spat.
“And why not? Their natural to beastkin,” Eda said from her end of the table.
“You’re supposed to cut them off. Animals aren’t allowed to have claws that can hurt people.”
There was a moment of pause at Anna’s words. “ I’ve never heard of any laws that require beastkin to have their claws trimmed,” Eda said with enough confidence in her voice that it was clear no one was meant to question it.
Mr. Williams gave a curt nod. “I’m also sure Hannah wouldn’t use them to hurt anyone.”
“She said she’s clawed out people's eyes before.”
Hannah looked down at the box before her, unsure of what to do or say. Anna was right. Not all of the staff had been there to hear her admit that the other day and Hannah could feel eyes on her now. It was a little surprising that hadn’t already made its way around
“As I said the other day, I don’t think many would take kindly to being taken as a slave. I’m sure if you were in Hannah’s position you would have done the same thing,” Eda said.
Mr. Williams let out a small sigh. “Regardless, it is not our decision to make, but Lady Hayward's. Now Hannah, you can get back to opening it while we wait for the last stragglers.”
Hannah nodded at Mr. Williams’ words before pulling the top of the box off to find her new uniforms. It had only been two days since they went and saw Ms. Lena and Hannah was sure she had other work that had priority over a slave's uniforms. “I didn’t think they would be done so fast.”
“Well, now you can at least be properly dressed,” Eda said with a gentle smile.
Dinner went by without any further incident and as always Hannah treasured the wonderfully prepared meal. There was never going to be a day where she wasn’t grateful for such a meal after years of scraps and having just enough to eat that she wouldn’t starve. Even in just the few days of having multiple full meals a day Hannah already noticed a stark difference in her energy throughout the day as well as how her body didn’t look as sickly thin in the mirror anymore. Another gift she had to thank her mistress for.
There was around half an hour after dinner ended before Hannah was meant to take tea up to her mistress. Before she had mostly spent that time teaching Derek, but now with teaching him during the day it gave her the chance to read a little as she waited. Thankfully the dining area was mostly deserted and quiet at this time of night. She would have read regardless of how noisy it was or wasn’t though.
“Hannah,” Eda said, stepping into the room.
Hannah looked up from her book and quickly glanced at the time on the clock on the wall. She still had about five minutes left, and she didn’t have to worry about asking Ms. Vera to heat the tea up since this was a regular thing for everyone. “Yes, Ms Eda?”
“I’m afraid you won’t need to take any tea up to Lady Rayne tonight.”
“O-oh.” Fear and disappointment grew in Hannah, but mostly the latter. Rayne had told her this would be something that happened every night and Hannah had gotten used to that. She even looked forward to it everyday now. Why didn’t Mistress want that tonight? Was it because of what she said last night?”
“Lady Rayne went out earlier today and didn’t say when she would be getting back. I just went and checked and found she still hasn’t come back yet.”
“Oh.” The fear fully went away and the disappointment only grew. Hannah could understand though. She had most certainly had days going out where she didn’t know when she would get home.
“Why don’t you just spend your time relaxing in your room. I’m sure you’ll enjoy some extra time to read.”
Hannah gave a gentle nod. She loved reading but right now that didn’t feel like a suitable replacement to having her ears played with. She would still enjoy it though as she didn’t always get this amount of time to read during the day. “That will be nice.”
~~~
Rayne sighed as she sat back deeper into the plush seat of the carriage. It had been a long day and even though Rayne had suspected that it would be it she still was fully prepared for it. Who could have been prepared for doing something so… Rayne didn’t even know what she would call it. Loving? Dedicated? So many words felt like they fit what she had done but none truly felt like they could describe it. She just hoped that she was right or she was going to be so embarrassed. It was also a good thing Hamish didn’t care to look over expenses because this was a serious purchase even when Rayne argued the price down a good deal. By the goddess this could be the most expensive blunder Rayne had made in her personal life.
Looking out the window, Rayne finally registered how dark it was outside. She didn’t have a pocket-watch on her to know the time but by the growling of her stomach she knew it was past dinner. It wasn’t helpful that she had been so focused she missed lunch. Was it already past time for Hannah to come and see her? Normally Rayne could be rather patient with things, but this didn’t feel like it could wait. She wasn’t going to rest well not knowing if she was right or not. Would Hannah forgive Rayne for waking her in the night if her gamble paid off?
It only occurred to Rayne that she might also need to wake Eda because Rayne didn’t know which room was Hannah’s. That first night the lady had only walked Hannah back to the door to the servant's rooms, but she hadn’t actually walked her fox to her room. Eda would not be happy with Rayne if she woke her. Eda would not be happy with how much money Rayne had just spent. That lecture was not going to be a fun one, but if Rayne was right she didn’t care. IF everything paid off Eda could lecture Rayne for two days straight with that mildly disappointed face and Rayne wouldn’t feel bad at all.
