Page 27 of The Spy

A minute later Braxton strode through the front door, and Karl smiled, relieved to see him.

“Well, the outside needs some work, but the inside doesn’t look too bad,” Braxton said as he looked around the foyer.He looked over at Karl.“I’ll send some gardeners over to at least get started on clearing away the mess out there until you’re able to hire permanent staff for that.”

“I appreciate it,” Karl replied.

Braxton nodded and walked over, brushing a white-gloved hand through Karl’s hair.“You have flour in your hair again.Have you been to see the kitchen here yet?I heard it’s a decent size.”

“Haven’t gotten past the doorway,” Casmir replied, his tone sardonic, yet cheeky at the same time.

“We, uh, had a bit of trouble,” Karl added.

“That’s what you get for sneaking out of the palace at a ridiculous hour of the morning in street clothes,” Braxton replied, bopping him gently on the top of the head with a loose fist.“Right.”He clapped his hands as he turned to the three servants, all of whom were staring at Braxton with their mouths open.“This is Lord Karlow Musen Whist, Baron Whistfield.”He waved at Karl.“This is His Highness, Prince Casmir Sventoval.I am Prince Braxton Tovalian.And this is the paperwork declaring Karl as the rightful heir of Whistfield,” he finished, waving to someone outside, who hurried in carrying a fat folder full of papers.“We’ve come to assess the state of the house, hire on full staff, and make ready for Karl to move in.”

All three servants gaped a moment longer before belatedly dropping to their knees in a deep bow.

“None of that,” Braxton called, already walking past them to the stairs.“We have far too much to do, and I need to get back to the palace in time for a lunch meeting I can’t miss.Let’s go!”he called in the direction of the open doorway.

First inside was Shan, closely followed by Lyric, and after them came a stream of people who dispersed throughout the house.

“Are you okay?”Karl asked, hurrying over to Shan.“I heard about the attack.”

Shan grinned.“Not a scratch on me, but Uncle Terrance is pretty glad I’m moving here instead.He didn’t appreciate the assassins disrupting his meal prep last night.And then Lyric ran into the room and knocked some stuff over.When Uncle Braxton said you’d be needing a sous chef here, I was happy to take the job.”

“I’m not hiring my own brother as my servant!”Karl yelped out.

Shan laughed.“As if you won’t be spending more time in your own kitchen than me.This is what I want to do.I’m just lucky my brother has the chance to make it happen for me.”

Karl frowned at him, glancing from Shan’s hopeful expression up to Lyric’s frowning one.

“I doubt I’ll be able to accommodate you at the level of luxury you prefer,” Karl said to Lyric.Ama’s words earlier about how Lyric rushed to Shan’s side, and the way Lyric was hovering protectively over Shan now was very indicative of Lyric’s intentions.Shan looked up at Lyric after Karl’s warning, and the way his eyes shone as their gazes connected said Shan returned Lyric’s attentions.

“Quieter here,” Lyric replied.“I’m not really a Prince of Yaroi any longer, since I’ve defected, so it’s better for me to be here with Shan than in the palace.”

“He’s right, you know,” Casmir added, dropping an arm over Karl’s shoulder as he joined them.The warmth and comfort of that arm was addicting, and Karl wanted to snuggle closer to feel more of Casmir’s body against his.Only Shan’s knowing smirk kept Karl still.

“What is he right about?”Karl asked, forcing his mind to stay on task.

“You’re going to be holding meetings with other nobles and important people elbow deep in flour in the kitchen.I can see it now.”

“As if!”Karl elbowed Casmir in the stomach, and his arm dropped away from Karl’s shoulders to protectively cover his midriff.“But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go see the kitchens now, right?”

“Right,” Shan replied, grinning.

Karl turned to look at the three servants, who were still standing in the middle of the foyer, mouths dropped open.“Are the kitchens this way?”he asked, pointing toward the door under the stairs.

“N-no, my lord,” the older woman said.“I mean, yes my lord, but that’s the servant’s halls.”

“Is there any way to get to the kitchen without going through the servant’s halls?”Karl asked.“And don’t call me my lord.I’m Karl.”

“Um, no, my— um, Lord Karl.The kitchens are close to the dining room, though, so we could go through there instead?”

“Lead the way, then, please,” Karl replied, smiling at her.“I’m afraid you’re just going to have to get used to us,” he added as she started walking.“We’re an odd bunch, for nobles.What’s your name, by the way?”

“I’m Leslie, Lord Karl.I’m a kitchen servant.Stephanie is your chambermaid, and Gerald is your manservant.There used to be more servants, of course, but the estate only needed us three on staff while they searched for the new lord.”

“Nice to meet you, Leslie.It sounds like Uncle Braxton is working on fixing the servants issue—”He had probably corralled the street urchins in the gardening shed and likely hired them as house laborers, which was going to be interesting.“—so we should have a full house again in no time.”And for the first time, Karl found himself looking forward to his future here.With Casmir and Shan at his side, he was actually starting to believe suddenly becoming a baron wasn’t going to be too bad.

Chapter Seventeen

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