Silent Thoughts part 2

Integra was by no means an impatient woman, but she could be a very curious one and she tends to want to quell her curiosity sometimes. For instance, today was probably going to be the last day this new butler would step foot in this organization, but from what she could gather of her phone call the man had no worries for his job. She took the liberty of contacting the kitchen and informed whoever was in it to watch the butler, but she soon realized she didn't have to worry or call about him. Apparently, he only came in to borrow a serving tray. This had to be his way of mocking her! Integra began reading her morning newspaper like she normally would and somehow grew more curious of the new butler. Admittedly, she wanted to know where the man was and what he was doing. She knew he was making tea firstly, but how was he making the tea without being in the kitchen? Worried, the commander called the kitchen again.

"Yes?" an unfamiliar voice answered.

"Who am I speaking to?" Integra questioned, furrowing her eyebrows.

"This is Baron vanGouge. May I ask who you are trying to contact, Sir Integra?" the man asked.

Integra was pleasantly surprised by the man's smooth voice over the phone. It was a good thing no one was around to see her blushing. She had to admit this new butler had a very seductive voice, perfect in baritone and gentle as bluebird. However, this didn't excuse for somehow knowing her name when she never spoke to him before. In fact, she never interviewed or saw his application. Someone just out of the blue said there was going to be a new butler today. Quite possibly anyone from the Wild Geese could have hired him, or there's the off-chance that this was Seras's doing. She then guessed everyone was probably tired of her complaining about crap tea for almost thirty years. It was kind of sad on her part. She proceeded to erase any recollection about her complaining and answered the man.

"Actually, I was going to ask about you," Integra responded coldly, secretly not wanting to but knowing she couldn't change it now. "What in blazes are you doing in my kitchen?"

"Smothering the chef in gravy," the butler replied, surprising Integra a bit.

"What?" She questioned, hearing a chuckle over the phone. He was laughing at her! The nerve! Her anger then magnified when she heard some other people in the kitchen laughing. She argued, "Evidently, you don't want this job. How dare you insult me!"

"Laughter gives you life," the butler said, chuckling a bit more. "Your tea will be up in five minutes. Is your door opened?"

"Wha - ?" Integra started before she heard a knock at the door. Her heart began to beat faster as the door slowly opened. When was the mighty Integra nervous about meeting a new employee? Once she saw the sweet, innocent face of the messy blonde, Seras, her heart calmed down. Integra then answered the man, "Well, it is now. Try not to be late with the tea, vanGouge. You're being graded." She hung up the phone as if disinterested then turned to Seras.

"U-u-uh, morning, m'lady," Seras greeted. "Did your butler come in yet?"

"He will shortly. What is it?" Integra asked, wondering why this vampire persists in trying to be human. The sun was literally about to light the room and she was asking about the... Oh? Integra then asked, "Did you hire vanGouge by any chance?"

"No, not really ma'am. I've never met him. I heard one of the Wild Geese men hired him several weeks ago but I only heard about it a few minutes ago. I thought maybe the two of you met already."

"Nothing of the sor - "

Knock, knock, knock. This was it. Both women were becoming nervous, not knowing who was behind the door. Their hearts pounded anxiously as they watched the door's handle shift. Normally, the only man either woman would be anxious or relieved or annoyed to see would be Alucard, but he was asleep in his coffin dreaming about God knows what. However, this new butler was becoming more of an exception. The door opened slightly as a smooth, baritone voice poured through the crevice of the door.

"Sir Integra, are you present?"

That voice... Integra noted in her mind. It's...beautiful...

The door then opened fully and one of the most gorgeous men Integra had ever had the pleasure of seeing came in the door dressed appropriately for the job. He was a strikingly tall man with broad shoulders and an interesting build like he had been lifting weights previously. His slacks and dress shirt were pressed nicely, and his vest was a lovely olive-green color with a deep brown back. His tie was the same brown as the back of the vest and slacks. His shoes were brown also and they shined like they were new. His hair may have been salt and pepper gray, but it made a gorgeous contrast with his creamy tan skin and ice blue eyes. He looked no older than 27! That's when Integra grew very self-conscious about her own appearance. Her hair wasn't the least bit gray, but it certainly didn't shine like this man's hair. Usually Integra was only concerned about wrinkles, but today, looking at this vanGouge character more, she was concerned about much more than wrinkles.

"Oops, pardon me. I thought this was Sir Integra's office," the man said, turning to leave.

"T-th-this i-is Sir Integra's office. She's sitting right there," Seras informed, blushing at vanGouge. Even she found vanGouge attractive, and she wasn't even supposed to be awake right now!

