Key
★>> I'll be using this symbol for Ariton's inner speech/thoughts.
♪ >> I'll be using this symbol for Maevus' inner speech/thoughts.
** >> A past dialogue…
* * * * * *
"One, Cup of coffee, please!"
A loud voice echoed through the Old English Bistro, capturing the attention of all its occupants. The young girl who ordered her to drink flushed and sank into her chair murmuring a soft apology at her sudden outburst. Turning away from her several men and women at a table a few seats away returned to congratulate one of their senior colleagues on their promotion.
"Thank you", a tall man wearing a suit-jacket grinned happily at his colleagues and friends, and "Please enjoy the dinner", he said and raised his glass for a toast.
"Cheers!" they all sang and took a sip.
The man turned to her his left, "Mae", he called out, "Are you leaving?" he asked a little sorrowfully, "I was hoping you'd stay longer, celebrate with us", he pleaded albeit gently.
A young woman looked up, her blue eyes glittered under the lights of the restaurant, long straight brown hair freed from her bun as they fell down framing her oval face shifted as she looked up, soft pink tongue peeking out as she licked her red lips and hummed; "Edward", she greeted him, "Once again, I congratulate you for winning the prestigious Archival Innovator Award", she praised and raised her glass, "It has been an honored being mentored and taught by you", she smiled and bowed politely, "It would be my honor to celebrate your achievements tonight, but I beg to leave, the weather outside seems dismal and it's oddly getting dark, despite it hardly being six o'clock", she informed them after she took a sip at his acknowledgement of her wish.
"It does look awful", Edward agreed eyeing the darkening skies worriedly.
"That's all the more reason for you to stay", someone piped up. "It'll be safer if you stay inside", he added whining a bit.
Mae winced and smiled awkwardly, "Colin", she turned to address a younger looking man and hummed, "I need to get on home, as it seems it will rain soon, I'd rather be at home with Fredrick", she smiled dreamily, "It's been three weeks since I last saw him, and I did promise Molly I'd be home tonight", she informed them all.
"It's okay", another voice called out capturing their attention, and a woman with blonde curls hummed as she grabbed Colin's hand, and rolled her eyes, "Only six months till the wedding, Of course you two want to spend all your time with each other, until you're officially husband and wife", she teased, "A pre-honeymoon before all the main projects begin", she said.
"Rebecca", Mae laughed, "Are you trying to scare me?" she asked amused.
Rebecca chuckled, "Is it my fault you scheduled your wedding on the same night as your birthday and only five days before our Christmas and New Year's Exhibition", she cheeked playfully.
Mae huffed, "In our defense, we wanted to have it earlier, but some event on his side with the accounts team clashed, and The Ledger Family Auction House had several events scheduled from May, most of Summer and a few in Autumn too", she sighed, "It was a calendar-nightmare", she muttered recalling the discussion she'd had with Molly at great length. Her future mother-in-law was truly formidable when in possession of a calendar and marker. "I suggested we elope", she muttered, "And Fredrick paled so dramatically, I haven't brought it up again", she said as she finally freed herself from the booth despite Colin's clinging attempts to keep her in.
They all sniggered at her exasperation.
"Well", Edward said as he got up, "I know how busy we've all been archiving The Anubis Letters* and how busy you've been with helping us decipher most of the alphabet, our Associate Curator", he ruffled her hair playfully much to her distaste as she ducked away and straightened her hair, scowling at him. "It's the first today, why don't you come to work on Monday, have the weekend off", he suggested.
"I would love that more than anything, but Andrew gave me some documents to archive later tonight, so after I see Fredrick and if the weather permits, I'll probably be back in the office at midnight", she answered slowly as she allowed him to help her put on her coat.
Edward nodded, "I'll talk to Andrew, just have the weekend", he ordered gently.
Mae turned to him and grinned, "Thank you Edward!" she cheered and kissed him gently on his cheek.
Edward smiled as she waved to the table once and then walked away from them all.
*
"That's a woman born to break hearts", Colin murmured wistfully as he watched Mae leave the table, and walk towards the restaurant's exit. Her hourglass figure leaving nothing to the imagination, despite her pantsuit and coat covering her, the material clung to each curve and accentuated her figure effortlessly.
