waiting for the spirits
Meanwhile upstairs in the library his master was getting even more bored. Ten minutes passed without Riff re-entering the room. The tea would be cold when Riff came back, he supposed. He liked tea especially if it was Riff who browed it for him. It made him feel safe to be able to drink some hot liquid once in a while without having to wonder about it’s ingredients or to smell for ill substances. Riff knew about this. Riff was the only person who knew about his father trying to poison him with arsenic. If it weren’t for those roses he’d be dead by now. And if it weren’t for his wounds to be salved and cleaned every now and then he’d be dead by some infection. He could have been dead by a thousand reasons, but for the sake of Riffs caring presence and obvious interaction he wasn’t. Why did it take his butler so long for a short trip to the kitchen? , he wondered. Maybe some of the staff had left it disordered and Riff stayed there to put things right, but it was utterly cold down there. Cain didn’t’ like the idea popping up in his head, he wanted his butler to stay in the warmer part. But if it was just the kitchen it was quite allright, because there was still the fire in the oven. Maybe he was still searching for that scotch he had whished for. While waiting for Riff to come back, Cain sipped the still quite hot liquid into his stomach. It made him feel so warm. Only a few things could ever make him feel this comfortable. Another 30 minutes passed and Cain had returned to reading while sipping the tea. Some other things must have been important enough to keep his valet occupied. Maybe the staff had some of their problems and were keeping Riff to find the solutions. Riff was good at those things; he himself had not the nerve to listen to their chatter. He was glad that Riff saved him from that last part of being the heir of a great house, so his uncle was quite unsatisfied with him. Uncle Neal didn’t like the idea that he had made himself that dependent on his valet. Another 20 minutes and the tea was gone, the hot liquid had left him feeling hot, so he got quickly rid of his jacket and his vest.