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was making tea for two," vanGouge said, apologetically.

"Oh, no, no!" Seras waved frantically. "I'm about to go to sleep soon. Been busy with night shift and all. Ahahaha!"

"Ah, I see," vanGouge sighed, pushing a mobile tray with breakfast on it. He stopped, closed his eyes, then bowed before Sir Integra and Seras. He had a very elegant bow and long eyelashes the woman noticed. He greeted, "It is a pleasure to meet you both this morning. Pardon me for asking, but are you having trouble sleeping young lady? You do appear to be quite tired, but your actions are suggesting some restlessness."

Integra looked at Seras and lowly gasped when Seras looked down to her feet and blushed brightly. That was why she was in Integra's office rather than being in her coffin. Her thoughts were then interrupted when she smelled a pleasantly sweet aroma. She turned her head and within moments vanGouge was moving away from her desk after placing a cup of tea and a plate of food in front of her, napkins and all!

"You're pretty fast for a butler," Integra commented, reaching for the tea.

"I used to be a waiter during my college days," vanGouge informed, smiling. "You had to be on your feet and fast back then. Should I leave the tray here?"

"Don't you want your grade?" Integra asked, cup literally touching her bottom lip.

"Do I need a grade?" vanGouge questioned, raising a thin eyebrow.

"You forget that your grade for this tea weighs heavily on you obtaining this job. Should you fail with a 50 or lower, I won't hire you."

"Then I've got nothing to lose," vanGouge responded, smirking. "With the exception of working with you in the near future."

"You're pretty arrogant for a man who's at risk of losing a job."

"Your tea is getting cold, Sir Integra," vanGouge warned, grinning.

Seras slightly gasped at this and noticed something in that man's grin. It looked an awful lot like Sloth's grin. Was it possible for Sloth to be a shapeshifter? Her master, Alucard, was a grand shapeshifter. Maybe Sloth was truly a powerful vampire and opponent. Maybe vanGouge is Sloth and is trying to poison Integra! Maybe she was just assuming things again. Integra harrumphed inelegantly before taking a sip of the tea. As the warm liquid rushed down her throat, she felt such a calmness overcome her body that she moaned audibly and made the man grin even more. Integra blushed at her own reaction within a second and quickly erased the blush once she drank the rest of the tea. It wasn't bitter, too sweet, or lacking in any sort of flavor. It was (for lack of a better word) perfect.

"Hmph!" Integra grunted, placing her cup down. "Fine, you get a 100, but don't get cocky, vanGouge! I will be watching you from now on to make sure you stay at 100 percent performance. Understood?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," vanGouge whispered purposely to make Integra blush as he removed the cup of tea from her hands.

Underneath the serving part of the tray was a full pot of the same tea. The butler refilled Integra's cup then placed it in the same spot next to her plate as before. He replaced the pot underneath the tray and bowed before Integra before turning to leave with the tray. Integra did not like the idea of only having two cups of perfect tea for a couple of minutes, so she reached out her hand and called out to the butler.

"You can leave the teapot here!" Integra said, pulling her hand back once Baron turned to her. The last thing Integra ever wanted to do was sound needy. Once she saw Baron's smile dimming, she felt the sudden urge to cheer him up or something of that nature. Trying to find the right words, she explained, "I don't want you having to come back every ten minutes to refill the cup."

"Very well," Baron responded, no longer grinning or smiling.

This also displeased Integra and made her grumble before saying, "And wipe that grim look off your face! You get to work here from now on. Fake like you're happy about that. How old are you anyway? Don't you know anything about courtesy?"

"I'm 54," Baron answered, smiling softly. He placed the teapot in front of Integra's plate and said, "And, yes, I know plenty of things about courtesy in my old age. I'm sorry for being so glum, Sir Integra."

With that, both Seras and Integra blushed in shock. Seras only blushed, feeling foolish for assuming such a beautiful man could ever be a woman in red armor, and sighed when the man turned to leave. Integra blushed in shock because she actually thought Baron was 27, but he ended up being a year older than she was and yet looked so much younger. As he left, she felt a bit empty until she noticed the sun was lighting up the room.

"Seras, you may want to hurry and go to sleep. The sun is out," Integra advised.

"Oh, yes! I almost forgot!" Seras said, rushing to her room and coffin.

