Wednesday, April 01, 2015

The Butler

Day 2 of the Blogging from A to Z  April 2015 Challenge


He rose at dawn. He dusted, vacuumed,  loaded the washing machine, polished the silver, tidied the drawing room then went to the garden. He swept,  watered and wiped the flower petals. Back inside he ironed the daily paper, polished shoes and collected breakfast. He took them upstairs, opened the bedroom curtains and greeted his Master. He laid out his clothes, ran his bath then retired to the kitchen to help Constance the Cook prepare lunch.

Butterworth had worked at Buckhampton Manor most of his life. A loyal, efficient and thorough worker, but he  never felt appreciated. He was getting old and becoming increasing tired. Soon he would leave, but his carefully planned and imminent departure would be unannounced.

The following day he rose at dawn. He dusted,  vacuumed, loaded the washing machine,  polished the silver, tidied the drawing room then went to the garden. He swept, watered and wiped the flower petals. Back inside he ironed the daily paper, polished shoes and collected breakfast.

Then he slipped something into his Master’s pot of tea.

He took them upstairs, opened the bedroom curtains and greeted his Master. He didn't need to lay out clothes or run a bath. His master went back to sleep.

Butterworth went to the safe, plundered its contents, packed the polished silver in his bag, took a case of Bollinger 1984 from the cellar and a box of finest Cuban cigars from the table. He placed his spoils in the boot of the Rolls Royce, collected Constance the Cook from the kitchen and off they went together..... never to be seen again.

Tomorrows short story will be The Chase, a scary tale of terror in the woods 





32 comments:

  1. Niiiiice! Loved this! You did a smashing job of setting the stage and telling the tale in very few words.

    By the way, this is precisely why I don't have a staff. Well, that and no need...or money.

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    1. Me neither! Oh, and I don't have room anyway!

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  2. Nicely done. I did not expect that. I love it when I am surprised.

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  3. truly well planned i like the smooth flow of words

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    1. It's not my normal style but I thought it worth a try!

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  4. Delightful! I always thought it would be great to have a Butler, I'm having doubts now *grin*

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    1. I'll do my own butling! Cheaper and more efficient!

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  5. Love your campy story. I forgot, they actually ironed the daily paper. When you read stories about India during the Raj days when there were dozens of servants, some had jobs like sweeping and rearranging gravel paths.

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  6. Delightful! But if I were him (or Constance), I would ditch the Rolls A.S.A.P. Could you pass along the message that cars are easy to trace?

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  7. Didn't see it coming! Good one, Keith! :)

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  8. Whoa! That's one butler to be reckoned with. Love the twist. :)

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  9. Crafty twist - thank you, really enjoy it.
    Rae

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    1. The butler in the kitchen with the rat poison!

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  11. Lol..wonderful! Gooo… Butler :)

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  12. Poetic prose, love it! Typical butler dundit. Though I must admit never considering ironing a newspaper before.

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  13. Ahah! The Butler did do it! Cheers and carry on writing!

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  14. Made me laugh...You've a knack of writing a story which flows!! Looking forward to read more :)

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  15. Thank you so so much for your encouraging words. There's lots more to come!

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  16. Naughty Butterworth! And the cook. And the master thought they were eternally loyal. I'll be back for more stories.

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    1. Yes, wicked devils! Glad you enjoyed it. Loads to come!

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  17. That was fantastic! I definitely didn't expect Butterworth to take an evil turn, there. Very conniving! *taps fingertips together* (And great writing!)

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