The Lost One

Chapter 17: New job, friends, and family

The mansion was incredible. The second I walk in, I see chandeliers, rugs, and expensive looking furniture; along with a big staircase that led up to the second floor. I stared in awe as Tomas told me about the mansion. "This mansion was built several hundred years ago. Twenty years ago, it was bought and rebuilt by the master. The manner was kept as preserved as possible to keep it's originality."

I followed him as we slowly walked through the first floor, in a complete circle, clockwise. "Here's the dinning room, remained almost completely original, except for the table and chairs because of their age." There were two more maids in the dinning room. One was dusting the china cabinet at the other end of the room while the other was cleaning the windows.

"Then we have the sitting room, often used for business meetings, small parties, and it's where the master relaxes." Another maid was vacuuming. "Between that and the kitchen are the doors to the back and basement/wine cellar." We walked into the kitchen. Three people, two men and a woman, in white uniforms were walking all around. "This is our kitchen staff. Right now, they're preparing lunch for the staff and the master, who will return soon."

They quickly looked up. "Hello." All of them said quickly before returning to the plates and food. "Hello." I returned before Tomas led me to the last room on the first floor, the music room. "This room was remodeled the most, on the first floor. The master's children have played music for him since they were little. It's also an area to entertain any guests." There was a grand piano in the corner, beside the fireplace. An acoustic guitar hung up on the wall across from the piano. Under it, there were several stands holding up multiple instruments; a flute, cello, violin, clarinet, oboe, and a saxophone.

Beside the row of instruments, there was a long couch, and to my right, a big chair and stool. "How many children does he have?" I asked, looking around. Tomas headed for the stairs. "The master has only one child, but his former wife remarried about a year later and had another child. The master didn't want them to grow up separete, so he houses both of them whenever they arrive."

I nodded and followed him up to the second floor as he spoke. "I understand that the master accepted you as the new gardener, but a few of our maids are no longer with us or have personal issues, so we are running low on staff. Would you be willing to do some extra work around the house and grounds? Your pay will increase of course." We reached the top of the stairs.

I smiled a bit. "Yes, of course." He nodded tentatively. "Alright," He turned around and walked around the staircase, down the hall. Another staircase led up to the third floor. "All of the staff that are housed here live on the third floor. The second floor belongs to the master and his children."

Tomas gestured for me to go up the steps. "The two maids who brought your things up should be there still. You'll be sharing a room with Genny, the maid in charge. She'll tell you everything you need to know." He turned around and headed back for the other steps. I turned around, took a deep breath, and headed upstairs.

There was one long hallway, several doors on each side of the hallway. Two maids walked out of the last room on the left, the same ones that took my bags earlier. I started walking towards them. "Um, excuse me. I'm suppose to talk to Genny..." The one smiled at me, while the other spoke. "She's in the room we just came out of."

I nodded. "Thank you." Heading for the room, I knocked on the door and opened it. "Hello? Genny?" The room was just as big as the double bed-rooms at the school, if not bigger. Two beds were on either side of the room. Compared to the rest of the 'castle', the 'servant's quarters' were average and normal, but still neatly decorated with modern chandeliers, furniture and even a fireplace.

"Oh," I looked over and saw a middle-aged woman standing on the balcony at the far end of the room. She walked up to me, smiling, and shook my hand. "Hello, you must be Ellain. I'm Genny, the housekeeper." I frowned, confused. "I though that...Tomas..."