A/N: A huge thank you to everyone that reviewed, favorited, followed, etc. I'm glad that you liked it.
In reply to 29: I didn't mention their specific location because never having been to the UK, I didn't want to pin down a specific spot and then sound ridiculous if I made mistakes that anyone who has been there would recognize! But thank you for having me clarify!
A thank you to Lily Knighte too, for the compliment on my title. And don't worry, I love puns ;)
Chapter 2: Hillside Ballroom
"The one thing you can't fault the Victorians on was their ability to recreate old architecture." Klaus was saying as he led a curious Caroline around in a tour of the house.
Caroline nodded, switching her teacup from hand to hand. "It's beautiful." The blonde stated. "Like something out of a Bond movie."
Klaus turned around to face her with an amused look on his face. "Shaken, not stirred."
Caroline chuckled at his broad reference, and busied herself with the décor and artwork on the walls. Even the little stylized flourishes on the wooden trim of the house were deliberate and beautiful. From the ceiling to the swirling, artistic tile patterns on the floor, the house was gorgeous. And huge, she thought.
Klaus had walked ahead of her and was waiting at the door, looking back at his new employee. As Caroline was to be his housekeeper, it was only logical that she got a tour of her new dwelling.
"This is the Amber Room," Klaus said as he pushed the door open. True to its name, the room was made using only shades of delicate orange-gold. The monochromatic amber wall paper overwhelmed her, and she was startled by the stones set into the lamps. They looked, and probably were, real.
"The original owners of the house were incredibly rich." Klaus stated. "'Why not have an entirely amber room if you wanted one?"
Caroline was still looking around, glancing out the windows and onto one of the massive lawns that surrounded the estate. "Why amber, though?" She asked jokingly. "Why not a nice green?"
"There's a Green Drawing Room, love." He stated with all seriousness.
"No! You're joking!" Caroline laughed. "Why would you need that?"
Klaus gestured for him to follow her through one of the doors that led to other rooms. He held the door open for her, and Caroline pretended she couldn't feel his fingers brush gently across her lower back as he guided her through.
Klaus carried on, unaware of Caroline's internal struggle. Sure enough, the next door that they passed under led to a room entirely outfitted in green, although this one wasn't nearly as garish as the amber. Couches and lamps made up most of the space, allowing little room to stop and look about.
"Do you have any rooms that aren't colour-coordinated?"
Klaus grinned, and led her through yet another doorway. Caroline had to stop and catch her breath at what lay beyond it.
"The Grand Staircase." Klaus said proudly. "To the left is the main foyer, where your rain-puddle still surely resides. To the right is the library. According to my realtor, the stairs took four months and twelve men to build."
"What's upstairs?" Caroline was already on the third step, her hand hovering over the gorgeously carved mahogany beam. The stairs themselves were white, and followed the four walls of the room up to the second floor, making two large, lazy circles. They were brilliant.
"Bedrooms, minor study, a bathroom or two. Oh and a sunroom." Klaus answered her question following the blonde as Caroline began to ascend.
"A sunroom?" She called back at him.
Klaus caught up with her, his longer legs lending him a hand. "Yes. It's made up of glass. Fantastic for watching the sunset, but you can see the stars on a clear night too."
"It sounds amazing."
He smiled at her genuine comment. The more he talked to Caroline, the more he realized they had in common.
The pair reached the top of the stairs, and Caroline couldn't help but look down from where they'd come. "I've only ever lived in one-story houses," she told him regretfully.
A long hallway with doors on either side stretched out ahead of them, and Klaus was sure to point out each as they went by. "Guest room, guest room, drawing room, bathroom…" his voice rattled off.
"What about this one?" Caroline asked, pointing at a doorway he'd forgot to mention.
"Storage from my past houses. Didn't think it was important," he said with a smile.
The pair kept walking. "My room is the one at the very end of the hall, but this one here across from the bath is yours." Klaus said, pulling an old fashioned key out of his pocket and inserting it into the lock.
The door swung open, and he handed her key over, ignoring the way that her skin brushed languidly against his. "Congratulations."
Caroline took a breath to prepare herself, and then pushed into the room. It was bigger than the one she had shared at Elena's flat, that was for sure. Four white walls surrounded them, and Caroline glanced in relief at the dark, hardwood floor. She hated carpet.
