Baron Venturian's Maid (closed for icu1978)

[HerrLuchador]

The advertisment in the villiage post had been rather specific. Written in the usual Attention-getting and very much uninspired print that the wanted advertisements seemed so fond of. Nudged somewhere in between
"APARTMENTS FOR LEASE" and " CUNNYINGE SALESMEN WANTYDE" was a small and very breif notice for a housecleaner.

"Wanted: a woman in good health, ages 18 to 30, for housekeeping and cooking. Must be adventurous, decently educated, and not at all afraid to pick up and remove dead animals, or at the very least poke them with the end of a broom handle. Please do not apply if you are startled by bats,or if you are fond of carrying religous symbols on your person in plain sight. Nice hips a definite plus. Please Enquire with Baron H.M.Nd Venturian Esq. Located conventiently in Harrowbale manor twelve miles north by Millers Road. Alright did you get all that? What? what are you writing? no no I didnt say to write that... hey hey! that's costing me three shillings a word you miserable lout! No dont write that part down either! I swear by god if you put this in the actual advertisement I'm going to- "

To be truthful it was a very odd sounding ad. Venturian hadnt actually done this kind of thing before. The whole idea of Newspapers were a bit of a strange thing to him, being a man who mainly heard news of the world from other people. But with the Manor being in the state that it was... and his usual staff of Undead servants having grown more or less incompetant and completely worthless, he'd had to turn to hiring from the nearby villiage.

Yes, he was a Vampire... what of it?

Venturi sent the ad out on wednesday evening and it was in the papers by the following morning, by then he'd been rather anxious to see who might respond to the notice. He'd spent much of that thursday morning trying to relieve a bit of anxiety the old fashioned way....

That is to say, he had let a bunch of pheasants loose inside the manor house and was hunting them all down with a crossbow.

Good clean fun.

 

[icu1978]

20 year old veronica whitlen was huddled under the over hang of the blacksmiths shop searching threw the local posts when she found an add for an house keeper and cook. sighing and brushing her dark blonde hair back behind her ear looking over her shoulder as the door behind her opened. her step mother came out with her step sister clearice. they had just bught clearice a new pony. walking behind them she sliped the add in her bodice.

the rain was pouring and she was drenched by the time they reached their small manor house. helping the doorman retrieve the lady's packages and carie them to the drawing room. when she had finished to met her step mother in her private sitting room. " have by chance had the chance to look through the post for a postition lately young lady?"
the older woman sat on a small love seat a small army of poodles around her skirts.

looking down at her feet veronica knodded." yes mam i am sending a responce to the add this afternoon... if that meets with your aproval"

the lady smiling stood and huged the younger girl. " that is delightful child.. by all means send your responce." when given leave she returned to her own rooms and printed out a responce and had it delivered to Baron H.M.Nd Venturian Esq. by a runner she had hired with her measly savings.

 

[HerrLuchador]

Venturian heard the knock at the door and stepped towards the door, placing his ear to it, not daring to step outside into whatever grim daylight they could get through the overcast.

Putting on his best lower class voice he called through the door.
"Aye wot... who is this nae?"

"Runner... err... here to deliver a letter to the master of the house."

Venturian smiled. That was him!

"OOoooh och aye, Sorry, 'ees not in squire an mah 'ands are a wee bit full at the moment. Slip the letter under the door an' ah'll see 'ee gets it eh wot?"

Venturi picked the letter off the floor and dusted it off before reading it over. Someone had already applied for the job. Well that was quick. He called through the door.
"Stay here a moment... the master said 'ee 'ad a letter somewheres for 'ooever replied to 'is advertisment. 'old on a bit squire."

Venturian quickly rushed over to the nearest table, grabbed a pen, shooed the pheasant out of the way and started hastily scrawling down his reply.

"Come... by.... around...tonight .... sundown... ish... pleased to have you on... will... discuss salary.... then" he looked it over once for errors, signed it quickly and slipped it back under the door with a few shillings for the runner.

"Git 'iss one back to the nice lady wot sent it eh? Cheerio love... and here's a shilling for yer toime squire."

 

[icu1978]

when the young man appeared back at her door she smiled in relief taking the letter from him and giving him a shilling. " thank you kindly" she said before shutting the door.

tearing the letter open she read through it twice before running to her room and printing a letter to her step mother and packing a small bag of clothing.

when the sun had begun setting she started her long walk to the castle of
Baron H.M.Nd Venturian Esq. when she arrived it was well after dark and she was more than a little spooked as she walked to the door and knocked several times. brushing her small hand down the length of her bodice and skirts. she was wet and shivering. her small finger already turning blue and her usually pink lips a little more purplish than pink. her large brown eyes looking to the door refusing to turn and investigate the strange noise's coming from behind her.

 

[HerrLuchador]

"Sorry, just a minute! ." came Venturian's voice from the great hall.

He looked over at the door. She was here at last! Took her long enough he suppoesd... He looked down at himself, crossbow bolts stuck into a old leather bandolier and his hair tossled. This wouldn't do at all.

He moved to the nearest mirror and began to straighten his hair... but, being a vampire, he couldn't see what the hell he was doing. "Shit... keep forgetting about that bit." he muttered dismally before wondering why on earth he even had a mirror in the first place if it wasnt bound to do him any good.

He did the best he could do with the hair, slicking it back along with his gotee, and doing a fairly passable job in truth. He brushed the feathers off of his coat and answered the door, looking every bit the well-to-do handsome, dark haired and green eyed man of distinction that he was. An image that was only spoiled by the crossbow.

He looked the young woman up and down with an amicable smile.
"Oh... my dear... you must be chilled to the bone... Damn weather eh?... well? do come in side and take a seat, I've got a fire going in the parlor... you can warm up there... Just watch your step... it's a bit of a mess in here... long story."

 

[icu1978]

surprised that the lord of the house himself came to the door she was struck speachless at first. coming to her sinces she offers a low curtsy and standing walks into the front entrance hall." thank you sire" she said soft as she passed. as she followed him into the front parlor she was awe struck. the place was woorse than any pig stye she had ever seen.

looking around she noticed any number of deceased animals laying about the room. there was dust and dirt on every surface in the room. taking a breath she slowly turned and looked at him.." i would say you are well past needing a maid sir... perhaps sir there are ....other maids?" she asked hopefull not wanting to think she would have to clean the entire house on her own. at least not if the rest of the house was in the same condition as this one room. moving to stand by the roaring fire. she noticed that the pit was over flowling with ashes and the fire place it's self was covered in several layers of thick black soot.

 

[HerrLuchador]

"Ah... well I did have und- eer.. help. I had help. Servants, they all left rather suddenly though. No fault of mine mind you... anyways, I've lately noticed that If I'm ever going to get this place back in any decen shape I'm going to need a- FOUND YA KNOW YA WEE BASTARD, GIT DAEN WOMAN!" He shouted suddenly pushing veronica to a crouch while he levelled the crossbow at a breif moving glimpse and let loose a bolt with a vicious twang of the cord and a painful hissing of air.

There was a loud skwak, or something like it and there was now one freshly slain pheasant with a crossbow bolt sticking out of it.
"Sorry... been taking me all day to clean up these little bastards... they all uhh... somehow got loose in here, dont know why... anyways, come in, have a cup of tea, must be frozen... Like I said I need a maid for obvious reasons... given that the work here will take some time and effort I'm offering saaay...." he thought for a moment finding himself completely lost as to what constituted a shitload of money nowadays.

"err... well... what kind of fee would be suitable miss.... err... miss... sorry didnt catch the name... Victoria was it?"

 

[icu1978]

"veronica whitlen" she said sliping her small fingers into his palm.
" i would settle for what ever you think fair.. but i would need rooma dn board.. and sundays off." she looked him in the eyes. she knew what she needed and wouldn't settle for anything less. she needed a room and food more than she needed any amount of money he would offer her. crossing her arms under her generouse breasts she looked around again thinking she was actually making him a great deal. " if you give a sum of money to by my personal items each week.. that will be sufficiant along with the room and board and sunday off..if that meets your aproval that is."

 

[HerrLuchador]

The baron blinked a few times. Ball was back in his court... oh dear.
He reached into his belt and pulled out thirty pounds... well more than what any woman of her occupational station needed. but being remarkably out of touch, he was unsure what thirty pounds went for.
"So... is that enough every week?" He asked somewhat hesitantly.

 

[icu1978]

looking at him as if she had lost his mind she raised her eyebrows."uhmm that is more than generouse sir... 5 pounds a week is what most maids are paid unless they are highly sought after. then the most i ever heard of was 15 pounds.."looking around the room then back to him" i think perhaps 5 pounds will do it sir."

her hands where warming nicely and her clothing was begining to dry from teh dry heat of the fire. " sir.. would i have room and board? i can not stay if you are not offering room and board." she looked to him her large brown eyes reflecting the flames of the fire. her cheeks rosey on her pale face.

 

[HerrLuchador]

He glaned down at the coins... thought for a moment. "Oh... ok..." he said and added another five pounds on top of that. "There you go, ought to see you through till next thursday..." He said placing the coins in her hand and looking about.

