Lady Ann's Holiday: Chapter Twenty Nine - Part Three

5

Burt didn’t get a chance to reach the house until lunch time and spent the morning instead, continuing to dig the drainage ditch in the field: hard man’s work for his muscular body; just a simple task for his limited intellect.

The same as every other day, he was called up to eat and he, Jeb and Harry tucked in to the scrappy food laid out for them by Cook. It was tasty but a bit stringy – the worst quality and cheapest meat possible. Being outdoor servants, they hardly mattered after all.

After they’d eaten, the three men started to depart but Cook called Burt to wait. “I want some elp moving things and a big brawny lad like you’ll do the trick nicely,” she said.

Burt shrugged at Harry and Jeb and watched them head back toward the stables, wondering if this might present him with a chance. “What do ye want doin?”

“Ere,” said Cook. “Shift these crates of me into yon shed. They’re nothing but clutter round ere and I don’t want em under me feet no more.”

Burt hefted the crates two at a time and carried them across to the shed being careful not to drop them. As he worked he kept eyeing the house. There was only so long he could hope to keep hold of his memories and he’d already found his mind wandering that morning, thinking in terms of his lifelong memories of being a man. More than once he’d considered some incident from his past or his imagined future as if that destiny really belonged to him and the shock of it rattled him deeply. He had to act today or it was surely going to be too late.

He noticed that Cook didn’t always stay in the kitchen. If he was going to brave going inside then she was the first obstacle. At least he could tell where she was through the window and make a call on when was the best time to make a go of it. The real danger was when he was inside. Turning any bend and seeing someone might suddenly expose his infiltration and that could mean any kind of punishment; possibly even being sacked from his position!

He couldn’t imagine a worse fate than that. He loved his job here doing laboring and such. He was no fool. He knew he was lucky to have a good service job with his wits.

He fretted, unsure what to do. It wasn’t right, the likes of him going indoors, he knew that. His old da had drummed that into him enough times before he got his job here. Maybe he should just go back down to the fields and get on with his digging… But when would he get a better chance than this? And what if he forgot again, got trapped in this life forever?

No. It had to be now and to Hell with the consequences.

He waited until he saw Cook disappear into the pantry then moved quickly, hurrying to the back door. He hesitated on the step, every instinct telling him not to proceed. It was wrong of him to go inside. He could get in a lot of trouble. He was far too filthy and uncouth to be seen in there.

Ignoring that, he stepped over the threshold and moved quickly to the kitchen doorway, keeping one eye on the cook’s back in the pantry. She didn’t see him and with a quick glance into the corridor, he pushed on.

There was no one in the lower corridor and the way was clear to the back stairs. That was a relief. If he’d had to use the main staircase he never would have made it unseen, but up the servant’s route it was possible. He just prayed he wouldn’t run into one of the indoor staff.

Getting up to the first floor was clear but as he reached it he heard footsteps on the staircase above him coming down from the servant’s quarters. Panicking, Burt peeped round the corner onto the landing. There was no one there but he couldn’t be sure whoever was coming downstairs would keep on down. If they were headed for the first floor he was cornered.

Worse, he didn’t know exactly which room was her ladyship’s. Even though he knew he had started life as Ann, his former memories were overwhelmed with Burt ones. His low intellect made it worse and as a result, all he had to go on was the rough location of the room, at the front of the house, to the left of the front door.

The footsteps were almost in view. He had to move now!

Burt rushed along the landing, keeping close to the wall in case anyone was in the hall below and saw him through the banister. He got to the first door and gripped the handle.

There was no more time. The footsteps were almost upon him.

Without another moment’s hesitation he opened that random door and stepped through, closing it behind him, breathing heavily, relieved that he’d got clear in time.

Then he heard something that made his heart stop.

A woman’s voice.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing in here?”

Burt turned slowly, already knowing who had addressed him from the sound of her tone but not wanting to make it real by actually seeing her.

There she was, just as he had know, leaning into an armchair, her legs crossed, a book open on her lap.

Lady Harriet. Lady Ann’s— his former little sister. And she was glaring at him in surprise and disgust as though she might at any moment expose his dirty intrustion.

6

Burt didn’t move.

Hattie didn’t move either. She just stared at him. Then finally she said, “Well? Speak up? What do you think you’re doing inside the house?”

