In the days following the establishment of Titus and Emerick's new found friendship, there was an explosion of progress in the estate from almost every front. Seeing Rathus's efforts to help Trixie, reinforced by the fact that Titus was happy, productive, and now on good terms with Emerick inspired the other teens to take charge of various tasks that had gone largely neglected since Trixie reorganized their daily tasks.
Catching wind of Rathus and Titus's efforts to start selling their work, Liron had promptly introduced himself to Emerick and announced his intentions to help. At first, Emerick had been skeptical of the little fox, but he proved quit adept at selling the item. Liron knew just what to say and how to display the product to make it more appealing. Soon, he had convinced Emerick to start taking him off the estate to learn more about the market for the products they hoped to sell.
As expected, Jan had designated himself the official washer. Anything that needed washing, the others would bring to him, which—thankfully—kept him from running circuits of soap through the halls. Between clothes and dishes, the boy stayed quite occupied, though Emerick was convinced he was some kind of beast. The kid was singlehandedly doing the work of five.
Dalek officially took charge of the kitchen and designated four additional children to help. Romeo, a ten-year-old boy and Milly, a nine-year-old girl, helped him prepare and cook the meals while Amy and Devy, both six year old girls, helped with other chores such as cleaning surfaces, washing dishes, fetching ingredients, and so on. On top of this, Dalek actually approached Jacoby to request some basic cook books and recipes to help cultivate his talents. Jacoby was only too happy to oblige.
Sullivan, who had been instantly dazzled by Jacoby who he seemed to foster a sense of kinship with had appointed himself as the butler's apprentice. He would follow Jacoby around and observe his day to day tasks and ask questions about how and why he did things a certain way. There was never a formal agreement forged between them, but Emerick could tell that, once again, Jacoby was all too eager to instruct the attentive and highly adaptive young man. Sullivan was already mimicking a lot of Jacoby's work as he sought to instruct many of the other children eager to help. Two of the other young boys, Owen and Erick who were five and four respectively, volunteered as his assistants.
Inspired by Sullivan's work as a butler, Lorelei and three other young girls—Lydia, Emma, and Rachel who were 6, 3, and 2—established themselves as maids and took to tasks such as bed making, dusting, and other basic household chores. Between Sullivan and his small force of butlers and maids they convinced Jacoby to start holding occasional classes in etiquette, which everyone—even the orc brothers—made an effort to attend.
Numerous conversations with Jacoby inspired Sullivan to establish and assign additional tasks to the remaining children who were also eager to help. Bernadette, Nancy, and Yorrik, all roughly five, helped Titus take care of the yard, though, once again, they relied heavily on Jacoby to learn to appropriate ways to tend to the grounds and gardens. Ripley was all too happy to appoint himself the job of caring for the animals, though Nancy would switch over and help him from time to time as well.
Caley, a twelve-year-old girl with a lot of energy and gumption designated herself as a footman and selected Hector, a 3-year-old boy as her aid. Appropriately, they did a lot of foot work and, under Liron's supervision, they began leaving the grounds occasionally to shop for foods and materials the others couldn't obtain from the grounds.
Three of Trixie's family had moved off the estate. Etoile and Eosphoros had officially started living with their theater troupe, though they made a point of visiting somewhat regularly. Zeke, who Emerick was surprised to discover was apprenticing under Silvy, was also staying off the estate now that his family was being effectively cared for. He would also drop by, but on a more frequent basis as he had appointed himself their official tailor.
Emerick was pleased to see the way they rallied together. The orphans were actually functioning like a family. The only problem, though Emerick didn't view it as a problem himself, was that none of them had consulted with Trixie about these assignments, and she wasn't taking it well. She hadn't completely voiced her frustrations, but her irritation was apparent, and she'd been more inclined to ignore Emerick outside of the time she was obligated to spend at his side per their contract.
"Still thinking of quitting?" Emerick questioned as he came across Jacoby. As always, Sullivan was at his side, note pad in hand as he took notes.
"Always," Jacoby replied. "But I am in less distress about the state of the grounds."
"Fair enough," Emerick chuckled. Glancing back down at his own clipboard with names and positions, he counted them out for what must've been the hundredth time.
"Is something wrong sir?" Jacoby questioned.
"I've gone over the lists again, and again, but something just doesn't add up," Emerick frowned, then handed his list to Jacoby. "Trixie said there were twenty-seven in her party total, but I only have records and names for twenty-six."
"Forgot how to count have we?" Jacoby quirked a brow. "I can verify there were twenty-seven, I counted them personally when they entered and exited the carriages."
"Then where is the last one?" Emerick questioned. "I've gone around and made a point of introducing myself to everyone! I've spoken to them and made an effort to correlate names and faces! I even had Liron and Titus quiz me! I count each time, but there's still one person that remains a complete mystery! There isn't even record of them from the orphanage, I've poured through those as well and tracked where each and every child went and what they're currently doing! I'm beginning to believe this number twenty-seven is some kind of collective imaginary friend!"
"As ever, young lord, you're being overly dramatic," Jacoby rolled his eyes and started cross-referencing documents. He frowned, and Emerick watched with satisfaction as he read, and reread the lists himself. "This doesn't make sense!"
"I told you!" Emerick exclaimed. Beside Jacoby, Sullivan was smiling to himself but, as he had been instructed, he said nothing. He hadn't been spoken to directly yet. "What are you smiling about?
"It would be impolite for me to say," Sullivan replied.
"Who is the last orphan?" Jacoby turned to him. "Do they even exist?"
"I assure you, she is a real person," Sullivan stated, "but she's a rather private individual and very shy. It would be impolite for me to introduce her without her present, but I am sure she'll reveal herself when she sees fit."
"Another note for you, newbie," Jacoby glowered. "Glibness, while effective, does not endear you to others."
"I'll make sure to remember that," Sullivan nodded, scribbling in his notepad.
"Well, good luck in your endeavors, young lord," Jacoby said with a bow, which Sullivan replicated. "I have other business to see to."
"I'll leave you to it then," Emerick nodded. He waved Jacoby off then started making his way to the grounds.
As he walked the halls, he noticed Trixie walking towards him. As they made eye contact, he shot her a wink, to which she rolled her eyes. He sighed and shook his head as she turned on her heel and promptly marched off in the opposite direction. He wasn't sure why, but she was taking out her frustration on him. He would get to the bottom of it eventually, but trying to confront her now would be pointless. Not to be deterred, he strode confidently to his next destination.