Gregory walked across the courtyard with his head down and the hood pulled securely over his head so he couldn't see anything in his peripheral vision. On the ground it was littered with leaves and sticks and other detritus, and surprisingly there were tiny bits of stained glass dotting the lawn. It was most likely from the shattered window at his dorm but he was surprised that the shards had made it this far. They did not break or shatter under his feet, but rather the weight of his body pressed it further into the soft and muddy ground. There it would probably stay forever. There was no way to pick of each tiny individual piece; they were part of the property now until they were crushed away to nothing. It was a somewhat sad and melancholy thought but one that he found he appreciated.
Despite there being an unusual number of people on the lawn he made it back to his dorm in just a few minutes. No one stopped him or even looked at him which was a relief. Once inside he pulled back his hood and looked at the mess that was being made simply from the amount of people walking in and out of the Violet House. The hall was still swarming with carpenters and other workers, and if they weren't working they were leaning against the walls or sitting on the stairs talking with each other or even napping. He looked up the stairwell with growing unease, it was covered in people and he didn't like the thought of forcing them all to move just to climb the stairs to his room. From the looks of things there was nothing that could be done on his end, he would just get in the way of the workers as they cleaned and repaired everything. The best thing he could do at this point was stay out of their way. He looked around feeling suddenly unsure and exposed and he pulled the hood back down over his head hoping he had evaded detection. But the students were nowhere around and the adults had no idea who he was or if they did they didn't seem to care. It was all fine by him, but it left him seeking some kind of haven from all the noise and commotion that was going on around him. His eyes were drawn to the door that led to the basement, no one was around that door and surely it would be quiet down there. Not to mention that Josie was down there as well, but he told himself that was not the reason he would go to the basement as he crossed the foyer and opened the door that led downward; he might not even see her and he had no idea if she was down there or not.
It was dark on the stairs as there were no lights and he kept a firm grip on the handrail as he made his was downwards. At the bottom of the stairs he could glimpse light, and when he reached the bottom he was surprised that the source of light was a natural one. At the end of the hall there was a tiny half window recessed into the stone of the basement hallway. He had never noticed it from outside before, but it was positioned perfectly to catch the light from the morning and afternoon sun. He looked behind him and there was another window, probably to catch the sun in the day and its last rays before dusk. It was a clever way to keep everything lit seeing as how this place was built before gas lights had become wide spread. Even though the basement was rather nondescript it had a kind of cozy and calm feeling, words someone wouldn't normally associate with a stone basement. If he hadn't been so pleased with the tower room he would ask to be moved down here. He jumped down the last step and hit the paved stone floor with a tiny thunk and then he began exploring. It was the perfect idea to come down here as the noise from upstairs was almost non-existent and what sound did travel through the floor was so muffled it was impossible to make out what was even going on.
He walked along the hallways surveying the doors, noticing that one down at the end was open and a light was shining through into the hall. Gregory assumed it was Josie's room and he approached it cautiously. Perhaps she did not want visitors? But if she didn't want them she would have kept her door locked wouldn't she? Just to be sure he knocked lightly on the door frame, peeking in discretely to make sure she was in fact in the room. Josie was there, sitting cross legged on the her bed with the basket her aunt had given her in her lap. She looked up and smiled and waved her hand at him beckoning him to enter, "please come in! I was just about to eat something." He walked into the room and saw the basket was filled with food. In fact it was the same food that had been served earlier in the dining hall, sweet rolls and bacon and a small bowl of porridge with fruit and honey among other things. She looked up at him sheepishly, "I was awake all night, but I was starving too. I wanted to eat in the hall with the others but my Aunt said I should eat it in my room then take a nap, so I just came back to my room to eat quickly."
He nodded but kept his head down, suddenly shy and he was not sure why. He surveyed the room and found it much larger and more luxurious than he would have initially thought. It was obvious that it wasn't a normal servants quarters; normally they were sparse and rudely furnished. This room seemed to have more personal items than one would normally find and all of them of fine quality. He had to remind himself that she was not a servant or of a lower class by birth. Even though her father had been disowned by his family he had still done well for himself, and even if his death had left her with no money there were still some valuable items around the room. There was a large and ornate oak chest at the foot of her bed carved in oriental designs and inlaid with some kind of green enamel. Beneath his feet there was a large and plush rug that seemed to be of some kind of middle-eastern design that was pleasing to the eye. And in the corner there was a large harp! That alone would only be found in homes where there was enough wealth to lavish on such a pricey instrument. Of course there were other touches around the room that hinted at her past life. On a small bedside table that must have come with the room was a tiny family portrait of her and her parents, sitting next to it was a pipe carved out of ivory that was propped against it, along with a man's shaving kit that he assumed all must be her fathers. Next to it was a handheld silver mirror that must have belonged to her mother, or perhaps it had always belonged to Josie.
She was still sitting on the bed watching him as he looked around with a knowing smile on her face. "Everything in her are the things I didn't want to sell, or things that I thought would be useful. I could have sold the harp but I have spent so many years learning it I didn't have the heart to sell it. Besides, perhaps I might become a harpist one day." He turned to look at her as she took a bite of sweet roll, and he could tell that she must be starving from the way she ate it, but then she had been up all night; even he had gotten some sleep last night. She swallowed and smiled at him a little wearily. "It was so exciting last night wasn't it? I'm just so glad no one was seriously injured during all that, is there any news of the damage that was done? Will they get it all fixed soon do you suppose?"
He shook his head, "I have no idea, I haven't bothered to ask any of the workman about their progress." Gregory coughed a little, still feeling exceptionally shy still. Why had he wanted to come down her at all? He could have sat on the stairs and enjoyed the silence but instead he had sought out Josie and was making a fool of himself by acting like this. Suddenly she held out a roll to him, "Are you still hungry? I have plenty of food to share if you would like some?" He took the roll to be polite and ate it quickly besides not even being hungry. Josie giggled and he felt his face burn, and the realization that he was embarrassed made it even worse.
"Don't be shy on my account Gregory; I'm just a normal servant here now anyway. Was there anything that you needed help with? I can always eat later if there is something that needs to be done," she started to stand up from the bed and tuck the rest of the food away in the basket for later.
He spoke up at last, "no, there's nothing that needed to be done I was just…coming down here because it was quiet." Violet hoped that would make sense to her. For once he was afraid of his actions. He would be the first to let anyone know that he was an odd person, if his personality did not let others know that right away. The other students and the members of P4 had years to get to know him and understand his mannerisms. But to a girl he had just met, and he had very little experience with girls anyway, he must seem more than a little strange. However Josie just smiled and sat back down, reaching for another sweet roll.
"It's alright, I thought that's why you had come down here anyway, that or you wanted to make sure I was alright from last night." She said thoughtfully looking him in the eye. Gregory blushed again and backed away and ducked out the door.
"Please excuse me I have a lot to get done and things to check on, but I'm sure I will see you again today," he stammered out quickly. She smiled and nodded, and continued to eat her breakfast as he felt himself blush. He turned and walked down the hallway and up the stairs, not even trying to say another farewell and wondering if she thought he was odd or strange like so many others seemed to think.