A queen-sized four poster blanketed in a white down comforter dominated the right wall, dozens of soft-looking pillows strewn across it. A window was set into the wall, a small alcove-like window seat cut out underneath it.
"It's an east-facing window, before you ask." Klaus said softly.
Caroline smiled in excitement. A large dresser made of a dark wood was set against a wall, and a double set of closet doors made up the space next to it.
"I'll have to run into town tomorrow and grab all of my clothes," Caroline mused.
Then, with a grin, the blonde ran and leaped onto the fluffy bed, landing on what felt like one-hundred soft pillows. She leaned her head back in contentment, closing her eyes.
"I take it you like your accommodations?" Klaus spoke, crossing over to the window to open the curtains.
Caroline turned to him. Propping herself up with her elbows. "Like it?" She laughed. "They're perfect. Thank you."
Klaus gave her a small grin. "Good. Because if you like, you could always stay in the old servant out-buildings. I was assured they are charming and…rustic." He finished with a laugh while the blonde rolled her eyes at him.
"The only drawback to your room is that there is no attached bathroom, so it's right across the hall."
"What, no master-bedrooms in the 1800's?" Caroline said with fake surprise.
"No," Klaus laughed. "It just so happens that I have the only one in the house."
The blonde stretched back on the pillows, and Klaus strained not to look at her. It really wasn't fair, he decided. Why couldn't he have had an applicant in the form of a lovely elderly woman? Instead, fate had burdened him with Caroline. Young, beautiful, charming, and apparently flexible Caroline, if her stretch was anything to judge by.
Klaus tore his eyes away from the blonde on the bed. "Come on, love. We have to finish the tour."
She groaned, getting up from the bed with reluctance. She hit him with a pout. "Do we have to?"
Nik resisted the urge to ruffle her blonde hair. "Yes. You still have to meet everyone."
Caroline's face took on a puzzled expression. Meet everyone? She thought. Well I guess it wouldn't be too bad to have people out here to distract me from…everything.
Klaus led Caroline back downstairs. The man was choosing to avoid answering all of her questions about who 'everyone' was; instead, he led her back downstairs.
"Can you at least tell me where we're going?" Caroline asked in exasperation.
Klaus smiled at her curiosity. "Outside. Remember how the application requested someone who liked horses?"
Oh. Of course. "It said dogs, too." Caroline remembered.
Klaus laughed. "That was just so that horses didn't seem to alarming. I don't have any dogs."
Caroline grinned at her boss's quirk. "Has it stopped raining yet?"
"About an hour ago." He replied, pulling a jacket from the closet in the foyer.
Caroline grimaced, realizing exactly what garment she didn't have. "Ah, Klaus? Do you think I could borrow a coat?"
The man looked at her regretfully. "Of course, how could I forget?" They'd put all of her clothes in the dryer a while ago, but Caroline could still hear it softly thudding down the hall.
Klaus reached into the coat-closet again, and sighed. Of course Rebekah would've taken all of her jackets with her when she'd left for Aspen. Klaus grabbed one of his own, apologizing for the size.
"It's alright," the blonde joked. "After all, I think knee-length coats are in nowadays."
Sure enough, when he was done helping her into his jacket and she'd zipped it up, the coat hung down past her knees, and the sleeves swallowed what had once been Caroline's arms.
"On the bright side, at least you won't be cold." Klaus shrugged, trying to ignore the foreign swelling sensation he received from looking at Caroline in his clothing.
The pair walked out into the crisp evening air, which helped Caroline focus a bit. The jacket she was wearing smelled divine, like sandalwood and vanilla, cloves, and something she couldn't put a finger on that was distinctly masculine. It was amazing.
Klaus led her to some buildings that she hadn't seen on her trek up his driveway, but that she now recognized as stables. Caroline gave a yelp of excitement and ran, trying not to trip over the coat. She beat Klaus, who was still walking and chuckling at her, and looked in the stables eagerly.
Carolineloved horses. Ever since she was a girl, she'd gone to a summer camp every year. There was always an end-of-summer horseback retreat in late August, and Caroline had fallen in love with the animals. After her parents' divorce, the gentle giants had calmed her worn adolescent nerves.
"They're beautiful." She mouthed in awe as Klaus caught up to her.
