Retrace bxbxb

Keep it Together

Rule's home looked exactly how Harper imagined it would. The grounds were well kept, but there were hints of humor scattered about if one bothered to look closely. Some of the most beautiful plants were sculpted right next to the walkways, yet had thorns hidden within their branches. 

Another thing that screamed Rule was the generally odd layout of said walkway. Most of the cobblestone wound about the estate but few actually came to an end anywhere useful. The majority of the paths twisted into hedges or large trees. Two, Harper noticed as he finally slid from the carriage and stretched his aching body, ran right into stone walls. 

A firm hand dropping onto his shoulder brought Harper's attention up to Rule as the man stared down at him with a big grin. "Welcome home, Hari." 

Harper's face warmed at the honestly he felt in the man's words. His eyes turned back to the large, dark brown and white estate. It was a beautiful building and he could definitely see himself learning its many halls and working hard, but he knew better than to be too optimistic. He hadn't even met the rest of the help and he still had to be extremely careful about hiding his gender. 

Nodding to Rule finally, Harper returned the man's smile and hurried to follow after him as he strode forward. They climbed the ivory white stairs, then were let inside by a butler at the large double wooden doors that had more window than door. 

Unable to help himself, Harper stopped just inside the foyer and stared at the massive inside. Windows lifted high into the air, unobscured by drapes, like his master's windows tended to be. Not that he minded, but with such large windows, light streamed inside amazingly well. The bright red carpet that ran from the front door straight up the main staircase that split to either side once upstairs was beautiful, and the marble walkway on either side of it shown in the light. 

"Oh my! Who is this, my lord?" A woman no older than thirty asked as she hurried forward to take Rule's coat. Draping it over her arm, she eyed Harper a little unnervingly, though she seemed to try and hide it behind a wide smile. 

"This is Hari. She's going to be helping out here for the week. Please teach her the ropes well, Matilda." 

The woman walked over and placed her hand on Harper's shoulder, much like Rule had, but when he headed toward the stairs after waving to them, her nails begin to dig into his skin. 

"Come on then, we have much to do." 

He was a bit surprised that he was lead to the kitchen, instead of the servant's quarters where he could put his things down. It was also brightly lit and well taken care of with staff bustling about. "Drop your bag in the corner and grab a bucket. There's a spigot outside the door there," she said, motioning to a door at the far end of the giant room. 

Harper hurried to do as she said, dropping his small bag and grabbing a bucket lined up along the wall. He wasn't sure why he couldn't just use the sink another maid was getting water from, but he didn't argue. When he returned with the bucket, the woman promptly shoved several rags into his chest, then pointed out the door. "Go scrub the entryway, then all of the stairs." 

Biting back a frown, Harper nodded and went about his task. He worked quickly and efficiently, doing his best to get up tough mud stains and any dirt that had fallen into minuscule scratches. He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't notice time slipping away until Matilda's black flats appeared in front of where he knelt, scrubbing away at a tough smudge that he almost had up. 

His eyes rose to meet hers, but she didn't look pleased with his hard work. Her arms were crossed over her ample bosom and her brown hair was messily trying but failing to cover her grey eyes' angry glare.