He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Three

I began to edge closer towards the bed, situating myself behind Nerissa so that she was blocking the Duke's view of me whilst I invaded the room that he had only been given thirty seconds ago. With Nerissa's impressive performance, it was rather easy to slip behind them all and back into the room without anyone becoming any the wiser.

Stealthily, I snapped up my prized hair clip/breaking and entering tool, patted down the bed and composed myself, steadying my breathing as I walked nonchalantly back to where the others were still stood. I slipped back next to Nerissa, holding my hand together tightly behind my back, feeling the clip within my hands; which were slightly clammy with nerves.

I held my chin up and gave a seriously sincere smile to the Duke, which he could obviously see through without any trouble, as when he walked through into his room, he paused momentarily beside me, and leant his neck down ever so slightly as he said in a very sly voice "Your departure may have gone unnoticed by the others, but I don't miss a thing. Oh... and the smile... It could have passed for something somewhat sincere, but your eyes burned with mischievousness. It was a pleasure to meet you Audrey-Rose."

He seemed to give me the same smile he described as he began to head into his room with the other two men, who were by now in mid conversation, giving precise details about the room and hotel, as if the Duke were a novice to this luxury. It would seem the Duke himself sensed this, but was remarkably polite in nodding and thanking them for the trouble they had gone to.

I couldn't quite work him out... His character fascinated me, but I felt that the longer I was in his vicinity, the longer he could read me with those eyes of his, which screamed something... Something that spoke to me... Something like rebellion, or fire.

The men closed the door behind them, indicating for us to leave, which we were happy to do after the mornings rushing around.

Nerissa seemed to deflate a little, as if she had been running on nothing but pure panic for the past few hours, and now her mission was complete, she was able to sink into herself again. "How about a pot of tea?" I suggested, trying to lend her any energy I was able to spare, and then some on top of that.

"That sounds lovely, Audrey-Rose, thank you." Nerissa smiled with sunken eyes. She was tired, but this didn't stop her from being kind, nor from appreciating others' kindness.

We headed down the stairs towards the chambermaid quarters together; triumphant; tired and tame. When we reached the small kitchen, I put a kettle on and waited for the water to boil, whilst Nerissa sat down at the table and began to read the days newspaper through heavy eyes.

She may be tired, but she was happy. She has dreamt of meeting the Duke since his existence became known to her, and now he way staying here, where she would most likely encounter him on a daily basis, and he seemed very pleased with his room.

"He was very gracious, don't you think? Very humble for someone of that class I'd say." Nerissa lifted her eyes from the newspaper as she spoke this, looking towards the kettle as it began to hiss, threatening not to be forgotten whilst we were both lost in our own thoughts - only Nerissa voiced hers, and I couldn't think of how to begin the conversation of the incident I encountered in the laundry room.

I decided to stick with Nerissa's thoughts for now, replying with a nod "Yes, he was quite polite." With these words, I couldn't help but think of the sly remark he left me with on his departure, and that tantalising gaze. I wasn't quite sure what the real Duke Zachery consisted of, or how many personas he was able to pull of when he fancied, but he definitely was a good showman, especially with his impeccable manners, amongst his disguised remarks, which obviously went unnoticed by most.

The high pitched wail from the kettle shook me from my own thoughts and brought me back to reality, where I needed to make this tea before Nerissa parched, or I burn the kettle, both are options I'd like to avoid. I poured the steaming tea into the pot and placed it before Nerissa on the table, followed by two China cups, which were beautifully decorated in deep blues and bright whites; much to my dismay this made me think of the eyes of our guest.

I snapped myself out of those thoughts before they even made the surface, thankfully, and proceeded to set out the milk and sugar cubes for Nerissa to help herself. Our kitchen was cold and bare, but the hot tea with an incredibly sweet aroma infused the room with warmth and comfort. Along with improving the kitchen's atmospheric conditions, the tea also seemed to bring a new lease of life into Nerissa, as she began flicking through the pages of the newspaper rapidly, making quick comments on the stories, such as "How dreadful... At least it wasn't boring for them." and "Oh, well, that's nice to hear, shame about the father though."

This is just one of Nerissa's little quirks that make me adore her, she can make light of any situation and bring a soft touch of angelic nature to everything; lord knows what the stories in the paper were about, they could have been about bloody murder for all I know, but Nerissa would find a light somewhere, even if she lit it herself.

After the tea pot had gone dry, and conversation had ended, Nerissa stood and brushed down her skirts with a smile. "I best go and do some work, you never know who I may stumble across in the halls now!" And with that, she winked at me and left me alone in the kitchen.

I was happy that Nerissa was so chirpy again, however I couldn't escape my thoughts from earlier. I have always had strange feelings in this hotel, but nothing has ever come of them. I often deem it as me reading too many gruesome articles in the paper, or my imagination trying to conjure up something to keep me on my toes. But this, this I could not create a rational explanation for. Those shelves shook and there was a real voice. I must speak to Nerissa about this at some point, as she has been here much longer than I have, even though I seemed to have grown up here myself.

She may know of something, or have had a similar experience. At least then I could prove to myself I'm not going mad. For now though, I'm staying away from the laundry room unless absolutely necessary. Such as a Duke staying at the hotel, who requires pristine laundry daily. With a sigh, I pulled myself out of my seat and took the empty teapot to the sink and cleaned up. I best catch up with Nerissa soon and get some work done myself, otherwise the boss won't be too happy, and that's one unnerving situation too many for my day.