Standing in front of Caroline were three horses. A black gelding stood farthest left, his head held proud, black eyes meeting her curious blue ones. Farthest away, a young mare stood watching her carefully, as if not quite sure what to do with the human girl. Her white coat was somehow still clean, even after all of the rain today, and four grey socks stood out on her feet. The last horse in the stall was a brown mare, older than the other two, but twice as gentle. When Caroline stuck her hand through, the old mare came up to her, sniffing softly.
"What are their names?" She asked the man standing quietly behind her.
Klaus walked over and rested his hands on the stall doors, gesturing as he pointed them out. "The pretty young one is named Cleo. The gelding's name is Henrik. And the older mare is called May."
Caroline turned around and smiled expectantly. "Can I go inside?"
He was going to say no. Nik hated when other people touched things that were his, but he could see that the horses weren't disturbed by Caroline, nor she them.
"Of course, love." He replied. "Just be careful."
Caroline slowly unlatched the gate and moved inside, letting the animals smell her. "Will this be one of my jobs then? To look after them?"
"Yes." Klaus replied, absentmindedly checking his watch. "Caroline, I've got to go inside, I'm afraid. I have a conference call at 5:30."
The girl nodded, and Klaus left her as he walked back into the house, his mind plagued by thoughts. At least Caroline hadn't been a bust. Sure, he'd hired her on a whim, but he'd had no other applicants. It's not my fault she's incandescent. He'd had his suspicions, but seeing her with the horses had confirmed his thoughts: there was something different about Caroline, something that he hadn't seen since before Tatia.
He rationalized himself. She's obviously good with the horses. She'll be good with other work too.
Nik opened the door to his office, sitting in the same place he had when he'd interviewed Caroline. He shoved the clipboard he'd been drawing on during the interview aside. He'd known she'd been dying to know what he was writing on it. A bittersweet smile crossed his lips as he took the piece of paper off. Delicately sketched there was a simple drawing of Caroline, her eyes bright as she shot words at him, her hair a mess of gentle waves.
Pull yourself together, Nik. He told himself. He balled the drawing of his new housekeeper together and threw it in a perfect arc towards his trashcan. He ran his hands through his hair, thoughts only interrupted by the gentle pinging of his laptop.
Finally. He thought, as he pulled up the Skype window. Time to get back to what he was best at: negotiating with other peoples' money.
"Elijah. How are things doing in the American branch?"
XXX
Caroline took her time, getting to know each of the horses. The little one, Cleo, seemed to like her the most, and continuously rubbed her face against Caroline's shoulder. When she went over to the gelding, Henrik, she laughed aloud at how similar the horse was to Klaus. The older mare was also nothing if not friendly.
When Caroline decided to go back into the manor, it was almost 7 pm. She walked through the front door, and discovered that her mud and rain she'd tracked in with her arrival was still there. Caroline quickly ran to the bathroom and grabbed one of the older-looking towels, drying the water. She then grabbed a mop from the laundry room, and finished removing the dirt.
Straitening proudly, Caroline was startled by a deep groan from her stomach. She realized she was starving. She hadn't eaten since early that morning, and she was certain that Klaus hadn't either. She hung up his jacket in the foyer and wandered back to the kitchen, noting that Klaus's office door was closed, although she could hear his voice murmuring through the wood.
Her search led her to the fridge, where she immediately saw why Klaus needed another person around the house. The contents of the fridge were half liquor, and half prepackaged. She sighed. The one thing her mother had done right when Caroline was a child was to make a home-cooked meal as often as she could.
Giving up on the fridge, Caroline went to the pantry. Again, she was met with shelves filled with hard alcohol, mostly scotch, but this time she found a package of pasta. A few more minutes of digging revealed some canned tomatoes, and Caroline smiled.
Finding a pot underneath the stove, she got water boiling, and dumped the noodles in. She poured the tomatoes into a skillet with garlic that she found in a dish, and some spices from a cabinet above the fridge.
She leaned back, proud of herself. She would make a damn good housekeeper yet.
When Klaus emerged from his office twenty minutes later, his nose led him right to the kitchen, where Caroline was bent over the counter writing out a grocery list. "Anything that you're overly fond of, besides booze?" She asked.
He lowered his head, mock-ashamed. "I'll eat about anything, love. Thank you for this." He gestured to the make-do spaghetti on the stove.