The lady looked down at her lap and the items that lay in it. Two small wooden boxes, one long and skinny and the other a small square, and then a parcel wrapped in a beautiful paper. The wrapping and nice boxes were not necessary in any way but Rayne didn’t say no to any of it when they were put in them. Eda was going to be so mad with her when she found out about all of this.
The sound of wheels on cobble changed to the crunch of gravel as the carriage took a turn. With a smile Rayne looked up and saw her home approaching. Anticipation and anxiety blossomed in Rayne’s chest in a way she wasn’t used to. Her heart was already starting to be faster and Rayne didn’t like it. She needed to calm down and just see what happened. Rayne was the type of person that felt if she ever got her hopes up too high the world was assured to crush them. Before the carriage pulled up to the door Rayne closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The small jolt of the carriage stopping made the lady open her eyes. She was already up and ready before the coachman had even opened the door.
All too soon for the growing anxiety in Rayne’s chest, she found herself walking through the servants halls. Each step felt like it was bringing her closer to both doom and elation. Getting this worked up over all of this wasn’t going to help any and Rayne tried to use her sheer will to stop it but it wasn’t working.
Walking just past the main servants area Rayne found the door to Mr. William’s office open with light shining from it. Would Stewart know which room was Hannah’s? It couldn’t hurt to ask and if he did in fact know she wasn’t going to have to wake Eda. Now with purpose the lady strode up to the door feeling more confident with not having to bother Eda. To Rayne’s surprise when looking into the room she found Stewart at his desk working on a ledger while Eda sat opposite writing notes of her own in a small book of her own. Then to Rayne’s dismay, Eda looked up at her. The head housekeeper’s eyes took in her face, glanced down to the things Rayne was holding, and then back up to her face.
“My lady,” Eda said with that slight look of disapproval growing on her face.
Immediately Stewart looked up. “My lady,” he said while standing up from the chair. “Can we help you.”
“Yes, actually.” That nervousness was coming back to Rayne, especially in the face of Eda looking at her like that. “Would you tell me which room is Hannah’s?”
The older woman’s eyes narrowed at Rayne for a second before she let out a sigh. Standing up Eda said, “I can show you, my lady.”
“N-no.” Rayne did her best to put on a casual smile. “I’m sure I can find my way if you tell me which it is. Honestly, it might hurt my pride of being a good employer if I couldn’t find my way around the halls you frequent.” Those eyes narrowed on Rayne again, causing a child-like reaction of quietly saying, “Please.”
“Go up the stairs at the end of the hall, take the first left and it will be the fourth door on the right.” Eda casually set herself back down in the chair. “No need to be too loud with knocking on the door with Hannah and I’m sure the other staff will appreciate the quietness.”
“Thank you, Eda.” Rayne gave a polite nod to both of them before turning and following Eda’s directions.
The lady’s maid did her best not to sigh as Rayne left. One day there would be calm between those two but today was not going to be that day. Eda glanced up to find Stewart taking his seat again with a look on his face that was just a bit too professionally flat. “What is it, Stewart?”
The butler’s eyes met hers and he let out his own sigh, knowing full well there wasn’t much anyone could hide from Eda. “Lord Kaden was right.”
Now Eda did sigh. “That he was.” People were starting to notice Rayne’s behavior and actions around Hannah and even worse they were talking about it. This needed to be nipped in the bud. “She was like this as a young child. Found something that peaked her interest and for a solid two weeks it would be all that she talked about. Anything she wanted to do was always somehow related to whatever it was as well.”
“I do not wish to speak ill of our lady,” Stewart started, “and I was not here for her early childhood, but I can say I have seen her act like this before. Granted the times I have seen it it was about a new business venture, but I can most certainly see the resemblance.”
“I don’t think that’s speaking ill of her, but I wouldn’t point this out to her face.” Eda gave Stewart a slightly cheeky smile, and was glad to see his flat face falter just a little. “I almost feel bad saying this treatment of Hannah will end soon, I’m sure the poor woman is enjoying it a little after all she has been through.” Lying was sadly one of Eda’s strong suits, but she didn’t like doing it. She knew very well this treatment wasn’t going to ever fully end, but she hoped it might calm down a little soon. At the very least she hoped that it would be less noticeable. “We all deserved to be spoiled a little bit, but when it ends I hope both of them can find comfort in a more calm life here. Well, as calm as one can be with the season fast approaching.”
“Well said, Ms Eda. Let’s hope this season goes well for the family.”
“For all of us.”
