Ruffled ~ H.S

Twenty-Three

"Miss Winter?" Noelle called out quietly from the other side of the door.

"Yeah?" I called back while rubbing my eyes tiredly, "What's up, Noelle?"

Noelle gently pushed open the door and stepped into the office.

"I'm aware that you were just about to knock off, but..." she began slowly, "I was hoping if I could have just a few minutes with you to discuss an issue that was brought up from the maids."

"What issue?" I asked her.

"They're requesting that you order a new stash of teacups for the guests," she replied.

I frowned. "What? Why? What's wrong with the old teacups?"

"Well, the old ones are getting tea stains on the inside," said Noelle, "not even the most rigorous cleaning is getting rid of them, and many of our guests are noticing and starting to complain."

"What, they haven't seen teacup stains before?" I cocked an eyebrow.

Noelle shook her head. "Not in this hotel, they haven't. Mr Antonelli would usually order new teacups for the hotel if he found out some of the old ones were getting stained."

"But even the best teacup can get stained with constant use," I frowned again, "how much money did Adrian spend on teacups each year?"

Noelle shrugged. "I'm not sure, ma'am. He'd never say. But I can imagine it must've been quite a lot."

"Damn right it would've been a lot. Quality teacups are expensive, you know. This place would be worth so much more if Adrian didn't spend thousands of pounds on new teacups each year," I rolled my eyes, "I was wondering why our funds weren't as much as I'd originally expected..."

"So...shall I put in an order for new teacups?" asked Noelle.

"No! Absolutely not," I said firmly, "there isn't anything wrong with the old teacups."

"But the tea stains-"

"Tell the maids and the kitchen hands to soak all the stained cups in a bucket of diluted bleach for a few hours," I interrupted her, "when they come out, they'll look better than new. Then, all they have to do after that is thoroughly wash all the bleached cups just to make sure there isn't any bleach residue left on them."

Noelle didn't look too convinced. "Are you sure, Miss Winter?"

"Yes," I was starting to get a little impatient, "please, Noelle, just tell them to give it a try."

Noelle bit her lip slightly fearfully. "Y-Yes, ma'am. I will."

Seeing that I was taking out my dull mood on her, I let out a sigh and lowered my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Noelle. I just...I had a bit of a tough morning," I gave her an apologetic look, "I don't mean to take it all out on you."

She looked up at me, and smiled. "Don't worry, Miss Winter. I understand. We all have those days."

"Yeah," I smiled back softly.

"I'll make sure to let all the maids and kitchen hands know about your suggestion. I hope you enjoy your dinner date, ma'am."

"Thanks," my smile began to grow a little.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she made her way back to the exit, "good evening, Miss Winter."

***

"Deidre?" Harry quietly knocked on the bedroom door from the other side, "Love, are you almost ready?"