Caroline dished him up with a grimace. "Don't say that until you've tasted it."
He shot her a disbelieving look, and forked mouthfuls down. "S'good," he mumbled through another huge bite.
How can someone stuff their face and still manage to look striking? Caroline mused. She dished herself up a portion, and went to work.
A few minutes and two bowls later, Klaus's computer started pinging at him and he groaned. "We were on a break. Leave this out, I want more later." And with that, he walked back into his office, shutting the door behind him.
Caroline chuckled at her boss. The man acted like he hadn't eaten in days, and with the contents of his pantry, she would believe it. The blonde looked at the clock on the wall. 8:30 wasn't too early to take a bath and head to bed, was it?
XXX
"Since when do you cook, Niklaus?" Elijah's skeptical digital image asked him.
Klaus cleared his pasta-filled mouth out before he spoke. "I don't. Now, for the Pemberly account, I was thinking that…"
Elijah's accusatory gaze cut him off. "So who made the food? It looks delicious Nik; I can almost smell it here in New York."
"I hired a new housekeeper. Having them cook for you is one of the perks, Elijah; you really should look into it. Now, as I was saying. The with the Pemberly account, we really don't have to worry. The youngest is about to turn 18, soon enough the old man won't have to send alimony checks every month. He'll be a lot happier…"
"Is it a woman?" Elijah asked.
Klaus rested his face in his hands. "Yes, Elijah. Now can we talk about this later? I'd really rather this call didn't take all night."
His brother smirked at him through the screen. "Is she young?"
"25."
Elijah frowned in disapproval. "What have you gotten yourself into, Nik?"
Klaus frowned through the screen, knowing that if he said anything, it would only encourage his eldest brother.
"Gorgeous?" Elijah asked.
"That's a matter of opinion, Elijah."
"Gorgeous?" His brother asked again.
"Exceptionally."
Elijah's laughter permeated through the screen. "I can see the cover of the romance novel now." He jeered. "Lonely millionaire Niklaus Mikaelson has never felt love's tender caress until he enlists the charismatic..."
"Caroline." Nik supplied reluctantly.
Elijah's monologue stopped as he trailed off in snickers. Klaus waited it out; years of growing up with his siblings ensured that they never passed up an excuse to meddle in the other ones' business.
"Pretty name." Elijah commented.
Klaus shook his head. "Can we please get back to these last accounts now?"
"All in good time, brother." Elijah smirked, steepling his fingers.
Klaus gave a resigned sigh. "What do you want to know?"
"Are you over Tatia? She hurt you, even if you don't like to show it." His eldest sibling asked the million-dollar question right off the bat.
"I don't know, Elijah. It's been what, eight months?" Klaus said dryly, finishing off the incriminating spaghetti. But god it was delicious. He would thank Caroline later.
"Mhmm." Elijah hummed. "Have you looked at women since Tatia?"
"Of course I look at women, Elijah. I looked at women even when I was with her." Klaus spoke. "You can't honestly tell me that you've never checked out another woman when you and Katherine are out in public."
Elijah nodded, grimacing. "Of course I do, I just pretend not to." Klaus nodded knowingly. Elijah's fiancée Katherine was infamous for her temper.
"I just want to make sure that you don't hurt yourself, Nik. I know how badly Tatia messed with your head, and I don't want you to rebound with the same girl who's cooking you food and knows where you sleep."
Klaus scoffed. "Do you really think so lowly of me, 'Lijah?"
"As far as relationships are concerned, yes." His brother stated honestly.
Unfortunately, Klaus couldn't deny everything Elijah was insinuating. He had a history of bad relationships. "I promise I'll be fine, Elijah. Now, can we get back to these accounts? They're getting cold."
Elijah nodded. "Of course, just one last thing: You do know that Rebekah is coming to visit you as soon as she's back from Aspen?"
Klaus groaned. "Please tell me she isn't bringing that insufferable…"
"I've been assured that Salvatore is staying behind." Elijah cut him off.
"Fantastic. Now, the accounts?"
His brother nodded studiously, and groaned at the pile of investor profiles they still had to cover before the night was over. Klaus cracked his knuckles, and settled in for a long night.
