The House of Beardsley

Chapter Twelve

"She's seen Master Eugene already," Rhiannon said, "since he is always in his room. I suppose she's not particularly excited about it."

"Well, what type of guy is he?" Beth asked with a wink. "Handsome? Flirty? Nice?"

"Probably like the others," Clo sighed, "but I do hope he isn't narrow-minded like a certain someone."

"We don't talk," I lied, "besides some morning greetings." If anyone knew how much I'd already spoken to him, out of my own will, I would be gone.

"I wonder why he's always in his room, though," Beth wondered.

I remembered that no one knew about the state of his legs, and Master Tobias told me to keep it a secret. It was going to be hard to pull off: Master Eugene could stand perfectly fine with a cane, but he didn't seem used to walking without a cane. I supposed he was going to be sitting the whole time during our visit.

"I heard he's sick," Rhiannon said to Beth. "Wealthy people always like to hide away their sick children. Royal families often do it too, because it's an embarrassment for the family." Clo grimaced.

"Why do you always have to bring the mood down?".

"Well, it's true. Let's just hope he's still mentally stable."

"You mean he might be ill in the head?" Beth asked.

"He's not," I said, a bit too fast. They turned to look at me, so I continued. "He just has a weak body. He's nice to me and reads books."

"Hmm," says Beth, "sounds kind of boring. Hopefully he's good-looking, though, so I can at least have another person to feast my eyes on."

"Another?" Clo teased. "Who do you feast your eyes on now?"

"Silas, of course! He's like a real-life Sir Lancelot—I heard from the valets he used to do fencing and he still does horse-riding often!"

Clo raised an eyebrow, making Beth pout.

"What? Do you not like him? He was the politest out of them when we met!"

"I don't know." Clo shrugged. "It's like a facade."

In a strange way, I agreed with Clo slightly, but I kept my mouth shut.

"He feels like a snake. Especially that smile of his."

Well, I wouldn't go that far, though.

"What?" Beth gasped. "That's the best part about him! Full of confidence but not too smug. Who do you prefer, then?"

"Prefer? As in what?" Clo frowned.

"A lover, of course. Or a husband," Beth said with a sly wink.

"We are maids. Don't dream of such things," Rhiannon crassly joined the conversation.

"For once I'm going to agree," Clo said, pulling a long face. "None of them are suitable husband candidates."

"Then what about at least friends?" Clo tapped her chin in thought. It took a while before she answered.

"Maybe the gloomier twin."

"What?" both Beth and I shouted, louder than we planned, and Rhiannon shushed us. But she was curious too.

"Master Valentin? He's eighteen, isn't he? You're what, twenty-something?"

"I'm twenty." Clo looked offended.

"How old are you, Rhiannon?" I asked, trying to direct the question in a different direction. There was silence before she replied.

"Eighteen."

"What?!"

Me and Beth stared at her open mouthed after saying it in unison. Clo had her eyebrows raised.

I couldn't imagine Rhiannon, who was the tallest out of us, and who looked so mature, was my age. She was always aloof and silent, so I thought she was older and thus uninterested in joining me, Bel, and Clo as we joked and played around.

"What do you mean, what?" Rhiannon crossed her arms. "I began working in the service industry since I became of working age, fourteen."

"That young! No wonder you have so much experience," Beth said.

"Why did you start work so young?" Clo asked.

"Like I said, don't judge someone based on their looks. I've had a hard childhood, too." With that, there was an awkward silence. Then Beth said,

"So why Master Valentin again, Clo?"

Clo shrugged.

"I don't like people who are pretentious. I prefer ones who are true to themself, even if it means being a bit unfriendly or different."

As I looked at her saying that, I understood a bit. Clo was like that: she said whatever was on her mind, without minding how it seemed to others.

Yet, at the same time, didn't that also mean Rhiannon—

Beth grinned deviously before saying what I was thinking.

"Then isn't Rhiannon your ideal type?"

There was silence between the two, Clo and Rhiannon, as though both were waiting for the other to say something. Beth continued to look at them for a reaction. Then, finally, Clo gave up, scowled and rolled her eyes.

"Where in the world is Mister Kupka? He's wasting our time."

We giggled at her reaction, and even Rhiannon couldn't help but chuckle.

I guess there were times even Clo lost.

However, the words that Master Eugene said moments before continued to echo in my mind:

"Today, something unpleasant might happen..."