"Right... well I suppose you can have my wife's old bedroom... unless you're not fond of massive stone statues of well hung gentlemen in various states of erotic submission... She was... but she's dead now," he said vaguely remorseful in that way that people who arent really remorseful at all act when they're trying to look remorseful. "She stepped outside one day and caught a touch of sun, never quite recovered the poor dear."

He looked her up and down... she did seem rather nicely built. He couldnt help but notice that. He gave a smile. "Another thing... the curtains are kept drawn over the windows at all times and under no circumstances are you to change that during the day. There is to be no sunshine in here during the day, and the curtains are to be back covering the windows before bedtime."

 

[icu1978]

knodding her head " yes sir. i can assure you that all of your demads will be met with saticfactory." looking around she noticed that many of the curtains now where drawn open. the moonlight dimly lighting the room. she couldn't help but wonder what kind of man her new employer was. but she couldn;t afford to walk away now no matter what she thought of him.

" statues you say..... you don't have a room designated for your staff sir... no mind i will stay where ever you decide to put me." taking the coins and sliping them into her small bag she offered a small smile.
" would you like for me to begin my duty's tonight sir?"

 

[HerrLuchador]

Venturian blinked. He hadnt actually given her any duties yet.... well aside from the curtains. "err... well yes then I suppose... go ahead and draw the curtains for us... I'll see about getting you that room... Mind you I havent actually had a servant's quarters in here in a long time... because... uhh... my servants... err... all slept in... other... places."

This of course was a lie... his servants were mostly undead vampire-spawn, mindless zombies who did menial tasks. Ergo, they didnt really need to sleep. Good thing he'd gotten rid of them though, otherwise Veronica would have passed out.

He smiled and headed upstairs trying to find a suitable bedroom.

 

[icu1978]

with out asking she followed him up the stairs. " sorry sir. i will need to put these away and well.. i supose i would need a tour of the house. and perhaps you could give me the rest of the rules?"

as they reached the landing she was already making mentle notes of what needed to be done to clean the place up. while paying attention to where they where going so she would not get lost in the big castle.

 

[HerrLuchador]

"right well then... follow me, step lively my dear.. oh and do let me know if I can help you carry anything..."

He led her up the grand staircase, past pictures of important and regal looking people that nobody was smart enough to realize he wasnt related to. The place looked like it might have been some sort of dark ages border castle, used to protect the kingdom, but somewhere along the way, someone with a mind for interior decorating got a hold of the place and spruced it up with that sort of Old english wood pannelled wall and lush red carpets. At least the upstairs looked pretty well kept, maybe a bit of dusting but that seemed like it. There were doors, all of them leading to places that Venturian really didnt care for, and thus looked somewhat disused. He made a note to point of important pictures and sculptures they had here. Busts of Cicero, paintings by some important itallian reniassance artist with a name nobody could pronounce without pulling a muscle, and in one spot, something that looked like a chid's macaroni and glitter rendition of a horse. Venturian seemed somewhat proud of the small and rather pathetic looking attempt at art, claiming that he'd made it all by himself at the age of 23.

Finnaly he came to the wife's room.

Purple carpeting with crimson drapes hanging from the wall. As promised, stone statuettes adorning every flat surface, each one depicting some overly-built well hung man with no body hair in some sort of act of self love or arroused submission. Venarian cleared his throat, seeming rather uncomfortable with it.

"If you dont like it, there's a guest bedroom down the hall... "

 

[icu1978]

" DEAR GOD!" she yelped as she looked into the room. looking to him blushing " i ... that is.. er... i think i would like the guest room sir." she said with one last look into the horrid room he had just taken her too. his wife must have been as strange as he was. maybe more so. following him down the hall she was pleased that the upstairs seemed to be in good condition other than needing some dusting and polishing.

 

[HerrLuchador]

After such a horror as his wife's room he led her to the much more aesthetically pleasing guest bedroom. The place was much more modest, simple whites and beige colors, no garrish paintings or hunting trophies or the like. There was a nicely made out bed with warm sheets and a quilt. There was a small fireplace in the corner, more of a hearth really, but good enough to keep out the cold on a night like this.

