'
It was with great relief when Rey settled herself in a chair by the kitchen fire, the sudden steel in her spine had left her and she was feeling rather shaky and horrified over how she had spoken to Lord Ren, yet she had meant every word of it.
She smiled gratefully as Mitaka handed her a cup of hot tea and a plate of bread and butter. "Thank you, Mr. Mitaka."
He blushed slightly and ducked his head, "You're welcome Miss Johnson, ah," he licked his lips nervously, "Will you really be staying?"
Taking a blessed sip of tea to wet her mouth, Rey nodded, "For now, at least. It may be that Lord Ren will contrive to have me sent back to London, though." Mitaka looked a trifle downcast, which made Rey smile again, "So tell me, how many other staff are there?"
'
To her astonishment, Rey learned that there were only three, Mr Hux, Lord Ren's valet, Poe Dameron, who ran the stables, gardens and the general upkeep of the house, and Mitaka, (who shyly asked her to call him Dopheld), who did the cooking and other necessary things to make the house run. Though it appeared all three men shared tasks to a certain extent and helped each other out when necessary.
When she asked how long Lord Ren would be staying at Varykino, Dopheld had shifted nervously as he told her that Lord Ren had lived alone here for almost fourteen years. He didn't give a reason, despite it being so peculiar and Rey didn't press him further, after all it was none of her business.
As houses of the upper class went, Varykino wasn't large when compared to Lady Solo's residence in London and a lot of the rooms were closed up, with furniture covered in dust sheets and curtains drawn across the windows, shutting the world out and sealing the silence inside.
To her, as a stranger looking in, it felt as though Lord Ren was hiding from something or someone. Of course the upper class could be eccentric and often behaved in a way that made no sense to common folk, yet for some reason, Lord Ren did not strike her as a typical recluse. The large wine cellar and stock of prime cut red meat in the pantry she noticed when Dopheld showed her around, did not speak of a monastic lifestyle either.
'
It was most curious, but Rey put it and Lord Ren firmly out of her mind, she was going to do her best to steer clear of him and she doubted he would ever come below stairs, so their paths need not cross unless necessary.
There was something desperately melancholy and sombre about the quiet house, and Rey found herself stepping as lightly as possible, an instinct to not break the hush as if behind those dark and silent doors something slept that should not be disturbed.
The bedroom Dopheld took her to, which would be her room so long as she was there at least, was thick with dust and stale air, chilly and had a damp feel to it. He apologised once more for not having it ready and for the fact that it was in the same part of the house as his and Mr Hux's. The idea should be scandalous but if this room was so neglected, Rey didn't want to imagine what sort of state the female servant quarters would be like. At least her room was at the opposite end of the hall to the men's.
As she went about lighting a fire in the small grate and settling her belongings into drawers, Dopheld went in search of bed linens. The room was a little larger than the one she had had at Mr. Plutts, and with some cleaning and airing out, it would be comfortable.
Looking through her bag, Rey located her scented pillows. She had made them herself from scraps of material and filled them with dried lavender. The pillows were excellent for scenting drawers or bedding and soothing if she breathed through them when she had a bad head, the scent always made her feel calm - in her mind, home had never been a place, it was the scent of lavender, the only thing she remembered clearly about her mother.
Once the fire had heated the air somewhat and she had made up her bed, Rey carefully banked the fire and changed into her new black afternoon dress with white apron and cap, before going back downstairs to the kitchen.
As she entered, she found another man sipping tea whilst Dopheld cut vegetables at the large wooden table.
"Miss Johnson," he stood, he was tall with red hair and pale eyes, dressed smartly in a valet's suit, politely taking her offered hand, "I am Lord Ren's valet, among other things, Armitage Hux."
Rey bobbed her head, "Please to make your acquaintance, sir."
"I must apologise for not being aware of your impending arrival," he said gravely, "I understand that Lord Ren may send you back to his mother, but while you are here," he licked his lips as he paused almost sheepishly, "Are you perchance able to sew tolerably well?"
Of course, in a house with no women, their mending pile must be huge, "I have some skill with a needle, yes sir."
Mr Hux cleared his throat, "I am able to replace buttons and the like but I am afraid that is my limit. I would be most grateful if you would be so kind as to mend a few items."
While part of Rey wanted to do absolutely nothing for Lord Ren, because he 'didn't need her', helping a fellow servant was only sensible.
"Of course, sir."
'
Unexpectedly, she spent her first evening at Varykino sewing beside the kitchen fire, observing Dopheld as he prepared dinner.
It was truly an odd arrangement, it appeared as though the staff here were jacks of all trades, the hierarchy was much less rigid than she had been expecting and notwithstanding Lord Ren's behavouriour and the possibility that this may not last, she found herself to be quite content.