Rebecca hummed, "You're not the only one, Edward weren't you half in love with her too?" she teased as she ushered her woe-begone colleague back to his seat.
Edward shrugged, "I wasn't the only one who wept when she announced her engagement", he agreed as she sat down and watched as Mae flagged down and hackney carriage, the traditionally known Black cab and smiled brightly as she informed him of her address no doubts, a gust of wind brushed past, as her hair flew wildly about capturing the attention of many people, for the brief moment before she slid into her seat.
"How did she even meet Fredrick, though they work in the same place, the accounts team and hers have nothing to do with each other", Colin wondered as he sipped his beer despondently.
"I think they met in college", Rebecca answered as she called the server's attention. "Maya works with Fredrick though, so they could have met through her", she wondered curiously.
"Maya hates Fredrick though", someone added as the server showed up and they all paused the conversation long enough to order their dinner.
Edward idly stirred his coffee as he thought about Mae, and how beautiful, honest, hardworking she was. Her conscientious charm appealed to everyone, and though she was their youngest Associate Curator, she worked diligently at the museum ever since she'd been seventeen, first as a volunteer, then apprentice, and finally interning directly under Andrew Maleus, their director and world renowned scholar of archaeology.
Like many other he'd fallen in love with her, and had been truly heartbroken when she'd introduced Fredrick first as her boyfriend and then as her fiancé, if ever there was a couple that didn't suit each other it was Mae and Fredrick, but her loyalty and love for the other man was and had always been a charm that had captured his attention, that all he could do was wish her well, and pray for her.
"Edward", Rebecca called.
"Hm", he asked turning to her, "Oh!" he gasped as he realized they were waiting for his order.
The server waited patiently as he ordered a shepherd's pie with a side of mashed potatoes with some gravy and a bottle of wine for the table. And as the table erupted with cheers again, he sent Rebecca a helpless smile;
"All we can do is pray, Mae finds her happiness", he said, "If anyone deserves it, she does", he stated simply.
"Aye! Aye!" Colin and Rebecca chimed as they raised their glasses and clinked them together.
*
Mae exhaled as she clicked her seatbelt into place as she settled into the bucket-seat of the cab, she'd briefly stopped at the florist and grabbed the first ostentatious bouquet she could find and hurried back to her seat, setting the bouquet down beside her, she blinked at it and muttered;
"I may have gone overboard", she confessed to thin air.
The cab driver chuckled, "It does look extravagant, but it's the thought that counts right, I'm sure your fella will appreciate the gesture", he reassured.
Mae grinned, "Well after the flowers eventually die, the pearls, ribbons, and whatever this is will remain", she agreed as she poked the flimsy paper thin confetti-like thing scattered all of the bouquet.
"That's not quite what I meant Dearie", the driver laughed as he started talking, "Whether the flowers live, die or eventually become potpourri", he smirked at her startled expression and shrugged, "My wife's into various hobbies", he informed and continued, "My point Dearie is that, even without the embellishments, the pearls and the shells, and everything else, the sentiment you carry and offer to your loved one, is more than enough", he assured her.
"Thank you", Mae answered tentatively relieved.
Relaxing once more, as they made their way through the London traffic, she picked up the card and read the names of the ten different flowers that made up the bouquet, idly wondering about the significance of each flower, it would just be her luck to buy a bouquet, only for the meaning to mean something outlandish like a death challenge. Shaking her head she picked up her phone and quickly researched the flowers and their properties and memorized their significance.
♪ Let's see, Oh, Hydrangeas represent gratitude, grace, and beauty. Its colors symbolize love, harmony, and peace. Well, that's a relief. Fredrick's always been the floral beauty kind of person, these flowers might just help me score with the beauty aesthetic...though, I do miss wearing sweats. Moving on, Wow... Peony roses, don't know which one of these is a peony, but it's filled with goodwill, being symbolic of love, honor, happiness wealth, romance, and beauty, no wonder the florist looked at me weird when I just asked for a bunch of roses, apparently there are types of roses, who knew... let's see, next is, Oh wow... another rose type, Shrub Roses, whatever the heck that is, oh these ones, the wild English roses Molly has all over the compound, shrub roses symbolize romance, love, beauty, and courage... That's a lot of love and beauty in one bouquet...♪
"Dearie", the driver called her attention.
