Pretentious Hearts

by M J Schlotter

  ​“So,” a woman’s voice spoke causing Katie to jump and abandon her thoughts, “you are the cook?” The woman’s words questioned though really implied.

  ​Katie turned and saw that the speaker was a woman in her mid forties. She was wearing a starched black dress and white apron, and her silver streaked auburn hair was pulled tightly in a bun. Her face was stern, but Katie noticed her blue eyes were warm and lively.

  “Yes, yes I am the cook.” Katie replied a bit intimidated.

  “I am Mrs. Sparrow the housekeeper.” The woman spoke stepping forward. “Lord Clifton requested that I get this week’s grocery list from you.”

  ​“It’s nice to meet ya,” Katie spoke scribbling the last grocery item on the slip of paper, “I’m Katie,” she remarked extending the list towards the housekeeper.

  ​Mrs. Sparrow nodded taking the slip of paper. “I’ll send Mr. Dearing to meet you.” She spoke leaving the kitchen.

  ​Well, I hope I’ll be able to fit in with the staff, Katie thought flustered pouring flour into a large mixing bowl. She was adding the milk and butter when she heard a man clear his throat. Looking up she gazed at a man also in his forties wearing black pants and a matching black jacket. This must be Mr. Dearing she thought.

  ​The balding man walked towards her extending his hand. “I’m Mr. Dearing, Lord Clifton’s butler.” He spoke in a low voice shaking her hand.

  ​“It’s a pleasure to meet ya,” Katie remarked, “I’m Katie, the cook.” She added.

  ​“Lord Clifton likes to eat breakfast at eight, lunch at one, and supper at seven.” He spoke, his face unemotional. “In the case of a dinner party, I shall inform you the day before so you will have more time for preparation. Do you have any questions?” Mr. Dearing asked his brown eyes holding her gaze.

  ​“Not at the moment,” Katie spoke, “I think I’ve got it, breakfast at eight, lunch at one, supper at seven.”

  ​“Good.” Mr. Dearing replied curtly, “I’ll leave you to your cooking then,” he continued striding from the room.

  ​ Alone in the kitchen, Katie breathed a sigh of relief. I feel like I am being judged from all directions, she chortled. Not only was her new employer brimming with rigid brashness, but Mr. Dearing and Mrs. Sparrow too seemed to have taken formality and curtness to a new level! Katie was suddenly unsure she had made the right decision in taking the position. Before the war, her father had owned a shipping company so they had lived well off having their own cook, maid, and gardener, but she never remembered her family’s employees acting like Lord Clifton’s. There was nothing she could do but try and fit in, she decided. Although, she smiled to herself as she continued to prepare the evening meal, I shall never be as stiff and unfeeling as the likes of them!

  ​At seven, Katie grabbed a serving tray from the kitchen cabinet. Placing the lemon glazed lamb chop, boiled potato casserole, green beans, and bread rolls with honey and butter on the tray, she left the kitchen and headed towards the back patio where she had set the table for Lord Clifton. As she neared the door leading to the garden, she saw Lord Clifton seated at the table sipping a glass of brandy. He was wearing a dinner coat over his white button down shirt which matched his gray slacks. The cool summer air tugged at his dark brown curls, and Katie stopped in her tracks suddenly worrying about her own appearance. Then realizing how silly this was, since she was only his cook, she pushed open the glass doors and stepped outside.

  ​“Good evening sir,” Katie smiled as she walked towards the table hoping she and her employer might be able to start off on a better foot. Lord Clifton looked up, and Katie felt his dark brown eyes momentarily hold her gaze. Then nodding in reply to her greeting, he lowered his eyes and made no further acknowledgements of her as she placed the first course in front of him.

