The Monster in the Manor: Chapter 24

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Rupert

Maybe Giancarlo was right. Maybe everything the old man told me about trading wealth for happiness was hogwash, and he just did it to mess with my mind, because I am happy. 

Every day with Peony is better than the previous one. She makes my life full and whole, every part of me sated just by being in her presence. I love how my little flower moves through the world, never assuming, always open with her love, and surprisingly tolerant of my… oddities. She doesn’t mind the television I like to watch, and she certainly doesn’t mind when I urge her toward more interesting bedtime activities. One night I suggest we watch something a little less wholesome, and Peony gives me a curious look as I change the channel.

Grunts and moans fill the room, and her eyes go big as the screen displays two people having intercourse. 

She glances at me, fully shocked. “You want to watch porn together?”

“Not just that,” I say, taking off my clothes and then sitting down in my chair. Once Peony is disrobed, too, I bring her into my lap and touch her all over as the people on the television fuck louder and louder. Peony is mesmerized by it as my hand drifts down between her legs. I’ve gotten better at touching her without scraping her with my claws, and I run the pad of my finger gently over her clit while she watches. She gets wet almost immediately, and my cock pokes its head out of its sheath.

Soon, I have the lips of her cunt spread for me, and I’m slowly working my way inside her as the woman on the screen nears her climax. Peony is gasping, much more turned on than usual, and I’m glad I decided to do this with her.

I like that Peony is a delicate woman who requires focus and attention to bring her to her finish. Tonight, though, it’s surprisingly easy to get her there, and when she’s already come once around me, she whines, “Rupert!” and starts up again, using me while she watches the people on the screen.

There are no more nights where I cannot sleep, no more nights where I leave the manor in the darkness and hunt through the trees for rabbits and deer. My prey is Peony’s cries of pleasure, her little snores as she sleeps, the sweet tunes she hums while she cleans.

It’s been wonderful, too, to start cooking again, and the part of me that once went to culinary school and dreamt of becoming a chef has awakened. Peony and I cook together at least once a day, and we’ve learned so much from one another. She is a creative soul while I am more of a technical one, and sometimes in the evenings, we spend time putting together her ideas with my execution to create new menus for the coming week.

Even Kellen seems happier with Peony around, though that might have to do with whoever he’s been seeing in private. He’s gone more often now, and I wonder how much he neglected his personal life in order to serve me. Now that I have Peony, he may feel more comfortable leaving me alone for long periods of time.

But I can tell that there’s… a restlessness about my little human, the longer she lives here in the manor with me. She runs errands on her own now quite often in Kellen’s car, and I find I don’t like it. I wish I could go with her and watch out for her, but I don’t dare leave and show my face at, say, a grocery store.

I hope that Peony doesn’t come to regret her choice of caring for a recluse. She’s social, that much is clear by the way she chatters at dinner, how she engages both of us in talking about our interests. If she were to stay with me, she would have to hide me from her friends. Will she be able to make new ones if she never leaves the manor, either?

Though the consuming heat of our budding relationship tends to push these doubts to the back of my mind, when she’s away, they resurface. What if when she goes to town, she meets a regular person who could give her a regular life?

One afternoon, my phone rings, which isn’t a common occurrence. The caller ID tells me it’s my distant neighbor, Stella, who once recommended Peony to me. Peony is off shopping, and I wonder what Stella’s after.

“Hello?” I say cautiously.

“Rupert!” Stella’s greeting is big and loud. “How are you?” Before I can answer, she barrels on. “I haven’t heard from you since my grand-niece went to work at your house. Is it a good arrangement?”

I had honestly forgotten about Stella after everything that’s happened since Peony first arrived on my doorstep. What would she want me to say?

“Um, everything is going well,” I answer diplomatically. “Pe—I mean, Ms. Austin has been doing a wonderful job, and I love having her around.”

“My, my, even the recluse likes her.” Stella clicks her tongue. “She has always been my favorite relative, though she was down on her luck after that awful boyfriend of hers.”

I bristle all over. Awful barely describes him.

