gentleman's servant

After dinner, the hosts went to the greenhouse for tea.

The decoration of the flower room is very luxurious, and the wall covering on the wall is a new cloth with lavender dotted with small velvet yellow flowers.

The seats are of different sizes and shapes and can be placed at will.There were benches, small armchairs, poufs and ottomans, a black-cased piano by the window, and tall bookshelves.The guests sat together in twos and threes, the women shook their fans and chatted in low voices, the men talked loudly, complained loudly about politics, and were full of complaints.

The butler nodded to me, and I followed him out of the small living room, the work inside does not require too many people.

"You did a good job tonight." The butler said with satisfaction.

"You have won the prize." I said.

"Claudy broke his leg. You can replace him during this period. If you do well, I will tell the master to promote you as a senior servant. Work hard." He patted me on the shoulder.

I was a little surprised, which was unexpected.

The butler complained as he walked, "I have to find another junior servant to take your place. There are no good servants in the countryside, so I have to retrain them."

I followed him down the empty hallway.

"What do you think of the baron?" He suddenly asked me.

I looked at the old butler, his wrinkled face was slightly embarrassed: "No, I'm not talking about the master. It's just...you know, I'm just curious about your opinions, after all, that lord may become the new master of Mormont Manor. master."

"It's the first time we met today, and I can't tell...but you've known him for a long time, right?" I said.

"Not really." The butler said, "Although our family has served the Bruce family for generations, it's the first time I've met Young Master Oscar. You know his late father has a bad relationship with our Lord Viscount. If he agrees There is no problem in marrying a young lady, I am only worried that he will not."

"You don't have to worry too much, that gentleman is a decent gentleman at first glance, he will understand the difficulties of Lord Viscount, and there will be no problem." I said.

"I hope we don't tell anyone about our conversation tonight," said the butler.

"Yes, sir." I bent down and bowed to him.

"Rest early, we will know the result tomorrow." said the housekeeper.

……

The next day, after serving the masters for breakfast, Anne quietly told me: "Madame's personal maid, Eve, told me that the baron directly rejected the suggestion of marrying a young lady, and said that he would leave the manor tomorrow. , Madam was furious."

I was silent for a while and continued to work with my head down.After the masters had breakfast, I sat quietly in the servants' lounge, waiting for that to happen.

The fireplace was burning brightly, sparks were crackling.

The two maids were discussing something in a low voice while they were embroidering.

Thick ice flakes grew on the glass windows, and the weather outside was very gloomy, as if a heavy snowfall was about to begin.

I don't know how long it took, but the housekeeper Selena hurried in and told the two maids: "Quick! Go prepare the brazier!"

I immediately stood up and asked her, "What happened?"

The housekeeper's face was pale, and she looked at me tangled up, as if she wanted to say something but had some scruples.I went up to her and whispered, "What the hell happened? You look really bad."

Seeing that the two maids had already left the room, the housekeeper said to me in a panic: "The big thing is wrong! Us, what should we do!"

"What's the matter, please speak slowly, don't be nervous!"

"How can I not be nervous! That man, that man brought that dirty disease from somewhere! He's going to kill us, my God!"

"Do you mean the Baron who just came yesterday?"

"Who else is there besides him? He didn't get up this morning. He said he was sick and had a fever all over his body. The doctor came to see him and said he had a fever. But before noon, many red bumps appeared on his face, one by one. Yes, it's disgusting, how terrible! It's smallpox!"

"Did the doctor come again? He said it was smallpox?"

"The doctor heard that it might be smallpox, so he refused to come back at all. The master and the guests heard about it, and they hid in the room and did not dare to go out. The master told me to burn and throw away everything he used and touched yesterday. Bury."

"Things are still uncertain, so don't mess yourself up." I said.

"What's uncertain? One of the two servants with him has already fallen ill, with fever all over the body, and the symptoms are the same. If it's not smallpox, what could it be!" Selina paced back and forth anxiously: "Master is out of face. , It’s terrible that I need someone to take care of him, I should just send him away.”

"Who takes care of him now?"

"No one wants to go, not even his healthy personal servant, who said he would resign."

"I go."

"What did you say?"

"I said, I'll take care of him."

"Are you crazy! It might be smallpox, and it can kill people! There are other low-level servants, there is no need for you, just let Simon go." In this life, Selena and I have a very good relationship. In my previous life, it was completely the opposite. I actually wanted Simon to replace me.

"It's okay, I'll be fine, it shouldn't be smallpox."

I finally convinced Selena.

Dragging the tray, I walked into the Baron's room alone.

The light in the room was poor, and they covered the windows with heavy crimson curtains.

On the large bed, under the dark blue quilt, a man was lying quietly.He was flushed, short of breath, had many red rashes on his face, and he seemed restless in his sleep.

I put the tray on the bedside table with cold clear water in it.

Touch his head, it's hot.My movement woke him up, and he looked at me for a moment, frowned, and asked, "Who are you? Why are you in my room? Where is my servant?"

His voice was hoarse and weak, and he seemed tired from speaking these few words.

"My lord, your personal servant is sick, and I will take care of you during this time." With one hand in front of me and the other behind me, I bowed and saluted.

The room was very quiet, the firewood in the fireplace had long since stopped burning, and the room was a bit cold.

He took a few rough breaths, seemed to shiver, and said tremblingly, "I feel very cold."

"I'll light the fire now." I went to the fireplace and lit it again.I'm not very skilled in this job, so I made the room a mess.When I walked back to the bed again, he had fallen asleep again.

I took out a cotton cloth, dampened it with cold water, folded it neatly, and laid it lightly over the Baron's forehead.

There was a pouf next to the bed, and I sat down, trying not to make any noise.

The fireplace was gradually heating up, and the room was warming up.

This afternoon, I sat beside him and replaced the veil on his forehead.When it was almost dusk, the room was dark, and the light from the fire in the fireplace shone on his face. I looked at him, a little lost in thought.

The man on the bed woke up. He struggled to sit up, but then he vomited violently.He didn't eat any food at all, his stomach was empty, and he just vomited a lot of acid water at this time.There was already vomit all over the sheets and underwear.

I helped him change the soiled clothes, and then found a new bed sheet.

After vomiting, he looked much better, sat on a chair and asked me, "What's wrong with me? Why didn't a doctor come to see me?"

"It's snowing heavily outside, and it's difficult for a carriage to go." I lied to him.

"What's growing on my face?" He sat in the armchair in a daze, facing a mirror, and touched his face in the mirror.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, gasped heavily, and asked me loudly: "Tell me, what is this! What disease do I have! Where is my servant! Where is the doctor! Call the doctor! Call the doctor!"

His wide eyes were bloodshot, which made people feel frightened.

"It's nothing, my lord, don't panic."

But he opened his clothes and looked at his chest. There were also many red rashes on it. He couldn't believe it, and his lips trembled slightly: "What is this? Smallpox?"

"No, my lord."

"No! Then tell me what it is! Call the doctor! Call the doctor!" He yelled, and then coughed violently.

I patted him on the back to comfort him, and after he calmed down, I said, "The doctor will come, wait until the weather outside improves."

"The weather is getting better? You're talking nonsense, they won't come, they're going to leave me to fend for myself. Am I going to die? Am I going to die?" He took my hand, his face was pale, and he looked very panicked.

"No sir, I will take care of you and you will be fine."

He leaned weakly in the armchair, then stared at me for a while, and suddenly asked me: "What's your name?"

"Owen, Owen Eric," I said.