The Beast of Stornoway

Chapter 12: Amani

Amani woke the next morning feeling refreshed after her near twelve-hour nap. She smiled when she realized where she was again. She threw off her blankets and opened all of the curtains. She sat in the bay window and stared at the countryside. She could sit there all day watching the dewy green scenery.

She looked down at the grounds just as one of the farmhands looked up at her. He smiled and waved to her. She grinned as she waved back and cringed when Lord Blarcum angrily shoved a pitchfork in his hand. He put the young man back to work and turned toward the stables without a glance her way.

That must be what everyone was talking about. He was an onerous Lord and he looked like he didn't take to people slacking on the job. Well, she had better get ready for the day then. She didn't want to get on his bad side.

Amani quickly went to the shower and decided to look a little more professional today. She wore a pair of cropped gray dress pants, a black long-sleeved silk blouse and a gray blazer.

She looked herself over and remembered Gerard telling her that Lord Blarcum didn't like too much sophistication. She lost the black blouse and opted for a black T-shirt with the words 'Nah' - Rosa Parks written in thin white lettering on the front. She left her blazer unbuttoned and slipped on a pair of black kitten-heeled shoes.

She fingered her drying curls, put some moisturizer in it and left it to dry naturally. She looked herself over in the mirror again, adjusted her glasses and nodded. 

Here goes nothing.

"Good morning, Amani. Did you sleep well?" Benny smiled as she came downstairs.

"Good morning, Benny. Yes, my bed is so comfortable, thank you."

"Good, I'm glad," he said and motioned for her to follow him into a small office. "I need to give you your IT kit."

She eyed the cell phone, smart watch, tablet and laptop sitting on the mahogany desk. Benny picked up the phone and handed it to her. "This is your phone you're free to use it for personal use. It's already set up with your work email, access to Lord Blarcum's calendar as well as the Blarcum Manor's credit card," he explained as he went through the information for her to unlock the phone and what apps she'd need to organize Lord Blarcum's schedule.

"And this is your watch. I personally don't use one because I can't see the bloody writing." He laughed as he wrapped the black Samsung smart watch around her wrist. "Just like your phone, everything is synced to Lord Blarcum's calendar and schedule." He nodded and turned to the desk to point at the tablet and laptop.

"These are also synched to your phone and watch. You'll have seamless working capability. Oh, your email is also set up with all the contacts you'll need to handle m'Lord's personal and business affairs. That's basically it for your IT. Do you have any questions?"

Amani sucked in a breath. This was entirely way more than she expected. The kit was unreal. She'd never had a smartwatch and she wasn't sure she'd really get used to it. "Um, I don't really know, Benny. I'll have to spend some time looking through everything." 

"Of course, you look through it and come to me if you have any questions. But if you're having any IT problems, you'll have to ask Lord Blarcum about those. I'm afraid I'm not technical like that."

"That's perfectly fine, Benny." She wouldn't need to ask Lord Blarcum about that stuff. She was pretty good at troubleshooting tech. Just turn it off and on, until you got a result! It worked every time.

"Great," he said and clasped his hands together. "So, today we'll start off easy. I'm going to give you a tour of the grounds. If there's time, you and Lord Blarcum can go over any upcoming duties he has for you. Come along, we have breakfast waiting for you." He ushered her out of the office to the dining room where a single plate of food was sitting on the table.

She sat and stared at it. There was toast, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, some kind of bacon-ham, sausage and a thick black concoction. She'd heard about Scottish breakfasts, but this was crazy.

Lydia smiled at her. "A traditional full Scottish breakfast for ya, lass."

"Um, thank you. This is nothing like an American breakfast." She laughed as she picked up her fork and took a bite. It wasn't too bad, a little bland, but good.

After breakfast, Benny took her on a tour of the manor and the fields. She instantly fell in love with the place. The land on the manor was vast that covered over forty acres of land and it was immaculately kept.

She was introduced to all the house maids and farmhands. They were all very welcoming and couldn't help themselves from picking on her accent. They playfully referred to her as the 'Wee Yank' and she kind of liked that endearment. She followed Benny to the stables and he advised her this was where she would have most of her meetings with Lord Blarcum.

Amani's heart stuttered as she watched him carry a saddle into the stable. She needed to get herself under control, but the way he wiped the sweat from his brow and the way his shirt tightened around his bicep made her heart skip a beat.

Sweet Lord help me.

He was far too sexy to be her boss.

"Lord Blarcum, I've finished the tour. I figured you'd like to brief Miss Blake on any tasks you have for her." Benny smiled and quickly turned back to the house before either of them could stop him.

Amani looked after Benny and wished he'd stayed. She hadn't spoken a word to Lord Blarcum since that awkward introduction yesterday.

She slowly looked at him and wished her knees would stop shaking. Her throat was dry again as she stared into his deep green eyes.