The Haunted Manor (Rosewood and Lala)

[Rosewood]

Only three more days and then the stars would align in their inexorable formation and then it would happen, the ritual that would raise him beyond the existence of a mere mortal. He wondered what it would be like, to transcend his humanity and mortality, he could hardly wait to find out. Fortunately the new maid-servant he had gifted himself should keep him plenty distracted and help him pass these next few days. Rising to his feet, the floor creaked as he walked towards the kitchen as he decided to make himself a snack. The manor was old, built with stone and mortar several centuries ago, the floor was made of sturdy oakwood and it featured a entry hall, lounge, kitchen, guest rooms, private study, a large master bedroom and quite a few secrets that only he knew of. It had been in his family for generations and while it was well-maintained no amount of maintenance could get rid of the...character that the manor had developed. It often seemed as though it was alive, like it was stirring and shifting, following him with it's noises. But it was the building's history that was truly alive and quite possibly the reason his ancestors had originally come here. Prior to them raising a manor here, this place had been the location of a circle of stones that served some kind of ritual purpose to the cult that had protected it. They had fought the armies of his ancestors to the death to preserve and wielded some impressive occult abilities, but in the end sheer numbers had overwhelmed them and they had been eradicated to the last man. The manor had been raised in it's place and had become his ancestral home.

As a child the creaking and stirring of the house had frightened him but now it actually comforted him, listening to the creaking often helped him fall asleep at night. Traveling downstairs, he went straight to the kitchen and made himself a few sandwiches, quite probably for the last time in the foreseeable future. Soon he'd have his maid-servant to do that for him. He grinned at the thought of her, what would she be like? The man who had recommended her said he 'wouldn't be disappointed'. And this had been after he had asked for an attractive girl who would take on all the chores in his house. A random thought occured to him, would his ascendancy rob him of his mortal desires? Or would he only indulge more, no longer hampered by traditional human restraints such as morality and dignity? Should the loss of his mortal desires cause him any hesitation? He wondered what would replace those mortal desires, would he pursue goals of value and meaning? And what could they possibly be? He had spent his whole life following his desires and indulging them at will while maintaining a facade of respectability in his community, doing just enough to be seen as a valued member of the community. Even his occult studies had been indulged in out of a sense of curiousity and lust for power and hidden truth. Perhaps some desires would be lost and new ones would be gained?

He'd have to find out in three days from now.

As he made his snacks he went over the instructions he'd give the maid, he'd have to make sure to tell her to stay out of....then again there was no need to tell her about that. He could simply keep it hidden from her, she wouldn't be able to find it without his help anyway and if he told her she might go looking for it which might enable her to find it. Yes...yes he'd keep it a secret from her. He finished making his snack and decided to retire to the lounge, which was right next to the entry hall, that way he could open the door right away when she arrived and satisfy his curiousity in short order. The front door led to a short hallway that connected to the entry hall, which was meant for receiving guests. It consisted mostly of a single room with coat hangers and coat racks, a few small tables and chairs and a few small dressers that contained a few niceties and were decorated with vases filled with flowers, as were the tables. It was all fairly plain and rather lacking in extravagance, considering the size of the manor. It had been more extravagant when his parents had been alive, they had been rather fixated on maintaining a good impression and had gone out of their way to make the manor as opulent as possible, exhausting much of the family fortune in the process. Many of the more recent renovations were there work as well. He hadn't been interested in maintaining the opulent decorations and had let them wither away or simply sold them off, he had always understood that people cared more about realities than about appearances and knew that a few key financial donations to the town were valued far more than the opulent veneer his parents had pursued, despite the veneer actually being much more expensive.

The meeting hall in turn was connected to the lounge, where he had retired to one of the many comfortable chairs to enjoy his sandwiches. Rather than face the meeting hall he looked out over the gardens, one of the few areas he had maintained if only for his own enjoyment. The manor was rectangular in shape but the backyard was surrounded by tall, thick hedges on all sides. Flowers of all kinds and colors bloomed in flowerbeds surrounded by neat boundaries of rocks and in the center of the garden stood a canopy, under which was a table and several comfortable chairs. During the heat of summer it was a perfect place to retire to and read or simply nap the day away. The canopy had been one of the few things he had added to the garden, he needed a way to fight the summer heat and this was the best he could come up with. Perhaps now that he had his maid-servant he had another to fight the heat, the thought of having her using a fan to blow cool air to him inside the canopy was an enticing thought, to put it mildly.

Hurry up and get here, I want to meet you! he thought to himself with a grin as he enjoyed his afternoon snack and waited impatiently for her arrival.

 

[Lala]

The flat, gray clouds crowding the sky seemed to have real weight to them that bent shoulders and kept heads down as Mia made her way through town. A storm brewed, the palpable energy in the air prickling gooseflesh. It was more the rule than the exception in this place. So many days dark and dreary saddled them that it was a pleasant surprise when the sun peeked through the heavy granite gatekeepers in the sky. There would be no sun today, from the looks of it.

A few wandering eyes traced her movements, though those with wives darted away quickly, sometimes at the insistence of a large handbag aimed at their heads. Mia wore an elegant cloak that pooled around her feet in swaths of black velvet, the hood pulled up over glossy waves of hair that nearly matched its color. She had her mother’s coloring, a lovely pale fawn that revealed blushes easily, and her father’s eyes - a deep, dazzling brown. A raven brooch with onyx eyes clasped the cloak at her neck, a gift from her late mother who claimed it would offer her protection from dark forces in this area.

