The Master Finale | manxman | (Book Four: The Master Collection)

II - Not Yet Rosebuds

It was morning when Jasper heard his bedroom door creak open. He'd been awake for an hour now, having lain there beneath the covers without effort to rise. He was dressed in a pale blue nightshirt with a lace collar, and his long blond hair was like a bright yellow arrangement in the dullness of his surroundings. Footsteps entered the bedding area of the chamber, and when his eyes watched for who would appear through the towering archway, he saw Alexander cross the floor towards the first vast window that reached up towards the high ceiling.

The young man was dressed in a clean black uniform, the tailcoat reaching the back of his knees, and he took hold of the silver rope keeping the curtains over the windows closed. He pulled it apart and opened the first one to allow the morning light to bathe the bedroom chamber, opening the second one before turning towards the bed where Jasper lay. "Oh, my lord," Alexander acknowledged, "I did not see you were awake. Good morning."

Taking the benevolence of the new butler with a mere nod, Jasper sat up from under his coverings. It was a strange feeling to have other people in his home after having closed off his doors to many others for ten years, but the additional servers would have to do for a time. "Good morning to you," Jasper said.

"I will get your bath ready, my lord, and set your dressings out for the day. Mister Bunnin' has just started on breakfast in the kitchen, and it will be served when he is done."

"Thank you," Jasper said, "Ready the bath and I will gather my own clothes."

Without questioning, Alexander left the room once more and in he and a handful of others entered with heated water. When the task of filling the white tub was finished and essentials were set out: drying and washcloths, soaps, perfumes, and anything else Jasper may need, Alexander lastly bowed his head and left right away.

Jasper stood out of bed and unbuttoned his blue nightshirt, leaving it in a gents chair nearest to the window and went for the bathroom. His body was still slender, though not as small as he used to be in his teenage years. His shoulders had more width, and although he hadn't a single touch of muscle to him, his figure appeared healthy and slim. Beautiful.

Closing the bathroom door behind him, Jasper stepped onto the small platform and into the warm tub, the water relaxing his arms and legs, and then he sat back comfortably. He gazed up at the ceiling, daylight filtering in through the three prairie windows with half circles atop them.

Thoughts of his father entered his mind from last night, and he still couldn't believe the man had the nerve to demand anything from him. The mere idea of Ronald wanting a child produced between him and Darcy disgusted him. How on earth could a man, who held no hand in loving or raising his firstborn child, feel so entitled to a grandchild from the same one? Ronald was ridiculous and Jasper had no intentions of giving the man what he wanted. To think of him and Darcy resorting to actual intimacy churned his stomach. The fair Lady was his wife and his friend, but certainly not his lover.

Given his father had left the other night, and wouldn't be back hopefully until a much later date, Jasper tried to put the whole thing behind him. There were other things he had to focus on today, like the trip to the city he and Darcy would be taking, with Juliette by their side of course, and the dinner he had to plan for the evening.

Timothy would be joining them. If the man kept his word and showed up to begin with, that is.

For a moment he wondered what the man was doing now. If he really did spend most of his time inside the secret Reynolds Parlor, then he was likely either half-drunk or coming out of a late night of intoxication. He didn't know much of anything about Timothy, aside from the fact that he too had experienced the great loss of a loved one, and he made a living murdering people he was hired to kill.