The Maid and the Millionaire

[SandraDeelightful]

Lucy walked into Hayes Manor. She looked all around, trying to find Carter. She hadn't seen him in so long, and she had missed him terribly. She wandered along carefully, doing her best not to run into anybody, seeing as she could be a bit clumsy at times. She walked with as much grace and poise as she could.

 

[Fawn]

Carter was not one to enjoy parties. It may be the cluster of people, or the obnoxious small talk, but put together Carter thought the entire evening was a complete bore. Walking into the open lit ballroom Carter spotted his father across the dance floor, obviously devising another plan for the company. That was the only reason this party was started and Carter knew it. His father may give it the fancy title of an engagement party but carter knew better. He slipped on his sliver mask, covering his face except for his amber eyes that glared through the metal. Mia made her way towards him, looking stunning in a red, floor length gown. "Darling," she cooed, slipping her arm through carters, "Your needed on the dance floor, everyones waiting ." Carter reluctantly complied, but he couldn't brush of the feeling that she was treating him like a trophy, something she could use to rub in everyones face.


Carter made some quick hellos and even quicker goodbyes. He put on his best fake smile trying to get this over with as fast as he could. "Mia ill be over there getting some drinks." She gave him a quick glare, but let go of her tight grip on his arm. "Hurry darling," she said leaning closer to his ear as she whispered "and don't pull anything funny, understand?" Carter flashed her a quick smirk as he made his way over to the drink table. He honestly couldn't understand that women, and was even more confused as to why he was marrying her. Grabbing two glasses of champagne he toke a slight detour towards the balcony. It was a beautiful starry night and it brought back childhood memories of warm summer nights that he had spent with Lucy. He missed her but it was better that he kept these childlike whims to himself.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Lucy continued to walk through the party looking around for Carter. She missed him terribly, especially after not having seen him for so long. She wondered if he would remember her the way she had remembered him, and if he had remembered her as fondly and as often as she had him. She wandered out to the balcony where she saw someone standing there, not knowing that she had found who she was looking for.


"Oh, I'm sorry," said Lucy nervously. "I didn't realize anyone was out here.

 

[Fawn]

Carter felt a rush of air sweep over him, and he turned to find a figure standing at the open doorway. the women muttered a few words of apology while making her way back over to the door. "No, Its always nice to see a new face grace its presence around these usually dull halls." He reached the glass of champagne out towards her, flashing a small smirk in her direction. He figured this was a good way to pass the time before he would have to return to the dreadfully awful party. He leaned back along the balconies edge, running his hand along the smooth surface. Taking a small sip from his own glass, he looked back up towards the women standing in front of him. "What brings you to a god awful party such as this?"

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Lucy nervously grasped the glass of champagne.


"I-I'm looking for someone, sir," Lucy stuttered. "An old friend of mine. But it doesn't matter. I doubt he'll remember me anyway. It's been years since I've seen him."


Lucy looked down sadly, before turning to him again.


"I'll just be on my way, then, sir," said Lucy. "I'm so sorry to have disturbed you."


Lucy began making her way to the door.

 

[Fawn]

Listening to the conversation take an unexpected turn, Carter felt unsure as to why he had scared the women so badly that she was practically running towards the door. She mumbled between words but something caught he attention. "Miss, this is not my balcony to claim." He let out a smooth chuckle raising his glass towards her. "Let us toast to old friends and new beginnings. " Just as the crash of their glasses met, he heard another crash coming from inside. Turning his head towards the startling sound, he spotted Mia, glaring at a maid who had apparently dropped a glass of wine right onto carters fiancee. Mia's face was a bright red matching the color of her dress. "Im sorry, but you must excuse me, it seems that there is another unexpected encounter. Would you care to join me inside? Maybe we can find your friend. " Opening the door for her, he swiftly made his way towards Mia, hoping she wouldn't cause a scene. "Unacceptable. How dare you, you clumsy fool!" Mia's voice was steadily rising and Carter grabbed her arm before she went out of control. "Mia stop, listen to me, it wasn't her fault. Now if you'll just calm down."


"How can I Carter? Look at what she has done. My dress is ruined, Im sobbing wet from head to toe, and you cant even defend me!"


