A quick half-dozen…

Keith's Ramblings

…for Six Sentence Stories where the given word is Valet.

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glamor.regular

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butlerHe rose at dawn then dusted, vacuumed,  loaded the washing machine, polished the silver, tidied the drawing room, ironed the daily newspaper, and collected his Master’s breakfast from the kitchen. 

He took them upstairs, opened the bedroom curtains and greeted his Master, then after laying out his clothes, he ran a bath and retired to the kitchen to help Constance the Cook prepare lunch.

Butterworth had worked at Buckhampton Manor as a valet and manservant for countless years, but he’d never felt appreciated and was becoming increasingly tired, so the time had come for him to retire but his carefully planned and imminent departure would be unannounced.

The following day he rose at dawn then dusted, vacuumed,  loaded the washing machine, polished the silver, tidied the drawing room ironed the daily newspaper and collected his Master’s breakfast from the kitchen having slipped something into the pot of tea.

He took them upstairs, opened the bedroom curtains and greeted his Master but he didn’t need to lay out clothes or run a bath because his master fell back into a deep sleep. 

Butterworth went to the safe, plundered its contents, packed the polished silver in his bag, took a case of Bollinger 1984 from the cellar and a box of finest Cuban cigars from the table then placed his spoils in the boot of the Rolls Royce and after collecting Constance the Cook from the kitchen, they went off together never to be seen again.

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Thanks to Denise at GirlieOnTheEdge for hosting. 

 

 

31 thoughts on “A quick half-dozen…”

  5. GirlieOnTheEdge Apr 13, 2023 / 11:33

    The use of repetition of the first line very much hit home the valet’s state of mind. But! What had he slipped into the tea pot?! Could Butterworth’s master had a near miss with permanent sleep?!
    Good one, Keith!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Suzette Benjamin Apr 13, 2023 / 13:51

    Great story Keith. You crafted the tedium of poor Butterworth’s work day well. One could see his plan almost as opposite ingredients to all he had lacked, taking not “things or person in the case of Constance the cook ” but taking his respect back. And Kudos to him for selecting the “proper” parting vintage, James Bond would have been pleased with his choice!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. clark Apr 13, 2023 / 15:33

    All right! Butterworth!
    (liked the detail of ‘ironing the newspaper’ not surprised that’s actually a thing. in our house there is, in fact, a distinction made between ‘the newspaper’ and ‘the paper someone has already read’ )

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Keith's Ramblings Apr 14, 2023 / 11:19

      Ironing the newspaper was part of a butler’s daily routine back then. Nowadays with online papers being so popular they probably iron ipads! I refuse to read a newspaper someone else had their sticky fingers on.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • clark Apr 14, 2023 / 15:02

        “But I refolded it just like it was!”

        “… no, you didn’t. there’s no such thing.”

        lol

        Like

  10. Frank Hubeny Apr 13, 2023 / 21:04

    Although I don’t condone the way he retired, I’m glad he too Constance with him.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. Tom Apr 15, 2023 / 10:40

    At least Butterworth knew what he wanted to do… and Constance the Cook was obviously his accomplice!

    Liked by 1 person

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