'
The walk back to Varykino was brisk but enjoyable, clouds had come to cover the sun, but the air was still fresh and the world still beautiful.
Dopheld did walk excessively fast, clearly anxious to be away from the house for as short a time as possible, and Rey was somewhat out of breath by the time they reached the side door.
As they had been absent from their duties for some time, she didn't feel that it would be fair to rest for a moment, so she removed her outdoor vestments, pinned on a clean apron and set to work.
'
It was either the fresh air, the exercise or maybe both, but by dinner time, she was quite fatigued and endeavouring to conceal her yawns.
With how tired she was, she didn't bother to try Maz's tea, merely just completed all her tasks, then wearily but gratefully climbed the stairs to her room.
'
Pleasantly, her rest was unimpeded by strange dreams or nightly goings on, but upon awakening, she found that her crimson visitor had arrived.
With a miserable sigh, she applied a flannel napkin, attached to its riband and then cleansed her legs with cold water.
She did her best to be as industrious as usual, hiding her winces over cramps and discomfort, electing to work alone as much as possible.
The parlour remained as it was, as she doubted she would be able to be as vigorous as would likely be needed. So after sweeping the hall and foyer, as the piano-tuner had tracked in some dirt and leaves, she tended to the dining room while Lord Ren had no need of it and the billiard room when he did.
It was as she strained up to dust the frame of the pastoral landscape above the billiard room fireplace, that a particularly bad cramp caused her to hiss and hunch her body slightly as she breathed through it.
With a grimace, she straightened up and paused for a moment to regain some semblance of equilibrium, before sighing in resignation and reaching up again, determined to finish her task.
"Are you hurt?"
Rey gasped despite herself, turning to see Lord Ren merely a few paces away from her. How did a man of his size move so silently? And why? But more importantly, why did he think she was hurt?
"Not at all, Lord Ren, shall I leave this until later?"
It was unmistakable, his nostrils flared, could he smell…? Rey felt her pale cheeks bloom with colour.
He frowned, dark brows drawn down in disapproval as he studied her, "I will not tolerate liars in this house."
Biting her lip, Rey tried again, "I assure you," she told him truthfully, "I am not injured."
It didn't work, he moved until he was unbearably close, glaring at her as he audibly clenched his jaw, looming above her, a huge presence that seemed inescapable.
"If you do not tell me the truth, I will have you out of this house in five minutes," his voice was soft, but deadly serious, an undercurrent of fury seeping through.
Unbidden, Rey's eyes welled up with tears and overflowed as she looked away, digging her nails into her palms as she clenched her fists, trying to conceal her utter humiliation.
In a thick voice, she told him, "I am not injured, I simply have my menses."
There was a heavy pause, during which she stopped breathing in the hopes of holding in the sobs her traitorous body was trying to impose upon her.
Then, with no response, Lord Ren departed, she felt the loss of his body heat and weight of his stare rather than heard him.
A door slammed, likely the library if she had to guess, but she waited a moment more before hurrying upstairs to change her saturated napkin and weep in peace.
'
If Rey had disliked Lord Ren before, she loathed him now. How a person could be so ill-mannered and unfeeling, she could not begin to comprehend.
When what must be a quarter of an hour had passed, she washed her face and straightened her clothes and went downstairs to the kitchen for a very necessary cup of tea.
"Rey?" Dopheld asked as she put the kettle on to boil, "Whatever is the matter?"
With an inward groan Rey busied herself stoking the fire, "Some dust got in my eyes, pure foolishness on my part."
"Oh, oh dear, that sounds unpleasant."
Rey shook her head, "Very unpleasant," she noticed some beef chuck on a chopping board, "Shall I show you how to make beef bourguignon? We have all the right ingredients and I think you'll all enjoy it."
Dopheld chuckled, "So long as the master likes it, we'll like it, I am sure."
While Rey didn't relish allowing Lord Ren to benefit from her cooking, it gave her an excuse to stay below stairs and to her mind, the dish was very comforting, which was what she needed.
'
To her satisfaction, the meal was a great success, and soothed her turbulent thoughts and feelings.
Neither Poe, Dopheld nor Mr Hux seemed to be aware of her condition, and that made her feel, notwithstanding her cramps, much more comfortable.
'
A happy result of the incident in the billiard room, was that Lord Ren now appeared to be avoiding her as studiously as she was him. Which suited her perfectly well, because the few times they crossed paths, his expression was one of utmost contempt, as if she were the one at fault.
'
Life carried on like this until a few weeks later, when Poe insisted she go out to the garden with him as he had something to show her.
"You've seemed to be a little out of sorts recently," he observed as he guided her down the path that led to the kitchen garden, he vaguely waved his hand to illustrate his point, "Your smile isn't quite right," here he fixed her with the most serious expression she had ever seen him make, "Don't think we haven't noticed… but, this ought to cheer you up!"
