The butler laughed, and you gulped nervously. He took another step forward, but this time your legs regained their feeling and you instinctively stepped back.

“Please, my lady, do calm yourself,” the stranger replied, his eyes still on you. “Wh-who are you?” you asked him, stammering. You blinked, trying to speak your voice came out quietly, barely above a whisper. “I had to see you, Lady _,” the butler spoke again, still in that quiet tone. The stranger gave a small, unsettling smile and took a step towards you. Had he read your mind? How had he known all those questions had been racing around your head? You wanted to scream again, to yell out, but no sound came. “So many questions…” the stranger softly spoke, ignoring your fear completely, or so it seemed. But, if that was the case, then…who was he? What was he doing here? How did he get in? Where had he come from? How was he able to sneak up on you with such eerie ease? A tall figure dressed in a butler’s clothing, glasses adorning his handsome face, his piercing eyes right on you. But there he was, stood right behind you. You hadn’t even heard him coming there hadn’t even been the faintest sound that time.

Immediately, your heart was sent racing in your chest, and you could feel the colour drain from your face out of the shock. The instant you turned around, however, a shriek escaped your lips and you jumped in utter surprise. You didn’t know why you felt like that, but now, decided to listen to that fear turning around, you made the decision to head back inside your mansion. Now, you could feel that inkling of fear inside you growing more and more your instincts were clashing with your curiosity, telling you to go, to run and get back inside. You stopped again, looked around as though expecting to see something, but there was nothing here. The fruit was ripe at that time of year, juicy and plump, their flesh carrying a deliciously sweet scent as they hung from the branches. You came to a part of your vast gardens in which a number of plum trees had been planted. What was that old saying? Curiosity killed the cat? A tiny piece of you was telling you to walk no further, to turn and head swiftly back inside…but you paid that part of you no mind, and carried on walking. It wouldn’t be the first time that had occurred, and yet, tonight, something felt different.įor some reason, you felt the faintest traces of fear bubbling up in the back of your mind. Curious, you walked on a little further perhaps it was just a cat, lurking around in the dark. You stopped in your tracks, and looked around the night’s shadows seemed to hide whatever had made the soft sound from view. The blissful silence was broken as you heard a sound not too far off it hadn’t even lasted a second, so fleeting that, had it not been for the complete silence, it would have easily been missed. The temperature was neither too cold, nor too warm, allowing for further depth to your time of relaxation. The moon cast its watchful, luminous eye over the world beneath as you stepped forward, feeling the soft grass under your shoe-clad feet. The darkness wasn’t scary, wasn’t frightening, just relaxing. Once you had stepped out into the night air, you took in a slow breath through your nose and exhaled gently through your mouth the veil of the night was, as it always was, comforting to you. A place where you could be alone with your thoughts… The beautiful gardens were always a source of jealousy from your acquaintances, but for you, it was just the perfect place to relax after a long day. You always loved the gardens your various staff had taken great care in making sure every bit of it was spectacularly beautiful, something you frequently thanked them for. You started to walk at a leisurely pace through the vast hall, to the doors that lead through to the kitchen, the room which in turn lead through to the manor’s gardens. Finally, though, you were back in your luxurious manor, no more jobs or the like to take care of, no more people coming to cause you yet more bother… Now, you were alone, and you could take the time to relax. It had been quite a long day for you someone of high status was bound to have days such as this, where they have a lot of business to take care of, and this day had been no exception.

You sighed softly, removing the silken gloves from your hands and setting them aside on the small table.

Claude black butler fleece