Bête Noire

“Everything must be impeccable for your brothers arrival Miss. Lynch. I expect full cooperation with you on this one. Yours as well as your sisters. No funny business this time.” Mr. Blair said sternly giving me a sharp look. I mastered a nod and he smiled happily before clapping his hands together eagerly.

“Then we must get to work. Chop, chop.” He chirped and I nodded getting up and leaving the lounge room.

Every year the same thing.

All of the servants in our household would go mad once our brother would announce his arrival. Everything had to be flawless and simply perfect. Not that he cared about that but our household head servant Mr. Blair did. It was all he looked forward to throughout the year. Our brother’s arrival. One time of the year to impress him.

I wandered up the staircase and barged into my sister’s room to tell her the good news. I never bothered to knock knowing really well how much she hated that.

She was sitting on the window ledge in thought when I entered. She didn’t even have to turn around to realize it was me. Or she saw my reflection in the window. Either way, she sighed.

“Let me guess. It’s that time of the year again.” She murmured and I nodded plopping down onto her soft king sized bed.

“He’ll be arriving in a week,” I informed her and she nodded still in very much thought.

“Has it ever bothered you that we never see hin? I mean, has it ever bothered you that he left some servant to take care of us rather than doing it himself?” She asked and I took a while to think about it. There was no point in denying it. She was old enough for me to tell her how I felt about this.

“Yes, it bothers me all the time. Whenever I think about it. He is the only family we have left and sometimes it feels like we don’t have him either.” The look she gave me after I had said it was unreadable, almost as if all these years she thought the same thing and yet was too scared to say it out loud.

“Well, I better get going. Mr. Blair will get mad if I don’t start polishing the house and placing the red carpet at the entrance.” I remarked sarcastically and she snickered. Without another word, I slipped out of her bedroom and into the long hallway.

Next couple of days were pure torture, to say the least. Mr. Blair has been bossing all of us around and yelling at how incompetent we are all the time. He even had the nerve to yell at Charlotte who just happens to be his wife and like a second mother to us. His wish for success and need to prove himself made him lash out on his wife. Intolerable if you ask me.

Caroline ( my sister ) and I have been working without a break along with other servants and maids. Cleaning, polishing, washing and dusting the entire household.

It was now the day before his arrival and we were exhausted.

“Does he ever give up?” Caroline sighed outraged as she slid down the wall behind her sitting down on the ground.

“I’m afraid not,” I spoke as I let myself do the same until we were both sitting on the floor of the kitchen with our backs leaning against the wall.

“I mean how does he not get sick of sucking up to him? He already has the job with the highest payment in the household, what else could he possibly want?” She said glaring into the distance.

To say that Caroline despised Mr. Blair would be too little. She never really liked him ever since we first met him. I didn’t either but he was the least of my problems and still is.

“Don’t worry about him. He is nothing to us.” I whispered and she turned her head to me and scoffed.

“No, we depend on him. And I hate it. I hate that I have to depend on someone and be stuck in this damn house until we die. We are his to keep until Reuben comes.” She said and I sighed not wanting this conversation to go there.

“One day we will leave, you know that. And so does Reuben.” I spoke and just as she was about to speak again and defy me I cut her off.

“We are not prisoners here no matter what you think. Reuben comes back like he always does. Mr. Blair is not a kind man, I’ll give you that much. But he cares about our safety and the safety of the people here. Once the day comes we shall leave and that will be the end of it.” I said not meaning a single word of what I had just said. It successfully shut her up.

It was all lies, lies and more lies.

We were trapped here, Reuben doesn’t come back except once to make sure we didn’t commit suicide yet, Mr. Blair doesn’t give two marbles about us or our safety and we will never leave. That is the ugly truth behind us.

We sat in silence for quite a bit of time until she stood up and picked up her mop from the floor. She dusted her pants and looked towards the window.

“The sun is setting. We must get our sleep and brace ourselves.” She said and I nodded also getting up and dusting oof my pants and pulling a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“Goodnight,” I whispered before taking off to my bedroom. Tomorrow was a big day.

“Rise and shine darling, the day has officially begun.” Charlotte sang brightly as she pulled the curtains letting beams of lights into my room much to my dismay.

I grunted already annoyed and she snickered before sitting down on the bed beside me. I just covered my face with my other pillow not wanting to open my eyes.

“There is a lot we must do today, Mr. Lynch will be arriving in around 6 hours. Just in time for lunch.” She informed me and I grunted louder before opening my eyes to take a look at her. I sat up straight and reclined against the wooden headboard.

Her auburn hair was in a tight bun, her clothes radiating with a classy woman like aura and her impeccable smile that brought somewhat of peace to me. She looked like quite the lady, like some royal woman. She would have made a fine Lady if only she had married the right man.

