THE COOK'S SWORD

Chapter two

He wanted to know about the young girl he had been keeping an eye on every night for the last three weeks. He had learned her night schedule. She would come out from the manor servant's quarter at two o'clock run for forty-five minutes along the ocean shoreline. Then she would stretch her body for ten minutes. After this, she usually seemed to relax for five minutes or so he thought. After the five minutes, she spent kneeling catching her breath; she would pick up the sword she usually hid in the sand and start her practice which went on for two hours.

Today he decided to do some investigation so as to know who this girl was. Though he had not seen her face one thing was sure, she worked in the manor. Though he did not know at which capacity or even what department.

He pretended that he wanted to know the servants who worked for him. A spy he was, in the disguise of a caring and loving employee. All that he hated in employees who showed such signs of weakness. Love was for the weak, paupers and the insane or so he used to tell himself. That was until he saw the night sword girl and started to admire her. Her experience and expertise with the sword, though he told himself that it was because it is a jewel that has yet to be found. A jewel that no one has seen except for himself and he would save and treasure it as the rest of his treasures. Little did he know the jewel is which will save him in the future.

He started with the footmen, so as not to raise any suspicion that he was only interested with the female servants. Even though he knew he will not find her among the footmen he took the opportunity to know if one of them was teaching her the art. Woe unto him as he came to learn that none of his footmen or soldiers had the technique or the experience that he would have very much as appreciated them to have for his safety.

When he got to the house servants who were majorly made of females with the exception of a few males he had not yet found who taught the 'night sword girl', as he had come to be referring to her as, the art of fighting. None of the footmen or the soldiers seemed to have such mastery. But now he was more than happy and looking forward to knowing who his night sword girl was.

He started with the laundry ladies who were mostly made up of old ladies who could not work in other strenuous duties of the manor, but none of them stood out. Next were the house's cleaners still no one stood out. All of them were too timid and that did not stand out as someone who would swing a sword. He went on to the servers. Though he knew most of them as they usually served him his meals but still he wanted to see maybe she was among them. Luck was not on his side as none of them would meet his eyes.

The kitchen staff was the last on his list for his touring of his servants. When he got to the kitchen everyone was busy. Some were preparing his dinner ready to be cooked while others were cleaning the floor and the countertops. One of them stood to the side by the stove cooking his evening tea.

When he entered the kitchen all the servants' stood up and bowed. The chit chat that they were having, stopped. They thought that he had come to fire them. None of them would look him in the eye. He asked them their names and their position. He learned the head of the kitchen staff was Mrs. Anne Roberts. Mrs. Roberts introduced all the kitchen staff to him.

When he got to the cook he took more interest in her as she was the one who cooked all his meals. He did not want to make a wrong impression lest she decided to poison his food. He appreciated the effort that she places in making his food more so his tea. He wanted to know what she added in his tea but she did not give in into telling him her special ingredient.

He was surprised at her outspokenness. He could see she was not as timid as the rest and she had an aura around her that he had not seen even in the male servants. He wanted to believe very much that this was his night sword girl, but he could not prove it.

That night he slept feeling as if he had accomplished something though he had not been able to pinpoint who the night sword girl was among the hundreds of servants who were in the manor. But he had high hopes of the near future. He promised himself that he would unravel the mystery that surrounded this girl, even if he did not know who she was.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Do you think that Lord Wright will ever find our girl? If so how do you think the meeting would be? If not why do you say so?

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