He Came With the House

By Donna, Abby and Toni

With Montoya gone and the Hacienda in Duende's possession, it was necessary to get things in order before Dolores became the official lady of the house. To this end, she and Imogene had been discussing various things while getting dressed the next morning when suddenly an unearthly yell was heard from the direction of her fiancé’s bedroom. The two women looked at each other with wide eyes, then Dolores, never afraid to defend herself, grabbed her sword from its corner of the closet and went rushing down to Duende's room, closely followed by Imogene.

When they got there, they saw Duende holding his robe over his body, eyes wide open while he yelled angrily.  Standing not far off, Carlos grinned silently, his own eyes curious and innocent.

"Get out of me room!" the Scotsman shouted at the top of his lungs. “Don't ye dare come into my private chambers unless you have been called for, you crazy fool!”  He had been having a very pleasant dream about his intended, and had opened his eyes to find Carlos staring down at him.

"But eet time to get up," said Carlos, his face falling.  "I am supposed to get you up!"  Tears were already welling in his eyes.

At the sight of the scene before her, Dolores handed the sword to Imogene, who hastily put it down in a corner of the room, and came over to the manservant, touching his shoulder in comfort and smiling, "It's all right; Senor Duende didn't mean to yell at you. He was just...startled, is all. Isn't that right, beloved?" She looked at her fiancé with eyes that said he'd better think of something to make the poor man feel better. After all, he'd only been trying to help!

"Just knock next time," he said gruffly as he tried to maneuver into his robe without revealing too much of himself. "You’re just very lucky I didn't grab my sword when I woke up to find you leaning over me!"

"S-s-s-word?"  Carlos turned to Dolores, whom he now knew to be sympathetic, and pleaded, "I was jes doin' my yob!  Aren't I supposed to do my yob?  Montoya told me to get his underthings ready every morning at eight.  Here dey are," he pointed to Duende's underwear in his hands.

Dolores both blushed and smiled in amusement, and told Carlos, "Well, Senor Duende might have a different set of rules concerning his awakening. We'll have to sort those out and make clear to you what your duties are concerning your new master. But for now, why don't you come with me, and I'll make you some tea and something to eat?" She could hear the man's stomach growling, as he'd forsaken even his own breakfast to come and wake Duende as he was supposed to, in his mind.

"Thanks," Duende said, grabbing his underthings from Carlos' hands before Dolores had a chance to, mumbling under his breath about inheriting the pets along with the house. "Go get some food into you, Carlos. I'll be down in a bit and we’ll sort out what I want you to do for me."

As she, Imogene and Carlos turned to leave the room, Dolores looked at the underwear Duende had grabbed from the manservant's hands, and raised an eyebrow with a clearly appraising look and smile. Then she turned back and went with the others down the stairs.

Down in the kitchen, Dolores actually did help Imogene get the servant tea.  He just looked so lost and child-like.  What would they do with him? Clearly, Duende did not want to have a "hands-on" manservant.  But also clearly, they could not throw the poor creature out.  She was far too maternal for that!  It was inappropriate for him to serve *her*, and besides, she already had a maidservant.

Imogene was bustling around in the kitchen, getting things ready for breakfast. "Carlos," she said as she whisked up the eggs. "Will you help me with Master Duende's laundry later on today? You do a wonderful job of making sure it is pressed just right!"

"Oh, jess.  I will do it.  I will put them away, too, so I know where everything is!"

Dolores, seeing he hadn't understood what Duende wanted and needed, told him gently, "Carlos, that won't be necessary; I think Senor Duende would rather dress himself. Don't forget, he's a different man than your former master, we must consider those things." She hoped he wouldn't be hurt.

"But I could lay the clothes out?" he asked, lip quivering.  He was looking very frightened that he would not be needed.

"You can lay them out," Duende said as he entered the kitchen, fully dressed, his long hair pulled back into a tightly wrapped bun of sorts. "Just do it in the dressing room, not the bedroom." He reached out and ruffled Carlos' hair. "Look kid, I know you are just trying to be helpful, but I'm serious about you not sneaking into the room while I'm asleep. I've been a warrior for a long time now, and sometimes I react first, and think later. Understand? I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Carlos definitely does not want to get hert!" said the young man.  "I will put out the clothes, then go get breakfast!"  He grinned, getting up and knocking over the tray of tea things Dolores had just put on the table next to him.  Of course, the hot water went right for Duende's legs, but Dolores reminded him, gently, of course, that it would not hurt for long.

Duende rolled his eyes, biting his lip to keep from yelling at Carlos again, even though at the moment, he was severely tempted to strangle him. "Isn't today when we were supposed to go talk with the priest about the wedding?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Dolores was proud of his restraint, and smiled, "Yes, my love, it was." Turning to Carlos, she continued, "While Senor Duende and I are gone, Carlos, I want you to listen to Imogene. She will instruct you on the way things should be run in your new household."

"I'm sure he will be very helpful, won't you Carlos?" Imogene said sweetly. She already had a feeling that she had better keep him away from anything breakable.

Carlos, looking uncertain, nodded at her, and then went about cleaning up the mess he had made. He was actually not bad, once he was left to it!