There was a commotion.

Erin heard chairs moving, and her mother panicking to action first.

"Oh, sweet holy!" Lady Sutherton gasped, the clacking of her heels approaching quickly.

Erin groaned, pulling herself upright with a wobble. She pressed her fingertips against her throbbing forehead, her free hand stretching out to refuse her mother’s oncoming help. “I’m fine, mother I---.”

“---Mister Ezra.” She stepped over her daughter, the blade of her heels narrowly missing the stunned girl.

“Mister Ezra, are you alright?” She examined him as if he were the one on the floor, dizzy and confused.

He widened his eyes, peaking once at Erin. "Me? Oh, I’m fine. I’m perfect." He glanced down. "Lady Erina are you all alright? Quite a fall you just had there." He offered his hand with a blinding smile. "Need help up?"

“Oh, yes, Erina.” Lady Sutherton directed her concern to her daughter. “What happened? What did you do?”

She heard her mother, but her head turned to Ezra, burrowing her eyes into his.

“Erina? You heard me, I asked what happened?” After a few moments of silence, Lady Sutherton sighed, aware she was not going to receive a proper reply. "I'm so terribly sorry, Mister Ezra.” She turned to him. “What can I say? She loves to make her scenes." She passed a dismayed glance to her daughter. "Erin, get up from the floor and stop pretending to---."

"---Pretending?” she fumed, raising her voice slightly.

"Yes." Her mother disapprovingly frowned.

"I didn’t do anything,” she said through clenched teeth, glaring at Ezra.

"Well, darling, you don't make a good case when you're still on the ground." She doubtfully peered.

Scowling with a twisted face, Erin whipped her hands around and struggled to her feet.

"Lady Erina, please allow me to help you." He offered his hand again and she smacked it away so fiercely their knuckles briefly banged each other.

She stabilized her feet and wrapped her hands over her chest. "Who is this?" she asked, pointing to Ezra and fixing her narrowing eyes.

Lady Sutherton swallowed. "Well, this is not exactly the most proper meeting, but?" She forced a thin smile. "Erina, this man is Ezra, Ezra Radcliff. He's going to be our new butler, the caretaker of this estate while we are away."

"New butler?" she said, scoffing. "What of the last one?"

“Erina, that’s not funny.”

“Wasn’t a joke,” she said, starkly. Unfolding her arms, she stared at Ezra with a large-eyed wild look. “Do you know what happened to our last butler?”

"Erina,” Lady Sutherton chastised.

She neglected her mother and kept her eyes on him. "And do you know what happens when someone disrespects or displeases a Sutherton?” she seethed, sizzling with animosity.

"And Ezra?" Lady Sutherton forced a smile. "Please forgive her tone, but as you know this is our daughter, Erina Sutherton.” She firmly pressed her lips together, growing anxious as she felt the heat of her daughter’s burning hatred. “A-and, now that you two have met, she shall be making her leave. Right, Erin?"

She continued glaring, unresponsive.

Lady Sutherton cleared her throat and plastered on a smile. “She will be making her leave,” she weakly said, grimacing at her husband who was still seated drinking tea. “Um, Daviyd, perhaps we should take Mister Ezra to another room to see---.” She stopped, going pale as her daughter marched to Ezra.

Raising her arm slowly, she pointed her finger at him. "You. Apologize." She spoke with lethal dedication.

"It is lovely to be properly introduced to you, Lady Erina." He spoke in a reserved manner, giving her the brightest of his smile. "I hope you'll be able to forgive my indulgence---." He paused and cleared his throat. "---My apologies, my tongue slipped, I meant to say indigence. I wish I could have acted to help before you missed your chair and experienced such…,” he said, sucking in the air. “Humiliation."

Erin fell silent. ‘Humiliation’. Those words baffled her, almost to the point that couldn’t find her voice. But even without the words, she knew exactly what she feeling.

Dead.

She wanted him dead, deader than a landed fish.

She honed her murderous stare, sharpened nonexistent fangs, and prepared her method of destruction.

“I said, apologize to me!” she shouted.

For a moment, her shriek made him tense, his eyes bouncing from her to Lord and Lady Sutherton.

"Hey!” She snapped her fingers, flinging her hands towards his ears. “Do not look at them. Look at me and apologize for making me fall out of the chair!"

Lady Sutherton sped to her daughter’s side and gripped her shoulder. Her mother was afraid she would pounce on the man. "Erina!”

Erin whipped off her mother’s grip. “Apologize!”

"Daviyd.” Lady Sutherton threw a nervous glance at her inexpressive husband. "You’re not going to say anything?”

Lord Sutherton was still seated, sipping his tea. Instead of doing anything, he remained a seated stone-faced spectator, observing and analyzing the events unfolding.