“I’m glad you gave her a job, Rupert. I refuse to give handouts, but I’m sure with you she’s learning the value of hard work.”

I scowl at the phone. Those were not lessons that someone like Peony ever needed to learn.

“Did you know what she was leaving behind?” I ask her, incensed. “That she was fleeing abuse, Stella?”

My neighbor huffs into the phone. “I’ve heard no such thing.”

I probably shouldn’t have said it, but she deserves to feel at least a tad guilty.

“Her mother was a very poor example for her,” Stella goes on. “Ran off when Peony was little. I don’t want her to turn out the same way by making it easy for her.”

I just want to bash the phone in, but I restrain myself. “Well, despite how callously you treated her, she seems to be prospering.” I don’t mention that she’s living here now, too.

“I thought you’d be more grateful that I sent such a capable woman your way, but I suppose no good deed goes unpunished.”

Hopefully she can hear me rolling my eyes. “Thank you, Stella. We’re so grateful to have her. What else can I do for you?”

“I thought I might drop by!” she says brightly. “Now that your house is, well, clean, I could say hello to my grand-niece and, perhaps, meet you in person. Everyone at the club wonders about you, you know.”

“They can wonder.” I am instantly repulsed by the idea of Stella Austin visiting my home. No way I would ever show myself to her. “You are welcome to see Peo—Ms. Austin, but I will not be joining her.”

Stella makes a thoughtful noise. “Very rude, don’t you think?”

I shrug, though she can’t see it. “Not a concern of mine. I recommend you call her directly and arrange a meeting time.”

“Oh, good, she has a phone now.”

I grit my teeth thinking of how this rich old bitch couldn’t even help Peony get a working phone. After I’ve given her the number, we hang up, and I lean back in my armchair. What a dreadful woman.

---

Peony

I couldn’t have asked for a better life, if I’m being honest. I get to cook anything I want, and I’m paid for it. Most of the time I have Rupert’s help, and he’s never a burden in the kitchen, though sometimes I do have to correct him. But he’s receptive to feedback and I love working alongside him with a tune playing on the radio. The manor was built fairly recently, and I learned that a sound system has been rigged all throughout the common rooms so we can blast music while we cook.

But it’s not until the day I see Mandy at the store that I realize how isolated I really am.

I’ve convinced Kellen to let me go shopping on my own so I can pick out what I need myself. He grumbles that it’s one of his tasks, but he’ll let me go as long as I take his car and not my old beater, since he doesn’t trust it.

I wish Rupert would go with me so we could pick out what we want for dinner together, but I know that is asking far too much. He’d never show himself outside the manor, not with all the complications it would bring with it.

When I spot Mandy over the tops of the lemons and limes, I let out a gasp. She jumps, then raises her eyes to meet mine. Her answering smile is big and wide.

“Peony!” Mandy jogs around the produce between us, her arms spread wide. She pulls me into a hug, and I hug her back. “Wow. It’s been a while since I saw you.”

I don’t even know how to explain everything that’s happened. Mandy lived just down the street from us in Tennysville. Her husband was… acquaintances with Andy. When Andy lost his job for a few months, he borrowed money from Mandy and Peter, and I don’t know if he ever paid it back.

“What are you doing in Penn Rock?” I ask her. The part I don’t ask is, and shopping at the high-end grocery store? I couldn’t have afforded to shop here when I lived in our old neighborhood.

She shrugs. “Peter got a new job, and I’m working now, too. They sell this cheese here, oh my god.” She gestures toward the deli. “You won’t believe how good it is. I come all the way out here just for the cheese.”

I’m not shocked to hear this given the impressive cheese selection. We meander over together, discussing the different cheeses, and I start telling her about the recipe I have planned.

Her eyebrows shoot up. “Wow. That sounds extravagant. Where did you end up when you… you know.” She lowers her voice, finally broaching the subject neither of us have brought up yet. “When you left Andy.”

I’m sure Andy went on a rage and everyone found out about it. He probably spun some wild story, too, to make me look like the villain. Nobody knew what he did behind closed doors, and I was quiet about it.

