1 Prologue - Trouble Knocks

PROLOGUE.

The landline in the Lenton Manor receiving room rang for the second time that day. The phone went unanswered for a few seconds until the parlor had gathered enough courage to deal with the person she knew was on the other side. It was obvious who it was and she had received a stern warning from the boss on how to deal with them. That said, it was not an easy feat especially having to convince a drunkard that things were this way and not the other way around.

“Hello, Lenton Residence. How can I assist you” she received the call with a tired sigh and resigned herself to the fate that awaited her?

“Hello, this is Lennita,” the voice of a woman answered her and the maid’s shoulders sagged in relief. Not that this one was any better but it was much better than speaking to a drunkard.

“Ms. Lennita, we have told you time and again that my lady is not available.”

“Surely, there is something you can do. This is a matter of family and I really cannot ignore it.”

“Even so, you are putting me in a very awkward position. I have been tasked not receive any calls from you going on forward.”

There was a pause on the other side and for a moment the maid thought that the line had gone dead. A ruffling and then a male voice took over.

“Listen here! That is my child you cannot not keep him away from me forever!” The voice shouted and the maid took a precautionary step backwards. “My child! You hear that!”

“Ryan!” There was a scuffle and the first voice came back on the phone.

“I apologize.” The woman told her. “He stole the phone from me but do understand him. He is desperate.”

Desperate? The maid shook her head. What did any of these have to do with her? She was the desperate one having to deal with the number of calls she received every day. All so that her lady, Malisha, would not find out or anyone else in the house for that matter. If only the General would hurry up. He had said he would do something about it and for the time being it was her duty to man the phone all for the sake of keeping this secret under wraps. She had asked his assistant about changing the phone lines several times but he had said something about the move being too drastic and also, doing so out of the blue was sure to raise questions.

“Hello?” The woman said into the receiver after maid had gone silent for quite some time. Lost in her thoughts, she had forgotten about the other person on the line.

“Hello?”

The maid stared back at the receiver and wondered why she had never thought about it. She could have ignored them from the beginning and that would have saved her a lot of trouble.

“Fool.” She scolded herself before hanging up resolving to treat the next calls that came her way in the same way.

Lenita stared back at the phone that had gone dead. Had she lost the signal or had the phone gone dead? She did not know. There was also the other that was still feasible in Ueteribus where the maid hanged up the call, but she refused to believe that. No, not a maid qualified enough to work at the Lenton Manor. She couldn’t have been capable of that. Could she?

“What is it?”

Lennita turned to face her mother and shook her head.

“The phone went dead.”

“Dead?” her brother scoffed. “The little minx hanged up the phone on you. That’s what happened.”

“I am not sure about that.” She responded. She had been living in Veterum for almost a decade now and the rules that governed Society disallowed such a move.

“Why don’t you try and call again. Those Veteremians are not as saintly as you always make them to sound.”

Lennita looked at her father who until then had remained silent. His silence gave him an air of aloofness and a certain wisdom that she knew was lacking. Still, he was an influential man and one call from him could either make or break her.

“Do it.” He said as he propped up his leg with a thoughtful expression in his eyes. He was scheming. She knew that look and woe unto the person who ended up being the subject of this plans. Most of the time, she was always aware of the person’s identity but in this case, the candidates for destruction were too many to accurately pinpoint the direction his thoughts were going.

Either way, it did not involve her. Not directly at least, she thought as she eyed her drunkard of her brother. He was family and her father expected to reap big rewards for this. Her mother hoped for peace and despite her doubts, she wished for the same thing as well. Therefore, without another word, she lifted the phone and dialed again.