"Thank you for passing the message. And oh, can you pass this to your first madam? I made it myself and wanted to hand it over to Madam Matombo. But since she isn't here, then I guess I should pass it over to someone who is there," Tapiwa embarrassingly said as she handed over the bottle of sauce.
The guard cautiously looked at Tapiwa before he looked at the bottle. With a glance, Tapiwa could tell that the man was having some mental battle. But there was no way she was going to leave without dropping the sauce.
So, what if Madam Matombo wasn't in?
As long as there was a woman at home who could cook, then her goal was going to be achieved.
Seeing the other guard hesitating, the other guard quickly took the bottle from Tapiwa and faintly said to her, "We will pass it over to her. Please be on your way."
Just like that, after taking her things; these ungrateful men began to chase her way. Of course, Tapiwa, who was at that moment very weak than them, couldn't show her dissatisfaction, so she just nodded her head before leaving.
"Puuu! Another person trying to seek fame!" the guard holding the bottle of sauce spitted seeing Tapiwa going away.
The younger guard who had passed the message to Tapiwa looked disturbingly at the guard who had just talked, and asked worriedly, "Are we going to pass that bottle over?"
"Of course, we should. What if one day she gets to meet the younger madam and complain? As long as we deliver what we have been given, it won't be our fault if anything happens after that," he shamelessly shrugged his shoulders.
"Ohh! That works too. Then let's send it over and get back to work."
"You send it. Since you have already seen the madam, then just finish the job," the older guard urged.
The younger guard accepted the job since the older guy's reasoning made sense.
The young guard went back inside the manor and made his way hurriedly towards the hall where the first madam was currently entertaining her guests.
"First Madam, the guard is back again!" a maid standing by the door announced to the older lady sitting inside on the main chair, surrounded by four women around her age.
The madam who was in the middle of placing a ceramic cup of tea back on the table raised her head and looked at the maid with a frown on her face and asked, "What does he want again? Didn't I tell him what to say to that bothersome guest? Don't tell me that she is refusing to leave?"
The guard who was standing outside overheard his mistress's obvious hate for his second visit, and he couldn't help but break out into a cold sweat.
Not wanting to suffer for a crime he didn't commit, he quickly and in a raised voice defended himself although he was being too hasty, "First Madam, the lady already left but gave me a bottle. She said that you can pass it over to the younger madam when she returns."
When the madam inside the hall heard this, her frown even deepened, "what can these poor people even offer us? I have always warned her not to befriend just anyone. Now just look how she got into trouble because of these people?" she complained as she thought of her co-wife.
"What should I do with it? Should I throw it away?" the guard, who had no idea that he was overstepping his boundaries by talking without being asked, asked for instructions worriedly.
The maid standing at the door, hatefully glared at the back of the guard, very dissatisfied with the way he was doing.
'How dare he try to take my job by directly talking to the mistress?'
"Hand it over and return to your post!" First Madam coldly answered, her tone sending shivers down the guard's spine who realized at that moment that he had indeed caused trouble and it was too late to rectify anything.
The maid smugly took the bottle off his hands and didn't bother to hide just how happy she was with his state.
With his head lowered down, the guard made his way back to the gate and when he reached there, he couldn't help but take a closer glance at the older guard who had been his partner for the past few months.
Back inside the manor, the door maid walked inside the room with her head lowered down and after reaching the First Madam, she knelt on the floor with her hands stretched forward presenting the common bottle that can be found anywhere, and respectfully said, "This is what the guard gave me."
Moments later, another maid took the bottle from the kneeling maid before taking it to the First Madam who was waiting to see the contents of this bottle.
After seeing and receiving too many strange gifts lately, she was very curious about what was delivered this time.
The kneeling maid was dismissed while the maid who took the bottle opened it first to see the contents before passing it over.
As a personal maid, her job was slightly dangerous and if anyone were to plot an assassination of her mistress, she would be the first person to die.
So, with a heavy heart, though she wasn't showing it, she skillfully opened the lid and silently prayed that whatever was inside was going to be acceptable.
The second she opened the lid; all eyes were suddenly on her. What first hit her, not taking into consideration the rest of the women inside the hall, was the aroma that filled her nose.
The fragrance was just so good and seeing the red contents with familiar seeds she knew very well; she became so shocked that she looked at her mistress with big eyes, that she looked almost like a frog.
The First Madam who was waiting for another joke was so shocked, especially upon knowing that whatever was in the bottle was good stuff and stuff that could be eaten.
"Show it to me!" the First Madam quickly urged her maid as the temptation was growing.
Seeing how shocked her maid was, the First Madam was even more curious to see what exactly was in that container smelling so good and making her maid react that way.
And when she saw what was in there, she looked baffled and her shock was even more exaggerated than her maid.
And thanks to these two reactions, the other madams became even more curious about what these two had seen. And when they finally saw what was in there, they all looked enviously at the First Madam and began to eagerly throw questions at her.
Who would have guessed that something they were looking down on or rather someone they looked down upon would bring something so rare and just offer it as a gift without asking for anything in return?
"Find her! Find her right now!" the First Madam ordered urgently upon getting back to her senses.