______________________________________________

Integra began to grow extremely bored as she read through documents and vampire reporting. It was already two o'clock in the evening. Feeling somewhat adventurous, Integra called the kitchen to get Baron vanGouge to bring lunch out in the garden. Apparently, the new chef and janitor had to reschedule their interviews for tomorrow, so she simply decided to abuse the privilege of having such a fine man as her new butler for a while. Since this morning, she had been calling him up to bring fresh tea or some pastry that he made in the kitchen. He was a rather excellent pastry chef. Somewhere around noon, she called in the Wild Geese man who hired vanGouge and demanded the application he gave to Baron and the resume Baron had given to him. She hadn't read either one yet, so, while she was in the garden for lunch, she would read both documents and perhaps interview him.

"Out of tea again, Sir Integra?" vanGouge answered in that smooth tone of his.

Truth be told, she spilt about two teapots on purpose just to watch Baron pour more tea or bow respectfully towards her. There was something about this man that made her exercise her authority a lot more than she should. Somehow or another she just enjoys dominating a man who would otherwise be very intimidating to any woman who approached him. She answered, "Are you annoyed by that?"

"That would be discourteous if I'm not mistaken," vanGouge replied.

"What are you doing right now, butler?" Integra asked.

"Talking to you," the butler responded, chuckling. "And washing dishes."

"Well, you may stop. I'm eating lunch in the garden. No tea this time."

"Tired of wasting tea, Sir Integra?" vanGouge teased.

"Shut up and bring me some white wine! I'm old and cranky!" Integra complained.

"What would you like for lunch, Sir Integra?" the butler asked, ignoring the fact that she called herself old.

"Oh, uh, whatever the chef makes is fine."

"Are you sure? He's making rat poison, I hear."

"For the love of - ! Just bring me something that's edible!"

With that, she slammed the phone and ended the call. Baron may have been gorgeous, but he sure knew how to push a few buttons. He and Alucard will get along just fine if they ever meet. Won't that be a migraine waiting to happen! Integra rose to her feet, pushing all thoughts of the butler and Alucard meeting each other for any reason, and picked up the resume and job application Baron had the liberty of writing. She wanted to actually read while she waited for him but something in her head was telling her otherwise. Was Baron really 54 or was he just trying to make her feel better about herself? If it was the latter, it certainly wasn't working. Staring at his gorgeous features doesn't help any woman feel better about themselves, especially since he looked like a movie star while she looked like a pirate's grandmother.

Passing down the corridor of the Hellsing mansion, Integra began to wonder if her new chef and janitor were equally seasoned sex dolls like vanGouge. She may not like Baron's cocky attitude at times, but she did like staring at his ass. It had such a cute, round shape! Besides his massive guns trying to break free of their cotton confines, he seemed to be a friendly fellow just trying to make the most of his few years in working service before retirement. If he truly was 54, he only had about six more years to go, even she would be retired by then. Reaching the door to the garden, Integra opened the door and inhaled the fresh scent of flowers and wet grass. The sprinkler systems were going off one by one as she stepped further to the pathway leading to a small shelter where two people could enjoy their luncheon together. As her feet crunched the fragile stones and leaves on the beaten path, she took notice to a figure placing a red tablecloth on the small white table. It was Baron! As she watched him set up the table, she took note to many things about him: one, he was quite meticulous - nothing he put down was ever disorganized; two, he worked fast as if he had practiced for years; three, he likes singing to himself when he works. When he's working, Baron vanGouge can be quite tolerable. It's just when he talks to Integra that pisses her off. He's either teasing her or not teasing her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," Baron said, smiling gently.

Integra didn't know exactly how long she had been watching him nor how she got so close to him. She was just...there, to be perfectly honest. Baron pretty much got it right on the head. Integra merely cleared her throat and walked to one of the chairs to seat herself. Before she could, however, Baron pulled out the chair from under the table, waited for her to sit down, and pushed her chair forward like a gentleman.

"The chef tells me he is retiring soon, so he had trouble choosing a special dish to prepare for everyone. I suggested something rather unique, so you will have to wait for a few more minutes until your meal is ready. Until then, you may indulge in your appetizers the soux-chef prepared for you and your glass of wine. I also suggested she make the appetizer."

"And what exactly is the name of the appetizer?" Integra questioned, watching the man pour wine in a glass for her. The mist was rising to the air, signifying the wine was refrigerated before opening, but there was a pleasant smell coming from the wine and Baron's cologne.

"Feijoada. My daughter often makes it in the middle of the night or on Sundays."

"You have a daughter?" Integra asked, knowing it was a tad pushy on her part and that it wasn't impossible for this masculine character to have at least one child. His daughter must be a stunning little girl. His wife was probably a supermodel goddess.

"Two daughters and a son," vanGouge answered, smiling sadly. "My son and youngest daughter applied for jobs here like myself."

