Manservant

6

It was here, the party. Mother's party, even though she kept trying to get me to believe it was 'my' party.

Yet, here I was, squashed up in the corner of my own parlor, watching guests I barely knew or didn't care to  mingle with. At times, Mother would appear like a flitting butterfly, drawing me over to introduce me to someone. I would make polite conversation for a while, then once I saw an opportunity, I snuck away again. I kept looking out the window, wishing I could just go find Theo in his shed. But that wouldn't work. Mother would find me, and then he and I would be in real trouble.

When the party was halfway through, I decided I couldn't take it anymore and needed a break. I headed for the kitchen, where Giulia, Maia and the other servant girls were busy cooking and sending out food and drinks at a steady pace. I tried asking if I could help with anything, but they wouldn't have any of it. So I sat in a chair in a corner to have a moment to clear my head.

" ... I remember when you were just a skinny thing coming in here and sneaking chocolates into your pocket when you thought I wasn't looking!" I heard Giulia saying cheerfully to someone – which was so unlike her. She was normally a serious, no-nonsense type – had to be, since she was practically running the whole house.

I looked up, seeing her standing with someone who had blond hair and smiling hazel eyes – Captain Dale Kenneth.

"I should have known nothing gets past you, Giulia," he replied good-naturedly. "I'm surprised you didn't give me a good dressing-down for it."

"Well, I figured you could use a bit of fat on those bones." She paused, looking him over with an impressed chuckle. "And you've certainly grown! Grown into a handsome young man."

He laughed, and I saw the slightest tinge of pink in his cheek. That shy little boy was still in there somewhere. "Oh, I don't know about that," he said, as they crossed the kitchen, moving closer to me with each step.

"Married?"

"No."

"Anyone caught your eye?"

He opened his mouth, then shut it again. "That's private," he said gently.

"Ah ... sounds like a 'yes' if I ever heard one."

"Like I said, nothing gets past you."

"These things have a way of coming out and going around, you know, Dale," she said, using his boyhood name, something Mother would have probably reprimanded her for. "Why don't you tell us who the lucky lady is? Maybe we can help."

"I really don't – oh. Miss Alicia," he greeted as he saw me there. He pushed back his blond hair, doing a smile for me. "I didn't realize you were in here."

"I didn't realize you were in here either."

"I was ... well. I just wanted to catch up with Giulia here."

"You were just hiding from the crowd," Giulia said knowingly, breezing past us and leaving us by ourselves.

Dale sighed. "She's right, I was hiding."

"That's alright. So was I," I said, slowly rising from my chair.

"But you're a host. Or the host's daughter. Although I suppose that may explain why you need to hide even more than me."

"This whole thing was my mother's idea in case you couldn't tell."

"No, I'm hardly surprised." He paused, catching my eye. "But you're not enjoying yourself?"

"No more than you are."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Strange as it sounds, personally, I'd rather be out on the field than stuck in a party."