A Malevolent Manner (Patrick Pierce #1) Read online

Pierce slept poorly, bombarded by the cracks of lightning from the storm outside and the memories of his near death experience from the duellists that the noise elicited. He only managed a handful of hours of sleep in the early hours of the morning once the storm had passed. His mood was soon buoyed by the scent of breakfast wafting in from outside his door.

  A knock at the door was soon followed by Melrose, who entered with a serving tray filled with domed silver and glass carafes. He headed toward the bed with it, but was stopped by Pierce’s gesture towards a side table in the room.

  “I will gladly accept breakfast delivered to me, but breakfast in bed is crossing a line I think. Just set it on that table by the window and I’ll get up and eat it there.”

  “Very good sir, is there anything else I can get you? I took the liberty of getting you an assortment of what was offered downstairs, not knowing what you favoured.”

  “Thanks Melrose, but I was just about to get up, and could have made it down for breakfast myself,” Pierce said gratefully.

  “I’m afraid that would have been difficult. You see the kitchen stopped serving breakfast an hour ago. I didn’t wish to disturb you this morning so I let you sleep and took the liberty of absconding with some food from the kitchen for you.”

  “I hope you didn’t have to battle the cook too hard.”

  “I was very covert my lord. A little slight of hand and they didn’t even know what had happened.”

  “I’ll have to keep that in mind.” Pierce lifted the silver domed lid off his plate and took in Melrose’s foraging skills. Everything he needed and more was present on his plate; eggs, fried potatoes and onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, toast, and even a small cup of baked beans. “This is enough to feed a small family.”

  “I thought you’d need your energy today sir. You have been assigned your hunting party and it could turn into a long day.”

  “My hunting party?”

  “Yes sir. Each member of the Hunt is given a hunting party, generally called a pack. Each pack consists of their leader called the Whip and several men called Hounds. I’m not entirely sure their exact duties, but I imagine they are there to help you in the hunt. The Hunt staff and the Manor staff do not generally mix, so I’m afraid I can’t be more definite.”

  “I see,” said Pierce falling into a contemplative silence. After a few moments Melrose cleared his throat in an unobtrusive attempt to regain his master’s attention. Pierce slowly looked up at him questioningly.

  “Sorry sir, however I was just thinking about your predicament. The one we discussed last night…”

  “Great minds, Melrose,” replied Pierce, “I was thinking the same thing. Can these new men be trusted? Or have they been sent to watch me?”

  “Precisely my thought sir. If you approve, I’ll make some discreet inquiries throughout the day. Complete discretion of course.”

  Pierce nodded assent and returned to his meal, hardly tasting anything as he concentrated on this new puzzle. With every new person he met, the possible conspirators and co-conspirators seemed to increase. Was he becoming paranoid or was the threat to him actually increasing? The only option at this point was to continue forward and gain more information.

  Within a half hour Pierce had cleaned up, dressed, and was following Melrose through the dark winding passages of the Manor. Eventually they made their way to the galleries adjoining the large staircase that led down to the Great Hall.

  “Generally the Hunt Secretary introduces the hunting party to the new member, however, circumstances as they are…” Melrose trailed off, with a glint of amusement in his eyes. “He asked that I show you to the rooms of the Brown Pack, your Pack sir.”

  “They’re not mine yet. I don’t even know what I’m doing.” Speaking the words aloud made Pierce suddenly feel the full amount of anxiety he’d been repressing. Despite the fact that the upcoming meeting would probably shed more light on his current situation, he was in no rush to get there. Walking the long halls of the Manor, he felt like a child making the long dreaded walk to the principle’s office.

  They made their way across the hall and walked towards a set of doors past the opposite stairwell. Through the doors were passages just as dark and windy as the previous ones. They passed few people, mostly servants at the Manor, who all diligently stopped what they were doing as Pierce passed.

  Finally they came to large foyer where the ceiling became much taller and long glass windows let in small amounts of light from the late morning gloom. The foyer was a large square devoid of any furniture. The entranceway offered a view of the airy space, each side of the room had a large set of double doors.

  These doors were magnificent pieces of workmanship, intricately carved and designed. He toured the foyer going from one set of doors to another. The first set was made of ebony and was completely black. At eye level, where a door knocker would normally be, there was an impressive emblem of a raven carved into the door. This was repeated on the second set of doors, but this one was made of out of a golden hued wood and contained the emblem of an eagle carved into it. The third set of doors was made of a lustrous brown oak and contained the emblem of a majestic stag.

  Pierce looked over to Melrose who nodded, “That is your door sir, here’s the key Mr. Drummond gave me. It should open it, but I can’t follow you in.”