The Wolfe Manor - DISCONTINUED

Chapter Eight

Maria
~~~
Day 2

"The gardeners will be in charge of tending to the grounds in the back." Master Wolfe declared, his eyes focused on the group of people on my right. "Baine will show you where you are to be." A look was passed between him and Baine, one that no one else could understand.

Master Wolfe was giving out the orders for the slaves to do for the day and he didn't seem as angry. Instead, he looked somewhat pleased. The corners of his lips were turned up, his dark eyes carried on this look of self-satisfaction, he puffed out his chest proudly, and his fingers tapped on a black scepter he held in a broken rhythm. He was furious the day before but now, he looked prideful, and that unsettled me.

Then he turned to the group I was placed in. "All of you will be in charge of providing meals for us; that includes breakfast, luncheon, and supper." I looked down as his gaze landed on me with unmasked suspicion and hatred.

Last night, I spent the sleepless hours planning on how I was going to escape but I came up with no successful strategy. There were countless ways I could escape, but it was going to be so much harder taking things into consideration. Master Wolfe had already caught me attempting to break for the door, and he would be much more attentive. He would especially be paying close attention to me. I should've never done something so stupid and thoughtless.

I looked out the window behind me in the most subtle way possible, though still paying close attention to Master Wolfe who was addressing the housemaids. The sun was high up, which meant that it was at least mid-afternoon. It was partially covered by a gorgeous magnolia tree planted in front of the window, its pinkish-purple flowers swaying in the wind gracefully. The light penetrated through them, giving parts of the room a soft purple glow. I could almost hear the air rustling through the grass and trees...

Turning back to Master Wolfe, I found him smiling pleasantly at us, exposing perplexingly straight white teeth. "Remember, you all want to please me. And you will do it to the best of your ability." His smile vanished as quickly as it came when he looked at Baine. "Take the gardeners to the back of the manor and show them what needs to be done. Go." Baine gave him a curt nod and motioned for the small group of three to follow him.

"I will show all of you where you are to do your duties." Master Wolfe said to the rest of the slaves. He walked in front of us and lead the two groups at a brisk pace, checking every few seconds behind his back.

He led us out of the room and the grand foyer and opened a door on the side of the wall that couldn't be seen from the view of the front door. We trotted through a long white hallway that soon led into a dazzling room.

The room was beautiful. It was pure white; the sink, the fluorescent lights, the tile floor, the walls, the cabinets, the sink. It was incredibly spotless. Shelves were built into the walls, holding what looked like almost every ingredient to ever exist and they were packaged in large brown bags that were labeled. A deep sink with a large faucet stood on my left side that joined with the white, marble counter that stretched about five yards ahead with a small metal stove on the other end with four even smaller metal burners. Countless cabinets were built underneath and were also built in the walls and a huge, old fashioned armor stood in the corner on my right. An island in the middle of the room had a large long knife laying on it and two other doors connected with the room; one of them probably adjoined the dining room.

"Here you are provided with ingredients I am sure you will not be running out of any time soon, however, if it so happens you do, you may let Baine know." Master Wolfe explained with a smug air. "You will be preparing supper for me and Baine tonight and I expect it to be perfect." He started towards the door but turned back to us, a sly smile on his face. "Five or more dishes would suffice," he said contemptuously.

Following shortly after, he banged the door and left us staring at each other with bewilderment.

The air was tense and uncomfortable; we were all very confused as to what we should begin to do. But before long, the girl stepped forward and spoke in a determined voice that was forced. "Well, we need to make Master Wolfe happy and keep him that way." She started to rummage through the cabinets, pulling out various bags with labels on them. The older woman shortly joined her and helped by searching for dishes we could use.

I went to the armor and was surprised to realize that it was a fridge. It was white, just like the rest of the kitchen, and jugs with all kinds of different liquids, no less than three cartons of eggs, wrapped up fruits and vegetables, and fancy containers were placed neatly on the shelves. Not a single stain anywhere. There had to be other slaves besides us. Not one person alone can take care of an entire mansion and keep it so spotless.

I started pulling random things out of the fridge and finally, a recipe came to mind as I pulled out what I presumed was salmon wrapped in plastic and set it on the island. I went to the cabinets and searched for the spices. After opening a thousand doors, I found each spice that was required.

Hopefully, this would be good enough for him.

~~~

After hours of strenuous cooking and sweating, we finally finished making the dinner for Master Wolfe. My dish wasn't very fancy and I was scared to present to him. It was blackened salmon that was seasoned delicately; it was smokey along with a hint of spiciness. But it wasn't food fit for royalty and that's what Master Wolfe wanted.

We set up the table in the diner room which was connected to the same room. It was just as astonishing as the kitchen. The entire room was made of a scrap wood paneling and the flooring was a dark, textured maple. A dozen fancy, cushioned chairs were arranged at a dark–also wooden–table and a ticking grandfather clock stood in the corner, which pointed to 6:28.

The table was decorated with a dozen, plain brown table-mats and a vase of red roses and little bunches of snakeroots stood in the middle. A glass pitcher filled with water and more than five dishes on fine china plates were placed on the table and a delicious scent of baked and cooked food filled the air. It smelled almost welcoming. I hoped that this was enough to at least appease Master Wolfe. Apparently, the other slaves hoped so too.

A squeak of a door was heard and we all turned around to see Master Wolfe coming in through the different door with his assistant and an elderly woman with long, gray hair trailing along behind him. Baine held her hand, guiding her to the table slowly. She seemed very weak and frail, older than Baine himself.

Master Wolfe glared at the table with disdain. "Is this all you have prepared?" he questioned, his eyebrow arching.

"Yes, Master." was the response.

His lip curled. But before he could react, Baine stepped forward and whispered something in his ear. Master Wolfe nodded bitterly and helped sit the woman down on one of the cushioned chairs before he sat down furthest away from the couple. "You may leave us now," Master Wolfe ordered, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he loomed over table. "Baine will show you to the cellar."

Anxiously, we let the small group to eat in peace and exited through the kitchen, Baine leading us through the door they came in through. We quietly entered a small, dark hallway the eventually led to the door that led to the cellar, our footsteps gently padding on the cold, smooth, marble floor. He opened the door and let us go down there on our own without a lantern or any kind of light to illuminate the way. We had to hold on to the steel railing until we reached the bottom. The old man closed the door and locked it.

"Master Wolfe hated it," I whispered apprehensively into the darkness.

"Of course he did," the boy with the sandy blond hair snapped at me, though he couldn't hide the little waver in his voice. "Did you see the way he looked at our food? He's not happy with us," he added solemnly.

If it didn't appease Master Wolfe, he was going to punish us and he was not going to be lenient.