  ​Walking back into the house to retrieve the water pitcher, Katie did not know what to think of her employer. Yes, Lord Clifton’s brown eyes were the soft warm color of a cup of hot chocolate; and thinking back to when their gazes had locked, she recalled how for a moment she had felt like she would fall into them and become lost. But the life in his eyes though, she affirmed shaking her head to regain her senses, was cold and distant. Was it his noble breeding that rendered him so cool and snobbish? Arriving back on the patio, she filled his glass with water and was about to head back to the kitchen to dine with Mr. Dearing and Mrs. Sparrow, when Lord Clifton spoke. His words causing her to spill a bit of water down his glass.

  “After dinner, your services will no longer be required. You shall be paid handsomely for your trouble.” Robert remarked then continued eating.

  Katie stood rooted in shock trying to comprehend what had just been said. Sacked? She was being sacked! What had she done? The injustice of it was too much to bare! She was not going to be dismissed that easily...she needed the money.

  “Lord Clifton, with all due respect, I shall not be go’in anywhere.” She spoke, shocked by her own boldness.

  Robert looked up, surprised that she dared to contradict him. “I am not certain you heard me clearly.”

  “Oh, I heard ya clearly,” Katie countered her temper rising. “Ya think ya can dismiss me without cause, treat’in me however ya like just because ya are a lord.”

  “You know nothing about me.” Robert spat.

  “I know enough. Ya are a pretentious man who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” Then turning on her heel she added, “I would hate for certain people to think ya were also an English agent.” Yes, it was a low and horrible notion to insinuate, but she was not going to be fired when she had done no wrong. Storming away from the dining room, she was determined not to ruin the rest of her evening trying to fathom Lord Clifton’s bragard demeanor.

  Robert remained seated staring after Katie as she retreated. He was confounded! He had just been blackmailed by his cook! His assessment of her had been entirely wrong! Her character was not filled with compassion he was afraid would turn to pity, but was rather full of vulgarness and deceit! He could not risk his mission being uncovered. Raising his glass to his lips, Robert furrowed his eyebrows in thought, this Katie would have to remain in his employment until he could find another way to be rid of her.

  ​It was ten o’clock by the time Katie slipped into the guest room she was now residing and got ready for bed. Yawning, she donned a long white nightdress and then twisted her hair into a braid. She would get up at six she decided, take a quick bath and then start breakfast. Pushing back the covers, she climbed in bed only to find that her mind was wide awake. She stared at the ceiling, illuminated by moonlight coming through the window, but found that tired as she was she could not fall asleep.

  ​An hour later, she slid on her slippers and robe and softly pushed her bedroom door open. A cup of tea should help me sleep she thought making her way to the kitchen. But turning the knob her heart leapt in her chest, someone was already in the kitchen!

  ​“Do you make a habit of roaming around at night in your undergarments?” Robert spoke, his words full of brevity as he caught sight of Katie’s surprised expression.

  He hastily gathered up the newspaper he had been examining and folded up his partially written letter to Captain Wesley. Katie, barging in on him in her intimates was worrisome enough. Had she seen what he had been working on? Despite his agitation, he could not help but notice that with her long red braid and white nightdress she looked rather pretty as she stood framed in the doorway, but that was ridiculous! She was nothing more than an ill bred and dubious cook!

  “Or have you come to issue more unseemly threats?” He added harshly.

  ​“I…I...no. I do not...and no...I’m sorry...I didn’t think anyone would be up at this hour,” Katie stammered recovering from her shock.

  “Good, because while in my house, my employees will do well to remember they must maintain a sense of decorum. Now get what you came for and leave.” Robert commanded.

  Still standing in the doorway, Katie felt her cheeks flush at Lord C
lifton's accusation of her indecent apparel, but something else in his words caught her attention. Had she been mistaken? Did his words imply she was to remain in his service? She could not just remain where she was like a gaping idiot. So regaining her composure, she spoke, “Does this mean, Lord Clifton, that I am permitted to stay?”

  Robert looked at her, his eyes full of annoyance. “Your earlier transgression will be overlooked. You shall do well to remember, though, that in the future I will not be so lenient.” He spat.

