The Lady's Butler

The Proposal Arc {Part 10}

(Part 10)

He walked briskly through the hallways towards the double-door room that was his master's office. He paused right outside, brushing down any possible creases and pulled fingers through his hair to make sure that they were not unruly. Then, appearance neat and apt, the butler knocked on the door.

"Come in." The business-like tone was expected, and he opened the doors quietly to let himself in.

His master looked at the newcomer over the top of his papers, and set his paper down quickly.

"You're back. What a surprise." The man commented, but there was no surprise at all in the tone.

"Kyrano has recovered with exceptional speed and is now able to serve Miss Louise once more, Master Oscar." Maiko reported with a bow. "And thus I am back at Main House to serve you."

"Surely you have more than that to tell me?" Master Oscar asked. After the death of Kyrone Reyes as his Head Butler, Oscar had brought in Maiko to fulfil the opening and though Maiko could not compete with the Reyes, he had been able to tolerate Maiko. It helped that the years had aided Oscar in getting used to Maiko as his Head Butler, though it happened that rumours in the corporate world was that Kyrano Reyes made a much better Head Butler.

But Maiko was more than a butler at times –and that was what Oscar liked about Maiko.

"It is as you suspected. Miss Louise's dependence on her butler is almost unnatural. Aside from his capability, she puts her whole trust in him. Without him, your niece is unable to function properly as a righteous lady." Maiko reported, withdrawing a few photographs from the inner pockets of his coat and passing it respectfully over to his master.

Oscar received the photographs with ease, leaning back into his chair as he flipped through them. The first photograph was one of the Reyes butler throwing his blanket over his sleeping mistress even though he was the patient in the ward. A second one showed Kyrano and Louise holding both their hands together tenderly, looking at each other. A third was Louise leaning over her sleeping butler, a gentle finger brushing his fringe from his forehead.

"This isn't dependence anymore, Maiko." Oscar replied with disgust, throwing the pile of photographs back on the table, unable to take more of the sick images. "They are nineteen year olds. It is disgusting how obvious they are making this."

"Pairing Brandon Greaves with your niece was a good move, Master Oscar. It achieved your aim of weakening Kyrano through Brandon's butler. However, it did not go down as well as you planned, because Brandon ended up falling for your niece as well." Maiko found no easy way to say it, bracing himself to deal with his master's explosive anger. He, after all, was used to it.

"That damned bitch." Oscar spat, glaring at the photographs, at the softly smiling woman. "She's worse than her father. Luca was easy and naïve, but Kyrone was the problem. Now that I have Luca and Kyrone out of the way, I have to deal with their bastard children. Kyrano is a cockroach like his father, and I swear, that damned Louise isn't any better."

"It is clear to us, Master Oscar." Maiko pushed on, knowing that talking business tended to get his master off the evil, angry thoughts. "If we are to get rid of Miss Louise, we must take the chance when Kyrano is not with her. We must find an opportunity to separate Kyrano from Miss Louise, and from then, it will not be hard to break the woman."

"Forget breaking her." Oscar waved his hand as if to dismiss the idea. "I've given up trying to break that bitch. Just get rid of her and get me Kyrano."

"But this will bring questions from the Greaves House, Master Oscar."

"Make it look like an accident. The Greaves House will leave their condolences with us, but they will be rushing to marry Brandon to someone else shortly afterwards. It is no news that Brandon is a hard man to get along with. The Greaves will be hard pressed to look for another family that agrees easily to sign their daughter to that man."

"As you wish, Master Oscar." Maiko bowed now that he had received his orders.

"Just do it before she graduates and comes of age. I won't have a baby like her taking over all that I've built up over the years since Luca's death. It was hard work to get rid of Luca, and I'm not going to let his daughter steal everything from me. I will die before I let the Crawford House fall to her hands." Oscar dismissed, swiping the photographs away from the table and letting them flutter to the floor.

Then, when the photographs landed face-up, as if taunting him, Oscar made a disgusted grunt and grabbed for his cup of coffee, upturning it's content over the photographs and watching with satisfaction as the brown liquid seeped into the photos.

"Clean that up." Oscar instructed to the butler who stood watching everything.

Maiko offered no second word as he stepped forwards to clean up the mess, his mind not focused on the cleaning at all. The butler job was a lie, a cover for everyone else in the house. Oscar Crawford was an independent man, and even though a powerful man was better off going around with a butler to help his every needs, Oscar had actually not needed the Head Butler at all.

But Maiko wasn't just a Head Butler. Maiko was specially recommended from his friends from the underground.

How else had the Crawford family been able to climb so steadily after the death of Luca Crawford? Oscar's elder brother had always been too kind, too gentle in the cold and hard corporate world. After Luca passed on, after Oscar took over, it had turned the Crawford family around a 180 degrees to a family that was cold and completely ruthless in its dealings.

But of course it would happen.

Because the Crawford family had Oscar Crawford as the head and Maiko as his butler, spy and assassin.