C4 4

Lark was appointed to work at the castle. He had not doubted he would be successful. He returned home to give his mother the good news. He would start the next day and he asked her to cut his long hair so that he would look different.

His short hair made him look even younger and without a doubt more handsome. He looked different too, which was primarily what he had intended. He had been employed as a butler and would first be trained before being considered a member of the household but he was a fast learner.

The next morning, he packed his few belongings in a backpack which he slung over his shoulder. He left early and hugged his tearful mother. He might see her once a week on his day off now. The rest of the time he would be at the castle where he would live as an employee.

He set out on the road and arrived at the castle an hour and a half later. He presented himself to the guard at the gate who let him in after confirming he was due to start work.

Lark was shown to his quarters by another boy not much older than him. Lance was also in training but his training was much further along than Lark’s. Lance had blonde hair that was cut short and blue eyes. He was handsome and had a reputation among the young servant girls already as the most eligible bachelor for their standing in the world.

Lance took Lark to the head butler, Gerald. Gerald had grey hair and was stout. As the head butler, he did very little anymore by way of butler duties. He controlled the butlers of the castle and gave orders making sure that everything was taken care of in the castle as far as butlers' duties were concerned.

Gerald had taken an immediate liking to Lark when he had met him the day before. Lark had some trepidation that some of the staff might recognize him but no-one did. Seeing that Lark and Lance got along so well, he told Lance to teach Lark what he knew while he continued his own learning.

The first part of Lark’s training was learning the castle inside out. Lance gave Lark the task of finding things in the castle. Lark had to do this by walking around the castle and mapping it mentally. He found the quarters of the family last.

He had been informed by Lance where the family’s quarters were and which one was Erin’s and which was her parents as well as which were the guest rooms.

Lark left the quarters until last and then first made sure he had understood the location of the guest rooms correctly. Once he had confirmed their location, he proceeded to Erin’s room and knocked softly.

“Come in,” came Erin’s voice from within.

Lark opened the door and entered closing it behind him.

Erin turned and looked at him. She did not recognize him immediately.

“Yes?” she asked as she turned to look at Lark.

“Excuse me, my lady. I am new here and in training. I am learning the layout of the castle and must find the location of every room so I can always get to where I must be quickly.”

“Oh, well as you can see, these are my quarters. I would not think you needed to enter them to confirm that but perhaps you have not been properly briefed.”

“I believe I have been properly briefed my lady,” Lark said. “Forgive me, but I wanted to see the most beautiful maiden in all of the kingdom again.”

“Again?” Erin stood and began to approach cautiously.

“Yes, my lady. I have not been able to forget you since our kiss on the evening of the ball.”

Erin stopped and then drew in a breath sharply as her hands flew to her face. “Oh heavens! Is it you?”

“Yes, forgive me, my lady. I did not mean to intrude or upset…”

Erin moved quickly, closing the distance between them. Her dress rustled as she moved. In the next instant, she had Lark’s face in her hands again and kissed him. He responded returning her kiss and when she finally released him, he finished his sentence, “…you.”

Before she could say anything more there was a knock at the door. Erin’s face became fearful. “Hide. Under the bed. Quick!”

Lark ran and hid under the bed as Erin called out, “Who is it?”

“It’s your father,” came the reply.

“Come in father,” Erin said walking towards the door. Eugene opened the door and stopped just inside Erin’s chambers.

“What is it, father?” Erin asked.

“I wanted to let you know that we will be having another guest this evening. The Ashfords. They wish to talk to me about a union between you and their son. I will require your presence at dinner.”

Lark breathed as slowly and silently as he could under the bed. He knew that Eugene couldn’t hear him but he couldn’t help but feel that every breath he took and let out resounded like a boom over the countryside. He heard Erin sigh, “Daddy, I have told you, I have no interest in an arranged marriage. I want to marry someone I love.”

Eugene replied, his voice sounding terse. “I have been more than lenient with you for a long time now. I have paraded suitor after suitor before you and you have upset or insulted everyone. I am running out of suitors for you. When that happens, I will not be in a position to marry you off at the best deal. Do you know what that means?”

“No father,” Erin replied.

“It means, that whatever union you finally enter into will leave you and all the assets of this estate vulnerable as I will have to make large concessions. Would you like to marry someone who has power over you because that is what will happen if you turn every suitor away? You do not even give them a chance. Why do you not try to be friendly to some of them and get to know them? You can never tell from just one meeting if you will like someone. It takes time. And if you think you are spiting me and resisting just because you don’t like arranged marriages, I’ll have you know that you are not. You are merely spiting yourself.”

“Why must I marry Father?”

“Because a union of wealth builds more power and wealth.”

“What about love? Love has more power than anything does it not?”

Eugene coughed and laughed sarcastically.

“Love… love is useless. It has no power in this world. If there must be love then love the wealth and love the power.”

“I can live on my own and wield just as much power as you do when you pass on father.”

“Perhaps, but spinsters garner no respect and are a disgrace to their parents. You will not be a spinster. Enough of this banter. Be ready this evening and be pleasant and polite. I will not ask again.”

With that Eugene turned and left closing the door behind him. Erin moved quickly and locked the door. When she turned, Lark had emerged from under the bed.

Erin hurried over to him. “That was close. What happened to you the night of the party?”

“Your father caught me. He had me taken to the dungeons where he told me never to come back and to stay away from you.”

“Really?” Erin said. “I hoped to see you again that evening.”

“I did too but when your father introduced you to that other man, I thought it best that I should leave. I did not think I would have another opportunity to see you.”

“Well, you were right. I could not have seen you again that evening. Father never told me about catching you.”

“I didn’t think he would,” Lark said.

“How did you get in here then? And how did you get a butler’s uniform? Did you steal it?”

Lark smiled. “I work here now. I’m a butler in training.”

“What? How?” Erin asked smiling with surprise.

“A client of my mother knows someone at the castle. He put in a good word for me and the rest, as they say, is history.”

“That’s great,” Erin smiled. “But aren’t you afraid of being caught?”

“Not really. I don’t think your father will remember my face. I cut my hair though so I do look different. Besides, I am in training for a while so I won’t be doing butler duties until I am considered fully trained.”

Erin smiled. “That is wonderful.”

Lark hesitated a moment and then asked the burning question on his mind. “My lady, may I ask why you kissed me when you saw me?”

“I… um… was it a problem?” Erin asked.

“No, absolutely not. I was just curious…”

A knock at the door interrupted them.

“Who is it?” Erin called.

“Your mother dear,” came the reply. A moment later her mother tried the door. Thankfully she had locked it.

“Meet me in the garden tonight at eleven o'clock. Okay?”

Lark nodded.

“Now get under the bed. Quick!” Erin whispered as she headed to the door.

Lark quickly crawled under the bed again as Erin opened the door. “Mother,” she said.

“Why on earth is this door locked?” her mother asked. Lark realized that her voice sounded much the same as Erin’s, only it was a bit more mature.

“Because some people don’t seem to be able to respect privacy,” Erin said smartly.

Her mother ignored the remark. “I came to fetch you. The tailor is here and he has his newest materials for us to see. Our social calendar is full in the coming weeks so you must choose material for new dresses.”

“Do we have to? Right now?”

“Yes, Erin. Stop being a brat. I’m waiting,” her mother replied asserting her authority.

Erin sighed and followed her mother out of the room.

Lark waited a few minutes until he was sure they were gone and would not be returning before he scrambled from under the bed and left Erin’s room.