One month and five days following the soirée, Matthew finally left the Lancaster Household only to return to his parents and eldest brother's home to state that he wished to move out, rent a place in town and purchase a townhouse in the city to eventually move into, causing a state of shock in the Westcott House.
It had taken the completion of seven missions to get this far. He had, had to prevent his sister from drinking that same tea blend the nanny had brewed that one time. Unfortunately, he failed to prevent her drinking it, foolishly relying on her usual dislike of tea and one or perhaps more of the ingredients it contained disagreed with her. Whether it was an allergic reaction or a unfavourable result of it mixing with another substance in her lifestyle, he was not sure, but it had resulted in the additional mission of preventing her from entering the nursery the day following consumption.
Lady Katrina had been suffering a migraine of epic proportions, unlike anything she had experienced before and it left her completely out of sorts and unlike herself. Her senses were also overly heightened and she snapped at the maids, when they attempted to open the curtains that morning (the daylight was blinding) and when presented with breakfast (which apparently smelled atrocious). But whether they meant to or not, the children were being very noisy that morning, singing loudly and very much out of tune as the nanny taught them nursery rhymes. It grated upon the Lady's already fragile nerves until she rose to storm into the nursery to scream at the children to be quiet. Matthew had intercepted her, quietly excepted her wrath, before handing her a cup of warm milk and guiding her back to her room to sleep. He encouraged the nanny to take the children into the garden at the other side of the house to play and all became peaceful.
He later discovered that his sister had drank the tea when visiting relatives and had taken a liking to the flavour, when she asked her kitchen to brew her some. He had been passing the drawing room at the time when the sickeningly sweet scent wafted from the room. Sure enough, his sister suffered another migraine the following day, though it was not quite as bad, Matthew had to keep the children away from their mother. Lord Thomas had been out of business and returned home to find himself being greeted by a flying vase (fortunately, not one of his private collectibles). It had been quite the mission to calm the outraged man down and make excuses for his sister.
After that, he had experimented in the kitchen for a few days, under the eyes of silenced, wary cooks, and created a tea made of herbs he had found in the garden and a twist of lemon. Katrina had found it most delightful and refreshing and even more to her taste than the imported blend. He'd passed the tea off as a little something he'd discovered in town, before giving the recipe to the cook, thus finally completing that initial mission.
The next mission had been to rescue Katy from her mother's locked wardrobe; she had been playing hide and seek and had managed to find herself trapped when the maids had tidied the bed chamber. Meeting with Keith Lancaster could barely be called a mission, seeing as the man had come to them, but during his stay, troublesome Miss Katy became trapped in the attic and no one could figure out just how she had come to be up there. Finally, he had simply to keep the nanny from meeting Keith Lancaster during his stay, which he did by sending her on a home visit, for she missed her elderly mother. He'd actually become quite fond of the girl, she was a bit of an innocent and quite naive. She lacked a vicious bone in her body and was not ambitious to say the least, completely unlike his first impulsive conclusion. So, to ensure safe passage, he had bundled her up in his carriage and sent her on her way and because she was simple, it didn't occur to her to turn down this good fortune. She (and his carriage) had returned to the estate the day following Keith Lancaster's departure.
And for now, Matthew Westcott regained his own freedom to do with as he pleased. And so he would. He planned to rent a place close to the Lincoln-Kay residence (two properties down, as it happened), befriend the eldest son until they were inseparable and figure out how to convince him to move with him into the city. Once there, he would shower him with all the love he had in their past life and more and he would not let him leave his side until they were old and grey, unable to walk more than a few metres, unable to hear much beyond each other, unable to eat anything but the softest food. With those thoughts in mind, he went to win his lovers heart.
****
The first thing that Cornelius did when greeting his guest, who happened to be Matthew Westcott, was to blush a deep crimson. It was not intentional. Cornelius had experienced another quite sensual dream the night prior, which had left him and his body in an awkward state of consequence following sated arousal. Something about the air of Master Westcott reminded him of his dream lover, though he was certain they were not the same, their structure being quite different. But none the less, the man's presence had reminded him quite vividly of the dream hence flustering him quite much.
Matthew, on the other hand, felt pleased that he could effect Cornelius Lincoln-Kay so easily and licked his lips wondering what other responses he could illicit from the man. "M-master Westcott," Cornelius stuttered slightly, before clearing his throat. "What brings you here to our humble home?"
"Call me Matthew," he requested, with a warm smile, his dark eyes sparkling like sapphires. "I've just recently moved to a residence nearby and discovered you lived in the area and sought to reacquaint."
"Master Westcott.."
"Matthew."
"...M-Matthew," he quietly corrected. "You say reacquaint, but we have only met the once."
"And I enjoyed your company, so am I wrong for seeking to develop a friendship with yourself?" Cornelius paused, but finally shook his head. It was not wrong per say, but...
"Ah, would you like some tea?" He offered, almost shyly. Matthew beamed as he felt his lover tentatively accept the offer of friendship between them.
"Do you have camomile?" He asked. Before Cornelius could answer, a slightly flustered girl, dressed in a gown meant more for evening gala's than afternoon tea, appeared in the doorway. She neatened the emerald green skirt and clasped her hands together at her tiny, corseted waist.
"Brother, why did you not tell me that we have a guest?" She asked in a clear voice.
"Mast...Matthew came to speak with me, sister," Cornelius explained, hoping to usher her away. He told himself it was because he did not wish for her to make a fool of herself in front of the man that not only did she desire, but who was likely out of her reach. He pretended not to think that there might be another reason he did not wish for her to join them. "So I do not believe it should concern you." However, Nellie was nothing if not stubborn and ambitious.
"Of course it does, brother," she chided, all too clearly. "While mother and father are not in residence, I am the Lady of the House, so I should offer Master Westcott our hospitality." She ignored the fact that her brother rolled his eyes heavenward at her words.
"They are only in town to visit the dress maker," he muttered. Matthew watched passively as this minor drama played out in front of him. He was not unaware of Nellie's wishful thinking, in this life he knew what that look in her eyes meant. In hindsight, he had experienced similar looks in his past life, but his lazy attitude and the fact that his eyes only saw Warren had him failing to notice. Still, when she invited him to join their family for dinner, he decided not to refuse. He would state clearly that he was not interested in becoming her husband later.