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Maids darted quickly up and down the long corridors of Mills Manor, cleaning and dusting as the footmen bustled through beside them carrying tables, chairs, carpets, and all other things you could think of.
The first term of the school year was already over, and before anyone knew it, Christmas was upon them once more. However, instead of bringing with it the warm thoughts of carols, presents, trees, or all the other joyful things that made the season worth celebrating, all it brought to the staff of Mills Manor was more work as they prepared feverishly for the annual Christmas ball held at the manor.
The ball was the highlight of the season. All the families of the 52 would be in attendance, therefore, not even the slightest thing could go wrong.
Jayden, it would seem, appeared to be the only resident of the manor who was unbothered about the whole affair. He ignored the bustling around him as he walked through the winding hallways, doing his best to keep out of the servants’ way.
He turned down a corridor and walked down a flight of steps to soon find himself in the kitchens. He looked around him in confusion, wondering how he got there as the fires flared around him, attended by hurried chefs who barked furious orders to their assistants.
Jayden ducked out of the way as a group of waiters passed by with a towering cake. He swiped a piece of fruit from a nearby platter and retraced his steps. He soon left the heat and noisiness of the kitchen behind him and he turned down another corridor only to be met with a dead end.
He frowned as he took another path only to appear in the doorway leading to the gardens. He closed his eyes, and counting to ten, he opened them again before retracing his steps. He took a side corridor, and after several twists and turns, he found himself back in the kitchens.
He had had enough. He walked up to the nearest waiter and dragged him away from the kitchens. He set him outside the corridor and in a short tone ordered, ‘Take me to my mother.’
The waiter, a young man who appeared to be older than him by only a few months, stared up at him in fear and nodded quickly. In a few short steps, he had led him away from the kitchen, and after a series of corridors, they appeared at the entrance of the grand ballroom.
The curtains were open wide and a flood of light poured in from the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the room. Victoria Mills stood in the centre of the ballroom, her stunning figure as imposing as ever as she directed the flocks of servants around her.
‘Get those suits of armour out of the way -careful they are antique. Martin carry that carpet out. Mrs. Carter, could you make sure the maids store the tapestries safely… a bit more to the left, Maggie.’
Jayden followed his guide as he led them through the flurry of activities, ducking and weaving around the glittering silverware and fine china as the servants rushed to obey his mother’s orders.
‘Ah, there you are Arthur,’ Victoria said as she caught sight of the waiter. ‘Come and help me do combat with this atrocity.’
She turned and walked with sure strides to the corner of the room where a large ice sculpture stood. It was a horrid-looking thing. The sculpturer seemed to have begun carving a duck but changed his mind halfway and proceeded to sculpt a flower, only to change his mind again and settle upon a man. The result was a frightful humanoid-looking thing that appeared to be a mix of all three.
Victoria raked it with a disgusted look. ‘What does the note say?’ she asked her assistant.
Her assistant picked up the little note tucked beside it and read: ‘A little ornament to brighten up your ball. Love, Lizzie.’
‘I’ve heard about the artist, ma’am,’ Arthur spoke up. ‘He’s famous for being an out-of-the box-thinker.’
‘Not so much out-of-the-box than out of his mind,’ she muttered.
‘You should meet with him then,’ Jayden suggested. ‘You two would get along like a fish to water.’
‘Don’t be caustic, darling,’ Victoria chided. ‘No one likes a barbed tongue.’
Jayden rolled his eyes, but luckily his mother wasn’t paying attention. She regarded the statue steadily with an expression of mild distaste.
‘Unfortunately, it’s a gift from the First Lady, so I can’t get out of displaying it tonight.’ She turned to Arthur. ‘I’m sure you’ll find some suitably discreet darkened corner to place it in, won’t you?’
Arthur nodded solemnly, but Victoria was already off. Jayden followed her quickly, trying to get her attention.
‘Mother-‘
‘Review the guest list for tonight, Anne,’ she spoke to her assistant. ‘And while you’re on that, tighten the security around the manor. We wouldn’t want a repeat of last year’s incident.’
‘Mother-‘
‘Ah, Mrs. Carter. May I have a word? I know you’re very busy, and I’m sorry to get in your way again, but I must have the date for the servant’s ball. I need to book the event planners ahead of time, or we will miss them. I’m sure you would agree with me that it would be a very poor thing to have them work on their ball after they’ve already worked so hard on this.’
‘I agree, ma’am. The butler and I had a talk with them, and they prefer their ball to be held on New Year’s Eve. I tried to dissuade them as I know the family has their own plans.’
‘Don’t be absurd, Mrs. Carter. If that’s what they want, then they shall have it. The family would just have to adjust.’ Victoria paused. ‘I know it’s your day, and the last thing you want are your employers hanging about, but I hope you wouldn’t mind if we popped in at midnight to wish you all a Happy New Year?’
Mrs. Carter smiled reassuringly. ‘They would be delighted.’
Victoria clapped her hands together excitedly. ‘Marvellous! One more thing, could you and Mr. Burton organize a little treat for the staff. I do intend on giving them a raise for their hard work, but I’m sure they’ll also love a little time off.’
Mrs. Carter blinked in surprise. ‘But they already have the servant’s ball.’
‘I’m sure one more treat wouldn’t hurt. They have worked so hard, and no one is more appreciative of that than I am. I was thinking of a little outing to an amusement park or a trip to the beach. The family would take care of all the expenses, of course. Oh, do say you don’t mind Mrs. Carter.’
‘I think it’s a bit much, but I’m sure the rest would be over the moon, and I wouldn’t want to take that away from them. I’m sure Mr. Burton and I can come up with something. You’re very generous, my lady.’