'
While Mr Hux was serving Lord Ren's dinner upstairs, she and Dopheld took their own in the kitchen and were joined by Poe Dameron.
He was quite dashing, with tanned skin, dark hair and eyes and a ready smile. He made her quite nervous as he quizzed her while they ate, seeming to want to know everything about her. She answered as little as she could, feeling a little overwhelmed and uncomfortable with the scrutiny.
The meal, while filling and hot, was rather bland and Rey wondered how a gentleman like Lord Ren could be happy without a proper cook… It felt as if she were missing something, what was the reason behind his withdrawal from society? According to Poe, who had been hired when Lord Ren first arrived at Varykino, he had been only fifteen; what could have driven so young a person to sequester themselves like this?
When she ventured a delicate query on that line though, Poe and Dopheld became quite vague. There were secrets here… but they were none of her concern.
'
She was utterly worn to a ravelling when she finally retired to room, it seemed an age since she had last slept in a bed. At least her room was no longer like an icebox and her thick nightgown helped ward against the chill but her stockinged feet still felt cold.
'
As it seemed like even the rooms in use hadn't been cleaned properly for some time, the next day Rey commenced the Great Clean, as she called it in her head. She was determined to do as much as she could before she was sent away again, in the hopes that Lord Ren would tell his mother how hard she worked and Lady Solo would help her find another placement.
She started with the rooms in use, which was just the dining room, library and billiard room.
As lord Ren was not downstairs and would likely not be for some time, Rey felt safe to start with the library.
'
It turned out that this was the room Lord Ren had been lurking in when Dopheld had taken her to see him yesterday.
The first thing she did was draw the heavy velvet curtains, the resulting billow of dust made her cough, it made her wonder when they were last drawn... once the days were longer and the weather less disposed to precipitation she would have to take them out and beat them, probably the rugs too.
When her coughing stopped and her eyes adjusted to the new light, Rey looked around with awe. There were so many books! Of course she knew a library would have lots of books, but it still made her stop a moment and gape in appreciation, letting her eyes wander over the shelves and bookcases that were crammed with books of all shapes and sizes, colours and bindings. It was beautiful, the only wall space clear was the mantelpiece which was lined with miniature portraits. There was a heavy desk in one corner, covered in papers and a writing set, and two leather chairs by the fire, the proportion of which seemed to indicate that they had been specially made to fit a larger frame than usual. A handsome ivory and ebony chess set sat on one of two occasional tables, the other held an antique globe of the world and underneath was a bottle of amber coloured liquor and a glass.
And there was a smell, a pleasant scent that was something like leather, wood smoke and something she couldn't identify, it was sort of musky and warm, perhaps with a dash of cinnamon... No, not cinnamon but similar, was it spicy or peppery or little like pine?
She shook her head at herself, it didn't matter what it was, she had work to do; everything needed dusting, the room would need a thorough sweeping, there were candlesticks to be polished and lamps to shine, the fire needed an in depth clean before being relit and there was a whole host of other tasks to tackle…
'
She was so deep into her work that she didn't hear the door open or any footsteps till a throat being cleared made her start.
With a flush, she found Lord Ren staring down his long nose at her, jaw clenched as he glared at her.
"Since you refuse to leave and until my mother recalls you, there are some rules I will hold you to, if you wish to stay in this house."
Rey would have liked to stand up, but felt that that would make him realise she found him intimidating, so she stayed where she was, she schooled her expression, "Of course, Lord Ren."
The same muscle ticked under his eye and his jaw clenched again, "You will not enter the landing where the family rooms are, ever. Even if I am out, only Hux is granted access and any violation of this rule will result in immediate dismissal, and believe me, even if no one is here but you, I will know if you have been there when I return."
Rey blinked at such an odd rule, put so emphatically, "Yes, Lord Ren," she had decided she would not refer to him as my lord, as he wasn't, perhaps it was petty, but she could not find it in her to care.
There was a sharp nod of his head before he continued, "There will also be times when I require you to retire to your room early and not stir outside it until the next day. Hux will inform you of those days and the times when they occur, the next one is two days hence," he paused and she nodded her assent, "If you go out for any reason, I require you to be back here before the sun sets, unless expressly given permission by Hux or myself."
Despite the strangeness of these rules, Rey merely nodded once more, "Yes, Lord Ren." When he stayed silent she concluded that was it, yet he didn't leave. Wiping her hands on her apron, she fished into the pocket to bring out Lady Solo's letter. "This is my letter of introduction from Lady Solo."
