Chapter 23: Smart-casual.
Kate's POV:
Kate stopped talking as she heard Humphrey coming back downstairs and both she and Ms. Imnriss turned to take a look as he appeared at the bottom of the steps. Kate felt her breath catch a little at his transformation, he'd only been gone fifteen minutes and the change was remarkable as she saw that Ms. Imnriss was nodding in approval. She saw that Humphrey had gone for the perfect blend of smart and casual with an expensive looking white shirt which was tucked in. He wore smart black jeans, a flash black leather belt with a plain but classy silver buckle and some black leather dress shoes, not wholly dissimilar from what her father wore on sometimes. 'What does dad call them, oxfords?' Kate thought to herself, trying to remember. She also noticed that Humphrey had styled his hair a bit, wearing it neater than he normally had it and leaving her to admit without reservation, though silently, that he looked damn good.
"I thought you were just going to have dinner with the Spencer's?" Ms. Imnriss said in a light tone, pulling Kate back to reality as she smirked and gestured to Humphrey's getup. He said nothing, just scowling a little at her for a moment before smiling.
"I don't think I'll be too late." He said before turning in Kate's direction with a small grin. As Kate stood to leave she noticed Ms. Imnriss roll her eyes in a way that she was sure meant 'I doubt that' though she didn't really know why as she followed Humphrey towards the door. She paused in the doorway as he went ahead, getting in and starting the car as she turned back to the young woman at the table with a smile.
"It was nice to see you Ms. Imnriss." Kate said, giving a tiny bow in her direction. "I'll see you at school." As she finished Kate saw her roll her eyes again but she smiled warmly at her.
"You're welcome here any time Kate. Don't get up to too much mischief tonight." She replied. Kate promised she wouldn't before turning and running to the car, sliding into the passenger seat and buckling in as Humphrey reversed out.
Humphrey's POV:
It had just ticked over 5:35pm as we pulled up to the gate that lead to Kate's property. Whoever operated the gate must've recognised my car because Kate didn't even have time to stick her head out of the window before the wrought iron gate began to slide open. As I waited for it to move aside enough for me to drive through I studied it a little more closely, noticing the intricate carvings etched into each of the bars. 'It's more work of art than security measure.' I thought to myself as I drove forwards, once again being careful to drive slowly and smoothly to avoid tearing up the gravel driveway.
As we reached the end of the driveway I was surprised to see Silas, the Spencer's head butler, standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the front door and clearly waiting for us. 'Well I guess I am actually a guest this time.' I thought to myself as I parked the car and turned it off. I got out of the car, smiling and nodding a greeting to Silas as we walked over, giving me a deep bow.
"Mr. Humphrey, welcome." He said as he straightened up. I walked around the car to Kate's side, opening and holding it for her as she got out, the gesture causing her to giggle, which I ignored, closing the door and heading around to the trunk to open it so that she could collect her things.
"Hello Silas, it's good to see you again." I replied, closing the trunk and walking over to him, offering my hand which he accepted after a second. We both smiled at that, recalling our last meeting where I'd almost made something of an etiquette blunder as Silas turned to Kate, taking her bags from her with another small bow.
"Welcome home Miss Kate." He said before turning and leading us inside. As we topped the small flight of steps Kate stepped over to me, grabbing my arm gently.
"I'm gonna go get ready, will you be alright for a while? I shouldn't be more than 30 minutes." She said with a little concern. I nodded and assured her that I would be fine as she gave my arm a tiny squeeze before running off, heading up the grand central staircase and towards the left wing of the house where I assumed her room must be located. Once she was gone I took a look around the entrance hall that we were standing in, unsurprised to find that the house was just as impressive on the inside, if not more so. The main feature of the room would've had to be either the central staircase set against the wall opposite the door that went straight up before branching into two arms that swept left and right. The stairs themselves were of the same stone, I supposed marble, whilst the banisters were a mixture of that material and a dark, treated wood that I couldn't identify.
This staircase all but dominated the room and would've been uncontested for the main attraction had it not been for the large chandelier that hung from the roof in the centre of the room. I was a spectacular piece, using real candles to cast light on the carved crystal shards that refracted it around the room in a breathtaking display. Beyond these two main pieces there was a smattering of well-kept pot plants and art pieces around the room as well as a few paintings adorning the walls. All in all it was a room that achieved a sense on minimalist grandeur perfectly and in many ways captured the essence of the property as a whole. I realised that it was more than likely a reflection on the character of the home owners themselves but it was hard to tell without really knowing them.
"Where are Kate's parents? I should go and say hello." I said, dragging myself away from admiring the house to look over at Silas who had just closed the front door behind us and turned back around as he answered, nodding as though he approved of my suggestion.
"Mrs. Spencer is busy in the preparing dinner in the kitchen where I must return shortly to help but Mr. Winston is in the parlour if you wish to see him. I believe he was taking a call but that has likely finished." Silas said, picking up Kate's bags once more and heading towards the stairs as I followed.
"It's the door directly opposite as you reach the top of the stairs, down the end of the corridor." He finished, gesturing to the branch leading up to the right wing of the house.