Victoria waved her hand dismissively. ‘It’s the least I can do. We are a family after all and in that light, please tell Lily to come and speak to me about her issue. I don’t want any of the staff to feel they couldn’t approach me directly, no matter the reason.’
‘I will, ma’am.’
Victoria smiled gratefully. ‘Thank you, Mrs. Carter. I have taken too much of your time already. Let me leave you to get back to your work.’
Mrs. Carter nodded, and Victoria walked away. Jayden, who had been waiting impatiently at the side, quickly followed her.
‘Mother-‘
‘James, get those-‘
‘Mum!’ Jayden snapped, his patience finally reaching its limits.
Victoria froze. He knew the effect that word would have on her, and it worked. She turned, her irises wide with surprise and a tiny bit of hope as she faced him.
‘Did you just call me-‘
‘Don’t start,’ Jayden interjected. There was a note of warning in his voice. ‘I needed to get your attention. That’s all there is to it.’
Victoria blinked and the mask slid back over her features. ‘What is it, dear? As you can see, I’m terribly busy.’
‘Have you fixed my credit card yet?’
She frowned. ‘I told you to see me about that ages ago. I’m afraid I can’t look at it now. You should have come earlier.’
‘I would have gotten here sooner if I hadn’t gotten lost in this maze you call a house. Why can’t we live like normal people? Why do we need this many rooms? I can guarantee that you have never even been in half of them.’
Victoria stared at him. ‘Would you prefer us to live in a smaller house?’
‘Yes,’ Jayden answered instantly.
She arched one elegant eyebrow. ‘Really? The three of us together in a three-bedroom house where we would be forced to spend most of the time together?’
Jayden’s expression clouded over with horror. ‘Absolutely not.’
‘That’s what I thought.’
Jayden shook the horrifying image out of his mind. ‘Why does it have to be as small as a three-bedroom house? Our townhouse is decent enough, and I wouldn’t have to be confronted with your frightful company.’
Victoria rolled her eyes. ‘Forget it. This house would have to burn to the ground before we even consider moving.’ She paused, and catching the thoughtful look on Jayden’s face, she added, ‘No, don’t burn the house down.’
‘Don’t tempt me. Now fix my card.’
Victoria started to grow frustrated. ‘What do you need to buy so urgently that it can’t possibly wait?’
Jayden considered lying to her, but knowing his mother, he realized it would be a futile battle.
‘I’m shopping for Christmas presents,’ he mumbled under his breath.
Victoria thought she must have misheard. ‘You’re what?’
Jayden rolled his eyes impatiently. ‘I’m getting Christmas presents. It’s Christmas, and that’s what people do, so don’t make a big deal out of this or I’m taking you off the list.’
Victoria was still in shock. ‘I’m on the list?’
‘I’m already regretting this. Look, are you going to help me or not?’
Victoria’s mouth opened and closed several times, but no sound managed to come out. Jayden closed his eyes in regret. For the hundredth time, he wondered why he was even bothering. But he thought about how excited Samuel would be when he found out, so he sighed and opened them again, resigning himself to his fate.
He snapped his fingers impatiently. ‘Mother? Mother!’
Victoria snapped out of it and nodded dumbly. ‘Oh… erm… right. Why don’t you use my card in the meantime? I don’t know why your card was cancelled so suddenly, but I’ll look into it later.’
She gestured to her assistant. Anne nodded and reached into her handbag to pull out a glossy silver embossed black card. She handed it to Jayden, who accepted it without a word.
He turned to leave but hesitated for a moment. Victoria stared at him curiously. ‘Was there anything else?’
‘About the trip you’re planning for the staff. How about we take them to the zoo?’
If Victoria was surprised by this she didn’t show it. ‘The zoo?’
‘I heard about a new one that just opened in the city. It has state-of-the-art facilities and there are lots of fun activities.’ Samuel had also been talking non-stop about it for months, but he kept that piece of information to himself. ‘Would that be alright?’
Victoria considered it. ‘Well, you’ll have to talk with Mrs. Carter, and the staff would have to be on board, but I have no objections.’
A tiny smile formed on Jayden’s lips. ‘Thank you. I will talk to her right now.’
He rushed off in excitement to look for her. His smile widening as he thought of the joy on Samuel’s face when he got to see all those animals.
Victoria stared after him with a pensive look on her face. ‘Anne,’ she said after a few minutes. ‘Does Jayden seem different to you?’
Anne nodded. ‘Yes, he is. He seems happier. I’ve even seen him smiling a few times when he is by himself, and yesterday, I caught him joking around with Henry. I don’t know what happened, but I’m glad.’ She hesitated. ‘I don’t mean to overstep but I’ve always thought that he was too moody for someone so young. He deserves to be happy.’
‘You’re right,’ Victoria said quietly. ‘He deserves to be happy, and I’m trying to keep it that way, but I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing by letting it go on.’
Anne glanced at her curiously. ‘What do you mean?’
Victoria shook her head and plastered a stunning smile on her face. ‘Nevermind. Where did we get to? Oh, Mr. Burton, there you are! I was just telling Mrs. Carter…’
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Sorry for the long wait, but this chapter was being very difficult. I knew what I wanted to write but the words kept escaping me. That’s what happens when you read too much Ancient Roman literature smh. (Shoutout to my bros Cicero, Cato and Marcus Claudius since no one seems to know about them and their prolific works )
Anyway so what did you think? Is it obvious I’ve been watching a lot of Downton Abbey? Maybe I should write a period gay romance set in Edwardian England🤔? Victorian and Regency era also have a lot of potential…
Let me know your thoughts.
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