Talking without thinking is never a good idea.
No choice but to play dumb if she ask something, but since my situation has changed, no, since I am now aware of my situation then maybe I don't need to care that much. That could be of use, breaking my character now and then when I tried to keep it at the begining. They might act more cautiously thinking that I have a reason for it... or just come straight at me to deal with any variable at this point of time. I do wonder how capable actually is 'Sid Grayworth' that made people who supposedly had they plans pretty much ready to become wary. If what he gave in the summary is the truth, then he has a lot of money. But I don't think they would fear that, so it should be something else. Openly I don't think he has any political power or connections with people like that, so it should not be something that can be used during daylight. That leaves, connections to people that work in the shadows, at night... or how you want to call them. That would certainly be quite scary.
Contrary to my thoughts, Miss Jeanne did not say anything about. Instead she just silently helped to place the cleaning tools inside too.
Glad I did not have to answer any question about my actions I almost felt like cleaning this place... almost, ok, maybe no. But I did feel lucky so I guess I could be a nicer to her. Too bad I don't carry... no, I do have something on me. I have snacks, never underestimate the power of snacks. Just some cookies, maybe a bit more than 'some', but I think it's better to have more than lesser. That said, I kept them in my pocket so they should be ok. The question is if she would like them... or even eat them. If she has some health problems or is in some strict diet, then I might worsen her mood again. But, let's take the risk.
"Good work, I am sorry that you had to do this too"
"No, I felt bad about coming here without permission... and that probably made that person wary of us. I feel that I got in the way of his work so this is the least I could do was this"
"I guess that coming here ended up as a bad idea, anyways... Are you hungry? I have some cookies with me. Don't worry, I had them in my pocket, but I kept them wrapped in a handkerchief. By the way, the handkerchief is clean too"
She looks at me questionly.
"I just thought about sharing some with you. It would look pretty bad if I start eating out of nowhere in front of you. I kinda feel like I would be bullying you"
Half convinced from my word, and half interest in the cookies she finally reached to take one... two... three... four... five. Is it because they are small or is she really hungry? She took a good number of them. I planned to share half of the cookies with her but she took more than that. Guess she liked them after all... that is good, I think.
"Thank you, I am not that found of cookies but since you are offering them.."
Liar, you are eating them with such a happy face. Well, that's ok. I better don't point that out, I feel like it would be a really bad idea.
"Don't mind it. Let's go as soon as you finish the cookies. Hey, you don't need to eat faster, take your tim... never mind. Let's just start walking"
She ate them pretty fast... like really fast. And she said she was not found of them, ha.
*******************************************
We ended up walking for another 30 minutes more until we found ourselves finally out of the woods. I don't recognize this place.
"I don't think I was here before so I can't tell where we are, what about... no, you also would not now since you started today"
"Actually, I was given a rough explanation of this property. Those building over there... I think they are stables. As far I recall, they were located just north of the manor"
"So they keep horses here, huh?"
"From what I was told used to keep a wide range of animal in this property. One of the past owners wanted to build a safari to satisfy the wishes of his sickly daughter that could not travel to far from this place. Sadly that girl died before it was finished and could not see it. The owner was heart broken and did not continue with it. He then sent the animals to locals animal reserves"
That's quite the background story. Is everything in this family like this?.
"You sure know a lot"
"I heard about it from someone"
That's the kind of answer that says I should not ask anymore. Well, we aren't that close and it feels like it's personal. Although I think it is a strange feeling considering she started today. Did she know about this place even before she started to work here?.
"We should go to take a look then, they surely have a way to take us back"
"Hopefully they won't run away as soon as they see us"
"Haha, there is no way that's gonna happen... right?"
I would really like to say that I am 100% sure that such a thing could not happen, but just half an hour ago someone did run away from us.
********************************************
Well, what I was afraid of did no happen, we safely arrived to the stables... or not. We went to a building that is located somewhat further. The administration of the place was there so we naturally went there. Even if we when to the stables it is not like they would just offer us a few horses to go back on them. Although Miss Jeanne seemed to be really interest in the horses. It took me a bit of coaxing to make her give up the idea of going to the stables to ask for a ride. She actually wanted to do it. Not sure if she truly meant that or was just joking, but since she insisted in going I think she was really looking forward to it.