"Making you fall out of the chair?" Ezra questioned. "Forgive me, Lady Erina, how did I make you fall out of the chair?"

"I do not care about the how or what. I said apologize this instant!"

"I say this with no disrespect but I can apologize for something I have done, lest it not be genuine. And regrettably, I don't think I did anything. There are witnesses who can affirm that." He swiped a glance at Lady and Lord Sutherton.

"Yes, we can firmly attest to that!" Lady Sutherton rushed out. “Erina, dear, he did nothing to the chair except pull it out for you, so please stop your nonsense right now."

"I will not cease until I am given what I desire!” she bellowed, stomping her foot. “Apologize!” Her eyes carved into his pupils, the scowl on her face vampish; she wanted---.

“---Blood,” Ezra said, peering at Erin’s feet.

Erin froze, raising a puzzled lip.

“Lady Erina, your foot---,” he said, his eyes turning glassy and his voice dropping. “---Your foot is bleeding.”

Both Erin and her mother looked down. There was a small red stain bleeding into the fibers of her white indoor slippers. Erin recognized it was the same foot she stepped on a piece of glass with. She didn’t register the pain until he pointed it out.

"My lady, I---.” He abruptly stopped, falling to Erin’s feet.

They were all shocked when suddenly there was sobbing, and rather loud sobbing at that.

“My lady, you don’t know how much regret I feel---.” His voice broke. “---How much regret I have to see that you are injured because of a fall that should have been prevented!” He emphatically pounded the floor, a flood of tears streaming down from his cheeks.

She blinked a few times, the confusion weighing like a boulder that tugged her head to the side. "You-you’re-why…. You’re crying?" She squinted.

His eyes were puffing into cherry red, soft tears sparkled in his glassy eyes, and he wore a look of sad grievance as if he were some distressed damsels.

"Yes." He sniffled, hunching like a desperate beggar. "It brings me tears to see that you are harmed." He looked up into her eyes, like a dog to its master.

She squinted even further before casting a glance at her parents. "He’s not---this is?" she asked, cringing with bafflement.

RIP!

He suddenly tore off a piece of fabric from his shirt cuff. “Please, allow me to help.” He gently touched her foot, and slightly hoisted her foot up. Then he worked swiftly and softly, working off the slipper and wrapping the ripped cloth into a makeshift bandage.

“This is---what---?” Bewildered, Erin flickered her eyes from her parents to the man at her feet.

Her father had one brow raised as if he was impressed. Her mother had her hand wedged right to her chest.

"Lady Erina, truly I apologize that you have been hurt." His lips trembled. “I do not have enough words to---.” He stopped, heaving a saddened sigh. “My apologies.” He earnestly spoke, as he placed a servant kiss on her foot, lingering there unabashedly.

There was a soft tingling sensation on her feet. The indoor satin slippers she was wearing did little to keep her from feeling a trickle of breath and the warmth of lips.

Her eyes bulged a little. To kiss the feet was an old custom---only given when servants sought to express considerable commitment to a lord or lady. She should have felt venerated but didn’t. No, she was horrified to feel the tickle and warmth of lips on skin.

“What is this? Give me my foot!” She jerked her leg back. “What is---this man is---he will not be working here!” She stumbled back from Ezra. “You.” She pointed her finger with a nervous jitter. “You need to leave! No, no, no.” She shook her head, faltering with her words. “You’re going to leave!”

"Erina, that is it!" Lady Sutherton huffed. "Haven't you caused enough of a scene?" she cried.

She gaped at her mother. "Really? I’m the one who caused a scene? He’s the one sniffling and whining!" She pointed to him like a tattling child.

"Erina! Stop!” She curtly replied, before turning her attention back to Ezra. "Oh, Mister Ezra, thank you for being concerned and helping her, even though she's just purposely causing headaches today." Looking back at her daughter, she sighed. "Now, Erin please get your bearings and dismiss yourself already! Can't you see how much you've already troubled Mister Ezra?"

"Troubled him?" She seethed, her scowl growing like a rising flame. "I troubled him? How? Really, how?"

"Yes, you've troubled him and you've troubled your father and me with all this ruckus. Enough for today, I’m begging you!”

Lord Sutherton stood up from his seat, his voice commanding both his wife's and his daughter's attention. "Anya is correct. Erina, you will dismiss yourself, now."

"I'm dismissed?" Erin cut her eyes to her father, still taking swift once-overs at Ezra.

"Leave."

She saw the look in her father's eye and it kept her in place. Growling, she stormed out the doors, and almost instantly the sounds of glass breaking and things falling could be heard from behind the doors.

There was so much uproar and racket, Lady Sutherton could assume the worst was occurring to her property. "I-um, Ezra, my husband must keep you company for a quick----.”

CRASH!

She cringed and bolted out of the doors.