"Really?" Integra asked, quite curious of how the Wild Geese managed to hire an entire family. She folded her arms beneath her bosom and crossed her legs almost simultaneously as she watched Baron place dishes and such on the small table. The more she watched him, the more he reminded her of a prince every sex-deprived princess was looking for. His last name and the appetizer his daughter make are both foreign names. It was possible for him to be a prince or king in some other country. It was then that Integra realized vanGouge said he had two daughters. One of them didn't apply for a job here. She asked, "What about your other daughter?"

Baron sighed as he took a seat in the other chair opposite Integra. He looked out at the rose bushes in the distance and answered, "She works for some military branch based in Russia, but she was told to station here in England for about a year or two. I couldn't tell you what she does at her job there, but she works as hard as she can to keep the family together. She's an odd kid sometimes, you know?"

"Where's your wife?" Integra decided to ask, now wanting to know who the real housewife of the family was.

"She died when my son was about 7 or 8. We try to visit her on her birthday nowadays, but that's getting harder to do without transportation. By us living in England now, we're too far away to see her this year, but I'm not really sad about that. It's been sixteen years since then. With my girls being around, I never really get lonely. The only thing I actually miss is sex, which isn't missed much either, but I can find a girlfriend who doesn't mind my kids or financial status since everyone works and I don't really like not having a job."

"Why were you fired from your last job?"

"I never got fired. I quit. They kept reducing my paycheck after overworking me from 8 in the morning to literally 2 in the morning. That went on until I got insomnia and migraines. I couldn't see my children for five months because of the work, and, when I got to see them, it was because they had to send me to emergency care or the hospital. Neither of them finished college because of my ins and outs with sickness; plus, my two daughters have had expensive surgeries and maintenance is just as bad. My oldest daughter is the one working for Russian military, but she only took the job to pay off some of the debts we've had. Through that job, she's paid for the equipment needed to perform surgery and maintenance, got rid of all the medical and household bills, and helped her brother and sister actually finish school."

"If you're financially stable through your daughter's work, why apply for a job here?"

Baron looked at Integra for a moment then back at the rose bushes. He took a deep breath before saying, "She has to go through periodic surgery and maintenance every few months. Her job doesn't provide the medical coverage she actually needs, so I try to stay as close to her as possible. When she was told to station in England, we had to make accommodations to transport the equipment here. That required us to move here. My son and youngest daughter didn't want to stay home alone so we came here as a family. I was initially applying for a job as a technician, but a man approached me with a job to work here as a butler. I've worked as a personal escort for a dean and waiter in a few restaurants before, so I thought I could use my experience for the job."

"Do you realize what kind of role you are accepting as a butler of the Hellsing Organization?" Integra asked, not wanting this man to think this job was easy or safe. There were risks one had to take when working for Hellsing. She continued, "The man who hired you might have thought you were a perfect match, and you may very well be, but looking pretty for me isn't what this job entails. You will be working round the clock - "

"Serving tea?" Baron suggested with a small smirk.

"No, more appropriately, you'll be serving blood and death," Integra said, pausing to read the man's expression. He had none, so she simply continued on, "As a butler for the Hellsing Organization, you will be asked to do many things you may not be able to stomach; for instance, around dusk, you will be sent to a secret passageway in the mansion to serve two very important people who work here a couple of blood packets and bottles. They are not anemic, but... They are in fact vampires."

"Like the young lady who was with you this morning?" he prompted, making Integra gasp a bit. "She had red eyes. It's certainly not a normal color for a human unless she wears those colored contacts like my daughter does sometimes. A vampire attacked my wife once. I managed to cut off his head in time."

"So... you've dealt with vampires before? Can you kill more than one if you were ambushed?"

"I was ambushed by vampires when I moved here in England. I've dealt with their kind before. You need not worry about my children either. They know how to handle themselves when it comes to vampires, especially my eldest daughter. She works for the Russian military unit that exterminates vampires. Whatever she learns there, she teaches us here."

"Your daughter is a vampire hunter then?" Integra then asked, more surprised by this fact.

"That's what her church calls her."

"What is your daughter's name if you don't mind me asking?"

"You've asked so many personal questions already. Why mind now?" vanGouge asked, grinning when he caught Integra blush. "Her name is Len. Len Pereza. My sweet, little Mayan princess." Baron stood to his feet, pushed his chair underneath the table, and then said, "You don't have to worry about me, Sir Integra. Vampires are no fear of mine. Your lunch should be ready by now, right? I will return shortly, ma'am."