The Devil is The Duke

Emeera finally slept after midnight, having spent the previous hours tossing in bed, wondering how she would cope with the man that was just a glass door away. Around six o’clock the next morning, a knock on her door woke up. It was Mrs. Fletcher with a long menu. “Good morning Ms. Charles.”

“Please just call me Emeera,” Emeera said and sat up.

“Very well then. Good morning Emeera. I am here for the week’s menu.”

“I don’t understand why I’m to decide this when you are the head maid.”

“You run the manor now. Everything has to meet your approval as you represent his Grace.”

“How do I speak for a man I barely know? You have known this man his whole life, yet I’m expected to speak to you on his behalf? Definitely, you are better than me in this.”

Mrs. Fletcher smiled for the first time. “I could help you if you wish.”

“By all means, please,” Emeera answered as she covered herself more properly in her night dress.

“First, his Grace is allergic to shellfish and dairy. So nobody eats shellfish in the manor,” Mrs. Fletcher said while making herself comfortable in the couch. It seems the plea for help made her think she was allowed a seat.

“Why does his own dietary restrictions have to affect everyone else?”

“Maybe because he is Alfred, the Duke of Savoy and master of the manor. Actually, dairy products can be eaten by anyone as long as his Grace does not taste it. I shall leave this with you so you approve the menu Ms. Charles.”

“Please just call me Emeera.”

“Alright Emeera. I’ll come back for the menu and the shopping money. Isabel, the new maid will do the shopping this afternoon.”

“Money? Which money?”

“As the manor manager, his Grace keeps you in charge of everything including financial administration. You get money from the accountant every week and keep a record of funds disbursement. You are even in charge of payrolls. You have to set up a meeting with his Grace’s accountant. All the phone numbers you need are on your dresser. I thought you saw that. Also, you have a private briefing with the Duke every other day. Your first is this morning. The next one is for Thursday, if he is home. Briefing is usually in the evening but he is traveling this evening so you have to meet him in some minutes.” Mrs. Fletcher was speaking too fast that Emeera could not keep up but she knew she had to meet the Duke in his home office in twenty minutes. The moment Mrs. Fletcher went out, Emeera ran to shower. She had called Nancy previous night and asked her to bring suitcases of Emeera’s clothes but Nancy was yet to arrive. Emeera covered her hair with one of the white towels embroidered A. D. S. As she went into the bedroom, there was a soft knock on the door. Her heart racing as thoughts of the Duke flashed through, she opened to find a beautiful girl in a maid’s uniform.

“Who are you?”

“Lucille, your chambermaid,” the girl said.

“My room is cleaned already,” Emeera said.

“Yes I did that before you moved in. I’m here to remove the towels if that is alright by you.” Emeera said it was and stood aside for the girl to pass. She still marveled at how they treated her like the lady of the manor. Lucille worked swiftly and in minutes she was gone. Emeera went to the dresser and found a hairbrush. Same initials were on the white brushes. She guessed it meant Alfred, Duke of Savoy.

After her quick hair brushing, she took the map of the property and found her way to the Duke’s office on the first floor. Two knocks and the butler opened.

“Good morning ma’am.”

“Good morning Luis. I am here to see his Grace.”

“Come this way please,” Luis said and took her through an anteroom with beautiful couches and elegant wallpaper. The couches and armchairs were all different shades of purple and lilac. The cream floor matched the wallpaper. The butler knocked on a wooden door on the right and entered before ushering Emeera in. She entered to see the Duke seated, scribbling a letter at his desk. Without looking up, he murmured in response to her greetings and waved her to a seat. She looked around the room. The chandelier looked like it could pay her five years rent. Like his bedroom, the office was kept dark. The only source of light being the table lamp and another lamp in a corner. There were two bookshelves that displayed some of her favourite authors’ works. She quietly went up to the shelves and opened a copy of Pride and Prejudice. She was at the first page, only to hear the duke read “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Emeera turned around, surprised. This was the third time the man had crept up on her. Was she deaf or was he just very quiet? She wondered as she shut the book and returned it to its position.

“The best part of that line was how some people of Jane Austen’s time did not even realize she was being sarcastic.”

“You speak sarcastically too. I daresay you don’t believe in marriage or is it remarriage?”

“Let’s just say I have no intention of getting a wife,” he said and went back to his seat at the desk. Emeera sat in hers. His wife’s death must have really traumatized him, she thought. It felt uncomfortable that she got to sleep in the woman’s rooms.

“When you pass, who inherits this estate?” she asked after a moment of silence.