"Alright, thanks Silas." I said, grinning and nodding as we went our separate ways. I'd been going slowly on the stairs, partly because I didn't want to make too much noise but also because I'd figured that they would've been quite slippery and the embarrassment would've been worse than the pain if I fell. I needn't have worried however as each of the steps had a pattern etched into them, roughing up the surface and providing sufficient grip without making them uncomfortable to walk on. The pattern itself was subtle and the design reminded me of some of the old Norse patterning I'd seen in the past as I reached the top, heading down the corridor.
Winston's POV:
Winston looked up from the article he was reading as he heard a gently knock on parlour door, speaking from them to enter after a second as he placed the article to the side and picked up the coffee that had sat on the small table to his side.
"Excuse me." He realised how it must be as he heard a young male voice from behind the door. Winston took a sip of coffee as the door was opened, revealing that it was indeed Humphrey on the other side as he'd thought. He entered the room slowly, standing nervously just inside as he looked around at the decor as well as the rather stunning view from out of the main window.
"Humphrey. It's great to see you again. Do come in, have a seat." Winston said, placing the cup in his hand down and standing up with a smile, gesturing to the armchair next to his. Humphrey seemed to relax a little at this, walking over and taking the seat with a smile.
"Thank you, it's good to see you as well sir." Humphrey replied as he sat, his very proper manner making Winston chuckle a bit.
"Please Humphrey, call me Winston. Or at least Mr. Spencer. Only my subordinates call me sir." He said a little seriously as he looked over at the young man before him, noting that he was dressed quite sharply compared to when they'd first met.
"So how has your first week at school been?" He continued after a moment, taking a sip of coffee. Kate had already told he and Eve some of what had happened but he was curious to hear it from Humphrey himself.
Humphrey's POV:
I nodded with a smile, thinking a moment about the last few days before answering the question.
"Then I will, thank you Winston." I said, addressing his earlier statement as well as trying out the name, surprised to find that I was quite comfortable with it. I'd met many people in my life, a lot of whom were adults who I had usually had no qualms about addressing by their first names if they asked me to but it was different with Winston. He certainly seemed more imposing somehow and I still felt that it would've been more appropriate to call him sir or Mr. Spencer but I could hardly do so after being asked specifically to address him by name.
"School has been good. Everyone has been friendly to me and the classes are quite interesting." I continued, answering Winston's question. We chatted back and forth for a while though it was mostly just me answering questions about school and basketball, which Winston seemed quite interested in. I was surprised by his keen interest in the team but it became clear after he mentioned that he actually sponsored both the basketball and football teams. 'That explains all the equipment we have.' I thought to myself as the conversation fell into a natural silence.
It had been about half an hour and I figured that I should go and find Kate as I began thinking of a way to excuse myself when Winston stood up saying, "Forgive me Humphrey. I don't mean to be rude but I need to make a phone call."
I quickly stood up myself, shaking my head with a smile. "No, no, it's quite alright. I'll go and find Kate, she's probably had time to get ready." I said as Winston walked me over to the door.
"Thank you. I'm sure dinner won't be very much longer." He said as I left the room and he closed the door behind me, no doubt returning to his seat to make whatever phone call was necessary. Sure enough as I began making my way down the corridor I heard him begin speaking though I couldn't make out the words.
Kate's POV:
Ten minutes earlier.
Kate let out a relieved sigh as she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. The warm water had done wonders to relax her tired muscles after the performance at the game earlier. She caught sight of herself in the mirror as she dried off and paused, posing a little as she inspected her figure critically. Her skin had a little colour to it but it was nowhere near the level of Brittany's tan, who insisted that it was just her heritage and that was her natural colour but Kate was sure it wasn't. Kate was fairly happy with the shape her body was in, she was very active, regularly working out in addition to her cheerleading activities which left her in excellent shape.
Kate paused for a moment as an image of Humphrey popped into her mind and she frowned a little, wondering just how much work he must've put in to get into and stay in that kind of shape. She was still deep in thought as she stepped out of the bathroom, heading towards her wardrobe to find something to wear. As she was nearing the entrance the door to her room opened and someone walked in, yanking Kate from her thoughts as she jumped and squealed with shock, grabbing the nearest item to cover herself which happened to be a certain leather jacket with a fur trim that had been sitting on the cabinet next to her.
"Jeez relax sis. It's only me." Lily said as she entered the room, unashamedly walking past Kate and into her wardrobe, grabbing one of Kate's jackets. Kate's cheeks were flushed as she stared at Lily, her emotions running as she got over her shock, moving to relief and then onto anger.
"Lily! What the hell?" Kate said loudly, giving her sister an accusing glare as she came back out of the walk-in wardrobe. There was an amused smile on Lily's face as she looked back at Kate, thoroughly undaunted by the icy stare she was getting.
"What, I just needed this. It goes perfectly with the outfit we're putting together." Lily said, her grin widening as she walked to the door, pausing for a moment to add, "Did you think it was Humphrey or something?"
Kate said nothing, feeling herself blush even harder as Lily just flashed an infuriating smile and disappeared, closing the door behind her. After another moment and a deep breath Kate managed to calm herself down, pulling her thoughts away from her annoying sister as she opened a draw, selecting some undergarments and pulling them on.
"What should I wear?" She muttered to herself, looking around the wardrobe thoughtfully.