This was a recommendation from a fan (who didn't leave a name) and I really liked the idea. We have all heard about the "Decadent Rich" and how that money and power corrupts. In this case though, it's the butler doing the corrupting because he wants his new employers to be proper upper class decadents. A good servant always takes care of his master after all.
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CHAPTER ONE
AT THE FRONT DOOR OF #17 ROSEWOOD LANE
Mr. John Parks smiled and extended his hand to the man opening the door. "Hello. I'm John, pleased to meet you."
The older man dressed in an immaculate butler's tuxedo looked at the hand with a slight frown. He made a slight cough and said "Sir, it is not proper to shake the hand of one's butler and if you don't mind I prefer to be proper. This is Rosewood Lane after all and standards need to be kept."
John's smile slipped a bit. He glanced at the butler hoping he would break into a smile and announce he was only kidding but the butler merely returned his stare. After a few moments John lowered his hand and said "Well, if you insist. I'm very down to earth as you will find out and I hope that isn't going to be a problem."
The butler gave a brief smile and then clapped once. A doorman showed up and quickly went out to begin taking in the luggage from the SUV parked in front of the large Mansion. John gaped a bit as he walked inside and missed the frown as the butler looked at the SUV and the slight shake of his head.
John had been just an average middle class Joe until about 3 weeks ago. On a whim, he had purchased a lottery ticket for a Powerball drawing. He had joked with his wife Mary that he would get some beginner's luck and maybe win.
He had won.
Not only did he win, he won a world record Powerball drawing of over 1.2 billion dollars and was the SOLE winner. Overnight he was wealthy and famous and the next few weeks were dizzying. He had put his money into various accounts using his personal investment broker who had been working with him for nearly twenty years. He had it all set up and would live like a king on the interest. His yearly take home was between 45 and 55 million dollars after it was all set up.
He had beaten off hordes of cons and scams, and had dealt only with people he trusted and was now set. He, his wife Mary, and his son Jimmy and daughter Veronica had then taken a big vacation to Hawaii for two weeks staying at the best suite on the beach in Honolulu and came back to move into Rosewood Lane. Rosewood Lane was the oldest, most exclusive place in their home city and was solid old money back to colonial times. Families lived here who had ties back to noble families in Europe, early movers and shakers in colonial times, and even during the Gilded Age some of the more notorious Robber Industrial Barons had lived here.
John hadn't been sure he could even get in to the place. Money talked, but Rosewood Lane required more than just talk. He had to fit in. He had actually interviewed with some of the others living on the Lane and had apparently impressed them enough to allow the sale. While they technically had no say as the lot was up for sale due to the family owning it dying out, John had gotten some understanding about how old money and influence worked. He quickly figured out that they could block the deal if he didn't make a good impression. He apparently had, but the oddest thing was that the last meeting he had with the HOA for the Lane he had been told that he should hire a certain serving staff.
The lady in charge of the HOA (A Ms. Jones, who didn't live there but was a full time employee hired to make sure standards were kept up) had simply stated that this serving staff was an excellent choice for "new money".
"The Butler has decades of experience in his job of being a gentleman's gentleman. He can certainly assist you in the numerous pitfalls of the new social scene. His choices of staff are always spot on and simply put you can't go wrong if you listen to him." Ms. Jones had said with a sniff. John had agreed and the next day papers that should have taken a week to finish were ready to sign.
John heard his family making various "oohs" and "ahhs" as they followed him inside. He had kept this a secret until they got back from their vacation and he heard his daughter talking into her cell phone to her best friend Elizabeth. "Holy cow Lizzie! You should see this place! The front hall is bigger than our old house! Yeah! Oh man you have got to come over this weekend!" It trailed off as she took a left into the sitting room.
Jimmy took a right into the library John heard him move via the creaking towards the windows looking into the side garden. Mary came up beside him and took his hand. "Oh honey, this is so amazing! We are so blessed!"
"I love you dear." John said simply and they kissed. John broke off when he heard a slight cough and looked over at the butler who had a slight disapproving look to his face. John arched an eyebrow and the Butler, a Mr. Lucas McTavish, simply said "Sir, public displays of affection are not proper. One should do that in a more, private, location."
John stared at him and Mary snickered. John turned to her and she said "Well, we are now in a higher class so maybe we should listen. We do need to fit in after all." John sighed and nodded. "I suppose. Very well Mr. McTavish, noted. Now would you be so kind as to give us a full tour?"
"Of course sir. If you could have your children come here I will explain the house and its layout. If you would like I can also explain some of the etiquette that goes with it."
"Wonderful idea. Please do so. Jimmy! Veronica! Come here!" John called out and immediately regretted it as the butler winced and frowned again. "This could be a painful experience if he keeps that up." John thought.
The butler waited until the two children arrived and then began the tour. It ended up taking nearly 3 hours as Mr. McTavish was a stickler for details. He showed them every room, and gave them tips on how each room fit into the scheme of society. John found it quiet fascinating and his family seemed to be very interested as well. The butler also introduced the serving staff, which was quite large, and John was amazed to discover that his family each had their own servant. He and Jimmy had a personal butler, and Mary and Veronica each had a maid.
John did notice that most of the staff were quiet young, early twenties, and attractive. He made a mental note to ask about that as it seemed that the overall level of experience was very low. But everyone seemed to know exactly what their task was and seemed to have a very good grasp on their job.