"I asked for it, didn’t I?" Hunter replied haughtily, silently renewing his vow to keep
himself and the vermin firmly in their proper places.
"Y-yes, suh,"she said timidly, stepping out from behind the intricately carved
door, struggling to carry an enameled basin of steaming water. Hunter could smell the
sweet herbs the servants had added into it.
Jeanette slowly and haltingly made her way across the room. Hunter watched her
strain with indifferent eyes. It did not matter to him if the help had trouble. If she
couldn’t handle his tasks, she could find work elsewhere. However, at the rate she was
going, he would never get out into town before dawn hit. Not that the sunlight was any
great inconvenience, but like all creatures like him, he naturally preferred the nighttime to
hunt in.
The girl carefully placed the basin on the floor, then stood upright. "Would ye be
needing anything else, suh?" she asked in her provincial accent. Hunter was by now quite
impatient for his bath, he had wanted to go out before the main traffic of London woke
up.
"No, no, I’m quite taken care of, you may go now," he said a trifle harshly. Then
his face smoothed over, erasing the annoyed lines, and he smiled slowly at the girl with
hooded, cunning eyes. "Unless of course, you would care to join me."
Jeanette’s own eyes widened till the whites showed, and she took several steps
back. "N-n-no, no, suh, I ‘ave, uh, kitchen work to do, you see...." she curtseyed quickly
and flew out of the door.
Hunter laughed softly. That was another thing his father had taught him, to never
show his true emotion. Emotion made one weak, it was to be avoided at all costs.
He quickly rid himself of his damp breeches and stepped into the bath.
When he had sufficiently rinsed himself off, he snatched the fleece cloth off the rack next to him and dried himself off. A smile curled his lips as he pulled on his clothes. And just to resolve this vermin issue once and for all-
"Maybe I will have an early breakfast in town,": he said to himself, twisted pleasure showing through in his face. Yes, he decided, a snack would be most beneficial.
