Charles had always preferred the Japanese miniature trees and had spent a lot of time learning from a man on Wight. He nurtured several of his own but had given them to the master when he knew he was leaving, afraid they might get damaged in the long journey.
For his part, the Japanese master had given Charles four starter trees for him to start once he made it to his destination. It was one of the things he waited for Frazier to unpack.
He looked up at the sky, as he thought he felt drops of rain on his shoulder. Indeed, it had turned dark enough for rain to change the afternoon. He rushed back to the house, instinctively finding the fenced kitchen garden and door. As he surprised thestaff with his presence, he quickly walked through the kitchen and down a hall to a set of steps leading upstairs to the main floor.
As he arrived on the main floor, he heard the distinct sound of Sam, the parrot, as he walked toward his wing. The animal seemed agitated, so Charles decided it was best to look in on the bird. He peered into the drawing room and saw Sam on the floor peering up at his cage. A wooden ladder which allowed him to walk up and down was lying on the floor. Since the macaw couldn’t fly, he had no way to get up to his cage.
Charles walked over to the bird and bent down to pick up the ladder. As he did, he stroked the bird’s feathers. “How did you manage to do that, Sam?”
“Bloody hell! Sam no do!” the bird squawked in reply.
“Right.” He made sure the ladder was firmly in place and as he began to leave, he watched the parrot walk up the ladder making odd noises.
“Sam happy.”
Charles shook his head as he exited the drawing room. An odd choice for a pet, but he remembered the bird was a gift from Daphne’s father and she was rather attached to the macaw.
As he walked down the hall, he was met by Arthur. “Are you finding everything okay?” Arthur inquired.
“Yes, I went for a walk until the weather had other ideas. Sam’s ladder was on the floor, and he was having no part of it. I fixed it for him.”
Arthur chuckled. “A word of advice about Sam. He’s smarter than he lets on, and the ladder on the ground is a favorite trick of his to get attention.”
“You mean I was outwitted by a parrot?”
“I’m afraid so,” Arthur replied.
“Glad to know.”
“Are you finding your way around okay?”
Charles nodded. “Yes, it’s strange but a lot looks familiar, like I’ve been there.”
“A displaced memory being released, I suppose.”
“That’s what it has to be. I don’t like it though.”
Arthur arched a brow. “Why?”
“It’s like a portion of my life is missing and now bits and pieces are coming back.”
“Does it scare you?”
“No, it’s just an odd sensation because I have no control.”
“Let me know if I can help solve anything,” Arthur said. “Are you going to join us for dinner?”
“Yes. Right now, I need to see if Frazier has unpacked all my things.”
Nodding, Arthur smiled. “Of course. I’ll leave you to it and see you for dinner.”
Charles heard not a sound when he entered his bed chamber. Frazier must have finished his duties as he was nowhere to be found. He knew there was a study in this wing and that would be where his valet would have put all his books and papers. He turned and left the room in search of the study. True to form, Frazier had organized his desk with two black notebooks sitting to the right of the desk. One he would keep on him to jot down things that interested him, book ideas. The other notebook would be a journal starting from today, his first day at the family ancestral home.
Another thing he wanted to know was about the history of the family, from the very beginning to now. It might not be great reading for some, but he might find something that would be suitable for writing into one of his books. As he sat down in the chair behind the desk, he noticed there were two pens sitting on the desktop just waiting to be used.
He opened the top left drawer. This is where he always kept the manuscript of what he was writing. It didn’t matter whatdesk or where, the left drawer was always used exclusively for his current manuscript. He took it out of the drawer and placed it before him. Since he hadn’t written in recent days, he decided to refresh himself by reading it before he continued. Taking one of the pens, he began to read the words. His words. He made notes in the margins. Questions, ideas, did a certain part need to be rewritten? Thus, when he finished, he would send it to his publisher a little more refined than what he stared at right now.
Reading the manuscript took longer than he anticipated. It didn’t help that he fell asleep when he was close to the end. It had been a long, eventful day. So many new things, so many forgotten memories resurfacing after decades of hiding in his mind.