Mia was uncertain how much that was true, though she had been born and raised here, and the townsfolk were quite the superstitious lot. She paused for a moment in her journey to pull the card from her leather satchel. It was an expensive, creamy paper with just a hint of something sandalwood, masculine, clinging to it. Careful, even handwriting crawled over the paper in black ink. Her thumb traced the edge of the card, careful not to let the black lace of her gloves smudge anything.

An invitation, a summoning. A job offer.

She did need the work. Her most recent employ had ended when the woman of the house tossed her out, claiming Mia had seduced her husband. Now, that was patently untrue. Mr. Thomas had turned into a blithering fool around her, certainly, but she had no active part in it. Unfortunately, word had gotten around of his suffering at the hands of his missus in retribution, and no attached men would hire Mia. They had no qualms about taking in the sights for free, however. Yet there were few bachelors around in need of service, and many of those already had a dedicated house staff.

So, she was quite pleased that a previous, satisfied employer (who had succumbed to his lusts, yet luckily had no wife to complain about it) had recommended her to a friend. She was less pleased to find out who the friend was. Not so much that she had an opinion of the man himself - he was quite secretive in a town good at ferreting out secrets - but that the manor he headed had a reputation all of its own. Her fingers trembled slightly as she stashed the card back in her bag. She needed the work, even if it was in that place.

The manor stood high on the hill, framed by those dark clouds. Twisted silhouettes of trees caressed the ancient stones, swaying slightly as the wind picked up. A fork of lightning jumped in the distance, followed a few seconds later by a roll of thunder.

Her pace increased. She needed to beat the storm, lest she show up on his porch looking less like the maid he ordered and more like some wretched creature dredged from the inky depths of the sea. Quick strides brought her up the hill. She picked her way carefully along the deep ruts worn into the road by carriages. She would have taken a coach herself, if she had more than a few pennies to her name. That would all change soon, hopefully. The man promised excellent compensation.

The manor loomed before her, a behemoth of ancient stone and brick. The gate sang sullenly when she eased it open, giving way to a well-kept front lawn lined by manicured hedges. Her heels snapped on the cobbles, a slow and deliberate pace, but another sudden crack of thunder and the subsequent heavy patter of the first drops of rain had her skittering the last few steps to the alcove that sheltered the front porch.

The wind plucked at numerous layers of lace, tickling her midthigh where her skirt ended. Her apron was a brilliant white, bleached and starched, tied tight around a slim waist to accentuate her figure. The bodice was very low-cut but fitted so perfectly to her form that the little wisps of lace that lined it sat flush against the creamy swell of her cleavage. For such a small thing, she was blessed with quite the endowment and nearly all of it was on display.

She swept back the hood of her cloak and tucked any stray strands of hair back into place beneath her ruffled lace headpiece. She took off her gloves and stowed them in her satchel. Her hand hesitated briefly at the knocker, then she raised it and let it fall with a loud, echoing thump.

 

[Rosewood]

His head snapped up a little from his garden as he heard the distant sound of the knocker. Ah, there you are, he thought to himself as he rose his feet and stretched. No sense in hurrying, making her sweat a little would likely give him more influence over her and a stronger position to negotiate from. On his way to the door he stopped by a mirror and made sure to check himself out. As always he saw the same thing, a relatively ordinary man, better looking than most but from a lifetime of healthy, luxurious living and from having been taught how to dress and groom himself from a young age rather than any innate good looks.

He was dressed in a tailor-made suit, consisting of a white shirt, a grayish-black suit vest and a pitch-black suit jacket with black pants and polished black shoes, proper attire if indeed there was such a thing. After making sure he looked the part of a proper gentlemen he stalked through the halls, his steps no doubt audible to the young lady waiting in trepidation outside. It took a considerable effort not to quicken his pace and maintain a leisurely stroll towards the door but finally the moment came and the large, ornate wooden doors were pulled open.

"You must be Mia," he said as he finally laid eyes upon her. She was everything he had expected and more. The tight, form-fitting uniform hugged an alluring physique, both lean yet endowed with some of the greatest curves he had ever seen. Her ample bosom especially caught his eye and within only a few seconds of having met her his gaze had already dipped and looked for a bit longer than was appropriate, but it simply couldn't be helped. "Come in, come in, you must be soaking," he said warmly, opening the door wider and stepping out of her way so she could walk past him into the house.

"Have a seat on any of the chairs, I'll be with you in a moment," he said, heading into the kitchen. Once there, he quickly fetched a set of clean towels and a pot of tea along with a set of cups and brought them back into the meeting hall, setting the tray on which he had carried all of it down and holding out a towel for her to take, his eyes again briefly lingering on her overflowing bosom.

"There we go," he said as he sat down opposite of her with his own cup of tea. "So, I'm James Mattock, the current head of the Mattock family. I have requested your services as a maid and servant to assist me in maintaining my household and estate. The work will mostly consist of cleaning and cooking," he explained, gesturing slightly with his cup as he spoke.

"Do you have any questions, regarding either the work or me? Don't be shy, you can ask whatever you wish," he said, leaning back in his comfortable chair.