Mae looked up and knocked over her purse at the same time, cursing she scrambled to grab the contents of her purse and also asked the driver;
"Is something wrong?" she asked, picking up a pen and other stationery.
"The route to London West End is over-jammed, the traffic police are requesting we take another route, it will be longer, and will that be okay?" he asked warily.
Mae nodded, "Of course", she answered, "Given the nature of tonight's skies, it's even more imperative we reach safely, please drive safely", she insisted.
"Thank you madam", he answered.
Mae cringed, "I think I prefer 'Dearie', sir", she laughed as she looked around the floor.
The driver nodded, "Thank you Dearie, and I see a bit of plastic underfoot", he informed as he looked at her through the windshield mirror.
Mae looked down and spotted her lanyard, "Oh", she gasped and picked it up, she bit her lip and traced her name, "Thank you", she smiled, "Would have been damn near impossible to go to work if I lost this", she huffed and pocketed both her wallet and slipped the lanyard over her neck—in case she accidentally dropped it again, as she settled back to review the flowers.
♪ Dianthus; Flowers of the Gods...Well that's interesting, but given how my entire family are a bunch of atheists, from Fredrick to dad... maybe I should ignore them, let's see, Nerine, what is with the name of these flowers, sheesh... Nerine; symbolizes freedom and good fortune, Freedom? What kind of Freedom? Anyway, Ozothamnus sounds like a disease, also known as Rice flower has been cherished by the Greeks for centuries, and they often referred to the plant as "immortelle" (everlasting) because they retain their beauty long after they've been dried... Well nothing lasts forever except dried flowers. Well that's depressing, why are these flowers turning dark with each new introduction, is this bouquet a telling of some kind? Okay... The paranoia isn't helping; I haven't slept in three days... Okay what's next? Eustoma; a flower that conveys appreciation and admiration, as well as friendliness, sweetness, and respect… Oh, we're back to normal love and sweetness. Thank the Lord... Matthiola symbolizes beauty, happiness and joy...oh beauty again... Eryngium is known to symbolize independence and attraction... And we're back to Freedom and now independence... Lagurus ovatus, commonly called hare's-tail, hare's-tail grass or bunnytail means everlasting. Well that was an adventure. To summarize this bouquet is about beauty, love, freedom and honor...Interesting. ♪
*
"Dearie", a voice called out gently.
Mae blinked and looked up, she blinked a few times more forcing her eyes to focus, wiping her mouth as she realized she'd dozed off, she looked up and the cab driver was facing her. The older gentleman smiled softly;
"We're here", he informed her.
Mae nodded and reached for her card, she noticed the QR code and swiped the scanner, waiting for the amount to be deducted before gathering her things; she thanked the driver one more time and smiled at his wish for luck, and got off of the vehicle.
Exhaling as she inhaled the crisp air, relaxing at the scent of her earth as it flooded her senses she looked up at the large stunning detached house that stood at 12,539 sq. ft/1,165 sq. meters, set in one of Kenwood's most distinguished and elegant private residence, protected by CCTV cameras and a 24-hour guard-operated security gate.
The old home had been renovated recently, and as she approached the road leading into the compound of The Ledger House, she sighed. Whilst Mae hardly understood the unnecessary extravagances of living, it seemed to deliver and extra peace of mind to the few residents that lived here. Each property stood at least the size of the properties themselves away from each other between each house. Offering privacy in a way that was borderline delving into levels of paranoia at the distance between each other, Mae had always found the area around The Ledger House devoid of life, and rather lonely.
The only reason Fredrick and her were living in this part of London, was simply because they were saving for their own flat in the centre of London, closer to work and where all the social-life existed.
Mae sighed again as she looked up at the ambassadorial family home, benefiting from having a very well-balanced lateral space throughout, an internal swimming pool leisure complex and an outstanding 162 ft. rear garden facing West of the property. Arranged over four floors, with the kitchen, formal reception, dining room and a detached outhouse connecting to the kitchen on the ground floor, a large principal bedroom on the first floor, en-suite bathroom and five further bedrooms, three reception rooms made this the perfect growing family home, and one large attic at the very top, or more accurately an old room renovated into a storage room. It took her ten minutes to walk into the property after greeting the Night guard and making her way to the Main House, she met a young man at the door.