“But I have no desire what so ever to go through with today’s day,” I said and she sighed putting a soothing hand on my cheek.

“I know that with each year it must get harder fo you but do it for Caroline’s sake. She is also on edge and she needs her big sister to be there for here in times like these. She’s still quite young and doesn’t understand these things.” She said and I sighed realizing that she is indeed right.

“Now, I prepared your outfit for today.” Charlotte beamed and I nodded. She pulled out a small bag from behind her and handed it to me.

“There are some necessities in there as well. Such as makeup and accessories. Be sure to be ready for an hour and then come to the lounge.” She stood up and walked to me before giving me a brief kiss on the forehead.

I stopped her before exiting. “Thank you very much, Ms. Blair,” I said and she winked with a smile. “Anytime Miss. Lynch.” The doors closed behind her and I was left on my own to get ready.

After taking a shower and putting on some undergarments I opened the bag Charlotte had handed me. In it was a nice silk dress colored in royal blue. It was quite charming. There was some makeup to go with it and nice head badge to put in my bun. It was shaped to look like a small princess' crown and I snickered at her creativity.

After putting all of it on I looked at myself in the mirror. The dress captured my curves nicely and it made my eyes stick out more. The princess' crown badge was a nice touch to it. I walked to my closet and picked out nice blue ballerina flats to match it.

Surprisingly all of this took me less than an hour. I passed down the hallway before walking down the staircase and into the lounge. Ms. and Mr. Blair were there chatting whilst my sister was sitting down on the couch. She also looked very nice. Her hair also captured in a bun and her dress baby pink. Everything looked pretty much the same as mine besides the color.

“Don’t you look charming,” I pointed out and she snorted. Very unladylike may I say. She has yet to learn very much about being a young lady.

“I don’t like the pink.” She murmured and I smiled down at her before sitting down beside her.

“Well, it looks nice on you so deal with it.” She seemed pleased with what I said and flashed me a small smile in gratitude.

“You also look quite dazzling but something’s missing.” She said looking at me up and down with a frown on her face. I didn’t understand what she meant, if anything, I looked too pampered up.

“I got it,” She said before she raised her hand and pulled out a strand of my hair from the bun and let it fall down to my cheek.

“Now it looks messy,” I commented and she shook her head ′no’.

“Now it looks like the rebellious you that I very much like.” She snickered and I smiled at her. So far she was under very little pressure and seemed pretty much relaxed which I thanked the God’s for. So far so good.

Mr. Blair silenced Charlotte and took a look at us before grinning pleased. He sat on the couch opposite of ours with Charlotte by his side also grinning.

“If I may say you have been behaving quite nicely for the past few days and you have helped around the house quite a bit. You could have been much better but still, I’m very impressed. Also, you look very delightful.” He said and Caroline rolled her eyes. Luckily for her, he missed it.

“He will be arriving in a little less than four hours so be ready. You can rest for now or help around in the kitchen. Either way be ready by noon.” He said and I nodded before getting up and dragging Caroline with me out of the room.

12:14

Still no sign of him. All of the servants were aligned in perfect order to greet him dressed in their finest working robes. Mr. Blair and Charlotte were at the door to greet them first whilst we were behind them along with the maids. Everyone looked pampered up and dressed like I imagine they would never even think of on just any day of the year.

My belly churned and I was counting seconds till his arrival. Caroline’s hand gripped on mine as she took deep and safe breaths. At least one of us was calm and collected.

Not much longer I heard a car drive into the driveway which only made me more anxious. The waiting was agonizing to bear with. I just wanted this to be over with and go back to my bed for some comfort.

The large wooden doors creaked opened and in he stepped. He stepped in first along with two men I had no knowledge of. They were right behind him. All three with matching straight faces. All three suited up and looking like quite the businessmen.

Mr. Blair offered him his hand and he gladly took it. Charlotte did the same but with a small head nod which he made sure to return. Both greeted the two men with handshakes as well which they returned with a ghost of a smile on their faces.

“Welcome back Mr. Lynch.” Mr. Blair said with a smile and he leads him and the other two mean inside with each step closer to us. As the older sister, it was my duty to greet him first. I reluctantly let go of Caroline’s hand to which she whimpered slightly.

“My, my. Arabella. You have aged.” He commented with a smirk and I looked down. Not a second and he is already starting to get under my skin. Also, he hasn’t aged a day. Stil the same look on his face, one that makes me so angry with him.

“I see you haven’t,” I whispered back and he grinned before pulling me into a tight hug. It was weird to have him holding me in his arms. It seemed unnatural, almost as if we aren’t related at all. He seemed like more of a 7th knee cousin that I despised to me. I pulled back first and looked down avoiding eye contact. Luckily for me, he changed his attention to Caroline.

“You’re still a beautiful young girl.” He said cupping her face in his hand with a smile. She wordlessly hugged him first and he let her. She missed him no matter what he did and for how long he left us be. Saying anything different would be a lie.

After he pulled away he turned to the servants and greeted each and every one of them. “I am sorry for being late. The traffic was quite the drag.” He commented and Mr. Blair nodded whilst waving it off with his hand.

“Shall we head for the dining room?” Charlotte offered as she leads him and the two men up front and all of us followed behind.

It was about to get really interesting.

We were all seated down at the large cherry wood table which had been decorated better than ever before. The maids returned to their work and it was only Mr. and Ms. Blair, Reuben, two men, Caroline and I now. Caroline and Charlotte were on each side of me to which I was very thankful for.

“Mr. Devitt, what brought you to our home?” Mr. Blair asked as he averted his gaze towards one of the men trying to start up a conversation. He had neat blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. Looked to be around the same age as my brother.

“Well, Reuben had invited us to keep him company for the next couple of days. He says London could get a little boring at times.” He said giving the other man a brief glance.

“That is very nice, I assume it’s not your first time in England?” Charlotte questioned with her usual smile and Mr. Devitt shook his head ′no′ whilst the other man shook his head ′yes’. The other man also had blonde hair and was around the same age, the only difference I could spot were dimples and his green eyes.

“That explains why I’ve never seen you.” I murmured and the other man lifts his head to look at me. His gaze was piercing but curious.

“And you’re the oldest daughter of the Lynch family I presume?” He questioned and I nodded plastering a fake smile on my face.

“I’ve told you about her Bennet.” Reuben comments and Bennet nods with a ghost of a smile.

“Indeed you have,” He whispered more to himself.

“Well, how have your studies been Caroline?” Reuben asked and Caroline looks up confused as to why would he be talking to her. He never asks us about our studies or our lives.

“They’re going just fine considering the fact that I’m home schooled,” Caroline said but it was more of a complaint for which she earned a glare from Mr. Blair and I slightly elbowed her in the ribs as a warning.

“I don’t think that being homeschooled is a bad idea, do you, Arabella?” Reuben asked as he looked towards the two of us. I could clearly see through his plans, he dared me to defy him. He wanted to see who I’m more loyal to. My sister or my brother. Well, that was a certainly easy one.

“If you’re asking for me to be completely honest then I must say I do like the idea of homeschooling as long as it doesn’t mean being a prisoner to your own home,” I commented earning me a glare from Mr. Blair.

Reuben chuckled along with Mr. Devitt. All three men found this quite amusing. Fortunately, the maids started bringing in the appetizers and serving them across the table.

“How I wish I could pour this hot soup all over his head.” Caroline murmured earning a snicker from me. Bennet also snickered at the same time but we both choose to ignore it.

We ate in silence and once done the maids came and picked up the plates. It was very uncomfortable. Charlotte decided to break the discomfort.

“So Mr. Lynch, where have your travels taken you?” She asked and Reuben answered with a smile, he was happy to answer this question.

“Interestingly enough they took me to Romania.” He said and then looked at me.

“What do you think Romania is like?” He questioned me and I was taken back by the question. I knew little to nothing about Romania. How should I know?

“I- I really don’t know,” I answered truthfully.

“Well, I can tell you that it’s quite adventurous and freeing.” He spoke almost as if Romania was the country he was born and raised in. He probably found himself a woman there, that’s why he’s so keen on Romania.

“Too bad we aren’t free,” Caroline commented and then quickly sealed her mouth shut.

“What do you mean you’re not free?” Reuben asked and she shook her head not wanting to answer that, his eyes challenged her and she burst.

“Fine, you what to know what I mean by that? I mean that we are just like Arabella said, prisoners to our own home. Actually, when I think about this-this isn’t even home. It doesn’t deserve to be called that way, home is where a family is and this is no family. These are only bits and pieces of what we have left.” She said getting up from her seat and throwing him a dirty spiteful glare.

“Sit down Caroline.” He ordered sill challenging her.

“No.” She said simply before storming out of the dining room.

“I’ll go after her,” Charlotte muttered alerted but I grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “I’ll go,” I said and she nodded before I stood up.

“And where are you headed?” Reuben asked. Everyone’s eyes were staring at me intensively.

“To talk to my sister, oh and everything she said, I couldn’t of have said it better myself.” I spat and also rushed out of the dining room in search of her.

And to think we almost made it to the main course. New record.