Hidden Identity

The arrival(II)

Oh, for the love of god, I think I just saw little stars dancing around. It already felt like a bump was forming on my forehead. Are you kidding me? How difficult is it to stop a carriage slowly? Just perfect, I would not only look like a pig, I will also have an ugly bump. At least I will leave a memorable first impression.

I quickly jumped down on the ground when the carriage door opened. The man himself stepped out. His movements measured, full of power. I will admit that he was a sight for sore eyes. Towering over most of the men with a lean physique and a nicely structured face, he was intimidating. It was hard not to be impressed. Those were my thoughts until he opened his mouth to speak.

''You. What's your name kid? How did you manage to get covered in mud? Now you will have to get cleaned.'' he said in a voice that showed mild annoyance.

Oh, now I see it, he must have also bumped his head somewhere while we were travelling because as far as I remember, he was the one that didn't allow me to get inside the carriage. Unbelievable, I wasn't at fault here.

''Actually sir, y...''

''Henry please inform my mother of my arrival and tell the maids to prepare a bath ''. he said in a more gentle tone to the older man that had just gotten out of the house, completely ignoring me.

Watching Henry go inside the house, he turned to me.

''Henry is the butler and he will supervise you from now on. He will have to teach you good manners, which I can already tell you are lacking. I don't know where you were working before, but I don't take well to someone talking back to me."he said in authoritative voice. I gulped feeling anxious about the way his cold eyes were looking at me.

"I hope I have made myself clear Mr. Cooper .You were warned. Don't forget who you are and where you are standing." the impossible man said to me. Believe me, I wanted nothing more but to forget who I was.

"Lucian oh my dearest child, you finally came to visit your mother" A woman that stepped out of the house said. Quickly walking towards him she threw her arms around him -two maids following behind.

"You cannot possibly know how happy you have made me by coming back. I was scared that something bad happened. "the woman said while squeezing him in her embrace. I could already tell that his mother liked to put on a good show.

"Come on mother, you are suffocating me, "he said in a soft tone, gently prying her hands off him. "you should not worry that much. Besides, in my latest letter I did say that I would be coming home soon. And anyway you didn't give me another choice, you seemed pretty adamant that I return here. I hope you have a good reason for interrupting my trip. Business was growing and I really didn't need any distractions"Lucian said, his tone indicating that he was tired of his mother's theatrics.

"Lucian do not talk to me like that, show some respect child. What did you expect me to do? A mother can't help but get worried. On top pf that, it's not my fault that you don't come to visit more often, so I had to make this seem like it was important for you to be here. "she said, arms crossed , looking her son in the eyes. "Also the estate here really does need you, and I am getting too old to keep an eye on everything. "

I would have enjoyed the banter between mother and son if I wasn't covered in mud getting colder with every passing second. It seemed like this was something that happened regularly and all that I wanted right now was warm tea, hopefully a bath and a bed to lay and sleep. Shuffling on my feet I cleared my throat making his mother notice me for the first time.

"And who do we have here? "she said in a serious tone, inspecting my mud covered feet, her gaze stopping in the mud that I was sure had dried in my face. "Why have you brought a vagrant here Lucian? "She asked looking quizzically at him.

"I'm actually your new servant my Lady, Myles Cooper at your service" I said, hoping that my voice sounded manly.

"Oh that's right, Mr. Henry mentioned that a servant would be coming to take Dominic's position. Well come inside you must be really cold. Kittie please show Mr. Cooper to his room and Lavinia prepare a late dinner for your master. You have missed so many things from the last time you were here. Tomorrow we must talk about you finally ..."his mother's blabbering could be heard while I was following the young maid in front of me.

After we passed a big guest room beautifully decorated, we stood in front of the stairs of a big staircase that was divided in two, connecting the two floors of the house.

"We always take the right staircase that leads to the servants and maids rooms. You are allowed to take the left staircase if you are summoned by the master, mistress, Lady Catherine or one of the guests." she explained to me in a quiet voice.

After climbing all the stairs, we entered a corridor. We passed a couple of closed doors and stopped in front of an open door. From what I could see it was a small room with a bed by the window, a dresser in one corner of the room and a chair in the other side of the room. A bath was ready near the door and I counted the seconds that I would finally get to remove all the dirt from my face and body.

"This had been Dominick's room, so please tell me if there is anything of his that he forgot to take when he left. Your bath is ready and there are some clothes on the dresser you can use while you work here. "I could tell that she was feeling quite uncomfortable for some reason.

"Thank you Kittie , you were really helpful. "I said, waiting for her to leave so I could finally bath.

"Do you need um, help removing your clothes sir?"she asked looking at her toes.

"No, no I'm perfectly fine thank you again, have a good night"I said mortified.

She nodded and quickly turned around to leave. This was a close call I thought, touching my warm cheeks. I couldn't help but think what would have happened if someone saw what was under the clothes I wore. I would have to be really careful hiding my body so I could look more like a man. Tomorrow, I will figure out everything else, I thought while I sleepily splashed my face and neck with the lukewarm water.

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