As much as Vine tried to forget the maid that he saw, the images of that girl remained stuck in his mind. Who was she? Why had he never seen her again? He wanted to see her, and ask her a lot of questions. He picked up his phone and called Tessa. Tessa appeared as soon as the call ended, and Vine asked her if all the maids were on duty at that time.
"We have three maids who are off duty," Tessa responded.
"OK. Make a plan for everyone to report for duty tomorrow. I want to see all the maids."
Tessa did as she was told, by calling up those who were off, instructing them to report for work. And for those who were intending to go off, she postponed their days.
On the following day, every maid was rather scared and seriously unsettled. They all came wearing their newest, cleanest uniforms. When the time came for them to meet the young master, some of them were so scared that they almost shed tears.
"What did we do? Did anyone steal something? If anyone did something wrong, please just tell us so that we may have an idea of what is going on," one young maid said.
No-one responded to her, for they were all scared and each person thinking about their own issues. Each maid was secretly taking stock of their own work life, some of them regretting the times that they reported a bit late for work, and some regretting the few times they were sitting down while it was time for work.
Tessa came and announced that the young master was on his way. She then pulled out her phone and called Vine.
"Tell them to line up outside, near the pool, I am coming. No jackets, no jersey, I only want everyone to be in uniform, and no ponytails. All of them should have their hair running loose."
"Yes sir," Tessa responded, wondering what on earth was going through the young master's mind.
She relayed the information to all the maids.
"No jersey? Why? Does he want to check if one of us is pregnant?"
"What does it matter if any of us is pregnant? Jessica got pregnant last year and she went for maternity leave. It's not a crime," one of the maids spoke up.
"You can only say that because the young master is not here. Once he comes, you won't be able to utter a word," the others said.
Within a short while, they were all standing in a straight line. Gareth was the first one to arrive, and he looked at all the girls, wondering in his mind who among them could have caught his young master's eye. He scanned the girls from head to toes, making them feel extremely uncomfortable.
Then two bodyguards appeared, and behind them was Vine. Two more bodyguards were walking behind Vine. All the maids became silent as they watched Vine walking towards them. He looked at each and every girl, and for some, he ordered them to turn around. He did not say a word, he simply motioned with his fingers, and the girls understood that they were required to turn around. The poor maids felt like they were being auctioned, yet none dared say a word. He took his time, scrutinizing every girl and passing from one of them to the next.
It took a long time until Vine reached the last girl, and he looked disappointed.
"Is everyone here?" he asked Tessa.
"Yes, young master Vine."
Vine shook his head. Where was that maid? Who was she?
"Did anyone resign, like in the past week, two weeks?"
"No-one has resigned, young master. We last had a resignation about six months ago." Tessa explained.
Vine started walking back towards the mansion, and Gareth joined him.
"You really want to see her, my young master," Gareth said with a chuckle.
"I wanted to see her. All I remember is her body shape, but I did not see her face. I also saw the hair. I'm sure I can recall the hair length and colour."
"And scent," Gareth laughed. Vine did not find it funny. He continued to walk.
"Just forget about her. Even if you find her, what do you want to do?" Gareth asked.
"The thing is, there is hardly any girl who excites me in any way. Sometimes I even ask myself if it's in me to like ladies. But that girl somehow caught my attention", Vine explained.
"So what's next; now that you did not find her?"
"I don't know. And what makes it more complicated is, I have a strong feeling that I have met this girl before. Why did her hair smell so familiar?"
"Hahaha my young master! How many minutes did you spend with her? You are just imagining things. I mean, you wouldn't have managed to smell her hair in so short a time, would you?"
"I know what I'm saying, Gareth. Where on earth is that girl?"
"Forget about her and concentrate on the mother of your child. She too tickled something in you the very first time you saw her. She might be the one, you know." Gareth laughed.
Vine continued to walk without saying a word.
When lady Pinkerton heard the news of the maids lining up for an inspection, she summoned Tessa to her wing, so that she could know more about it. Tessa explained that she only did it as per young master Vine's instruction.
Vine was called in, and he went along with Gareth. The two of them sat facing the lady, and the lady asked for an explanation. Vine, being the person that he was, went straight to the point and explained that he was looking for the girl who managed to tickle his feelings.
"But Kiara did the same to you, and she is here, and yet you are ignoring her. What is this, Vine? Here I am, happy that you're finally mending your ways, and you're starting to chase after some girls again?"
"No grandma," Vine responded. He would have really loved to snap back at her, but he quickly reminded himself that the new Vine was calm and collected. He reminded himself that he was choosing to become respectful for the sake of his son. "I was only saying, I hardly like ladies. Each time I see them, they don't excite me in any way, yet that maid, the one that I saw; she really got me all excited."
"And Kiara did the same! On that day you confessed to Gareth that Kiara excited you when you saw her. You liked her the very first time you saw her."
"Yes I did," Vine responded.
"And so? You think each time you see a lady who makes you feel excited, you must run after her? You have already picked one flower from the garden, and that flower happens to be Kiara. Stick with her, my dear, and forget about all the other people."
Vine picked a glass of water and took a sip from it.
"I am happy because you're planning to go on that holiday with Kiara. I am over the moon. You did the right thing," she said.
Vine looked at Gareth, and the latter shrugged his shoulders. "Do you really have to tell her everything?" Vine asked in annoyance.
"I had to tell her, I'm sorry," Gareth smiled.
Lady Pinkerton went on to talk a lot of things, expressing her joy that Vine, Kiara and Vincent were going on a holiday. Although Vine reminded his grandmother that Gareth and Tessa were also coming along, the lady did not mind that. The fact that they were going away for some days was enough to make her smile. She thought finally everything was beginning to fall into place, and that on its own made her very happy. Alone in her room, she even began to pray for Vine and Kiara's second child to be a little girl. "I pray that they come to love each other and get married for real this time. And I pray that they be blessed with another child, a girl this time. I will name her Valerie Louisa" she spoke to herself, failing to control her excess joy.