He stared at the envelope as if it were a viper and made no move to take it; did he not wish to check she wasn't some vagrant who had just blustered her way in? Her hand began to waver and he snatched it from her at last, turned on his heel and left, slamming the door behind him, which seemed wholly unnecessary.
She stared at the door for a few seconds, then decided it was better not to concern herself with his strange behaviour and got back to work.
'
Her first day went quickly, time flies when you have a task and a will to get it done. She left the library just before lunch, it was by no means finished but Lord Ren would wish to use it. It appeared, to her surprise, that he was an early riser too.
Mr Hux came and found her in the afternoon while she was scrubbing the billiard room's fireplace, to repeat Lord Ren's rules, with one amendment, the nights when she was expected to be in her room early, came in threes consecutively and she must promise not to leave her room, at all, unless there was a fire; he offered no explanation for this but did invite her to borrow any of the collection of Penny Dreadfuls that were kept in the kitchen.
What could possibly be the reason for such a curious rule? It was just so queer, so… curiosity killed the cat, it was none of her concern. If Lord Ren insisted she go to bed early for three days in a row, why would she contest it? Never look a gift horse in the mouth, she could take some mending up with her, maybe read for a while and get a good night's sleep for once.
'
Two days later
'
Despite the luxury of turning in early, Rey was restless. There was something in the air, something that had been building all day, that had her on edge. She couldn't seem to settle and gazing at the nearly full moon out of her window did little to ease her strange mood.
She had tried sewing by lamplight, or settling down with a story, but it was impossible for her to stay still.
And as she was wide awake, she became aware of all the noises her exhausted self had not registered until now. The house creaked and groaned, somewhere along the hall or outside a water dripped, a screech outside she now knew was a fox, but the other sounds? Grunts and growls, quick, heavy footsteps… a chuffing breath?
Rey shivered and pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders as she paced back and forth in front of the fire. She was just imagining things, of course she was, but that didn't help her feel any less unsettled. Part of her was sorely tempted to open her door and look into the hall, but she had promised and a small part of her was too afraid of what she'd see it she did.
What was it the trap driver had said? Strange things happen near Varykino. But what? Why hadn't he explained himself?
He had not, because he could not, her rational side pointed out, no one she had met here had seemed the least bit…
A mournful howl interrupted her train of thought, somewhere outside, something was howling. It couldn't be a wolf, there were no wolves left in England, were there? No, no, someone would have said, the trap driver wouldn't have left her the way he did if there may have been wolves around, surely?
Another howl, farther off than the first and Rey left out a breath, whatever it was, it was moving away… she scoffed at herself, what had she been afraid of? It wouldn't have been able to get to her.
She was being such a silly goose, shaking her head, she curled up in bed with some sewing as reading a Penny Dreadful after such a flight of fancy didn't seem like a wise choice.
When she woke up before sunrise the next day, she had convinced herself that what she had heard last night had merely been a figment of her overly active and curious imagination.
Indeed, Dopheld didn't mention hearing anything, neither did Mr Hux or Poe, although there was perhaps still a tension in the air straining the air.
Lord Ren was uncharacteristically late to come downstairs that day, so late that Mr Hux took his lunch up to his room.
This suited Rey perfectly as she was able to work more in the library, losing count of the amount of spiders (living and dead) she found and helped outside.
She was cleaning the inside of the windows, the sharp smell of vinegar strong in the air as she furiously rubbed them with newspaper.
It looked as if the windows hadn't been opened in years, there was a weak sun that day, but it was enough for her to open the windows and let some air and light into the darkness of the room, chasing away the shadows along with the scent of vinegar and dust.
She paused briefly to gaze out at the lake, when there was a sharp exhalation behind her and she turned to find Lord Ren, glaring at her once more. He took a deep breath in and winced. "Why," he asked, the tone of his voice deeper and more gravelly than previously, "Does it smell of vinegar in here?" His eyes were bloodshot, and there were dark shadows beneath them, a stark contrast to his pale skin, as if he hadn't slept well.
Rey nervously gestured to the clean, clear windows, she would have stepped away so he could see them better but he was standing too close to her, it made her feel nervous. "It is good for cleaning windows, Lord Ren."
He huffed, then inhaled again, leaning towards her slightly to do so and cocked his head, "Lavender," he murmured, almost to himself, then abruptly jerked back his head as his eyes turned dark. "Get. Out."
The order was growled, she felt it as well as heard it, although a little voice in her insisted that he as being rude, she ignored it, gathering up her things in seconds and despite her haste, closing the door gently behind her.
She went and sat in the empty kitchen for a moment, the pitter-patter of her heart and flush to her cheeks making her feel distinctly odd.
'