"Madam Maevus, you're home", he greeted her politely.
Maevus nodded, "Hello Oliver", she greeted, and even though she'd known the man for roughly six years, she still wasn't entirely comfortable around the skeleton-butler.
It wasn't that he was decrepit or old, they were quite possibly the same age, but whilst he was reedy thin, and always dressed in a suit, with hair coiffed perfectly like a schoolboy, and many would call him handsome, tall and fit, the shadow like personality of his and the energy of a skulking poltergeist was what got to her, she couldn't build an opinion about him, because she'd never spent longer than a moment in time with the man.
What an odd occupation, to want to have. Being butler was a respected position, being a butler for a family like the Ledgers had to be a punishment in disguise. Molly had always ruled the household with an iron fist; it seemed genuinely baffling to Maevus, that she had relinquished her hold to hire a man who seemed to be the exact opposite of her manic energy.
Then there was Martin Lewis, Fredrick's father and the supposed Head of the house, is and will quite possibly be the driest person one could ever be, the man lacked a personality to a shocking degree, and if ever she was in the presence of the man, she often forgot he was in the room, unless he actively spoke.
And if she knew anything about Fredrick, her fiancé had always cared more about stocks and market prices, he talked about money and accounts more than history, often at times they barely had anything in common to talk about, which made breakfasts and awkward affair, especially since it was the only time during the day when all five of them were present, together. Martin behind a newspaper, Molly handing off checklists to her staff, Fredrick spent most of the morning ranting about numbers to his cellphone screen, and whilst Maevus texted and answered Molly's random questions she idly watched Oliver hover closer to her than Molly almost keeping his distance from The Ledgers, despite being employed by them.
All she really knew about him was his name; Oliver Ilemlis and that he came from a long line of butlers, and his family had been serving The Ledger Family for centuries. Maevus would never have given him the time of day if it weren't for the significance of his surname.
Ilemlis; the Silent Lion, though a bit of a wild child, if one has the heart of a Lion, they have the uncanny ability to stay motionless and silent; their ease with stillness and silence makes them a natural in meditation and trance work.
Which worked well given his occupation and Molly's temperament, but then there was the fact that a silent lion also stalks silently when they need to sneak up on their prey. Given his entire personality seemed to be traits he carried like a shield. It confused, bemused and at times made her entirely too wary to have him around her.
Oliver smiled his odd smile, "Would you like me to take your coat and flowers?" he asked as he held the door open.
"No thank you, I bought them for Fredrick", she answered, "I haven't seen him in several days, well weeks", she corrected absentmindedly as she made her way through the foyer to the outhouse where Fredrick and her lived, "I was thinking I'd surprise him, so don't announce my presence just yet", she smiled brightly.
Oliver hummed, his gaze turned away and she frowned curiously.
"Is he awake?" she asked warily, it'd just be her luck to see him only to find him asleep, though usually at this time, he was watching the news.
"I don't think the young master is asleep just yet", he informed a strange expression fleetingly appeared before disappearing back into his nonchalant avatar and he escorted her to the outhouse.
Forever bemused by his actions, she quietly opened the door and after nodding him on his way, she stepped into the outhouse, finally at peace, the London crowd forgotten, the weird butler and the stress of the day slowly melted away, quietly placing her bag and the large bouquet on a the side table in their entryway, she stretched languidly and slipped on out of her high-heeled Chanel black pumps. Wriggling her toes despite her stockings she turned to her fluffy bedroom slippers and biting her lip excitedly as she heard a soft noise in their bedroom realizing Fredrick was awake.
Grabbing the bouquet she made her way through the relatively empty living space, except for a two-person dining table and barstools, the couch pointing towards the old LED screen and several boxes they were still living out of, she reached the bedroom door, ready to announce her presence with gleeful energy and swept into the room, only to come up short;
"I'm Ho—Oh My God!!!" she screamed.