Steele & Butler (2)

Ashan returned after a moment, carrying a tray of still sizzling sausages and bacon, with hash browns and something else on the side. He laid the table, complete with a serviette across Jane's lap, and then stepped back. "Will ma'am be requiring anything else?" he asked.

Jane cut a piece of the sausage and popped it in her mouth, chewing slowly. "What are these, Ashan?" she asked, pointing her knife towards the something else.

 "Beans, ma'am," Ashan replied.

"I know they are beans, Ashan, why are they on my plate?"

Ashan tilted his head slightly up and to one side and then down again. Which, through long observation, Jane had learned was his version of a shrug. "I heard they were good for you, ma'am. I thought you might like to try them. Apparently, they are vegetables, a new discovery or so I've heard."

Jane gave the butler a long look. "I will try these beans, Ashan, on the condition that they do not appear on my plate again," she told him.

Ashan sighed ever so slightly. "Very well, ma'am," he said, adding under his breath, "perhaps the broccoli will suffice."

Jane gave him another long look and took another bite of the sausage, brushing the beans to one side. "Ashan," she said after a moment, "there is a young man leaning against the shop two doors opposite. Would you be so kind as to invite him into the lodge for me?"

Ashan's gaze swept to the window and beyond. "The one desperately trying not to enjoy himself?" he asked.

Ms Steele nodded. "That's the one."

Ashan straightened, a firm look coming into his eye. "Of course, ma'am. It would be my utmost pleasure," he said, and heading towards the foyer.

Jane's eyes returned to her food, and she ate with gusto, her novel tucked open under the rim of her plate. It was some time before Ashan returned and by then she was scraping the last of the beans away. The fork was half way to her mouth when she realised Ashan was standing by her shoulder. Resignedly, she ate the last mouthful, making a face for extra effect. "Well?"

"I've had him cooling his heels in the hall for just over ten minutes now, ma'am. Are you ready to receive him?" Ashan asked.

"Excellent. Yes, thank you Ashan," Jane said. She took a sip from her tea cup. "Please sit him down opposite me, if you would."

"Of course. I'll just be a moment," Ashan said with a short bow.

 

Ashan vanished and Jane's gaze returned to her novel. She read in silence, slowly turning the pages until a loud clink roused her back to the world. She looked up directly into the earnest eyes of the young man who had almost inadvertently marked himself as a target in a much larger game. He set down the spoon, an abashed look on his face and cleared his throat. “Ms Steele, I presume?”