Chapter 48: The visit
Dave soon got another call and I was left to my own means. Today all the screens were switched on and I got to see what was going on in the rest of the house. Martha was in the kitchen, oblivious to the fact that she was being observed, and it made me feel guilty to be looking at her. So I shifted to the next screen. It was a camera which faced the first floor and showed the entrance to the two bedrooms I had been to. I looked at all the screens, but I couldn't find images from inside them, so I assumed that there were no cameras there. However, the three other guest rooms had cameras installed in them and it was weird to think that Dave would spy on his guests. Then I remembered that the CCTV cameras were a new addition, so maybe he hadn't really done that.
There was one camera which showed the driveway and as I was looking at it, I saw a car turn in the drection of the house, indicating that we were going to have a visitor soon. I turned to took if Dave had noticed but he was still on his call and had his back turned to me. The sudden thought came to me that I liked his ass better when he wore slacks, the fabric was softer and cupped it more gently.
I turned to another screen which showed the porch and a part of the left garden. If someone were to come to the office, they would be seen on that camera. The image remained unchanged however, so I looked for the screen which would show the entrance to the main hall. I heard the door bell ring and at the same time, I saw Martha rush to open the door. The cheerful expression on her face slowly turned to a scowl as she moved aside to let the visitor in. There were two of them, Lady Estena and her secretary.
Apparently, I was not the only one to dislike her. With dismay, I thought about what she could be doing here in the morning.
'What is Estena doing here?' Dave asked by my side. He had completed his call and was also looking at the screen. As he made a move to go out of the office, with hesitation, I asked him,
'Do you mind if I stay here? I have the impression that she doesn't really like me?'
'Why do you say that?' he asked puzzled.
'Just female intuition,' I said.
'Well, if you're sure,' he said and made a move to leave. He stopped at the door and turning to face me,
'Are you planning to keep an eye on me?' he asked, and my breath hitched wondering at how he had read through me so easily. With a knowing smile, he left, leaving me with red cheeks.
Indeed, I had planned to follow his interaction with Estena closely. I hadn't liked the way she tried to assert her authority over him last time. It was a good thing I wouldn't have to meet her as she probably thought that I was back on Earth. If she knew that I was staying with Dave, maybe she would try to come more often, something that I definitely didn't want. I hoped that Martha wouldn't let anything spill out. Was there any sound? I checked and saw that there was a knob that could be turned to increase the volume of each screen. I increased the volume for the main hall in curiosity.
I watched on the camera how Dave reached the hall and Estena rushed to greet him, planting 2 big kisses on his cheeks. I could see the faint red mark from her lipstick on his cheeks and apparently Martha could as well as she brought a wet towel to Dave, saying
'There's a piece of dirt on your cheeks, Mr Dawn.'
I could have hugged her then for her wittiness and I watched Estena's eyes flare with anger. She turned around to look for her secretary, but the latter had just disappeared. I found this intriguing as both of them had come in at the same time. I checked the other screens to see where she could be. Did she leave? No, she wasn't on the porch and the car was still parked in the same spot.
A slight movement at the edge of one of the screens attracted my attention and I zoomed in to find the secretary putting something on the ground in the living room. The movement was so quick that I couldn't observe her properly and she soon left the room to be back by Estena's side.
I saw Dave invite both ladies to the living room and it was then that I understood what the secretary had planned. Estena slipped on the ground in a very exaggerated manner, with her arms flailing dramatically before she landed in a heap at Dave's feet with a scream. The latter quickly pulled her up and placed her on the sofa. I listened closely to the conversation.
'Did you get hurt Estena?' he asked in a concerned tone. That Dave was so compassionate to the point of being naive at times. Why could he not see through this lady's cunningness?
''I slipped on a patch of oil, I think,' she said with a soft voice. 'I sprained my ankle,' and for extra effect, she groaned.
'I'm sure that Martha did this, Lady Estena,' the secretary said angrily. 'I saw her come this way a little while earlier.'
'Now, why would Martha do that?' Dave interjected rapidly.
'She is jealous of our lady here,' the secretary said bluntly. Listening to the blatant lies, I could have strangled both of them bare-handed. But what I couldn't understand was why Estena thought of that plan at that moment in particular. She didn't know that I was still around so it couldn't be because she saw me as at threat. And Martha had always been there, there was nothing new about that.
'Lady Estena, I think you should stay here tonight,' the secretary said. 'It would be painful for you to drive back. I'm sure Mr Dawn will not mind.'
'Of course not,' the gracious host said, 'it would be my pleasure to have you as a guest tonight. I'll go inform Martha to get one of the rooms ready.'
'No, don't do that,' I screamed at him mentally, but he was too far from me for it to have any effect.
As soon as he left the room, the two women exchanged a triumphant look.
'Mission successful,' Estena said with what I thought was an evil smile.
So that was the plan, to pretend to be hurt so that she could stay over. What would she do next? What exactly were her intentions?
I moved my eyes to the screen showing the kitchen and I could see Martha talking animatedly to Dave. I did not need to increase the sound to know that she was incensed at the accusation.
'I feel for you Martha, I whispered.'
Dave then got back to the living room where Estena had the look of a martyr.
'Luckily, Lady Estena is coming fresh from a voyage, so her travel bag is still in the boot. I'll get it for you,' she said and left to fetch the bag. I followed her keenly.
How convenient that she should have a change of clothes! She definitely had something planned and I was going to find out what. And I had to do this without letting her know I was around as otherwise it would get her guard up.
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