RED INK
EP 17: THE ACT OF TYING A KNOT
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The mansion was huge, made of marbles, limestone and gravels. This gave it it's colour as it wasn't painted, making it a stone house from the outside. It stood full height, about one-third of a land mass that could take four minutes drive from the house to the gates. The compound was that wide and far. There were two golf carts on the land used to move around from one course to the other. Aside those two vehicles, there was a garage close to the mansion where cars were parked. The compound was also covered with trees, flowers and shrubs. It was an old beautiful house.
Contrary to the stony exterior that the house gave on first impression, the interior was a different design—more modern. It had smooth walls, some made of plain ceramics, while other parts were cemented and painted. The ceramics added a different texture to the feel of the walls. Anybody coming in could tell the difference in the two white walls. And so, this was how it varied throughout the house. What added colours were the upholsteries, cushions and the wooden tables and shelves; the curtains also.
The upholstery fabrics were cream leather all through, except one armchair that was made of cotton. The tables and small stools were of Rosewood and Ash wood; some of the cushions were white and others were navy blue and creamy yellow respectively. There were two of them on each couch. The curtains were navy blue atop with white chiffon underneath it, making the interior look a little vibrant, contrary to how it used to look.
The mansion had two floors. The kitchen, guest rooms, dining and a living room were on the ground floor, while the main family rooms and living rooms were on the upper floor. This helped them to separate who trespasses their domain. Any visitor or stranger caught on the upper floor was termed intruder and would be concluded as scheming something, because the maids would have told any guest not to go beyond certain areas of the house, unless invited to. Of course, that was different from friends of the family.
In the upper level living room of this mansion sat an elderly man with grey hair, grey beards, with rimless glasses on his face, newspaper raised up in such a manner that part of it covered half of his body. The living room gave him a great view of the whole flooring from top to bottom. He could see who was coming into the house and who was leaving.
He sat down on a cotton armchair, raising his steaming cup of tea with one hand to his mouth while the other held the newspaper. As he was drinking, he heard a door from one of the main rooms open, he raised his brow. He knew who it was. He was patiently waiting...
Linda came out of her room yawning, hands scratching her eyes, making her vision clearer and brighter. She was dressed in a plain satin white night gown, with white lace at the hem, a netty negligee robe over it. She tightened the robes around her waist folding her arms in the process.
The maids already raised the curtains up and opened the windows as breeze could be seen moving the curtains, allowing fresh air into the house. She heard the chirping sounds of birds from where she stood. She walked over to a large window, which had a balcony and looked below her, the greenery was beautiful, second to none. She admired the freshly mowed lawn and the distance sprinkling of water. From the sound of the sharp noise of scissors from a distance away, she knew the gardener was around. She smiled at the environment she had grown up living in and it looked new every morning to her—every morning when she was not running off to work.
She turned, readjusting her robe around ger body. Somehow, the morning felt chilly also. She shivered a little when a cold breeze winded by, causing her to have goosebumps on her face. She walked to the stairs that led to the ground floor and began walking down, taking one step after the other, her flip-flop making mild noise as she proceeded. When she was at the bottom of the stairs, she turned to her left, walking to the kitchen. She perceived food. The cook was already cooking.
She opened the kitchen door. The kitchen was large, it had a separate storage room in it, a large fridge, beautiful cutlery and utensil walls...there was even a small dining section made of three chairs around a table in it, for people who were too lazy to walk to the dining area to eat. Linda used it when she was running late or in the afternoons when the whole family was not gathering around the dining to have their meals. But it was mostly used by the maids and the cook.
As she walked further in, there was Gregory, Marbel, a maid and Fiona, the cook. It looked like they were having a conversation before she walked in because they were half smiling.
"Seems I walked into the midst of fun." She said, her slipper sliding easily across the tiles.
"Good morning Madame." Marbel and the maid greeted her.
"Good morning, madame Linda." The cook called from the stove where she was frying a chicken, the aroma was in the air. She could perceive rosemary and nutmeg. The cook was a middle aged woman who was in her late forties and had worked for the family for a long time.
"Morning to you all." She looked at Greg who bowed a little at her and then Marbel and the maid, they were helping cut the vegetables and preparing the dishes. Greg only seemed to be hanging around. "What is for breakfast?" She asked as she walked to the fridge and opened it. The fridge was filled with vegetables, beers, snacks, juice...
"Spiced chicken with smashed avocado and mayonnaise topping, steamed rice and veggies. I am making other side dishes to add to the mix." The cook said.
"Make me starve, Fiona." Linda said to the cook who grinned at her.
"It will be done in fifteen." She replied.
"I'd be dead before then." Linda looked at the entire fridge, trying to remember what she came for. She traced her hands around the rails, then she saw it...water. She picked up a bottle and closed the fridge back, turning and facing them, opening the water and drinking from it.
The kitchen had windows and a door that the yard could be seen from. Those windows were opened and the door which was a thick iron door was closed, the additional locks bolted. The windows being opened regulated the heat, making the heat diffuse to the air outside.
"How was the opera last night?" It was Fiona. "I heard it was excruciating to watch."