" Mia I think your being completely unreasonable. We have quests, actually a full house if you haven't noticed. You have plenty of dresses upstairs so just go change while I sort this out." Carter leaned her towards the stairs and he could smell the stench of wine, and cheap cologne reaking off her. A drunk and unfaithful, what was he thinking. Mia suddenly slipped out of his grasps, making her way towards the poor maid who had finally stopped crouching on the ground in fear. leaning towards the maids ear she whispered in a voice that reminded carter of nails on a chalkboard. "Your fired, do you hear me. This behavior will never be tolerated once i'm mistress of this house." Pushing the maid back town Mia made her way towards the staircase, sending a glare in the maids direction. Carter felt the eyes drift away from the situation, and he was glad the drama was over. "Im awfully sorry for my fiancee's behavior. Ill try and see what I can do." Reaching a hand out towards her he helped her off the ground , and he watched as she wiped a gentle tear from her eye. "Thank you sir, " she whispered, leaving with a quick curtsy goodbye. It looked like they were in need of a new maid. Carter was sad to see such a sweet, kind person go. She never had done anything to hurt them. Turning around he remembered his companion from the balcony who was a few feet behind him. She had obviously been watching the drama unf0ld from afar, and looked shocked. "Im sorry about Mia," he said giving her a small shrug. "She can be, well, dramatic at times. Now tell me about this friend of yours."

 

[SandraDeelightful]

"Dramatic is an understatement," Lucy muttered, horrified that someone could be so cruel. She then spoke a bit louder. "He was a childhood friend. I haven't seen him years. Like I said, I doubt he will remember me. I mean, I'll be very happy if he did, but I wouldn't be mad at him for forgetting. It's not like we have kept in contact or anything. I must say, I am a bit mad at myself for never writing or making any attempt at keeping in contact with him. And the more I think about this, I probably shouldn't have come. Thank you for your kindness, but I should be going. I am sorry for taking up so much of your time. Goodbye, sir."


Lucy turned around and began walking away.

 

[Fawn]

Carter felt uneasy about this women standing before him, and something about her made him feel like a child again. He couldn't place her face anywhere and this feeling of deja vu was beginning to annoy him. Her pleasant company had brought some light into this dark and gloomy night. Even though he kept offering her his company it felt like she kept slipping from his grasps. She made every effort to bid him goodbye, but carter still felt uneasy. The relationship she described sounded awfully familiar. "Miss before you go at least let me know your name. Hopefully I might be able to find this mysterious man whom you so desperately must find. I would hate to have you leave this party with more unhappy endings."

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Lucy turned around nervously.


"M-my name is Lucy Burke, sir," she said. "But like I said, I doubt my friend will remember me. Thank you for your help, sir, but I really should be going."


She began walking away from Carter.

 

[Fawn]

Carter grabbed her arm. He had no idea what compelled him to do it, he just acted on instinct. "Wait," he lowered the mask from his face, letting his amber eyes gaze into hers. "Lucy, it's me Carter! Don't you recognize me? Its ok if you don't, I cant believe I didn't realize it was you the moment you walked through that door." He gazed into her eyes, hoping to memorize every detail of her face. He had missed her dreadfully, he just hadn't realized how much. Carter had dreamed of seeing her again, just not like this. He was to be married, and he knew that Lucy had complications to. She had been gone for so long, but their childhood memories were still ingrained in his brain. "Listen to me, just for a moment before we both start making excuses. I have missed you Lucy, everyday, but things can't begin where the left off. Me and Mia are to be married but I just, I just cant." He brought his hand to her face, stroking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "I have a wild idea but just hear me out first. You know the hill up on Beaurmont peak? The one where I used to bring a picnic basket, and you would bring the telescope, and we'd spend hours under the stars? One more night Lucy, thats all I ask. One more night where I can forget all these crazy nonsense and just be a child again. What do you say?"

 

[SandraDeelightful]

"C-Carter?" Lucy asked. A smile slowly spread across her face and she wrapped her arms around Carter. "I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you. I-I didn't really expect things to pick up where they left off, I just really wanted to see you again."


She thought about his offer to go to the hill on Beaurmont Peak. She thought for a moment before she nodded her head.


"I'd love to," said Lucy. "Are you sure it would be all right if we went?" Lucy asked.

 

[Fawn]

"Well I think this whole thing is completely out of the blue Lucy, so its probably not the best idea," he trailed of, thinking about his father who was across the room. Chances are that he would see them leaving and Carter really did not want to deal with "that talk" again. He couldn't bear to keep disappointing his father like this. Although this was Lucy he was talking about. His childhood friend who understood him better then anyone else. "Still, I couldn't imagine us not going up to the hill at least one more time. I probably can arrange a picnic If your still hungry?" he flashed her a quick smile before taking her hand in his and whispering in her ear. "You remember the loose window over by the piano room? I think we can sneak out through there."

 

[SandraDeelightful]

A beaming smile spread across Lucy's face.


"A picnic sounds grand," she said. "I would love to go to the hill with you."


She couldn't believe the words came out of her mouth. She had always been one to follow rules and she almost always did as she was told, but tonight, she decided that she would take a chance and do something that wasn't like her.