They passed through the gate that led to the walled kitchen garden and Rey felt herself really smile.
Poe had clearly been hard at work, the garden was full of plants and neat rows of furrows where plants had yet to peep above the earth, and in the corner, was the herb garden, the once pathetic remnants now thick and green and growing.
Poe proudly led her up and down, explaining what each plant was or would be and Rey felt almost as excited as he clearly was.
As they made their way back to the house, Poe paused a moment behind a bush then produced a bunch of daffodils and offered them to her, "The last of the daffodils, I thought you may like these for your room, they still smell sweet."
Rey blushed and accepted them happily, bringing them to her nose to inhale the scent for the first time in her life. They were sweet, like sunshine and honey.
"They smell beautiful," she murmured as she started walking again, "Thank you, Poe. You won't get into trouble for picking them, though?"
Poe chuckled, "Nay, I doubt the master would notice, he only walks the garden in the evening, anyway."
That little tidbit Rey filed away, glad to know the garden wasn't somewhere she'd ever bump into Lord Ren, as she never went out in the evenings.
It made her wonder about the animal who sometimes howled, did Lord Ren ever catch sight of it? Would he try and hunt it if he did? She hoped, for the animals sake, that they never crossed paths, it already sounded wounded enough without a huge, angry man adding to its woes. She knew gentlemen hunted for pleasure, so far she was unaware if Lord Ren did, but he seemed the sort. Perhaps she should try and scare the creature away, but to do so, she would have to leave her room at night and that was forbidden...
In the kitchen, Rey found a chipped jug and put the flowers in it with some water to take upstairs when she retired.
"What's that on your nose?" Dopheld asked curiously,
"Pollen," Poe answered with amusement as he poured himself a cup of tea, "From the daffodils."
Using her hand, Rey rubbed her nose lightly, "Is it gone?"
Dopheld peered at her, then smiled and nodded, "All gone."
'
As she was going up that evening, she had the misfortune to cross the hall at the same time as Lord Ren was leaving the library.
His habitual glare faltered slightly when it touched upon the jug of flowers she was carrying, his countenance becoming almost what Rey would have called dismayed, though that was ridiculous, why would a man be upset about a few flowers being picked? Anger would not have surprised her, though she had expected indifference.
The moment passed and he stiffly turned around and entered the library once more, door slamming behind him.
Despite knowing it was coming, Rey flinched at the loud noise anyway.
'
That night, her dreams were fraught yet nebulous and when she woke at midnight, she remembered that she had yet to try Maz's tea.
As it wasn't a night where they were confined to their rooms, she lit a candle and tiptoed downstairs to make some.
The kitchen was still warm, and she curled up on a chair by the banked fire as she allowed the tea steep.
She hadn't realised she had closed her eyes until they drifted open again. Blinking owlishly, she hazily registered someones back as they disappeared into the hall, then noticed there was a blanket covering her and that her tea was no longer steaming. As she became more alert, she realised that the retreating back had been broad and tall… but it couldn't have been Lord Ren - for she knew that he despised her... yet it surely had not been Mr Hux or Dopheld while Poe didn't sleep in the house and the door was locked. If it were an intruder, they would hardly have paused to throw a blanket over a sleeping servant, and now she studied it, it was not a blanket she had seen before. It was made of a soft, luxurious chenille, the dark red and gold pattern accented with black, the rich, deep colours shimmered slightly. As she absentmindedly rubbed it against her cheek, she recognised the scent immediately, it was the same as the library.
There didn't seem to be any way it had not been Lord Ren then, but why? If anything she would have expected him to wake her up to reprimand her. It was perplexing to say the least.
With a sigh, she stood and stretched her back before swallowing down her tea, then made her way to bed. She had meant to leave the blanket on the chair but she realised she still had it wrapped around her when she entered her room.
There was something oddly… comforting about its weight and smell, and she decided for one night, it wouldn't hurt to nestle down with it, she would just leave it for Lord Ren in the library tomorrow.
'
The next day, she overslept and woke up to find the blanket tangled around her and her cheek resting against the soft material, consequently, her nose was full of that singular scent.
With a small blush for being such a silly goose, she hurried through her ablutions and rushed downstairs, quite forgetting to take the blanket with her.
It occurred to her that Maz's tea seemed to have worked at least - the remainder of the night had given her no unsettling dreams and she felt well rested despite her interrupted night.
'
The day had dawned bright and sunny, and Poe finally deemed it dry enough to properly fix the stable roof.
For that reason, Rey was left to tend the kitchen. It suited her well, as she was a little sleepy, and she wondered if it had been too late in the night to take Maz's tea.
Poe had recently bought some lemons, and as it was turning out to be a hot day, Rey decided Lemonade would be nice when they were working so hard. To accompany it, she threw together some simple shortbread, contentedly humming to herself as she worked.
