章 10: Proclamation
A week later, in the Manchester manor, Josh was by the door, welcoming guests into the manor and leading them to the Great Hall. Today was a day of celebration, and also a day where Sarah was going to make her presence known to all her father's clients and all the aristocrats of ElderMoore. She was now the head of the Manchester household, and her extended family were also there, including her three cousins, Cyrus, Rob, and Steven, who had also brought their families with them, which Sarah knew only a few of.
Josh brought the last of the guests to the Great Hall with a polite smile on his face until he saw Davin Dotmon; his eyes narrowed slightly, and his smile was replaced by an unreadable expression. Moving his eyes away, he studied the Great Hall - big and spacious, it was clearly designed for entertaining and celebrations, with high ceilings, large windows, and a grand fireplace. It surely was a perfect place to host parties, banquets, and other festive events, as it provided an impressive and luxurious setting for guests to mingle and enjoy themselves.
His eyes roamed about, looking for a particular person, Sarah, but he could not find her. Instead of dropping the guest off and going to stand at the door, Josh left for the master's quarters after he dropped off the guests. But before he could ascend the flight of stairs any higher, he ran into Derrick. "Young master Derrick, where is your ladyship?" he asked as soon as he saw the boy. Derrick pointed towards the master's quarters, "In the study, she seems to be in a meeting." The boy answered, his eyes not focused on Josh at all but instead on the young ladies who had attended with their families.
A meeting? Who was she meeting with? Josh questioned himself before nodding to Derrick and continuing his ascend to the study. Outside of the study, Josh could hear voices, but their words he could not grasp; it was as if what they were saying was muffled, and the moment he'd try to grasp something, it would slip away. Shaking his head, he decided to knock on the door; the muffled voices stopped, and a familiar voice called, "Who is it?" Josh, who had now changed his name thanks to Sarah's help, responded, "It's me, Ishmael; the guests are all here, your ladyship, and the banquet can't proceed without your presence."
He answered, after a few moments of silence, she replied, "I will be there now, Ishmael; give me a few moments." Not satisfied by that answer but he replied with a "Yes, your ladyship." Before turning around to leave, Josh passed through a few aristocrat ladies who all shot him flirtatious looks and tried to invite him over; Josh would politely decline, using "I am currently running an errand for my ladyship." Escaping the crowd and going to stand by the door, he let out a breath of relief.
A few moments later, the chatter stopped, and everyone's attention turned to the staircase; a beautiful woman with beautiful brown hair that flowed down her back like a waterfall and hazel-brown eyes walked down the staircase in a velvet dress that seemed to capture the attention of everybody who laid eyes on her. Her slender figure walked down the stairs with a soft smile; many aristocrats, men, married and unmarried, all had a burning flame of passion for the woman descending from the stairs.
Stopping when she reached the last stairs, she began to talk; "First and foremost, I would like to thank you all for coming, and secondly, I would like to introduce myself to all those who might be wondering who I am." Sarah paused a bit, taking in the people's reaction, seeing how they all patiently waited for her to talk; she continued, "I am Sarah, daughter of Arnold Manchester. The only surviving heir to the Manchester Household, it was only until today that I discovered that my family is one of the seven noble Households of our kingdom. And I stand here as the head of this Noble house and also as the leader of this city, brought by my title as the head of a noble house."
Many surprised gasps resounded out of the Great Hall; words began to rise, and many small-time aristocrats who did not know such secrets appeared very shocked. Sarah stood there confidently, her eyes scanning through every one available until they landed on Jo - no, until they landed on Ishmael. Ishmael's eyes were lazy and strained as always, but there was also a hint of curiosity in them; she wanted to shoot him a look that said she would explain later, but she held herself; they were many eyes present, and after her bold words, she needed to appear strong, just as she was instructed.
"Now we have that out of the way, I urge you all to please enjoy yourselves." With that, the music began, and Sarah stepped down from the stairs and mixed in with the crowd. The banquet began, and many people had gathered around Sarah, each and everyone trying to introduce themselves to her. Josh - Ishmael nodded in understanding, it seems as if someone was sent by the royal family to come and reveal the truth to Sarah and also have her make a statement and send a message to anyone who shall try oppose her claim as the Matriarch of her household that the royal house was behind her.
He shook his head, it seems like he will soon be entangled up with the royals again. Feeling bored, he wished to leave and go practice his divine abilities, but as the head butler, a position Sarah gave to him recently, he had to be present until the end of the banquet. Missing Simon, who was currently outside with all the other coachmen of the people present. He started to revise his own plan of action, which was simple, do not draw attention to self. That is why he had chosen the job as a butler back even Sarah asked the which jobs they would like, he did not want anything that would require him to mingle with a lot of people, but being a butler seemed to have its own challenges.
[I seriously need a beer.] He thought to himself, staring at the ceiling, but then a tap on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts. "Uhm, butler..?" An odd-looking young woman with blonde hair and green eyes stood before him in her pink dress, her brow was raised, and she seemed to be waiting for him to speak. "Ishamael Wellington, but you can call me Ishmael, milady." He had the urge to eye-roll at the young woman's lack of manners, but he was just a butler in her eyes.
"Ish-ma-el?" She asked, trying to pronounce his name, but he shook his head and repeated it for her, "It's Ishmael, milady, it's one word." The young woman nodded quickly, "Okay, okay, fine, look, I talked to your 'Ladyship', and she says it's okay that you can come join us, so chop chop, come on, let's go." She dragged him by his hand, and he wanted to curse, but he kept it all in, deciding to put on an embarrassed smile as the young woman dragged him to where her group was.
Arriving where her group was, Ishmael's embarrassed smile stayed on, and the young woman who dragged him finally left him and moved to stand closer to her friends. They were six of them, minus the odd-looking one, all of them stared at him as if awaiting an introduction. The odd-looking one saved him from doing it, "Ladies, this is Ish-mayel, I'm saying it right, right?" At the last part, she turned to him, and he shook his head slightly, whilst correcting her, "It's Ishmael, milady, it is a single word, not two separate names, you know."
He responded in a shy manner, but the rest of the six girls all looked at him like they were seeing the most beautiful thing in the world. "Whatever, I will introduce them once, so you should listen very carefully, alright?" Odd-looking asked, as if she was speaking to a child, having rolled his eyes internally, he nodded diligently, not revealing any ounce of the refined demeanor a butler is supposed to have, thus was also part of his plan; he needed a rich informant, and he was going to get one for himself among the ladies here.
Having been trained in the art of manipulation and acting, he could easily qualify as an opera house actor. The girl started introducing them one by one, and he was busy making mental notes of each girl she was introducing; it seemed as if she was the lowest one amongst the ladies, that is why she tried so hard to fit in. What a shame, but he had no sympathy for those who chose to treat others like trash willingly.
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