Tempest & Temptation

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔊𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱

"And, I didn't marry you to hear your mouth." He scowled.

She felt his glare and her boldness was quick to dissipate. "I'm sorry," she said, lowering her voice. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to upset you, darling." Her mouth grew dry. "I didn't mean to speak out of line, I merely got carried away with my emotions. You know how prone I am to such womanly flights of fancy. Don't be mad at me, Davyid, I just---."

She gasped as he suddenly forced her into a seat at the roundtable. "Davyid I---."

"---Mister Ezra, forgive her rambling, this is my wife, Anya Sutherton. I meant to introduce her sooner than later, but as you can see, she loves to babble."

Lady Sutherton blinked as stared at a young man seated at the table in the seat across from her. She had not even recognized the presence until her eyes gravitated to him.

"It's alright," he lightly chuckled. "Greetings, Lady Sutherton." He smiled generously at her. "It's wonderful to meet you."

She furrowed her brows, blinked a few times, glanced at her husband, and back to the man.

Sunlight from every window gravitated towards him; the bright glowing yellow streaks wrapped around him, hugging and kissing his features, giving him every bit of a heavenly glow. Outside, the cotton blue sky was gleaming, not a single cloud blemishing it. She was certain she even heard a few chirps of birds dancing nearby, like some angelic choir of nature.

"And who would you be?" She blinked again.

"I'm Ezra Radcliffe, wonderful to be acquainted with you, Lady Sutherton. Sir Berkely sent me." He offered his hand, stretching over the small diameter of the roundtable.

"Sir Berkely sent you?" she questioned, eagerly accepting the warmth of his hand.

"Yes." He nodded with a gentle smile. "As I was telling Lord Sutherton, Sir Berkely was unable to come due to a family emergency. He sent me in person to let you know that his emergency domestic services will be unavailable until he returns."

"Family emergency? Oh my, I hope he's alright," she said, concern filling her eyes.

"Yes, luckily it was nothing too grave. Just a slight tragedy that happened."

"That sounds terrible, Sir Berkely has been so good to us." She lifted a service bell that was in the middle of the table and give it a few rings. "Something to nibble on? I see you have not yet anything to eat with your tea, and I've been waiting for a drink myself."

"Thank you, that would be lovely." He nodded. "I was just speaking to Lord Sutherton about your home. It's magnificent and befitting of your family."

"Ah, thank you. Everyone mentions that. But forgive me?" She stared at him, the tenderness in his eyes single-handedly moving the tension around them. "How long have you been working with Sir Berkely? I can't believe this is the first time I've seen your face."

Her worries she packed away, and she quickly gave her complete attention.

"It's been about a few weeks now. I have yet to be assigned to anyone, so I've just been seeking around for work before Sir Berkely sent me here."

"Really?" She took in the sight of the young man closely, taking in a clean and proper figure. He seemed like a golden object wearing a crown of friendship and cordiality.

"But you're quite young in age," she said, stunned.

He chuckled. "I think I get that a lot."

"Huh." Her eyes were glued. "Fascinating, that is."

Lord Sutherton found a seat next to his wife, before glancing at her with an apathetic stare. "Before you interrupted our conversation, we were talking of a possible business relation."

"Business?" She raised her eyebrows.

Lord Sutherton glanced at the young man, and then back to his wife.

"Here." He handed his wife a thick stack of documents from the table.

"What's this?" She opened the folder, bouncing her eyes from her husband and reading. "Trained at the Queen's Domestic Service Academy? Qualifications from Norman and Bishop?" A puzzled look consumed her as she absorbed the information with debilitating shock. ".... And oh my." Her eyes jumped back and forth from the paper to the young man.

As she continued reading, a maid entered the room, bringing in a cart of more refreshments and light snacks.

Lord Sutherton waved her over. "Send for Lady Erina," he said to the maid before having his cup refilled. He took a sip, patiently viewing his wife's perplexing stare as she read.

Her hands shook, eyes traveling slowly on the page, a nervous laugh escaping. "Mister Ezra, you seem to be..." She dragged her words, trailing her eyes from the pages to him. "Very talented." She flipped through the pages. "Very so." She sat the papers back down and blinked.

"Thank you." He smiled.

"What is this 'business' relation you have with us?" she questioned, enjoying his smile.

𝕾𝖍𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖜𝖊 𝖈𝖔𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖚𝖊?