Chapter 10
The key to my peace
Tanyah was at the guest house going through some
papers that Nicholas had given her. She was supposed to
make a summary of the main projects that were outlined in
the documents so that Nicholas would know what was
needed to proceed forward. He had just arrived in the city
and there was work already piled up waiting for his
attention. So far it was only her and the butler who were
personally helping him with the work, and then there were
other networks and partners outside who were also
involved.
She wanted to dig up more about these people and their
connections to Charles because from what it seems they have
been working with him for a very long time, and some of
them before Charles became in charge of the Sinclair Estate.
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However, all her attention was attracted and fixated on the
butler.
She noticed how everyone here was very scared and
respectful of him, even Nicholas. This man knew a lot about
the Estate and all the works revolving around it; he handled
everything so swiftly and professionally that she wondered
if Nicholas actually needed an assistant when the butler was
there.
As her mind was wrapped up in trying to understand
the butler instead of doing her job, Tanyah received a
message from Nicholas in which he stated that the butler
asked to see them both that evening for some important
work. He also apologized in advance for making her work
overtime to come to the mansion for this meeting as her
working hours ended at five and the butler wanted to see
them at nine in evening
She didn't mind going to the mansion, in fact she was
very curious to know what was going on. She wanted to
know what was so important that the butler called them both
late at night for a meeting. She tried guessing what it could
possibly be but no matter how much there was nothing that
came to mind as to what the butler wanted.
That entire morning and afternoon Tanyah was occupied
by the papers she was working on and decided to stop when
she wanted to get something to eat. Lunch time had already
passed and the last time she ate something was before noon.
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The time was now 3 pm so she decided to go for a walk as
she had spent most of the day seated in one place, and while
she was
Ten minutes before the intended time, Tanyah was
already at the mansion seated in the living room. Since it was
the butler himself who requested for her presence she
wanted to be presentable and build a good report with him
since his first impression of her was terrible.
For this meeting she even wore some neat clothes which
weren't either formal nor casual, but good enough to make
her look good. This time she paid close attention to her shoes
and made sure they wouldn't embarrass her again.
A few moments after her arrival Nicholas came into the
living room and told her the butler was waiting for them.
The butler was waiting for them in the corridor near the
library. Everything that they were doing made it feel like
they were participating in an illegal exchange, no one said
much and only exchanged a few knowing glances here and
there. It had become a silent rule between them that no one
was to say anything or make any unnecessary sounds.
"Thank you for coming this late at night, what I have to
say is very important no one else has to know and hear it
except the two of you."
Tanyah's ears quickly stood up in attention and
anticipation.
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"Since Nicholas will be taking care of some of Charles'
projects and thought you might need some of his notes and
papers to guide you on your work," said the butler looking at
Nicholas, who hesitated for a bit but then nodded his head in
agreement.
"The papers and notes are in Charles' office, the original
one."
As soon as the butler said that Tanyah's ears stood up
and her eyes widened, she questioned what he meant by 'the
original one'
The butler took them to the second floor of the mansion
where there were a few rooms and nothing was out of place.
Tanyah was prepared to see the butler pull a statue or one of
the paintings on the wall and a hidden door suddenly
appears which would lead them to this supposed office.
She had been on this floor before a couple of times and
there was nothing that pointed that any of the rooms were
special or out of bounds. Only two of them were locked but
she was told that they were storage rooms for that particular
floor, and since then she never bothered to go to that area
unless she was asked to go there. All this time she was solely
focused on the office that was downstairs that Nicholas
worked in because she thought that's the one Charles also
used. And after all that time it is being revealed that it wasn't
even Charles' original office.
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Once they were on the second floor, the butler took them
to a door which was at the end of the corridor. It didn't stand
out from the rest but it was the only one with double doors
on the floor.
The butler then turned to them and said, "This is Sir
Charles' office that he mainly used for his work. He
preferred it to be up here so that it wouldn't attract any
attention or give anyone access to it," he then turned to
Nicholas and said, "those projects I gave you were just the
beginning, if you need more they are here. If there are any
answers regarding Charles you need, you will find them
here."
The butler's words kept ringing in her mind and she
couldn't believe what she was hearing. All this time the
answers she was looking for weren't even where she was
looking and they were somewhere she totally ignored.
If this upstairs office was where Charles mainly worked
in then it surely had information about his last connections
and what he was doing before he died. The papers she found
in the office downstairs only had a few people and places
mentioned, and most of them didn't have any recent dates to
Charles' death. If she could get the access to that office, then
her job would be much easier, or rather too easy for her
liking.
The door to the final step stone of finding out the truth
was right in front of her, but it seemed like as soon as she
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took a step the stone would disappear leaving her to fall.
There was no way the butler was suddenly opening up the
information about this office with no reason. He held
everything that had to do with Charles very close to himself
and far away from others, even when it was Nicholas. He
didn't completely leave everything to Nicholas and he made
sure he could get access to some things.
Tanyah thought that maybe he was finally opening up to
Nicholas and having him in charge, but looking at the butler
he didn't seem like the one to open up within a few weeks.
Just as she thought that all the surprises of the day were
finished, the butler proved her wrong.
"It's now summer and I need to focus on my orchard and
flowers in the garden so I won't be assisting or bringing you
any work from now on, Sir Nicholas," said the butler, who
then turned his attention to Tanyah.
He then reached into his pocket and took out a set of
keys. "These are the keys to the office, and all the drawers
and safes that are in there. From now on, you are the one
responsible for giving Nicholas anything he needs from that
office."
The butler walked over to Tanyah and handed over the
keys to her. She was visibly confused, conflicted and
shocked, but the butler seemed to be very much enjoying
this. He gave her an endearing smile as he handed her the
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keys which only made Tanyah become even more suspicious
of what was going on.
Even though it seemed irrelevant at the moment, Tanyah
was more concerned about the fruits and gardens and
gardens the butler mentioned because he didn't seem like the
one to get his hands and clothes dirty doing things such as
digging and gardening. He was always so neat and polished
that she imagined that he would spend his time seated
peacefully in the library reading a book or probably playing
chess.
Were they so important that he had to leave Charles'
office in her hands, or was there something else behind this
meeting.
The atmosphere was a mixture of suspense and peace,
Tanyah was anticipating something else to be hidden behind
being given the keys and the butler stepping away. The
butler seemed at peace and unbothered, which made Tanyah
even more skeptical of what was going on.
The butler was always very particular about what
happened around the mansion, and now he was handing
over something very important to her of all people. Even the
way he was speaking wasn't the way he usually spoke, he
really wanted her and Nicholas to know the changes that
were to come, but it was as if they weren't the people meant
for this message.
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The night that Tanyah was given the keys she didn't
think much of it, rather her mind was what transpired and
what it could. Only when the morning came and she was
heading to the mansion did it finally dawn on her what kind
of responsibility was now in her hands. She stood at the
entrance of the mansion which came from the guest house as
realization sunk in bringing in mixed feelings of fear and
excitement.
The butler's words rang in her mind once again, now she
had access to everything about Charles, all in her grasp. She
felt her hands tingle and her eyes widened all the while
suppressing a wide sinister grin and rubbing her hands
together like a madman.
"Tanyah! Hey!" she snapped back to reality when she
heard a familiar voice. Tanyah looked to see who it was and
it was Jane, she was assigned with helping her around the
mansion and Kelsus if she decided to go out.
It had only been a few days of knowing each other but
the two were now quite close, now spending their breaks
and weekends together.
"You have been standing there zoned out for a bit. I got
worried," said Jane as she went over to hold Tanyah's hand,
"everything ok? Did the butler say something?"
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Tanyah shook her head as she laughed and soon Jane
joined in. She wasn't wrong though, the butler did say
something but it wasn't quite bad.
That key. It was all she ever needed but something was
creeping at the back of her mind, she didn't know what it
was yet but she was eager to find out what mystery this key
held.
"Heyy...," Jane waved her hand in front of Tanyah's face,
who had zoned out once again. When that didn't work Jane
shook Tanyah and only then did she return to the present.
"Oh, my goodness! This is the second time you have left
us here on earth, can you stay a bit longer with me so we can
talk."
"I'm sorry, yesterday i was working back to back and the
butler...," Tanyah paused as wondered if it was right to say
what happened last night. She really wanted to tell Jane
about it, but it would leak a lot of information about the key.
So far no one besides her, Nicholas and the butler knew
about it, all the workers present were new recruits hence
they didn't know about the office or the key.
She remembered that the person she was looking for
could possibly be nearby and waiting for any slipup on her
side to get the investigation off track.
The butler seemed to have the same sentiment about this
as he made the meeting at night to make sure no one knew
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about it, so now she had to carry that same idea and keep it a
secret
"It's nothing really," Tanyah laughed, waving her hand
to dismiss the whole conversation. Jane, who was already
anticipating some interesting news, was disappointed.
After talking a bit more, Tanyah made her way inside
the mansion to have breakfast as well as see Nicholas before
starting her work for the day. He usually had breakfast after
her which was served and taken to his room instead of him
coming downstairs so they saw each other a bit later.
Tanyah entered the mansion and went into the dining
room where a cup of tea was already waiting for her. She sat
down at her usual spot and slowly picked up the teacup to
take a sip.
She immediately noticed the difference between this and
the cup of tea that was usually set when the smell lightly hit
her nostrils, but she wasn't complaining though. Even
though it was different it smelled delightful and she couldn't
wait to taste it. She softly blew on it a couple of times then
finally took a sip, and just as she expected it tasted
wonderful in every aspect.
The tea was a perfect balance of tea leaves and sugar,
which wasn't very much but complemented each other very
well on her taste buds. The tea was perfectly brewed with
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the right amount of water to make sure that the dry
ingredients weren't watered down too much.
While caught in her little world of reviewing and
praising the tea she was sipping on, the side doors of the
living room were opened and two helpers came in. One was
pushing a trolley which had some covered plates on it and
the other one was holding a closed tray. They placed the tray
and trolley at the head of the table and began to place the
plates on the table.
Tanyah quickly sat up properly and placed the teacup on
the table. After the helpers come in and set the table, the
butler would come soon after and serve her breakfast.
During that time they wouldn't say much to each other and
the butler would occasionally ask her if she wanted
something from him because of the way she looked at him.
At times she contemplated just openly asking him all the
questions she had, but then she remembered her position
and reason she came here. If she asked too much it wouldn't
take time for the butler to also start questioning who she was
and what she really wanted.
Sometimes she would just get carried away by his swift
movements and precise movements while serving her that
she forgot she was actually supposed to eat, and kept
looking at him doing his work until he would once again ask
her if she wanted something from him.
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She picked up the teacup to take one more sip before the
butler came in, however the person who came into the
dining room wasn't the butler, it was Nicholas. She was very
surprised by his appearance there because he never had
breakfast during this time or in the dining room.
"Good morning," said Nicholas with a smile as he made
his way to the table, "hope you slept well."
Tanyah placed the cup on the table and also greeted
Nicholas back, "Good morning to you too. I slept well and I
hope it was the same for you...,"
Instead of sitting down with her on the table, Nicholas
rolled his sleeves up and began the preparations to serve her
breakfast. He went over to the trolley and picked out two
empty plates and placed them on the table, he then took the
other plates that were closed to see which contents they had
and ended up choosing three of the plates to serve from.
Tanyah was left stunned by the unveiling of events as
this was the last thing she ever imagined or expected.
"Did you like the tea?" asked Nicholas, briefly stopping
what he was doing and looking at her. That's when it came
to her that Nicholas was the one who made the amazing tea
that she was having.
"Yes! It was amazing," she said with a wide smile on her
face, and that was all the reassurance Nicholas needed.
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"Would you like some more?" he asked, reaching out for
a teapot on the trolley. "I heard that it was my uncle's
favourite and it helps with sleep and blood flow. Taking it
every day would be nice." Tanyah nodded her head and
Nicholas went to pour some more tea for her, after that he
went back to plating the food.
"I apologize if everything is not up to standard today,"
said Nicholas as he took a plate and placed it in front of
Tanyah.
"Not all. I'm just a bit... surprised that's all," Tanyah
replied and Nicholas laughed a bit.
"It might not seem like it but I do know my way around
the kitchen and enjoy cooking...," he paused for a bit as if
thinking about something and said, "unlike a certain person I
know."
Tanyah wondered who he was talking about and how
they must be special to Nicholas. Even though he said those
words with disdain, there was a lot of gentleness and love in
his eyes and voice.
"I doubt the butler will be working as usual for the next
few days. He will working in his garden, a certain shrub to
be specific," Nicholas took his own plate and sat down at the
head of the table, "he favors that shrub so much and he will
do anything for it and to protect, which is understandable
because he literally raised it since it was a child."
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Nicholas was talking in a wispy and soft manner as if he
was telling a magical bedtime story to a child. He also
seemed to be getting carried away a bit in the gentle
atmosphere, however it all changed in an instant with what
he said next and it made Tanyah question if he was talking
about the same topic.
"I think it is the right thing to do, he should protect that
little shrub. Because when I get my hands on him I'm going
to get and chop him off," Nicholas finished off by stabbing a
fork in his plate.
Meanwhile...
At the wooden cottage, Victor was seated at the dining
table going through his phone, checking on a few unread
emails and messages. He opened one, scanned through it
and placed his phone on the table next to a glass of juice.
Victor picked up the glass to taste the juice, however
when he brought it close to his mouth he unexpectedly
sneezed which made him almost spill the contents of the
glass.
"What's happening...," he said as he placed the glass back
on the table and placed the back of his hand on his forehead
to check if he was about to get sick. Instead of getting
increasingly worried, Victor slowly began to get agitated. He
didn't know what it was but there was something irritating
him somewhere and he didn't like it.
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"Everything ok," asked Henry as he came into the dining
room with a tray which he placed in front of Victor, who
seemed to be occupied in a space of his own and clearly
upset about something.
Henry sighed as he shook his head, it was only two
minutes ago when he left Victor and he was in a good mood
and when he came back he was agitated for some reason.
Before he could say anything more Victor sneezed once
again, followed by three more times which almost knocked
him off the chair. Henry had to hold both Victor and the
chair to prevent any of that from happening.
"Let me get a doctor," said Henry, which sounded weird.
Victor himself was a doctor.
"No, it's ok," said Victor as he held on to Henry so that
he could sit properly, "I think someone is plotting against
me. I bet it's him, it has to be."
"The two of you certainly need to be put in soap operas
with how dramatic you are," said Henry, rolling his eyes,
"I'm still getting a doctor to check up on you though."
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