Imperfection Series

Chapter 13

Book 1 Chapter 13-01

Getting to the kitchen, he saw Paulina discussing with a maid, he had passed the dinning table and had seen that breakfast is ready, two maids were adding the finishing touches but none of them was the person he wanted to see and now in the kitchen, he couldn't find her either.

"Good morning master Shane" Paulina greeted when she saw him, causing Nora to look back at him, a tiny blush appeared on her cheeks as she remembered the sight she saw him in this morning.

Ah, the blushing maid, Shane noticed when she looked at him but ignored her and answered to Paulina "good morning to you too Paulina."

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Paulina asked, surprised to see him in the kitchen.

"Yes, I'm looking for Lillian, I need her to help me with the studio."

"Sir wants to clean it up?" Paulina asked more surprised.

"Yes."

"Madam is with the key, don't worry sir, I would ask her for it when she comes down for breakfast."

"I already got the key from mom Paulina."

"Oh, then sir should just leave it with me, I will assign Lillian and some others to have it cleaned up for you."

"Thank you Paulina but I want to do it myself. A lot of my father's valuables are in there, only I can know which."

"Then if sir wants it like that, then so be it. Breakfast is ready, won't sir be eating first?"

"No not yet. Just send Lillian to meet me there with a bucket and a mop or something."

"I can help you sir, as the oldest of the young maids, it's my duty to serve you" Nora butted in.

Shane looked at her not knowing what to say, the girl is finally turning into a leech, "I em, I already asked for Lillian."

"But Lillian is not available now sir."

Shane frowned, "why isn't she available?" It's not been long she left his mother's room, he wondered.

"Well em...em... she...she..."

"You go on ahead Sir, I will send Lillian to come find you immediately" Paulina smiled.

"Thank you Paulina" Shane muttered and left through the kitchen door.

Paulina turned to glare at Nora who had her head bowed, "mind the games you are playing Nora. I don't know what you are hoping to achieve, first you rushed this morning to dress his bed which I'm sure you woke him up with your knocks, then you left without cleaning it, leaving it for the others to do. Now you want to force yourself into working with him, I don't want to assume but don't let my assumptions be true, is that clear?"

"Yes Mrs. Paulina" she nodded while the older woman turned and got herself busy.

"Go call Lillian for me."

"Yes" Nora nodded and left the kitchen.

Lillian was shocked when she was told by Mrs. Paulina that master Shane wants her to help him in cleaning the studio. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about last night, wondering if he was cleaning it for her sake. God, can it be true?

As she walked to the studio, her mind was occupied with bizarre thoughts like Shane being attracted to her and all that. Even she herself knew it can't be possible. When she approached the studio, she turned the doorknob and for the first time since she arrived there, she hadn't been much happy as she was when the door opened.

She was met with a cloud of dust and male's coughs, even she had to fan the air from her face for her to see clearly. Then she dropped the cleaning utensils she was carrying and rushed immediately to open all the windows, turning back, she saw Shane gazing at her with a small smile playing on his lips, she looked down quickly to avoid her mind from storing the beautiful sight in her memory, "I'm sorry sir but you forgot to open the windows."

"Indeed" Shane chuckled, "it's good you arrived just in time, if not I might have been choked to death by dust."

A small smile appeared on her lips at his humor, "sir could have just ran out if worst comes to happen."

"Right, I forgot about that too."

Lilly's smile was now obvious but she was at lost on what to say, she looked around the now cleared from dust studio, "if I'm permitted to ask sir, why did you suddenly want to clean this place?" She asked but unable to hide the happiness in her voice.

Shane smiled, he knew she would be ecstatic, he joined her in looking around the studio, although really dirty but one could see that when cleaned up, it will be a sight to behold, "to be honest with you, I wanted to have it removed yesterday."

Lilly swung her head to his side in shock, "why would you want to do that?"

"It hold a lot of memories for me, a lot of my father and" he looked at her "of you."

Lilly looked down, her feet suddenly had a mystery to it that she would prefer sorting out than looking at his face.

"Do you remember the day I brought you here?" His voice rang in soft whisper and she nodded, "do you remember that beautiful bird he was painting?" With another nod from her, he smiled, "later in night I came back here and drew a little thing beside the bird, do you know what it was?"

Lilly finally looked up to him and shook her head, he chuckled and moved to the big wooden shelf, "after taking the whole day to ask him to gift it to me, he finally agreed but I didn't want it for myself. You loved the painting so much that you couldn't get your eyes off of it. You even said, 'come on baby bird, fly away'" he chuckled, "you seemed to forgot that it was a painting and it's lifeless" he continued as he kept searching for something in the shelf.

Lilly hold no memories of what he just said, she knew she loved the bird and she remembers it but she just can't recall asking it to fly away, how could a painting fly away? She must sound really stupid then. But cut her some slack, she was only five.

"Ah, here it is" Shane's voice disrupted her thought, she looked at him to see him blowing off dust from a folded canvas, he turned and handed it to her with a small smile, "open it."

Lilly took it from him, her eyes hardly leaving his face as she unknot the thin rope holding it in place, she sprayed the canvas into its full size to reveal a beautiful painting of a rainbow feathered bird, besides it was a drawing of a white lily flower and then at the edge was written 'for you my little flower' her heart became water as she read it. It melted in her chest and then it flowed to his feet. She looked up at him with countless emotions in her eyes.