  Katie nodded her understanding. “Thank you,” she uttered softly, “you will not regret it.”

  But regret it Robert already did. He had allowed a conniving employee to usurp his authority.

  “I could not sleep,” Katie spoke, her voice timid but regaining its cheerfulness, “so I decided to make a cup of tea. Would ya care for one?” She offered walking towards the stove and retrieving the kettle. She was not going to tiptoe around in her kitchen like a guest. “Tea would go nicely with that muffin you’ve got there,” she added forcing a smile in the hopes it might start to mend Lord Clifton’s impression of her as he looked up from his plate. “I can make ya one before I leave.”

  “Fine.” Robert murmured watching Katie retrieve another cup from the cabinet. “If that will get you to leave sooner.”

  Katie ignored his last remark and instead pulled out a jar of tea leaves and placed them in the teapot. She was aware of Lord Clifton watching her as she set two teacups on saucers and proceeded to retrieve the kettle and pour the boiling water into the teapot. She stood silently allowing the tea to steep not daring to look in Lord Clifton's direction.

  It was not proper to be in the kitchen alone at night with a woman, yet alone one of his employees, Robert chided himself, but he was most certainly not going to be forced to vacate the kitchen. Once she gave him his tea, she would leave and this awkward situation would be over. He was shocked at being addressed so casually by someone in his employment, and even more shocked that Katie seemed unaffected by the lack of propriety.

  “So,” Katie spoke trying to alleviate the awkwardness as she handed Lord Clifton his cup of tea, “What have ya been reading about?”

  Damn! She had seen his papers, Robert scolded himself as he pushed the daily and his letter further away from her prying gaze. Was privacy no longer sacred? What if she discovered why he was here? Was her threat really not spoken out of anger as he had first believed?

  “The weather,” Robert gruffed.

  “I see,” Katie replied in a voice that was unconvinced. “Well,” she continued changing the subject, “I could not fall asleep because I kept think’in about what I was go’in to be cook’in in the morn’in,” She laughed hesitantly then took a sip from her cup.

  Why hadn't she left yet? Robert thought annoyed. She had given him his tea, so she had no further business here. What was it with people in this blasted town and their need for small talk? Was there no respect for social protocol? And she continues!

  “What about ya? Why couldn’t ya sleep?” Katie inquired.

  The ease and informality of her questions was entirely improper! He hardly knew this young woman, why on earth would he be candid enough to discuss with her the horrors of the Great War that haunted him every waking second and kept him from rest? No, it was not her place to ask him such a thing. He would not be pried upon to discuss such a personal matter on impulse. If he was to be banished here by Captain Wesley, he sure as hell was not going to discuss any aspect of his former life during his exile and definitely not with a cook who was in her nightdress! Yet, he could not just remain silent. Or could he?

  Katie watched the eternal struggle pass across Lord Clifton’s face. It was evident that she had been wrong to think that she could try and speak to him so friendly. There was a certain haughtiness in his silence she determined, an arrogance which she was quite sure could not be prevailed upon.

  “I will leave this time. But in the future,” Robert remarked rising to his feet, “You shall be the one to depart.” He set his saucer and cup on the table and began moving in the direction of the door.

  Katie had hoped after their altercation at dinner she could try and make amends, but she was beneath him she now clearly understood. Intrusions into rooms where Lord Clifton resided, answers to personal questions, and friendly banter were things she would never be privy. As she watched her employer’s retreating back, however, she decided upon another tactic. Standing and drinking tea in silence in her kitchen, and walking on eggshells in her own home until October was not going to be an option.

  “Lord Clifton,” Katie heard herself say, “Do ya know the history of Kerney Hall?”

  She watched as Lord Clifton paused. The silence that filled the room was quickly becoming smothering.

  “No, I do not.” Robert heard himself say without turning to face Katie. There, that is the only response you shall get now leave me to contemplate my hollow existence and stop intruding upon my solitude!