XXX
Upstairs, Caroline had discovered that her bathroom was just as luxurious as the one downstairs. Quickly, she drew herself a bath and climbed in, wanting to relax and text Elena about her day's adventures.
Got the job! Coming in tomorrow to pick up my stuff. Coffee? –C
Caroline settled back in the tub, knowing that she had time to relax. Elena was a notoriously bad text-messenger unless you were an attractive male. The blonde sighed, and began rubbing shampoo through her hair, letting the warm water soothe her tension-filled muscles.
Shampoo, and then face wash, that was her shower routine. Caroline moved to the body wash after that, applying it to a washcloth that she'd pulled from the cabinets. She scrubbed up and down her body, rinsing away the day. If only someone was here to wash my back… It was something she'd always hated, craning to reach the spot in her back that she could never quite get, so she'd made every man she'd ever lived with do it for her.
Her face flushed. Klaus would have to be an exception to that particular set of rules. Sure, they were living together, but they were by no means together. She could picture it though, in her head. The calloused hands that she knew he had, gently rubbing her back in a way that was more stimulating than it was helpful. She'd lean her head back on his shoulder, nose sweeping against his jawline as he placed hot, open-mouthed kisses on her neck with those full lips, his hands spiraling lower and lower…
A buzzing from her phone that could only be Elena stopped her from continuing her not-so-employee-like thoughts about her boss. Caroline's cheeks flushed hard as she read the message.
Happy for you Care! Swing by the flat in the morning, coffee's my treat. –E
Caroline's shaky fingers typed a reply, ensuring Elena that she'd be in by the morning. Caroline sat back, trying to calm her breathing. Klaus was her boss. Klaus is your boss. Boss. B-o-s-s. It cannot happen, Caroline. Keep it in your head. Thoroughly flustered, Caroline pulled the plug out of the tub and let the water swirl down the drain, along with any wayward thoughts she had had of Klaus Mikaelson.
The blonde got out of the tub, wrapping a towel around her wet hair, and a robe that she'd found in the cabinet around her body. She was certain to step on the towel she'd laid down. Why make a mess that she'd have to clean up?
She checked her reflection in the steamed mirror. Her cheeks were rosy from the steam, and Caroline could see how pronounced the bags under her eyes had become. I need to sleep, the blonde thought tiredly, and opened the door to the hall.
Hearing the footsteps come up the stairs, Caroline left her door open; she needed to talk to Klaus about tomorrow.
"Tough night?" she called out to him as he walked past her door with a tired stride.
Klaus smirked at her with chagrin, "Aren't they all?" The man tried to keep his thoughts from wandering to Caroline in a robe, but after his conversation with Elijah, his senses were on hyper-alert.
"I needed to ask you about tomorrow," Caroline continued, shaking her hair out of her towel to dry and combing through it with her fingers.
Klaus swallowed and looked at his feet. She looked so at home right now, standing in his house. Hell, he could smell whatever scent of intoxicating shampoo she used, some cross between lavender and mint.
"Ask away," he managed.
She smiled at him, and sat down on the edge of her bed, hands fiddling with her cell phone. "I need to get into the city tomorrow, to pick up my things and well…" the blonde trailed off.
"Well?" he prompted.
"I don't have a car."
Klaus laughed. "Is that all, love? That's not a problem; I'll let you borrow one."
Caroline's eyes widened. "Really?"
He chuckled. "Unless there's some pressing reason why I shouldn't lend you one, I don't see why not. You have to go in to shop anyways, take a car."
"Oh. Well okay then!" Caroline piped.
"Okay then." He echoed, lingering in her doorway, though she obviously had gotten what she wanted to talk about.
He turned to leave, sliding a hand down her doorframe, but not before her voice called out. "Goodnight, Klaus."
"Goodnight, Caroline." He said, deliberately refusing to notice all of the leg that her robe revealed.
He left, walking down the hallway to his master bedroom, trying not to think about a certain beautiful blonde that lay a mere twenty feet from his door.
XXX
A/N I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you again to all that reviewed, followed, and favorited. It makes my day.
*Like so many others, I use song titles for the names of my chapters. They can be whatever I'm listening to at the time, like they have been, or completely random, which I can see happening in the future. Thanks for reading!
**This story is my attempt at trying to write a long, slow burn of a romance. I've got my fingers crossed hopefully that I can pull it off. Thanks for following.
