Chapter 41
When Alistar arrived at home, he wasn’t surprised to find that Caedmon was out of the house. Oddly enough, he wasn’t much in the mood for reading, so he sought out Madeline and Patricia, and insisted on helping them with their daily duties. If life on the working line had taught him anything, it was that having a task to complete distracted from the concept of time. So long as he kept busy, his uncle would return before he knew it.
"You’re pretty reliable, aren’t you?" Patricia patted his head as if he were a dog, beaming with affection from behind her sleek, ebony hair.
"He certainly doesn’t hold back," agreed Madeline, as she stared at the cluttered clothesline that they had just filled to capacity.
Although he had only recently gotten the hang of washing clothes, he managed to keep up with the two of them while doing a decent job. He always tried his best, and was positive that they appreciated this, since they seemed to have grown quite fond of him over the weeks. Madeline often dropped by his room with savoury snacks from the pantry, while Patricia had a habit of singing wonderful songs whenever the three worked alongside one another, sometimes even visiting his room to lull him to sleep with lullabies. She always left it to Alistar to decide on which song they would hear, since he was absolutely enamoured with her fantastical voice and had made it a point to memorize the five melodies that she always sang.
Now that they had finished with the clothing, it was time to join the other servants who were currently cleaning around the manor house. The three of them were to sweep and dust the entirety of the entrance hall.
In light of the beautiful summer day, they had decided to take a detour along the perimeter of the manor house. Walking along a jolly row of jaspers, the three waved to the gardeners who were working hard to keep the flowers in check.
"Do you know who Uncle Caedmon is visiting?"
"I believe it’s Master Tramon," said Madeline. "He’s an old friend that lives at the collegia."
"I wish he would hurry," sighed Alistar, who stared at the distant fountains that separated the first and second sections of the garden.
Patricia stopped to pluck a rose from one of the many flowerbeds that lined the pathway. She kept a few vases of flowers in her quarters, which Alistar had seen a while back when they had detoured there in order to deposit a few hydrangeas from the central gardens. She smelled the flower as they resumed walking, but looked over after a sudden thought. "Come to think of it, weren’t you supposed to be off with Anice today? My lord was elated that the two of you have been getting along so well."
"I was with her," he admitted, "but once we met up with the other children... For some reason, it was uncomfortable."