Burt’s mind whirled, his face colouring. He knew that as Lady Ann, he had had every right to be there – she’d lived in that house; Hattie was her younger sister – but those days were long gone. Now all he was was the dirty stable hand, Burt Harper, with no right to be there at all. He was only an outdoor servant. Coming inside the manor house was a grossly inappropriate abuse of the Neville family’s trust. It didn’t matter how much he knew that he used to be Lady Ann. Overruling that completely now was the fact that he was Burt. As annoyed as Lady Harriet was for his intrusion, he condemned himself ten times more. He knew he wasn’t good enough to be in here. He had never done anything so wrong in all his born days.

“How dare you,” said Hattie. “How dare you come in here!? Explain yourself!”

Burt thought of the pendant, probably only a couple of dozen yards away from where he was standing; but it didn’t matter how close it was. He didn’t have it. And even if he did, what could he do with it?

“Don’t ignore me,” snapped Hattie. “What are you doing in here?”

“I’m sorry m’lady,” blurted Burt, blushing brighter. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. I came in the wrong door.”

He pulled open the door, glanced at her shocked face one more time, then rushed out.

“Wait a min—”

He snapped the door shut and looked both ways desperately then he hurried off down the landing and turned down a side corridor, moving as fast as he could.

Somewhere behind him he heard a door open but he was well out of sight of it now. She couldn’t see him.

He coerced his thoughts, trying to order them, to work out where Lady Ann’s bedroom could be. He knew it was at the front of the house and he was on the right side of the building he thought, but he couldn’t risk running into anyone else. Especially the Earl! Imagine the horror of the Earl finding out he was in the house. He could only pray that Lady Harriet wouldn’t tell him.

Was Lady Harriet coming after him? He didn’t know! He had to move as fast as he possibly could!

Oh how he wished he hadn’t kept telling himself he was Burt – hadn’t drunk that potion! He should have been able to remember where his former bedroom was but he had no idea!

He gingerly tried another door, terrified the room would be occupied, but it wasn’t. However it wasn’t the right room either.

He went to the next door and reached for the handle, then froze. A man’s voice was speaking on the other side. He backed away fearfully. It was the Earl himself!

He hurried down the corridor until he reached the door at the end. It had to be this one. If it wasn’t it meant backtracking and almost certain exposure if Lady Harriet were still on the prowl. He prayed to God he had it right then he turned the handle and pushed inside.

It was a bedroom; a woman’s bedroom. He had it right, he was sure of it! But as he gaped round at the furnishings his heart fell further – not because it wasn’t Lady Ann’s room – it was – but because he recognized nothing. He was meant to be Lady Ann and he had no memories of this place. It only underscored the desperation of his predicament – how fully he had transformed into his new life.

He got another burst of self-judgment, condemning his unlawful intrusion into this lady’s bedroom followed by an ugly and incongruous pleasure that he was seeing the secret chamber of the woman he idolized so deeply. It didn’t matter that for now he remembered that he used to be Lady Ann. Every particle of who he was was still in love with her as though she were a goddess.

Anxious, Burt moved quickly, looking for the pendant. He checked under the bed and in the chest of drawers, pausing when he saw the underwear of his sweet lady. With a guilty look behind him at the crack in the bedroom door, he lifted a pair of silk panties to his face and gave them a long sniff. They smelled of flowers and Burt’s heart swelled, his cock shifting pleasantly in his trousers. The fabric brushed against his moustache though and all that did was underscore the masculinity he was trapped in; made him drop them back, leaving the drawers open and disorganized.

He had to find where…

There!

The dressing table. He hurried across to it and pulled at the top drawer. It was locked! The other drawers opened but didn’t contain anything of note. It had to be there in the top one!

He pulled at the handle harder but it wouldn’t budge.

Any minute now, Lady Harriet might alert the household to his presence. He had to find the pendant then slip out of there before that happened!

He crouched, looking at the lock. It was delicate and mostly ornamental, not designed to keep out any real attempt to force entrance. Feeling awful, he gripped the handle again, tighter this time, then he pulled as hard as he could. With a click the drawer came open and Burt sighed with relief.

The bundle he’d seen Powell, the butler, carrying was there! It was within his grasp!

He snatched it out, unraveling the cloth and finally he saw it. There it was! The pendant! In his power again at last!

With the bundle of cloth in his left hand he reached for the pendant with his right fingers and hesitating only for a second, he touched the strange engraved material it was made from, feeling suddenly terribly afraid for some reason.

His eyes gaped wide.

And then instantly his world turned white as its esoteric power overwhelmed him.