Different from the building where I met that old guard, this one only is two stories tall, there was not something like a reception in to ask, instead we had to knock a number of doors until we hear someone tell us to come in. It seemed to be an office due the layout like the desk with a number of files on it, although I am not sure exactly what do they do here since there were no signs that could point that out. The person inside had a common salary man suit... and look. He seemed to be a middle aged man with short brown hair and eyes.
Not sure if it was because we were strangers or it is strange for people to come here, but he seemed slightly confused and wary of a couple of strangers that appeared out of nowhere. Maybe he was expecting someone else.
No choice but to talk, if both side just remain quite things will not proceed. I decided to speak before this maid beside me since I had the feeling she would ended up mentioning going by horse.
"Good day to you, Mister. Actually, I am a guest of this manor. My name is Sid Grayworth, nice to meet you"
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Grayworth. We were informed this morning of someone called as such arrived last night, and that you were a guest. So you don't need to offer an explanation about it, although we did not recieved a detailed description of your appearence"
"That really saves us time then. Oh, yes. How could I forget? This Miss here is a maid assigned to me during my stay here, she is called..."
At the mention of having a maid assigned to me, he raised an eyebrow. Is it weird to have one? Maybe there is a reason why he reacted that way.
"I am Jeanne Saphir, greetings Mister"
With a polite she interrupted me to introduced herself. Not sure why though. I did not see the man reacting any different so there probably was not a deep reason why she did it.
"Greeting I guess..?"
He seemed confused with her introduction, I wonder why.
"Anyways, I actually wanted to take a walk and somehow ended up taking a couple of wrong turns here and there. We ended up lost for a while after taking a unknown path for both of us, and now you have us here. We are slightly tired, if you could help us to get a ride to the manor"
"That sounds tough, there are plenty of such a paths. Hardly anyone use them anymore so they basically deserted. Much more if they take you to unpopular areas, like for example and small flower garden north of here, like a 20 minutes walk. Besides the gardener that takes care of it, hardly anyone goes there. I think only the young lady and that child go there"
"Is it normal for such a thing to happen then?"
This time, Miss Jeanne asked something.
"Well, it depends... in your case, let's see. Young lady, you are new here, aren't you? It is easy to tell since you got lost. Not even a week working here I presume?"
She seemed surprised, I myself feel the same. But the clue should be her newbie status. Does something change after they work longer?.
"Is there such a difference to having working more than a week?"
I ask this time.
"You could say so, although it is not exactly one week. After some time they start teaching all new employees a more complete and systematic way the layout of the manor. Sometimes there are some newbies that do not last long enough so it would be a waste of resources and it would also endanger security if just anyone could learn that much in a couple of days"
That is true I guess. So not just anyone can learn about the manor. Having such a knowledge means they are people they trust. I should remember that for now.
This man is being quite helpful with all that info, but I did not come here for that. To get a ride is what I came here for. Maybe I could come here later... alone. Feels that having her with me is like having a watcher on my back.
"That sounds about right. But... we are kinda looking for ride here"
I remind him about it.
"Oh, yes. I am sorry, I just started talking and talking. Let me see if the vehicles are here"
Just like that, he picked the phone from the desk and started a call.
"Well, at least we will find a ride already"
I say this to the Miss beside me.
"Thankfully, this way we will not get lost again"
She answered as such... I feel a slight resentment in there. But I do my best to ignore such a thing. If I start minding it everytime, my poor heart might break.
"By the way... I get that you are suppose to take care of me. But what does that exactly mean?"
She raises and eyebrow to that and her mood worsened. I intervine before she misunderstand.
"Don't misunderstand. I am just curious, does that mean you don't have other responsibilities around the manor? You followed me around when I went out the manor, but will you follow me around in the manor too?"
Her mood slightly recovered. Goodness, I felt like asking since we got to know some more. I am also curious, but I guess asking that would make any lady uncomfortable. The last I want is that she starts seeing me full of hostility... but I do need to know if I will have her on me everywhere I go. If things get complicated later, having her nearby could make things more difficult for me.
