Life Of An Errand Boy

"Lady Elizabeth," The errand boy Clement got the Eldren's attention, and after a slight bow continued. "Sung, Miss Lavigne and Mr. Cronk have left.

"Thank you, Clement." Elizabeth said. "Clement, how is your family? Your mother, especially."

"Ma mère is no better and no worse. She says that everyday. My sister's are doing fine, They are taking care of mother most days." Clement responded.

Elizabeth did worry about the young boy and his family. His mother had been sick for a long time, his sisters were quite young and they had no one. Unknown to anyone, Elizabeth had offered for them to stay with her but the mother was too proud for that. Still, Elizabeth did what she could, without it looking like charity.

"Very good. Are you going on errands soon?" Elizabeth inquired.

"Yes, Lady Elizabeth. Very soon." The boy answered.

"Have Harold give you a little extra. Please go to the tea shop. They should have some oolong on hold for me. Also, pick up some high quality coffee - have the servants tell you what kind." Elizabeth said. "With the way the good doctor drinks it. We might have to start doubling our supply."

"Yes, Lady Elizabeth." Clement said.

"That was all, Clement, thank you." Elizabeth said, and watched Clement take off towards the house, before continuing on her walk.

A few minutes later, Clement stepped outside the front door and into the sunlight warming up the morning air. He carried no money as, everywhere he was sent on an errand the Ellington's had bills of credit.

Clement moved with speed and air, only a 12 year boy could who, in his mind, had an important job to attend to. He enjoyed working for Lady Elizabeth. She was nice to him and all the servants. Unlike stories he had heard about some other household.

Add to that the interesting cast of characters that had found their way to the Lady's home. Mr. Sung, well, Clement had known Mr. Sung since the boy first started working for the Ellingtons, about two years ago. He knew that, most of the time, were Lady Elizabeth's went so did Mr. Sung. At first, he didn't understand the man's role. He was but wasn't a servant. Clement now knew that Mr. Sung was like family to the Ellingtons. He was Elizabeth's guardian and teacher, but Elizabeth was in charge of those at her house. So, maybe the boy still didn't understand completely. But he liked Mr. Sung, respected him, and knew not to get on the man's bad side. (Clement was wise beyond his years.)

As for the new arrivals, there was Miss Ipsum. Lorem was her first name. Clement had snuck into her lab when she wasn't there. He hadn’t dared touch anything but was amazed at all the gadgets, gears and parts and wondered what they all did.

Cronk seemed to like the Gnome engineer a lot. Clement didn't know much about it, but it seemed obvious. Cronk was big, and Clement might have been scared of him but he seemed nice. Maybe not too bright? He seemed, to Clement, like a child, at times. A child that could crush most men with one hand. It made for an odd and interesting combination. Clement hadn’t spent much time around Orcs before.

Neither had he spent much time around those like Vor'Aster. Arundans. Clement had been to some of their festivals, but being that had been his only exposure to them, the boy had never thought that they would like having their noses in books, a lot but Vor'Aster did. Clement wondered if it was true about them returning to the sea at 100.

His mind wandered to Mr. Dumont. He didn't really know what to make of the man. He was nice, but all the new arrivals had been fairly pleasant towards the staff. Clearly he had skills in something. He was a fellow countryman, and in a house run by a Brit, that mattered to the French boy.

The other countryman, or more like woman, Miss Lagrave. Clement knew her name was Sasha but he found her mask a little intimidating. He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to find out about someone who, he figured, was hiding a big secret.

Miss Lavigne, he hadn’t quite gotten her first name. Even the boy could tell she had the air of society without being stuffy. Elizabeth wasn't stuffy but she was extremely proper. Lily just came across as proper but maybe a little less set in it.

That left Doctor Jackal. Clement also had no idea of the good doctor's first name. The man was certainly dedicated to his work and coffee or so it seemed. Clement had no idea what the man was working on in his lab, and really didn't want to know

Clement turned the corner, and arrived at the first store.

***
Dr. Lamaire sat in a steam cab outside of Lady Elizabeth's house. After some investigation, he had managed to find out about an odd collection of individuals gathered at the young woman's home. One of whom was an Orc. So, he had waited to see who was spotted entering or leaving the premises.

The doctor had gotten there after Lily, Sung and Cronk had left so he had missed them. He sat there for a while with nothing happening, and was about to give up when a young boy ventured out from the house and onto the street.

"Follow him," Lamaire said, and handed the man some extra compensation.

"Oui Monsieur," the cab driver, proceeded to do as requested.