The Guest (2)

"Pardon me Daviyd, but are you not hearing how much of a problem this is posing? I mean, what if she started making a fuss? For heaven's sake, it can't be good knowing who she takes after!" She placed the back of her hand against her forehead, worries continuing to pour out in front of her quiet husband.

"I just had the rooms rearranged and the décor swapped for the fresh season, and it was a lovely perfect thing!" She covered her face, rubbing her eyes. "Could you imagine if we were suddenly happened upon by some guests we had to entertain? It would be disaster, and I would have nowhere to send her away her to, lest she cause a riot there as well."

Her tongue was dry, and she was desperate in need of a drink. "Wine please! Somebody get me some wine!" She sighed, rubbing her eyes again. "Oh sweet, sweet, sweet holy. My heading is pounding. I am already feeling faint with headaches. There's no way we're going to find anyone who's qualified, equipped, and capable of handling this on such a brief notice." She groaned, hands still over her face. "This is all a mess. She's making a mess of everything! Of my manor! Of my estate! Our estate!"

"Anya relax your nerves."

She released her hands from her face. "Relax my nerves?" She widened her eyes, anxiety rising. "How can I do that, Daviyd? How? How could I possibly do that when there's the matter about Sabina and now about Erina." She locked eyes with him, her voice wobbling and lips trembling. "So, how can I relax my nerves?"

Lord Sutherton sat his cup down and stood up.

"Anya." He placed a hand on her shoulder, surveying her carefully.

She met his eyes and assumed his stare to be softer than in actuality. Just the sight of a comforting gaze was enough to give her all the strength she needed to speak.

"Daviyd." She heavily sighed. "Oh, I don't mean to run my mouth at you. It's just…the way things are right now? You must do something because you promised me---no, we promised each other." She looked into his eyes. "You have to fix this, and perhaps fixing it starts with accepting Master Privy's offer. I know you have your thoughts about him, but it would mean Erin is the least of our worries. Do you understand what I'm saying? We must do anything we can to make everything perfect again. Yes?" She fell into silence, waiting for a satisfying answer, but a rude awakening was all she received.

"Enough, Anya!" he spat, his gritty voice snapping at her. "Compose yourself. You're always so temperamental over nothing." His grimace was starkly present. "Either cease your anxious fit or depart from me. I will not be interrupted while I'm handling some important business between---."

"Business, business, business!" she cried. "You always find time for business! But what of other things?" Her breath heightened. "You can't ignore what must be tidied and fixed! Enough of the talk on business and fix this because truly, I didn't marry you all those years back for any such burdens!"

"And, I didn't marry you to hear your mouth." He scowled.

She felt his glare and her boldness was quick to dissipate. "I'm sorry," she said, lowering her voice. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to upset you, darling." Her mouth grew dry. "I didn't mean to speak out of line, I merely got carried away with my emotions. You know how prone I am to such womanly flights of fancy. Don't be mad at me, Daviyd, I just---."

She gasped as he suddenly forced her into a seat at the roundtable. "Daviyd I--."

"--Mister Ezra, forgive her rambling, this is my wife, Anya Sutherton. I meant to introduce her sooner than later, but as you can see, she loves to babble."

Lady Sutherton blinked as stared at a young man seated at the table in the seat across from her. She had not even recognized the presence until her eyes gravitated to him.

"It's alright," he lightly chuckled. "Greetings, Lady Sutherton." He smiled generously at her. "It's wonderful to meet you."

She furrowed her brows, blinked a few times, glanced at her husband, and back to the man.

Sunlight from every window gravitated towards him; the bright glowing yellow streaks wrapped around him, hugging and kissing his features, giving him every bit of a heavenly glow. Outside, the cotton blue sky was gleaming, not a single cloud blemishing it. She was certain she even heard a few chirps of birds dancing nearby, like some angelic choir of nature.

"And who would you be?" She blinked again.

"I'm Ezra Radcliffe, wonderful to be acquainted with you, Lady Sutherton. Sir Berkely sent me." He offered his hand, stretching over the small diameter of the roundtable.

"Sir Berkely sent you?" she questioned, eagerly accepting the warmth of his hand.

"Yes." He nodded with a gentle smile. "As I was telling Lord Sutherton, Sir Berkely was unable to come due to a family emergency. He sent me in person to let you know that his emergency domestic services will be unavailable until he returns."

"Family emergency? Oh my, I hope he's alright," she said, concern filling her eyes.

"Yes, luckily it was nothing too grave. Just a slight tragedy that happened."

"That sounds terrible, Sir Berkely has been so good to us." She lifted a service bell that was in the middle of the table and give it a few rings. "Something to nibble on? I see you have not yet anything to eat with your tea, and I've been waiting for a drink myself."

"Thank you, that would be lovely." He nodded. "I was just speaking to Lord Sutherton about your home. It's magnificent and befitting of your family."

"Ah, thank you. Everyone mentions that. But forgive me?" She stared at him, the tenderness in his eyes single-handedly moving the tension around them. "How long have you been working with Sir Berkely? I can't believe this is the first time I've seen your face."

She packed away her worries, and quickly gave him the entirety of her attention.

"It's been about a few weeks now. I have yet to be assigned to anyone, so I've just been seeking around for work before Sir Berkely sent me here."

"Really?" She took in the sight of the young man closely, taking in a clean and proper figure. He seemed like a golden object wearing a crown of friendship and cordiality.

"But you're quite young in age," she said, stunned.

He chuckled. "I think I get that a lot."

"Huh." Her eyes were glued to him. "Fascinating, that is."

Lord Sutherton found a seat next to his wife, before glancing at her with an apathetic stare. "Before you interrupted our conversation, we were talking of a possible business relation."

"Business?" She raised her eyebrows.

Lord Sutherton glanced at the young man, and then back to his wife.

"Here." He handed his wife a thick stack of documents from the table.

"What's this?" She opened the folder, bouncing her eyes from her husband and reading. "Trained at the Queen's Domestic Service Academy? Qualifications from Norman and Bishop?" A puzzled look consumed her as she absorbed the information with debilitating shock. ".... And oh my." Her eyes jumped back and forth from the paper to the young man.

As she continued reading, a maid entered the room, bringing in a cart of more refreshments and light snacks.

Lord Sutherton waved her over. "Send for Lady Erina," he said to the maid before having his cup refilled. He took a sip, patiently viewing his wife's perplexing stare as she read.

Her hands shook, eyes traveling slowly on the page, a nervous laugh escaping. "Mister Ezra, you seem to be..." She dragged her words, trailing her eyes from the pages to him. "Very talented." She flipped through the pages. "Very so." She sat the papers back down and blinked.

"Thank you." He smiled.

"What is this 'business' relation you have with us?" she questioned, enjoying his smile.

𝕾𝖍𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖜𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖚𝖊?