Vixen's Mistress Chapter 49: Lamb Roast

“Mr. Williams,” Hamish said as he took his seat at the dinner table. “I’ve invited a handful of people over for a poetry reading in three days' time. I wanted to set ourselves up in the library and have Hannah read over some old elven poetry. I hope that won’t be a problem for you.”

“Not at all, my lord,” Mr. Williams said as he gently finished pushing in Rayne’s chair behind her. “I personally prefer to start off the year hosting with a smaller assembly. It gives the staff a good chance to get back into the mindset of hosting without throwing them straight into the fire, as it were. It will also give a chance for our new staff to see how we host.”

“Wonderful. I do believe we will need a luncheon for the gathering.”

“I will speak with Ms. Eda and Ms. Vera to get one planned and prepared.”

“Speaking of new staff,” Rayne said looking over to Damian who just finished pushing in Margret’s chair. “I don’t believe we have been properly introduced to the newest staff here.”

“No we have not,” Hamish agreed. “Damian was it?”

Damian gave a polite smile and a bow to everyone. “That is right, my Lord.”

“And you’re a snow leopard?” Rayne’s question appeared to break through the polite mask he wore just ever so slightly.

“Yes, though I had not been aware of that name till today.” Though he was directly speaking to the family, he was also clearly paying attention to how the rest of the staff were dishing out dinner.

“Do you like the snow?” Kaden asked.

“I was born and raised in Clacton, so I have yet to ever see more than a flurry.” Clacton was the most southern and largest port city in the Empire. It was the main port the Hayward business used for tea imports before transporting the cargo to ships more suited for the major rivers that led up to the capital.

“A coastal man,” Hamish said, slightly amused. “I thought I detected just a hint of an accent.”

Rayne hadn’t detected that at all and she had to wonder if Hamish was just saying that. Then again he was a fair bit more well traveled than her. Why would Damian have a more central accent to a coastal one though? Her thoughts drifted slightly to Hannah, realizing that she didn’t have any sort of accent when she spoke either. Was that something humans ‘trained’ out of beastkin? A good question to ask Hannah tonight.

Again Damian gave that polite smile. “Only just a hint, my lord.”

“How long did you live in Clacton?” Rayne asked before quietly thanking Mr. Williams for pouring her wine.

“Eighteen out of my twenty years, Lady Hayward.”

“How are you enjoying the capital compared to the coast?”

Damian took a second to think before replying. “How aggressive the seagulls were always scared me, so I’m very glad to be far away from them.”

That garnered a few chuckles including from Rayne. Though it was clear Rayne and Hamish still had more questions, it was time for them to let Damian get back to learning how dinner here worked. The conversation fell out for a few moments as everyone was fully served the roast lamb.

“Hannah told me that tomorrow is a staff half day,” Margret said quietly.

Rayne looked up from her food in surprise. When had Margret talked to Hannah? “It is. So for lunch and most of the day we will be on our own.” There was a strange tightness that grew in Rayne’s chest that she couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. “When did you meet Hannah?”

“I went to see her in the library before coming to dinner. She said that here beastkin are also given that time off of regular work.”

So Margret went to see her alone. Why did that build anxiety in Rayne? That also appeared to be news to Damian if the twitching of his ears and tail was anything to go by.

“You give her the time off too?” Kaden asked.

Rayne chose to ignore the little annoyance she heard in Kaden’s voice. “Yes, she is a member of staff after all. Granted she isn’t capable of leaving to go out and do things by herself, but her time on off days is hers to do with as she pleases.” She neglected to admit that she hadn’t actually given Hannah that choice last week, but Rayne did have full intent on letting Hannah decide what she would like to do tomorrow. What if Hannah didn’t want to spend time with her though? Rayne didn’t like that thought…

“Everybody needs a little time off every now and then,” Hamish said. “I understand that is probably far different from your father’s household.”

Margret nodded. “At least in regards to beastkin. Are you expecting me to act the same here?”

Being direct was never a bad thing in Rayne’s opinion, but she did understand that it could catch people off guard. Especially in noble society where everything was supposed to be carefully worded. “By law we can not tell you what to do with Damian,” Rayne admitted. “We aren’t expecting you to act in any regard either. However, unlike many households, I would recommend allowing beastkin to also have time off, or at the least a break from a normal hard working routine to something a bit more relaxed and enjoyable.”

Again Margret nodded. “I had been hoping to go out with you tomorrow and I had wanted to bring Damian in case I purchased anything.”

Wanting to go out after arriving in the capital for the season wasn’t unusual. It was considered the proper thing to do so that people could start being aware of your presence in the season to come. The proper thing for Rayne to do as host for Margret this year would be to go out with her. Potentially even go to a tailor to get Margret some new clothes for the season, if she hadn’t already. Granted Margret had already brought a lot of clothes with her. 

“We can do that. There are some stores I might like to visit.” Namely a florist for flowers, and somewhere for pillows. She still needed to ask where one could find those. Now came the part of the conversation Rayne really cared about; could she bring Hannah along if her fox wanted? Last week it had just been the two of them and they could focus on talking to one another, but this time Rayne should really focus on Margret over Hannah. If Hannah did come would it make Hannah feel like Rayne was ignoring her? Rayne didn’t like all these worries bouncing around inside of her. Where had her confidence gone? “As I said, Hannah doesn’t get to go out of her own accord so I would invite her to come along if she so desires.”

 “Hopefully this time won’t cause you to be the first page of a gossip rag again,” Kaden said with a surprising amount of honesty and genuine concern for Rayne.

Hamish nodded thoughtfully. “I’m afraid our newest staff might appear in those things a few more times in the coming season.”

Deciphering Hamish’s reason for saying that was quite easy for Rayne, and she didn’t like that she believed it as well. It could also be far sooner than she would wish considering in three days time there might be an occurrence which would prominently put Hannah on the first page again. Maybe even on the first page of a real newspaper. “We shall take life as it comes to us. There have been plenty of worse things that we have weathered before. Even if you are right, I feel Hannah might be the catalyst, not the actual drama herself.”

“Why would you say that?” Kaden asked.

Hamish and Rayne shared a look. Was it safe to put the idea out there already? Evidently Hamish came to a decision before Rayne.

“We appear to have some major misconceptions about the freelands and trusting the words of a beastkin over what we were taught might not go over well. It might even stir up some people’s beliefs on beastkin.”

Rayne appreciated how good of an answer that was. It was good enough to satisfy Margret and probably would have satisfied most people, but Kaden knew his brother well. Kaden was clearly not convinced, however, he said nothing about it.

“Back to the question,” Rayne started, “if you don’t mind I would like to invite her to come along.”

“That’s fine,” Marget said. “It will give Damian someone to talk to.”

That was an aspect that Rayne hadn’t considered. It would give Hannah more time to socialize with Damian if she wanted. Damian also wasn’t a woman for Rayne to get competitive and worried about. Come to think of it, there weren't really any other women in Hannah’s life for Rayne to worry about. Well, all the maids were women and most of the kitchen staff were women. That spark of anxiety grew in Rayne’s chest again, making it feel a little hard to breathe. Hannah probably spent far more time with those women than she did with her.

“What did you think about our newest staff member?” Hamish asked.

“I liked her. She was polite and very intelligent. She answered all of my questions thoroughly and never got upset if I continued to ask for clarification.”

The anxiety in Rayne’s chest grew more with Margret’s words. If Margret liked Hannah, did that mean that she was going to try and spend more time with Hannah? Would that take away from her own time with Hannah? Would Hannah like spending time with Margret more than her? With the anxiety in her chest grew another feeling. The same little feeling she got when she was worried about losing a game.

Oh no… Rayne was going to start getting competitive with Margret when it came to Hannah’s attention wasn’t she? Maybe even to the staff. For maybe the first time in her life, Rayne started to worry about her competitive nature.

~~~

Hannah stood at her usual place at the dining hall table and though normally that would place Derek next to her, tonight she found Damian standing next to her. Clearly he was nervous to be sitting at a table full of humans and must have thought the best place for him to be was near another kin. Hannah couldn’t blame him for that and Derek didn’t appear to mind too much.

Quietly Damian whispered, “That’s the food from the family’s dinner.” His eyes were locked on the leftover lamb roast from that dinner sitting on the table next to their own meal for the night.

“Leftovers from the family dinners are always brought down for the staff,” Hannah whispered back. “Sometimes there’s a lot and sometimes barely anything. Even when there’s a small amount it’s still polite to only take your even share of it.”

His eyes glanced over at Hannah. “And we’re allowed to eat it too?”

Hannah nodded. “Of course. Just be mindful of how much you take.” Though Hannah had never worked at another noble’s house she could imagine that this was all probably a good shock to Damian. “I really like the redcurrant jam they have with their roasts.” Jam was another food Hannah was very grateful to have again. It had been a very long time since she had sweet things and having a bit of jam on toast in the mornings was almost like having dessert for breakfast.

The other thing Damian occasionally glanced at as they waited were the staff. Mainly Anna who was visibly not happy with another kin eating at the table. “Some of them don’t look very happy with us being here,” Damian said even quieter.

“Anna’s always upset about there being a kin in the house, let alone at the table.” Looking up at the rest, Hannah tried to gauge how everyone else was fairing. Some were looking a little uncomfortable, but most just looked hungry and ready to eat. That being said Neila and Jane were clearly watching the pair of kin, and Hannah didn’t like it for some reason.

“Alright,” Mr. Williams said, taking his place at the head of the table now that he had arrived. “Before we start tonight’s dinner I have one announcement to make. In three days we will be hosting our first gathering of the season. Do not be too worried, it will be a small affair around lunchtime in the library.”

Hannah was a little surprised, not by the fact they would be hosting, just the timing of it. Lord Hamish had said he would give her some warning. Maybe he considered this warning? Either way Hannah would be prepared, even if she was a little nervous about it. She will need to ask for help to rearrange the room to be better suited for a presentation style gathering. 

“There will be more details to come, but for now that is all. Let us eat.” Taking his seat, everyone else followed. It didn’t take long before the chatting started as everyone started eating.

It was a little while before Eda spoke up. “Damian?”

“Yes, Ms Eda?” There was an audible pause in conversation as everyone’s attention turned to the newcomer. His right ear twitched nervously.

“What have you thought about your first day with us?”

“It has been…” he sought for the right word, “…enlightening. The house is far larger than I am used to and the customs here are very different.” His eyes went down to the slice of roast with redcurrant jam on it. “I fear it may take me some time to fully adjust to this new environment.”

“We all take some time to adjust when coming to a new place. I’m sure you’ll get used to how we run things soon enough.”

“Have you spent time in the capital during a season?” Richard asked.

“Not while serving a noble family, Mr. Richard.” Damian answered immediately.

Surprisingly Richard's face turned just the tiniest bit red at Damian’s words. “Please, just Richard. Calling me mister makes me feel like my dad.”

“On that same note,” James started, “please also just call me James as well.”

Hannah worried that Damian’s ears might get sore with all the nervous twitching they had been doing today. It also occurred to her at no point had she ever referred to staff outside of Eda, Stewart, and Vera with honorifics. Had that been some sort of tiny rebellion her mind had forged without knowing it, or had she just made a mistake? Either way she was glad she hadn’t been using honorifics for the regular staff. Especially for Anna.

“I will keep that in mind.” Seeing Damian clearly trying to hold back on the honorifics was a little amusing and Hannah hoped he would get comfortable with it soon.

[A bit off a short chapter but I still think it was good. I liked giving Damian a little bit of backstory and having him finally introduced to the family.

Also this is going to be the start of my next two week break. I feel bad that I haven't thought/worked on much for other uploads here, but I do plan on getting some ready during this break. So my next VM will be uploaded on the fourth of July. Thank you all so much for reading!]