"Well..." She closed the water bottle. "...not all of it." She dropped the water bottle on the small dining and took a seat. "The first half was better. The second half on the contrary was an A-plus boredom."
Fiona smiled. "I know there will be more of it to come seeing as you are not ready to give up. You can't stop being headstrong."
Linda smirked. "I won't let him win."
"Oi! Neither of you will win. Two bulls clashing together. Though I am certain your dad may win but he also knows how far he can go with you, he will just forfeit the war altogether."
"Thank God." Linda rolled her eyes. She opened the bottle again and drank from it. "I will not be going to any more Operas. I didn't do anything wrong."
Fiona removed the chicken from the stove, placing it in a stainless steel seive, carrying it to the table. "But you went to one last night because you did something wrong." She looked at her. "How can you stand up a prestigious man like that?!"
"I was ready to take the punishment!" Linda announced. "It's not my fault that he thought a man old enough to be my uncle will make a perfect husband for me. He has poor taste in choices. He is always picking people close to his age like I am forty or something." "_"
Marbel and the maid chuckled.
"I will not go to any more dates he prepares for me. I have had enough of it."
"At least, you should have showed up to the rendezvous. Even if you didn't like him, you could have turned it around to benefit you."
Linda raised up her head. "How?"
Fiona had started cutting some greens. "Well, I know you are smart and intelligent. You would have figured something out."
Linda pouted. Fiona was right, she could have gotten to know the man better and see what kind of business they could propose. But wouldn't the man consider it as a favour in her stead? He would have foresighted that she was using him. No worth it.
The door to the kitchen opened and a sulky Diana in a pink satin robe and cream furry slippers walked in, opening the fridge.
"Good morning young madame." The maid greeted.
She didn't answer.
"Good morning, madam Diana." Marbel greeted. Marbel was the assistant house keeper. The housekeeper was already going around, ordering the other two maids to do their jobs. Marbel and the other maid were asked to assist Fiona in the kitchen to hasten the cooking.
"Good morning, madam Diana." Greg greeted.
Diana didn't still reply. She picked up a jar of juice from the fridge and closed it, walking to the shelf to collect a glass.
"Diana!" Linda yelled her name.
She turned and swiveled so fast, she could have fallen. "What?!"
"I know you can hear them. You could have some manners and reply to their greetings."
Diana looked at all their faces, they were avoiding her gaze except Fiona, Linda and Greg. "I can do whatever I want. So what if I don't want to reply? I didn't ask them to greet me in the first place."
Marbel •=•
The maid '-'
Greg ••
"Aren't you being too extra? Courtesy demand that even if you don't want to greet first, you should at least acknowledge a greeting. You are so rude." Linda was aggravated.
"Rude to who exactly? Because I did not reply?"
Fiona stopped chopping the vegetable in her hand. "What's making you sulk this morning? You were all excited to have been invited to the Gala last night."
Diana walked to the small dining, placed the jar of juice and glass on the table, preparing to sit beside Linda.
"Don't sit close to me!" Linda yelled, pushing her away.
"You don't own this table. I can sit anywhere I want!" She was forcing her way to the chair, both pushing.
"You both are being so childish this morning!!" Fiona yelled.
As Diana was about to sit down, Linda pulled the chair back, making Diana fall to the floor, her butt hitting the ground hard. "Ow!"
Greg ^∆^
Diana looked at him. "Are you laughing at me?"
Greg tried to straighten his face.
"You are fired!" Diana shouted.
Linda looked at her, unamused. "You have no right to fire who I employ, Diana. Fix your attitude."
The maid walked to her, trying to help her get to her feet. She rejected it. She got up, dusting her night gown. She picked up the jar and glass and walked away from the kitchen.
"That's what I thought." Linda said.
"That was mean." Fiona told her.
"I know. I am giving her the same energy. You can't just be dishing out hot airs when you are not ready to take one yourself. Isn't that hypocritical?"
"Still, Linda, you are stronger than her. Always have been and still are. Anybody seeing you both will term you a bully."
Linda laughed. "A bully and a brat. Isn't that a nice combination?" She thumbed up at them and stood up, picking up her water bottle. "I have to go shower before this aroma makes me start stealing meat."
"I will ring the bell when it is ready." Fiona called after her as she left the kitchen, closing the door.
The maid and Marbel couldn't hold back their laughter.
"What's so funny?" Fiona asked.
"That the only person who knows how to handle Lady Diana is her elder sister." Marbel said.
"Isn't madam a bit too savage?" The maid asked.
"Eh- um!" Marbel cleared her throat, signaling to the maid that Greg was still around.
The maid realized and went back to picking the vegetables.
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As Linda walked up the stairs, she felt hyper because on days when she didn't have to go to work, she could be herself at home around people she didn't have to act sprauncy with. This always renewed her energy each day, calming her head when she was not thinking about work.
She was hoping to slide into her bathtub, in her scented soap and have a blast, but the food was to be ready pretty soon. So she could perform that ritual in the evening.
"Can't you walk faster than that?"
She looked around her, that was her father's voice. But she didn't see him.
"Up here stupid." He said.
Now she looked up, he was at the railing of the major sitting room, his legs crossed, newspaper up in his hands, glasses looking like the professor's type...She exhaled.