"Bed's over there.. wash basin over there... window opens to west so as to wake you up in the morning... fireplace over there, matches and tinder in the bedstand... make sure to close the grating when you go to bed ... There's also a wheel lock pistol in the dresser. Ammunition are in a small bag next to it. Heaven knows why you'd need it, but I certainly dont keep it loaded for obvious reasons. "

 

[icu1978]

she wasn't sure why she needed the gun or why his obvuiose reasons where but she opted to say nothing as she walked into the room. it was much nicer than anything she had ever had and it was all just for her. laying her small bag on the bed smiling she turned and walked back towards him. steping out of the room she shut the door and looked to him." would you like to show me to the kitchens and wash room.. and tell me of any other rules that you may have concerning the running of yoru home sir?"

she was young but had been taking care of her step mothers house since she was 13 years old and knew what had to be done. prefering not to pussy foot around about the subject she preferd strait answers to what was expected of her. it was safer that way. she would not have to worry about loosing her job for doing something she did not know she wasn't supposed to do. or vice verca.

clasping her hands infront of her she stood ready to listen.

 

[HerrLuchador]

"Oh, yes of course. THis way."

He led her to the kitchen. A decent place, pretty evenly kept and well organized.
"This is the kitchen, I take breakfast at eight and then pop off for just a light snack at elevenses. Lunch at around one thirty... ish... tea at around three in the afternoon and dinner at seven. Easy enough I suppose? It's subject to change depending on how I feel so dont feel bound to it... " He said smartly.
" Most of the rooms are on limits, except for my wife's room... for the time being of course, mainly because I know it upsets you. There will be a delivery here every wednesday at five... it'll have food and such in it. things we need, and that will be on on the back step.

Dont talk to the local farmers either... they're a rather unruly sort who are fond of spreading stupid superstitions around. Sunday's will be your off day. But be sure to be back in by night..."

He led her to the washroom now. "I wont have any need of you here... I keep to myself as far as bathing and although a helping hand is always welcome, it certainly isnt welcome here... you may use this room too as you like."

 

[icu1978]

nodding she took mental note to stay away from the bathing chamber when the lord was in there. looking over the kitchen she noticed it too was covered in dust and a bit of dirt but no real mess to speak of. looking back to him as she walked through the room." i think i will be relatively easy to put things to straits my lord... you may count on me to have it all cleaned and polished by this next monday morn." it was a high boast since this next monday was in only 2 days. but she knew she could do it if she worked hard.

 

[HerrLuchador]

"yes..." He said looking uneasily at her. "But I dont expect you to be doing all the work my dear.... " he said in all honesty. Getting all this done by next monday seemed like quite a task... He figured that any woman willing and capable of doing all that in 2 days was probably crazy, overestimating her abilities, or had absolutely no life outside housework.

"I mean.. it's probably going to be quite a job... I"m more than willing to .... er.... help out a bit. " he hated himself for saying it, he knew he was something of a useless sod when it came to housework. But he was going to turn his hand to it anyways... out of the good naturedness that he held onto .

 

[icu1978]

" nonsince my lord.. it's why you hired me after all. to clean and look after your needs." she smiles brightly at him " i am not affraid of a little hard work."
lifting a pan she placed it in the sink and used the hand pump to draw water. after the pan was filled she placed it on the stove and placing some paper and tender inside she lit the flame. " now i just have to wait until the water boils then i can get to work. i think i should start with the front parlor..*nodding her head* yes i think that is where i should start.. it seems that is the room most in need of cleaning."

 

[HerrLuchador]

Baron Venturian paused for a moment, his mouth slightly agape as she said this.
He hadnt actually told her about the other problems... namely the very vast and complex basement. He bit his lip and smiled, not wanting to ruin her cheerfully plucky attitude to the work set before her. of course, the cooking, polishing and cleaning were no sweat... but there was one more very intimidating problem he'd called her in for.

The basement. He glanced off at the basement door, which he'd put a nice sturdy lock on. He placed the house keys on the table in front of her and tried to think of a better time to explain the basement problem to her.

"Theese are the keys to the house... including the basement which you are not to open under any circumstances unless I am here in person, with you, telling you to open the basement up.... better not to ask why... after all, you need to sleep tonight dont you?"

 

[icu1978]

confused by him she picked up the keys and placed them into the pockete of her apron." that i do my lord... i wont be going down there with out your say so." with that she turned and lifted the boiling water from the stove and looking around she finally found a small bar of lye soap and a larger bar of bee's waz. along with some wrags. holding up her tresure " the house maid before me must not have done her job very well if you dont mind my saying.. she sure left you with a mess." smiling she laid her cleaning supply's on teh small table in the center of the room. " not to worry though good ol veronica will get this house to rights in no time atall." with one more glance at the heavily locked basment door she looked up at him and gathered her cleaning supply's.

 

[HerrLuchador]

Venturian nodded... It was awful late to be getting on the cleaning. He coughed and edged towards the door uncomfortaby. "Right... wll then... you go ahead and ... err... do that." he said stepping back into the hall and heaving a little sigh of relief.
"What a strange person." he said, before offhandedly maiming another pheasant with the crossbow.