 

[Fawn]

Grabbing Lucy's hand, Carter led them through the swarm of people dancing about in the ballroom. Their silent laughter echoed through the hallway as he showed her towards the kitchen. "I'll grab us some bread and a bottle of wine,"He whispered, letting go of her hand and peering inside the brightly lit kitchen. Most of the servants were upstairs so sneaking away some of the party food wasnt a problem. Peaking outside he saw lucy still waiting, and flashed her a quick smile. Seeing her like this made him feel like he was in a dream. “Lets go,”he whispered, leading her towards the open window. Helping her down, he was greeted with a warm summer night breeze. The carefully walked across the patio, making sure not to be seen by any party goers. He helped her across the fence, and once they made it over they began to run. Carter let out a small laugh of childlike laughter. He hadn't felt happy like this in such a long time. He realized that just by being with her, it felt like he had found a missing piece of himself. As they made it up towards the hill carter laid out a blanket so they could look at the stars. he made a spot for lucy and ushered her over. Laying down, carter looked up towards the stars and for the first time in awhile saw a bright future ahead of him.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Lucy couldn't help but giggle as Carter led her through the ballroom. She waited patiently by the kitchen while Carter went to get the bread and wine. Lucy laughed with Carter as they ran. She had missed being with him and it felt so good to be with him again, acting like a child. Once he had laid out the blanket, Lucy to her spot next to him. She turned her head so that she looked at him and she smiled a bright smile.


"Thank you for this," said Lucy kindly.

 

[Fawn]

"It's my pleasure darling. We do have a lot of things to catch up on after all." Carter vaguely remembered the day that Lucy had left. she had come to his house late at night, hoping not to wake Carters father. Slipping through the gates, they had met by the large marble fountain in the patio. There was an uncomfortable silence before Lucy told him she had to leave. They had been the closest of friends and at this point Carter thought he may want more than that. He had begged her not to go but she insisted, saying she had very important business in the south. She left that night, and hadn't heard from her since. Even though he thought off her often, he had no way to write. Lucy hadn't given him an address or even the faintest idea of where she would go. “First off where have you been?”

 

[SandraDeelightful]

"Papa got sick," said Lucy sadly. Her father had lived South due to work and her mother lived north for her work. "Mama sent me there to keep him company and to cheer him up. H-he didn't make it." Lucy felt a few tears come to her eyes and fall down her cheeks. "Mama came to visit and she got sick too. I couldn't bring her back here to nurse her because she was so frail and fragile. She died a few months ago. I lived in Papa's house in the meantime trying to find a place to work, but no one was looking. I used what was left of Papa's money to pay the mortgage. It's gone now, though."

 

[Fawn]

Carter honestly did not know what to say. Watching Lucy cry was slowly, and painfully breaking her heart. This poor girl had struggled more then he could ever imagine. She was an orphan, homeless with nowhere to go. Carters first thought was to invite her to his house. There she could regain strength, find good, and honest work. Not to mention that he could be with her again. Still Carters fathers dissaproving face flashed through his mind and he knew he couldn't. That would just mean another scandel that the family couldnt deal with right now. Carter was to be married to Mia, whether he liked it or not. He carried the image of the family, the perfect poster boy to carry out his fathers wishes. "Darling I wish there was something I could do, honestly. " He brush a tear from her face, gazing into her eyes with the deepest look of remorse. " The best I can do for now is to set you up in a small home outside of the estate. It would be the best for both of use. You can find work, and I can be your occasional visitor." Carter smiled but still thought this felt wrong, like he was sending her away. Letting his hand drop from her face, he laid back to look up at the stars again.

 

[SandraDeelightful]

"I--I couldn't ask you to do that," Lucy said, seeing his offer as very generous. "I didn't come to ask for help getting back on my feet. I came to see you. It's really a very generous offer and I thank you for it very sincerely, but I can't accept. I'm sure I'll be able to find some form of honest work somewhere. I just have to look hard enough."


She laid back down and sighed. She turned her head to him.


"Really, thank you," she said, "but I just can't accept."

 

[Fawn]

"Darling Lucy, I want you to know that whatever happens from now on i will be there for you. I don't want you to run away again because all that can do is bring us pain. The least I can do is give you some recommendations. The family name does have its perks. Where are you staying tonight though if I might ask? Im pretty sure we have a few spare rooms unoccupied at the house."

 

[SandraDeelightful]

"D-do you really mean it?" Lucy asked with a slight smile. "That, that is so terribly kind of you! Are you sure your father would allow it? I mean, I'll accept if he won't mind because I really don't want to cause any trouble."

 

[atickto]

this roleplay makes me cries :') its so good