Chapter 2 Richard Mansion

At the Richard Mansion all the maids were lined up. They stood in perfect silence with their heads bowed. None dared to look up. They were waiting patiently for something. Something that surely they all dreaded.

" Who were the ones that had taken Mrs. Cathy for grooming? " Asked a very sly feminine voice, but it didn't belong to a female. It belonged to the head of the maids, Dusty. Though he looked like a male from the outside, he resembled a female from every other way. From clothing to habits, from preferences to poise. He was the child of the Richard's oldest maid in charge , but was abandoned at birth due to his gender being 'questionable'. It was a taboo for his old fashioned father to bring forth infront of the society a child that neither was a male nor was a female. He had sent him away to their remote ancestral home the moment he was born. It was only recently after his fathers untimely death that his mother could bring him back to live with her. The lad was unable to fit in or find a decent job as he had no education whatsoever. The Richards were kind enough to let him in as a maid on his mother's request. However he quickly climbed the ladder to become their head because of his sheer dedication and zeal.

His question rang like a sword dangling above their heads as the lad marched softly infront of them. Then turned towards them after getting no answer and barked, "Who was it? "

Three of the maid stepped out shivering from head to toe. He then turned towards them and asked, " So there were three of you. "

They nodded their heads as sweat trickled down their spine out of fear. Their heart pounded at a rapid speed inside their chests.

" So, there were three of you.You had three pairs of eyes. That makes six eyes in total. What use were they engaged in when the kitty went missing? " He yelled once more.

The maids shuddered but had no answer. Dusty slowly walked towards the elegant showcase in the Hall room. As he did so one of the three passed out of anxiety. The other two started getting weak at their knees. One managed to gather little bit of a courage and said " Please forgive us. We were careless. We forgot to count the kittens while putting them back in with their mother in their box. Please forgive us. "

" You forgot to count the kitties? Really? They are Mrs. Cathy's children. Don't you know what they mean to the Young master? You dare ask for forgiveness. Well. Well. " Dusty pulled out a very long and sleek looking stick from behind the showcase and admired it's craftsmanship as he walked up to the maids still standing.

" Since you say you merely forgot to count them, how about I too forget a few of you from my list. Will anybody care if one or two of you go missing? " His voice was icy chill and it left a cold rushing down the spine of the others.

He was about to strike randomly as he lifted his stick, just when a voice came from the upstairs balcony, " Dusty just dismiss this entire batch. I don't want anymore drama with such irresponsible fools. Just settle their payments and kick them all out. "There was a cough accompanying the order.

" Young Master. Why did you come out. Your fever is still not gone. I will deal with them. You should go and rest first. " Dusty rushed up to support a young man, who was burning with fever. " You have been out all day in the stormy rain looking for the kitten. This weather is new for you. You have lived all your life abroad. Your body will need time to adjust to this air. I will do as you said right away. You can rest assured and please go get some rest. " Dusty supported him back to his room. He helped him to his bed and also gave him his medicine.

" Did you check on the kitty? How is it doing? Will it survive? " The young man asked.

" The vet has taken it to their icu. It might take time to say whether or not it will survive. They said they were doing their best. I will give them another call in the morning. " Dusty assured.

" Don't bother. I will go pay the vet a visit in the morning. " He paused to take a sip from his glass of warm water, " You go deal with the mess down there. "

Dusty nodded his head and went out of the room, closing it behind him.

The young man was Peter. The youngest of the three sons that Mr and Mrs Richard's had.

But that was the end of their relationship. They were both tied in a business proposal and the only link between them were their sons.

Mrs Richards or Suzan had been down with full body paralysis after a tragic accident under very mysterious circumstances.

Her husband was quick enough to bring his mistress, her best friend, Clare quickly in front of the world in her absense.

The shame and regret had crippled Suzan more than her disease itself.

What a shame, the woman who had pretended to be her bosom buddy was in reality her home wrecker. Betrayal hurt more than the damage.

Suzan tried a couple of times to end her tragic life but fate did not even grant her that wish.

She kept living under the mercy of her caretakers and maids while her sons grew up far away in boarding schools abroad.

Peter was the worst affected from the separation. He had been his mother's favorite and had always blamed himself for her accident and unrecoverable condition.

He lost his childhood in all the confusion and had always blamed his father to lessen his own burden.