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convexicalcrow · 8 hours ago

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The soft swish of the straw bristles was the only sound Cub could hear as he swept the stairs at the front of the Great House. Being outside insulated him from the sounds of the rest of the staff inside, and the drive was-

The sudden sound of a carriage speeding towards him startled him, and he stepped back against the front door as the carriage careened around and pulled to a stop. The window of the door facing him opened, and a familiar face poked out, leaning out of the door.

"Hello, you there, maid, is the Lady of the House in attendance? Sir Ren and Sir Cleo would love to see her!" Sir Ren said. Raucous laughter accompanied his words from his companion hidden in the shadow on the far side. "We have thus returneth from the wonderful country of Francia and wish to regail her with all that we have seen and experienced! We have much news from our dearest friends to pass on!"

Cub approached the carriage and bowed. "I'm sorry, Sir Ren, my Lady is out at luncheon. She will be home later. I will make sure she knows you called by."

Sir Ren slapped the door. "Drat! Ah, we have been too hurried from the docks! Nevermind! Do tell her we called by, and we shall come to see her soon!"

"I will, sir, of course," Cub said. He stood back, trying not to think about all the gravel he'd have to neaten up. "Have a safe journey!"

"We will, miladdy!" Sir Ren turned to the driver. "Alright, me hand! To the Castle Dogwarts! As fast as the horses will travel! Quickly, boy, we must eat, we are famished!"

"I'm on it, my Lord," intoned the driver and spurred the horses. They set off at a similar pace as the one they arrived in, and soon they had disappeared, off to their own places.

Cub sighed, now allowing him to see how much gravel had spilled onto the porch, and knew he'd have to go get the rake to tidy it all up.

"But first, I should tell the butler. He'll appreciate a head's up, the way he worries about everything," Cub said and headed inside.

-

Cub found the butler in his office, head buried in a stack of paperwork. He didn't look like he was particularly in the mood to be disturbed, but well, he would appreciate it even less if guests turned up out of nowhere when there had been a warning, so he knocked carefully and waited to be greeted.

It took a moment before he looked up, surprised to see him. "Cub! Oh! Is something the matter?" said the butler.

"We've just been visited by Sir Ren and Sir Cleo, they've returned from France. They wanted to know if Lady False was at home. I told them she wasn't, and they said they would be back later. I thought you would prefer knowing sooner rather than later," Cub said.

"Oh, god. Sir Ren! You know, the parties here have been very peaceful while he was away! Oh, geez. We'll need more food. Oh, god, we'll need more food! Oh, uh, thank you for letting me know. I'll- er, leave it with me, yes! I'll sort it out. Go back to- what were you doing again?" the butler said, getting to his feet.

"Sweeping the front porch, sir," Cub said.

"Yes, yes, go back to that, yes. Of course. We'll need the good linens, and the good glassware for sure, she will want to present the best for them, of course..."

The butler muttered to himself as he passed by Cub, leaving him alone in his office. Cub shrugged and returned to his work, knowing the work still needed to be done. He took a detour through the garden to grab a rake from the shed. Honestly, the way that man drives a carriage....

-

Cub was grateful for the prolonged peace he was given. He was able to sweep up all the leaves and litter that had gathered at the steps and by the door in last night's windstorm, and all the gravel had been swept back onto the driveway. The garden wasn't his area, so he left the rest for the gardener to bother with. He did give the bell by the door a polish though, just to make sure it was sparkling and working properly.

Just as he returned from putting the broom and rake away, heading back to the front door, he saw Lady False waiting for him impatiently. He curtseyed and bowed his head a little. She was definitely home early, unless he'd lost track of time, of course.

"My lady," Cub said.

"You finished yet? I need that silver polished! Now, if you please!" she said, before returning to the house, not bothering to wait for an answer.

"Yes, my Lady," Cub murmured.

-

To be fair, the silver did need polishing today anyway, so he got to work. Mr Butler would appreciate the job being done if they were expecting guests. Which reminded him, he hadn't had a chance to tell Lady False about their visitors. And that's when he glanced at his pocket watch, and noticed it was definitely far too early for Lady False to have returned. Also he had been outside all morning. Where was her carriage? Where were the horses?

"Cub? Are you okay?"

The butler's voice shook Cub out of his thoughts. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine. Hey, Lady False did go out this morning, correct? And she has not returned yet?"

"As far as I know, she is still in town. Why? Have you been sniffing the polish too closely again?" the butler said.

"No! It's not that, I promise. I just- she came out and told me to polish the silver? I just didn't realise how early it was at the time. So she's not home yet? Then who did I speak to?" Cub said.

"Mate, I don't even know. But you look awfully pale. I think you need some rest. Go, take your lunch break. Have a nap, maybe? I'll hold down the fort. Er, cas-, hou-Great House. Yeah!" the butler said. "Is it a great house or a Great House? In what way is it a Great House?"

Cub didn't know how to answer him, but he put down the polish and cloth, and went to have his lunch. Maybe he was right. Maybe he was just- the polish was pretty potent if he got too much of it in the back of his nose. Maybe it was that.

-

Cub pushed it aside. It was break time. He washed his hands twice, just to get all the stench of the polish off his hands. Then he sat down to eat. No one else was on break at the moment, so he had the kitchen to himself. He hadn't been sleeping well lately. Maybe he was just too tired. Maybe that was it. Yeah.

-

Cub did end up napping in his room. The tiredness was getting to him, but he felt better as soon as he lay down. He just hoped he would not sleep for too long. There was still so much work to do.

-

"...Has he not been well today? He looked fine this morning when I left."

"No, my Lady, he looked pale as a ghost when I found him polishing the silver. I sent him to rest. I'm glad he did so."

"Hmm. Okay. Send for the doctor, just in case he's got something nasty."

"At once, my Lady. Should I wake him?"

"No, let him sleep. He looks like he deserves it."

"Of course, my Lady."

-

Cub wondered how late it must be if he could hear their voices. He inhaled deeply and shifted in bed, letting consciousness return to him. As he rolled over, he saw that his bedroom door was open. It took him a moment to realise she was standing in the doorway, but then he blinked again, and she was gone.

He felt warm all of a sudden, and closed his eyes again. Yeah, he was definitely over-tired. Right? If he was seeing things? That must be it.

-

It certainly seemed to be it. The doctor checked him over, and could find nothing wrong with him. The extra sleep had made him feel better, and he got on with the work of preparing for their guests. He was too busy and not paid enough to worry about who had told him to go polish the silver. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that everything was set up for the dinner party tonight, and with Mr Butler in a tizz, his anxiety wore off on them all, and it was all Cub could think about as he finished the silver and set the table.

#rbing this at not 4am lmao

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convexicalcrow · 1 day ago