“I’m a housekeeper.” I grin. “It’s actually a great gig. I live in this fancy house and do the cooking and cleaning for a rich guy.”

“What?!” Mandy grabs my shoulders. “No way. You got a sugar daddy? And you’re living in a mansion?”

I suppose that is, a little bit, who Rupert has become. He doesn’t deduct my living expenses from my wages, and he pays for all the food I buy on shopping trips, so I’ve been able to save up quite a bit.

“I’m the housekeeper! Did you hear that part?”

Mandy shakes her head. “No. All I heard was you, fancy house, sugar daddy rich guy.”

I laugh, because I didn’t realize how much I missed her. I wonder if maybe we could spend time together again.

“Do you want to get coffee sometime?” I ask.

Mandy looks a little less certain now. “I can’t get out here very often, but if you give me your number, I could let you know next time I’m coming.”

We exchange digits, and then I have to get on with my shopping. But before we say goodbye, we hug again, and I didn’t expect just how nice it would feel to see a friend.

---

I think about Mandy the whole drive home. She’s not the only one I miss. I had friends before Andy, too, who eventually stopped calling me. I know it’s not their fault. He convinced me they were all too good for me, especially after we moved to Tennysville, which was a much farther drive from where I’d lived when I worked at the restaurant. Eventually, we drifted apart, and I didn’t hear from them again.

Could I reach out to any of my former restaurant friends? Would they even want to hear from me?

The idea takes over, and when I get back to Edgewood Manor, I’m buzzing with plans. I want to call everyone and make coffee dates, just so I can explain what happened, and they can decide whether or not they want to be friends again—but at least I could open the door.

I think Rupert can tell my mind is elsewhere as we cook, because he’s quiet, too. Eventually, though, he broaches whatever subject he’s been mulling over.

“Your great aunt called me,” he says as we plate the dishes. “Stella. She wanted to visit with you.”

I scoff. “Really? Now?”

He shakes his head. “I know. Ridiculous. You don’t have to do it, obviously.”

I consider it for a moment. I haven’t seen my aunt in person in ages. We visited once, my dad and I, after Mom left. But Stella had nothing but nasty things to say about Mom, and I didn’t want to hear it. Neither did Dad, so we didn’t visit her again.

“Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing ever,” I hedge. “She is the only family I have around. Who still talks to me, anyway.”

Rupert pauses what he’s doing, then sets down the bowl of salad and puts an arm around me.

“Have you thought about contacting your dad?” he asks in a careful voice. He knows this is a tender subject for me, as is everything that happened during my years with Andy.

I shake my head firmly. “He doesn’t want to hear from me, not after the last conversation we had.” I wince just thinking about it, how he and Andy got in a screaming match over the phone. But I was the one to take it away and hang up.

Rupert nods in understanding, then releases me and returns to his task. Kellen arrives at exactly six on the dot, when we always have dinner.

“What treat have you two cooked up tonight?” he asks, surprisingly cheery. I think getting laid regularly has been good for everyone in this house.

“Homemade fettuccini!” Rupert beams at the butler. “One of the things that was ground into my brain in culinary school—homemade pasta.”

Kellen oohs in pleasure as Rupert and I carry the plates to the dining room, and he seats himself with his napkin across his lap. “Never thought there would be a restaurant in my own house.”

“Where’s my tip, Kellen?” I joke.

“Please add the gratuity to my bill,” he answers gracefully.

“You can have anyone over, anytime you like, Peony,” Rupert tells me as we all dig in. “You live here. This is your home. If you want to entertain Stella, then please, feel free.”

I look down at my plate. I know that he means without him, but I want him to say it to my face.

“You wouldn’t come down though, would you?” I ask.

Rupert shakes his head.

With a sigh, I twirl some pasta on my fork, though suddenly I don’t feel so hungry. Kellen glances uncertainly between us, an eyebrow raised, but neither of us speaks. 

Eventually he gives up trying to make conversation, and we all eat dinner in silence.