Sir Milton

02

After the grand tour, Stephen leads me to a room on the second floor.

"I'm going to introduce you to William. He's 8 and he's very talkative so you might just want to be in and out. It's an obligation to meet him, we all see him a lot. Sir Milton doesn't like the kid around strangers."he says as we come to a stop in front of a door.

"Okay, makes sense. "I say.

"Also...it's been a while since there's been a woman in the house. I have to warn you, we were 100% expecting to have a male housekeeper."he says.

"Why would I have to be warned?"I question.

"Um, Sir Milton doesn't want the boy to think of anyone else as his mum."

"Oh, that's very understandable."I say.

He clears his throat and steps aside as he grips the doorknob.

He opens the door and instantly I see a small boy in the floor playing with a few wooden cars.

"Master William, we have a new guest that will be staying with us. This is Miss Astrid."

The small boy looks over at me and then smiles as he stands.

"Hello! I am William Milton!"he says offering me a proper handshake.

"Well hello Mr. William! It's so nice to meet you."I smile as I shake his hand.

"Master William, your father has called for you in the kitchen, dinner will be served soon."Stephen says.

"Is it shepherd's pie?"William asks.

"Yes sir it is."Stephen responds.

"Goodbye Miss Astrid!"he says excitedly before dashing past us.

"No running by the stairs Master William!"Stephen calls after him.

He instantly stops running and proceeds to speed walk.

"The boy really likes shepherds pie. C'mon then."he says.

"Quite the charmer he is."I chuckle as we begin walking again.

.......

I smile, seeing the plate all laid out and ready to be served.

"Alright, the larger serving is for Sir Milton. The extras are for his colleagues that will be arriving later. Why don't you serve sir Milton? It'll be the introduction."he says.

"Sure."I smile.

He hands me the larger portion and I follow his lead, exiting the kitchen.

I walk out, seeing a man at the head of the table, pouring himself a drink.

He looked young to be a father. Very handsome, with slicked back hair and a singular strand dangling before his forehead.

He was dressed in a nice button down, suit pants with the matching suit jacket hanging from the back of the dining chair.

"Good evening Sir Milton."Stephen says as he enters the dining room, placing a plate down in front of William.

"Who is this woman?"he doesn't look up, keeping his eyes on his empty wine glass.

I look at Stephen and he clears his throat, beckoning towards the wine glass.

"Oh, I-I'm Astrid, Sir."I say, placing his plate down before him.

He finally looks up, and I see a canvas of tattoos under the collar of his shirt.

"Astrid."he says as if he's annoyed.

"I..um, the cleaning service sent me. I'm very excited to work for you."I say, picking up the wine bottle and beginning to fill his glass.

He lets off a long sigh and then looks over at Stephen.

"Did I not say specifically that I wanted an all male staff?"

"Um, there weren't any male housekeepers sir. You did want a housekeeper, right?"Stephen says.

Sir Milton glances at his son and then back to Stephen as I finish pouring his wine.

"Yes. I suppose it's fine."he says, immediately picking up his glass and taking a sip.

"I'm a very hard worker Sir Milton, I promise to stay out of the way."I smile.

"Very well then. William, how was your school day."he says, waving Stephen and I off.

"It was lovely father, we learned about the moon phases!"William responds as Stephen and I exit the room.

"He seems nice under all that."I say to Stephen, making him chuckle.

"You're probably right. Maybe we just haven't seen it much these past few years."he says.

"Since Lady Serona?"I question.

Stephen nods.

"Um, word of advice, try not to mention lady Serona around Sir Milton. It sends him into fits."Stephen says as we enter the kitchen.

"Fits?"I question.

"Yeah. Um, start with washing the dinner dishes, I'll gather the plates after the service is over. Oh, and please be sure to thoroughly clean the counters."he says before walking away.

"But I..oh."I attempted to speak but he had already gone.

I shrug, turning towards the pots and pans that sat neatly stacked on the stove, awaiting to be washed.

"Easy enough."

......