Chapter 5: Bearer of bad news

December 30, 1899, London

"Thanks, I will make sure he gets it" the teenager smiled to the deliver and gave a polite reverence before closing the door.

The cold air of the capital now was blocked from entering the small apartment. Christmas had just passed and, surprise to no one, only one person had received a gift from the man who owned the small floor. It was a small book about accountability that he had received in the trading company, but it was a gift from him no less. And now that person was carrying a letter to her master, a letter she knew already that he was going to destroy in the fire of a candle.

It had been three years since Levi had brought Petra's small family, among other servants, to live with him as he worked his way up through the corrupt coin officers and merchants of the capital.

During his stay at London, and despite his young age, he had managed to seal some minor deals with traders who were stationed in the British India, although his rash treatment of his superiors had earned him cuts on his monetary gains. Not to mention he had already established himself as a person who wouldn't do personal favors in the work when he refused to negotiate with a personal friend of his father and ditched him in favor of a rival, yet much better positioned, trader in Liverpool.

This reputation had earned him some angry letters, both from his parents and from his superiors, whom just couldn't fire him due to his ability to deal with the younger, rasher merchants that had enriched themselves with the industrial revolution.

Petra had seen the anger of the older officers in the letters the she received nearly every morning. And she would deliver them with his coffee.

Today was no different. This time the letter came from home and she kind of knew what it was about. During the last year, every time she delivered a letter from the master's parents, she would later hear Levi complaining about the apparent unhappiness of arranged engagements or the "airheads" that their friends had for daughters.

A part of the girl was slightly upset that he would use such terms when talking about a lady, but another part of her brain, a part that she couldn't comprehend, was slightly relieved every time she heard Levi ditch away the pressures of his parents.

She found him inside the small room he had taken as an office, absorbed into the letters he got from merchants in India and Hong Kong. Petra knocked on the door and got him to direct his gaze to her.

Levi saw her carrying a small tray with coffee and a piece of toasted bread smeared with a small amount of honey. He had always asked for the same meal at morning and, as a result, Petra had ended up carrying the scent of honey and fresh brewed coffee on her clothes.

Levi then noticed that there was also a piece of paper along with his breakfast. As Petra laid the tray on his desk, he recognized the wax seal.

"They just couldn't let me have a quiet new year's eve, right?" he asked while taking a sip of his coffee. After setting the cup down, he took the letter and handled it to Petra without even opening it. "Could you get rid of this for me?"

Petra was a bit surprised at the petition, she knew her master didn't want to answer to his parents, but at least he used to read the contents of their messages.

"Are you sure?" she said, gently putting the piece of paper back in the tray, since she knew how picky Levi could be regarding physical contact

"Absolutely" he turned his attention back to the desk "Have you planned the New Year's dinner?"

Petra frowned a little when she sensed Levi's hurry for changing the subject of the conversation, but she knew that it would be futile to insist.

"I haven't" she breathed out, "I'm getting some suggestions from the neighbors, but they seem to be expending a little too much this time around"

"It's the last day of the century, so some of them feel like it's the end of the world. It's still stupid though" Levi answered, occasionally stopping to take a bite from his toast.

Petra looked at him with slight sadness. Like Levi, she usually disliked spending too much during festivities but she could appreciate the effort that people put into celebrating the New Year.

"I like to think otherwise" she answered firmly. Levi's eyes peeked at her. His gaze was asking for an explanation.

Petra cleared her throat when she noticed the questioning look in her master's eyes. "I think they see the new century as a new beginning; a place when they can start from scratch"

"I see" he shifted on his chair so he was now facing her directly "What about you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you looking to start something?" his posture on the chair was relaxed, but Petra could notice in Levi's eyes that he really was curious about her answer.

"No" she sighed, but then she took a deep breath and continued while sporting a warm smile "I want to remain here working for you, Master" she finished while adding a softer tone to the title she used when addressing Levi.

