The House of Beardsley

Chapter Ten

I was unable to chew. When I looked at the valets sitting at the table with us, I felt scared. However, when I saw Mister Kupka, I realized he was watching me.

He was the trusted valet of the late Adam Beardsley, in charge of hiring and firing all the valets and maids. He probably knew who the spies were already, and knew I wasn't on their side yet.

"Today I'll be assisting the maids in cleaning up the parlor room," he said. "Are you listening, Miss Shuyan?"

"Huh?" I was suddenly aware of my surroundings.

"Were you listening?" Beth asked, touching my shoulder. "You've been kind of strange this morning."

"Let's hope she's not coming down with anything," Holden said. "Or else you might not be able to go to market."

"I'm fine," I said quickly, hoping none of the maids would mention what happened last night. "I'm feeling perfectly fine. What were you saying about the parlor room?"

"It'll take probably the whole day. It's an essential part of the estate, but has been left unused as the Beardsleys rarely have any guests over. They mainly use the drawing room, as they are a small family—"

"Small? You must be jesting," Clo said.

Mister Kupka glared at her. "Shall I retract my statement to satisfy you, Miss Clotilde? Due to the fact that they are family it's fine to be informal, therefore they use the drawing room. However, today we shall tidy up the parlor room."

"I hate that room!" Beth whined. "The moose head is awful, and there's so much dust!"

"Then you can also not go to the market."

At that, we all fell silent.

"I take it as there is no further discussion on this topic. Please go upstairs and clean the masters' bedrooms."

"Yes," we all said, and then went up the stairs.

Master Tobias's room in the morning was less scary and threatening, but the unfinished game that sat on the table reminded me yesterday wasn't going to be the last visit.

Once I was going to Master Eugene's room, I knocked and said,

"It's the maid, sir."

"Oh, come in!"

I opened the door nervously, but once I was greeted with his relaxed, smiling face, I could breathe easily again. Unlike Master Tobias, he felt welcoming and warm.

"Good morning, Miss Shuyan," he said the moment I walked in. He seemed to have just finished breakfast, as there was a big plate and teacup on a breakfast tray supported by four legs on his bed, over his lap.

"Good morning."

"I'll get out of bed now." He hurried to remove the breakfast tray on his bed, but seemed to have problem doing so, so I placed the sheets on a chair and move quickly.

"I'll do it!" I hovered over him, careful not to touch him, and then carried the tray up and placed it on his nightstand.

"Thank you, Miss Shuyan." He smiled again. Something in me stirred. Something akin to pity.

Did Master Eugene know that he was in a house of foes?

I couldn't have guessed it from his smile.

What was it that Master Tobias said, about him knowing a life other than Beardsley? Was it true?

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry for worrying you. Shall I hand you your cane?"

"Yes, please."

I handed him his cane, and then, without thinking, supported him. His hands touched mine, and they were cold. When I realized what I did, I stared at him in surprise, and he did too.

"I'm sorry—"

He laughed, interrupting my apology.

"No, no. Thank you for helping me out of bed. But I'm not that bad, I promise." His fingers left mine, and he hurried to the other chair that sat next to his bed. "I must look pathetic, don't I?"

"You don't, sir," I said.

He gave a small smile.

"I couldn't carry a tray, and I had to be helped out of bed by a girl younger than me. No wonder Silas and Tobias always look down on me."

I only looked at him.

There was a melancholic feeling about Master Eugene, and I could tell, despite having only meeting him twice. He smiled a lot, but like it was forced, and when he spoke, his voice was low and quiet. He didn't speak with the confidence all the other masters, besides maybe Master Valentin and Master Elias, had.

"I think strength is shown in ways other than what you can do."

He looked at me.

"I don't think I have any strength sometimes. Not strength in mind nor strength in power."

"But you have strength in your heart, Master Eugene."

He chuckled a bit.

"That's kind of you. But I doubt whether I even have that."

"You do!" He looked surprised at my my sudden exclamation, but I didn't stop. "Master Tobias told me, when your late Father asked what you'd take from the house if it was burning, you said you would save everyone in the house. And since that wasn't possible, you would save a person—because even a single life matters."

"You heard that?" I felt my face flush, and hurried to cover it up.

"Yes, it surprised me. In the orphanage I grew up in, the church were I grew up in, I always heard about saints, kind people sacrificing themselves for others, but not once have I met one. Not a single person adopted me in the sixteen years I was there. No one thought helping a little girl would make a difference."

I inhaled.

"But you, sir—you said that even one life saved makes a difference. And I know how that feels, more than anything. And I want to thank you for saying that, because it made me really happy."

When I finished talking, he was smiling again.

Sunlight was streaming in from the window behind him, and the yellow light cast on his hair looked like a halo.

He looked more like an angel than the angels on stained glass.

"Thank you, Miss Shuyan," he whispered. "I didn't realize my words could mean so much to someone one day, but it made me grateful. If I have made a single person happy, I'm glad I was born."