  Although Robert’s words were terse, Katie ignored their tone and continued, “Since I am from around this area,” her eyes brightened, “I can tell ya about the fascinating and nostalgic history of this estate.”

  Despite Robert’s annoyance that Katie had now stopped him from leaving and continued to try and lure him into conversation, he could not deny that his interest had been peaked and he was genuinely intrigued. He was not about to show it, however. Although, damn! He knew the fact that he was not at this moment out the door was a clear sign of interest he could not deny. He had been cordial in accepting a cup of tea, but now it was time for her and her unschooled manners to leave him alone! Had he not made it obvious that he had no desire to speak? He would not bare his soul!

  Yet as Robert turned to face his cook in order to express his opinions on her behaviors aloud, he had to grudging admit there was a delicate yet fearless passion that shown through her eyes, and he found that he could not resist being drawn to her questioning gaze. It was as though he was being granted the gift of peering into her soul. A gift he felt he was not worthy, but a gift he knew at this moment, though it went against every fiber of his well instilled formality, it was a gift he must embrace.

  “Well,” Katie spoke without waiting for a response, “The legend says that Kerney Hall was built in the 1700’s by the son of a fisherman. He was in love with the Lord Lieutenant's daughter, but the Lord Lieutenant would not allow them to marry unless the young man owned a house fit for a king.”

  Remaining where he stood, Robert listened to Katie’s story, entranced by her lively Irish accent twirling around her words. For the first time in years, he felt the stirrings of emotions he had forgotten he possessed. A sense of wonder and compassion filled him when the entire town had come together to help the fisherman’s son build Kerney Hall. He felt a sense of rage when he learned that the Lord Lieutenant had gone back on his word denying the young lovers the right to marry when the hall was completed; and the excitement of villandry being defeated when the two young people ran away together and eloped.

  Robert could not recall the last time he had been told a story. It had to have been sometime when he was a child, when he was still innocent believing there was indeed good in the world. When had he last truly listened to someone’s words without interrupting or ignoring them? When had he heard and appreciated what was spoken with true sincerity? Watching Katie’s mouth and listening to the musicality of her words, he felt temporarily at peace. England and the war, at least for the moment, no longer haunted him.

  “And so,” Katie concluded, her voice sounding tragic yet not defeated by hope, “After the Lord Lieutenant’s daughter died, the fisherman’s son lost his will to live and within a week was dead.” She paused for dramatic effect and was pleased to see that Robert’s face was full of anticipation. She then continued, her voice sounding mysterious, “Legend says that as ghosts, the two young lovers roam Kerney Hall, and that to this day aid young couples whose families try and keep them apart.”

&n
bsp; Robert, despite his plan to remain apathetic, had hung on every word the beautiful Irish girl had spoken. But after she had finished her tale, he regained his senses. He was he employer not a captive audience. Decorum must be reestablished! If he did not uphold proper social graces, then the war had taken everything from him!

  “You are dismissed. Leave and go back to bed.” He spoke harshly. He saw the hurt flash across Katie's face as she set her saucer and cup on the counter, then quietly walking past him, departed.

  Robert realized, as impulsive as it was, that he would have stayed there all night in the kitchen allowing himself to be bewitched by her voice and stories if he did not say something. He had momentarily let social etiquette and barriers be breached, and he could not permit such a friendly acquaintance to continue. He was an English Lord, whether he liked it or not, and Katie was his cook. How he wished it was already October, then at this very moment he would be bound on the first steamer to New York without so much as a backwards glance.

  It was back in his bedroom, however, when Robert pulled the covers up around him his hardened facade vanished. With Katie’s story fresh in his mind, he felt the tranquil fingers of sleep closing in around him. Maybe there is hope for mankind after all he thought, and for the first time in months he slept peacefully through the night, his nightmares of the war at least for now at bay.