The man remained silent for a moment, but Petra knew him enough to be certain that he was pondering about what she just said. Finally he shifted again on his chair so he was facing his desk again.

"You can leave the letter, I'll read it later"

…..

Levi remained in his office the entire morning; deliberately focusing on the letters he got from his business partners in order to ignore the missive from his parents. He was used to receiving angry complaints about his business tactics, but during the last months the contents had changed for something much more annoying.

It all started at spring, when a letter from his mother begun to talk about the daughter of a friend that had come to have tea with the family. Levi did not know what to make out of that annotation until he got to a line that made his head feel heavy with frustration:

"…and then I thought that she could be a perfect housewife…"

Right, like he seemed like a person who could carry a marriage and tend to a high born lady's whims.

Levi decided to ignore the constant pressures of his parents, up until now.

When Petra appeared with the letter, he immediately thought of getting rid of it without even reading the contents, but later decided to keep it in order to not to upset her. He noticed the slight sadness in her eyes when he asked her to get rid of the dammed paper. But after their short talk he decided to spare her from getting rid of it and doing it himself once he finished.

He was slightly amused by the girl's capacity of remaining sweet and gentle after spending three years in that nest of vipers, although he kind of needed her optimism, otherwise the gloominess of London would have drove him to insanity long ago.

The combined scent of coffee and honey still lingered in the air and he inhaled deeply, taking it in.

"I want to remain here working for you, Master"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration; there was that dammed title again.

He tried to relax in his chair. The annoyance that he got from being called like that still remained intact, in fact very little things changed at all during the last three years.

"No" his mind spat back "Petra has changed, and you know that"

In a way it was truth, she was now an adolescent. Still petite, but anyone who had seen her taking care of cleaning and organizing holiday meals by herself would be crazy to call her frail, and despite the fact that Levi had only seen her naked once, when she was two years old and he childishly tried to bath her, he knew that her black maid dress hid a solid body, hardened by the domestic work and the occasional fencing she practiced with him.

Then the letter appeared again in the corner of his mind; it was still on his desk, next to the now empty cup of coffee. He brought it to his face, ripping the wax seal open and recognizing his mother's curvy calligraphy.

"I guess it's going to be the same as always"

He was wrong

….

After Petra finished with her morning duties, she went to check in Levi to see if he was done with his paperwork. She found the office empty, except for the letters that he had neatly organized on his desk and the tray that she had left earlier.

She thought of calling for him first, but she knew that Levi would want her to prioritize cleaning. So, with a heavy face, she lifted the tray and carried it to the kitchen.

When she reached the sink, she hurried and placed the dishes in the murky water. However, as she settled the tray down, Petra noticed a crumbled piece of paper on it.

Levi wasn't the type of person who would leave papers lying around like that, since he would normally burn those letters after reading them.

Petra was slightly worried. She picked the piece of paper from the tray and carefully starched it so she wouldn't tear it by accident. Along the crumbled lines, she could recognize the writing of Levi's mother on it.

Dear son:

I would be contacting you to wish you the best in the upcoming new century and, in a way, the thing I'm about to address in this letter is here because I have the best intentions towards you and I want you to become a distinguished man in the social sphere of London.

I know you're going to hate me for doing this, but since you haven't even bothered to answer my letters, I had no other choice.

You already know this, but many of our friend's sons and daughters have established themselves in the capital and I took the liberty to ask them to keep an eye on you, and I don't like what I've been hearing.

According to the servants of these people, you spend nearly all of your free time near that servant girl, and you know who I'm talking about.

I thought that you had a sisterly affection for that girl, but now I'm hearing that she's the only person you ever give Christmas presents for.

When have you ever give presents to anyone? Even we never receive anything from you in the holydays.

I know that I have invaded your privacy, and I know that I just gave you another reason to not answer back. But I'm doing this for your own good. I'm asking you to go out and join the rest of society.

And please get that girl out of your personal service. The last thing I want to receive from our friend's sons is that she's with child, and I will know that it's yours.

May you have a happy and prosperous new year….