So I expect and answer from her but...
"I don't know, they did not explain it to me in detail"
I did not get what I wanted. Should I say 'as expected'?. It seems they did an sloppy job and rushed to have her attend me. With not explaination she should not know how to do her job correctly. Still, it is strange no matter how you look at it. This situation... anyways, I can only take it easy for now. Making assumptions on my own without proof is just useless.
"That sounds... tough"
That is all I managed to answer to her. I am not sure what to say about her situation.
"It is ok, being new in a job is always like this"
"Wasn't today your first day working?"
"As a maid, I did take a couple of job before. Nothing particular important or interesting though"
Nothing to that stands up in that answer. We are kinda similar in that regard, I have take a tons of jobs. A good deal of them were odd jobs though. Most of those odd jobs were when I was younger, as a kid you can not earn much so I had to work a lot to pay for my stuff.
"We are alike in that regard"
This time she did not continue the conversation. Maybe I made her uncomfortable with my questions?. I did not ask anything too personal. I wanted to have a better grasp of her personality by asking her about life little by little, but the conversation barely started and she now stopped talking. Too bad, well... I should not force it.
Oh, the call seems to have ended. Finally I can go to the manor again. I feel kinda weary with all that happened at that place. That old man left me with something rather troublesome early in the day.
"Well, Mr. Grayworth... I just talked to the people in the manor and they informed me that they are on their way to this building to pick you up. So you just have to wait a while until they arrive. Don't worry, it should not take long"
"That is fine, I don't mind waiting a while longer"
"With that said, if you feel like it... would you like to take around the stables? I am afraid we lack other means of entertainment in this facilities. I also feel you would enjoy more taking a look around while you wait than just staying here. But ultimately that is your choice, I am just offering an alternative"
I was going to decline until I saw a pair of eyes full of eagerness looking at me. Her face also had a expectant look that she failed miserably at hiding. Well, whatever... I may as well try to see if there are any other guest in here, while also raising her mood. Although I really hope meeting someone more 'normal'. So far I think I meet only troublesome people... and one little girl. She is the most normal of the bunch. There is also the employees, but they are doing their jobs, so there is so much time I can use to talk to them. Not to mention, they not people I need to be that wary of.
"So, what do you say?"
That man asked once more. To that, I just accepted.
"Very well, but only for a while. We've already let them come to pick us up. Making them wait after the arrive would be bad, is that ok?"
The last part was mostly directed at the Miss beside me than that man. It seems she understood that because she nodded enthusiastically.
"Great, let me take you there myself"
"Ah, but... Aren't you busy? We could walk by ourselves"
I almost said that it is not like we will not get lost. As expected that would seem like a joke coming from us in this situation.
"Nonsense, you are guests here. In other words you are my priority. Now, come this way"
With that he just went out of the office rather quickly.
I could not help but to say.
"What to say... Isn't he quite hyped about it?"
From that I actually got an answer.
"More than being eager to show us around... I have the feeling that he wanted an excuse to slack off"
"There is no way that's true...?"
I thought of denying it but he certainly seemed eager to do leave, and he also took his time to explain a few things. That call also took quite sometime for something that simple.
"See? You also can't just deny it, right?"
I smile wryly at her words since they do make sense.
"Well, no matter what. It is not our problem, right? Let's just go, he should be already waiting for us outside"
"I am not sure if he would wait for us, he did not even await for us to go together. He was really hyped"
"Can't say anything about that"
As I said that he started to head outside with Miss Jeanne in tow.
********************************************
To say the least he did wait for us outside, so we were guided normally to the stables. I am not sure how to describe the place, but it is a rather large place. I can not however give an estimate since this is not my area of expertise... not like it matters though. That Miss seemed to enjoy the tour a lot. For the record, that guy we met at the office was the one acting as a guide. Not like I can complain about his explainations during the tour... but this guy is suppose to be some sort of supervisor here. Is it really alright that he is skipping job like this? I can't help but worry about the administration of this place. Well, in my case I should worry about other things though.