She hid the shortbread and lemonade in the pantry when it was time for lunch, knowing that otherwise Poe and Dopheld would just fill up on treats and not eat a proper meal. They came in tired and sweaty, but satisfied at their progress.
At 3pm, she judged it a good time for a break, set glasses of lemonade and a plate of shortbread on a tray and carried it outside.
The entrance to the stables was out of sight of the back of the house and she followed the path around to the side and through the gate that led to the yard. She was stepping carefully, concerned about losing her balance, but when she looked up at the sound of voices, she stumbled and almost dropped everything at the sight that met her astonished eyes.
For there was Lord Ren, in nothing but shirt and trousers, sleeves rolled up and hair damp and messy, bearing a large piece of timber on his strong shoulders.
It looked effortless, almost like an afterthought, as if he barely registered the weight of it… Rey turned tail and hastened out of sight before anyone saw her, her cheeks warm and her heart was doing a swift pitter-pat in her chest. He had looked handsome, relaxed but vigorous… what on earth was he doing? Why had not Poe and Dophled told her Lord Ren was helping them? Everything was suddenly turned on its head.
Back in the kitchen, Rey added another glass of lemonade and more shortbread to the tray, and went back outside again. As she drew close to the gate, she took a deep breath and walked through as calmly as she could.
At first they didn't notice her, too busy hoisting the wood Lord Ren had been holding up onto the roof.
Of course it was Lord Ren who registered her first, the man seemed to have some uncanny sense and Rey saw the instant he became aware of her. His posture straightened, suddenly rigid and he stopped speaking to Dopheld and turned his head just enough to see her from the corner of his eye.
Dopheld and Poe were quick to follow, and for a moment they all looked like naughty children whose mischief had just been discovered. It was all very peculiar and Rey decided it would be best to behave as if this were normal.
"I thought you must be hungry and thirsty," she told them briskly, "You're…" her tongue tied itself for a second, but it was only brief, "All working so hard."
There wasn't any good place to set the tray down, so she proffered it to Lord Ren first, trying not to notice the way his shirt was stretched across his chest, or how powerful his bare forearms looked.
"Oh," said Poe when Lord Ren didn't reply straight away, "That looks wonderful, thank you. I think we all need it." He was perhaps smiling too widely, but sometimes it was hard to tell with Poe.
Dopheld hesitantly moved nearer, shooting Rey a nervous curve of his lips as his eyes darted to Lord Ren and away, "Is that lemonade?"
Rey smiled gratefully at him, "Yes, freshly made, and shortbread, is there somewhere suitable to leave the tray? I need to get back to begin dinner."
"Here," two large hands gently grasped the tray and she let it go, "This all looks... very nice."
If Rey didn't know any better, she would have said Lord Ren sounded… awkward or shy. Perhaps it was being caught in just his shirt sleeves or doing manual labour, she couldn't tell, so she bobbed a curtsey in response then left them with the tray.
Why had a member of the peerage, whose main hobbies appeared to be slamming doors and shouting at people, not employed day labourers if Poe and Dopheld were unable to fix the roof on their own?
He was an enigma, just when she thought she knew who he was, he did something to confuse her. He was mercurial, beyond her understanding, but she had to secretly admit to herself, that he was also very, very handsome.
Poe was handsome, in a rugged, roguish sort of a way, Dopheld had a sweet, kind face and Mr Hux was very elegant, but despite his strangeness, Lord Ren was good looking in a way that made her nervous.
It was utterly absurd.
She had never been the sort of girl, now woman, to be distracted by fine eyes or handsome features. Her goal in life had always been to work hard and live as happily as possible and she had never concerned herself with thoughts of marrying or love. Love did not keep you safe, or fill your belly, it didn't last and the result was misery, or at least, so she had observed. Friendship, she was glad to cultivate, she enjoyed her conversations with the other staff here and the Tico sisters. To a certain degree, it was possible that she had loved the Priest, the one person to give her life meaning and agency, she had certainly wept when he died and had felt the loss keenly.
So, this was ridiculous, she was probably mistaken, Lord Ren made her nervous because he was intimidating and it was impossible to know how he would behave sometimes, that was it.
That was all this was.
'
'
Balmoral Shortbread - A daily favorite of Queen Victoria, recipe is directly from the royal kitchens.
'
INGREDIENTS
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 & 1/2 cups flour
METHOD
Place the softened butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together with a mixer. Sieve in the flour and using the fingertips gently work the flour into the butter mixture, adding flour a little at a time to make a soft dough.
Take small pieces of the dough and roll out thinly. Take a glass, or cookie cutter about 3-3 & 1/2" in diameter, and cut out the dough until all is used. Prick the surface of each shortbread cookie with a fork so they bake evenly.
Put the cookies on a greased baking tray and bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 12-15 minutes. Do not let edges get brown. Oven times may vary so it's best to do a test cookie first.
'
A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews ^_^ they are all really appreciated!