“I have a younger brother,” he said as he signed a document. Then he turned to her. “You know you must see me every other day, right? I am travelling today but once I get back, we will be having these regular meetings.”

“Alright.”

“You can leave as there’s nothing to discuss yet. The accountant is surely waiting for you in the dining. Ask him to give you some money for your personal shopping too. I don’t want my manager to make a habit of repeating worn clothes,” he said. Under her breath, Emeera cursed Nancy for not bringing her clothes on time which had caused her to wear the same thing.

The accountant, Mr. Phillip was a jolly fellow in his fifties. He showed her the books and how the budgets were made. Seeing that much money made her feel dizzy. The weekly cost of running the manor was shocking. The meeting was shorter than she had anticipated. The accountant was done within thirty minutes and left her with a chequebook for the estate.

After her meeting with the accountant, Emeera decided to see the gardens, to take it all in. The greenhouse was filled with exotic flowers that only an expert gardener could manage. She made a mental note to ask for fresh flowers to be sent regularly to the home office and Master bedroom. Those two places looked like they could do with some vibrant flowers. Shortly after she left the greenhouse, Nancy arrived with the suitcases. Two footmen took the suitcases to Emeera’s rooms while Nancy waited in the car. After everything was kept in place, Emeera and Nancy went shopping. All through the drive, Nancy kept asking questions. “Are you saying the duke gave you all that money just to look good?”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

“He did not give me money directly,” Emeera responded.

“Approved the funds. Give you money. They are the same thing. He gave you money. Emeera are you sure this is good?” they had driven up to the Manor’s large gate and Nancy honked. The gatekeeper opened it and they drove out. “I thought you would be spending nights at home but now that is off the table. You will be with this man at all times. Even if you are not in his room, you will be under his roof. My only comfort, which is not enough, is that he won’t go all the way down to a worker’s room. He is a proud man and that can cause a scandal. Your rooms are on different floors, right?”

“Nancy, can we stop? The man is not attracted to me in anyway and has said so himself. Please let’s stop bringing him up so I can focus on my job.”

“What? He said he’s not attracted to you? That’s a lie! Someone who has dated all of Savoy is not interested in you? Has he seen you?”

“All of Savoy are beautiful white women while I’m -”

“An intoxicating Arabian magic. You are a ravishing beauty. I mean, I wish I had your olive skin and large eyes. I tan to be your shade but tan doesn’t even make me look like you.”

“Awww Nancy. You are beautiful. But I just feel no matter how long I live in Europe, I will always be the outsider. Just looking at the shade of my skin and my eyes and everyone just move away.”

“I did not move away. Nobody did. Your ex is still begging for your love. The Duke did not move away. About being an outsider, aren’t we all? Being with you is the first time I feel like I have family yet I have family right here in Savoy. Emeera you are gorgeous! I think that’s why that Kate De Luca was so upset. She felt intimidated by your beauty because even after wearing Alexander Vitali and professional makeup, you, in a waitress’ uniform still looked better.”

“Oh please stop. I’m flattered though,” Emeera admitted. Nancy smiled and parked her car. The girls went into the store the accountant had instructed her to go and shopped for an hour. Nancy loved shopping but Emeera did not see the point, she just sat watching Nancy select the clothes for her.

“You want to keep it elegant and chic but not sexy seeing you are living with hmmm,” Nancy said to Emeera’s amusement.

“Nancy you need to pick something more casual. These are daily home wears, you know.”

“You are the most important domestic worker of our duke! You cannot receive guests looking like a peasant,” Nancy said.

After their shopping, Emeera went back to the Manor. It was just 3p. m. but the kitchen staff had already started dinner. Mrs. Fletcher took her into the large kitchen to introduce her to the staff. The staff comprised of very tired looking women and a few men. If there were any young girls, the stress made them look years older. Emeera had to taste all they cooked. As she was yet to create a menu, they had cooked according to Mrs. Fletcher’s instructions. Dinner was roast lamb and vegetables. After tasting and approving the meal, Emeera went upstairs to prepare the monthly menu. She sat at the coffee table in her bedroom for an hour working on the menu. For the first time in her life, she had to think of what a large household would eat for a full month and realized how that could be such a chore. When she was done with it, she handed it to Mrs. Fletcher, who took it to the kitchen without even looking at it.

Her dinner was served in the bedroom as usual and Emeera ate slowly, thinking of the task that lay ahead. She still had to meet with the gardeners who told her they needed money to buy a new kind of fertilizer for the garden. The job was not as easy as Nancy had predicted. After her meal, Emeera went down to meet with the gardeners and they drew a three month budget they would work with. After the meeting, she had a long bath and retired to the comfort of her soft bed.