Reading a book quietly was absolutely out of the question.
He pandered for coffee, his parents forbid it.
The lordling wanted something and he usually got it, Eliyah looked for assistance from their servants but there were none.
She mentally ascribed to berate his father for having none but resisted the urge to immediately start writing a very strong worded letter.
Had she had all the resources of the Blake family at her disposal she may have been able to summon the help required, but as it were, Eliyah was by herself on this mission.
Tobuscus found humour in causing mischief, having been warned by his parents to not upset Eliyah, he made a few harmless pranks.
Such as producing flatulence in her presence, beckoning her to open a window, yet standing between her and the damned thing.
Patience was essential, she told herself.
His parents would be back soon enough, it wasn’t a one-day affair though.

The first day, he requested she dress him, to which she refused and said, “You’re old enough to dress yourself.”
On the second day, he demanded breakfast, her reply was short and sweet, “You are old enough to prepare breakfast.”
The third day was rather tame.
Tobuscus was tired from staying up all night the previous day, and as a result, slept till well afternoon.
The abhorrent child poured a bucket of water on Eliyah on the fourth day, who luckily had a second pair of clothes to change into.
Given their turbulent history, she thought of many different ways to pass the time with him.
Cooking a roast of pheasant for the young man proved fruitful, he relished the savoury dish and ate with few manners, which was enough to dissuade Eliyah from attempting this sort of work again.
There was no point in half measures, and resignation at this point would render her paycheque null.
She persuaded him to go for a walk one day, he seemed psychopathically lenient and courteous in public, however.
He may have been chided or disciplined in that regard perhaps.

They went to the market and he thumbed his nose at other noble children, Eliyah watched their disdain with varying levels of sympathy.
Someone was going to throw a tomato at him, but being deft as she was perceptive she stopped herself from doing so and crushed it in her hand, passing comment that the fruit had passed its prime.
If only being a nanny was easier, she would probably be able to sit down and relax, but no, he kept Eliyah on her toes with his shenanigans.
Resolving to at least vent her frustrations healthily, Eliyah grabbed the closest pillow and screamed into it, as healthy as that may be.
it only really amused him before he sat down for brunch.
Eliyah pragmatically supposed she could always fatten him so women wouldn’t like him when he was older.
He seemed to enjoy her cooking and hid his vegetables in his pockets, she presumed it was so that he could eat them later.
She however found them still there when washing his clothes, perturbing her further this pushed her to almost give up.
“Young Master Tobuscus, please eat your vegetables; or dispose of them thoroughly, before offering your clothes to be cleaned.”
His reply was not in so many words but the gestures held to the reasonable sort of sense that she expected of him.

In her infrequent spare time, she penned missives to his parents to tell them how perfectly spoilt he was, figuring she would be paid regardless.
The earnest fashion in which she plotted to make his life miserable post departure was almost cruel.
With words as earnest as her queries about his prospects, she relayed to his parents; who were still on holiday, how absolutely in need of more time they must be.
Sending the letter by magical transportation rather than any bird that could be intercepted Eliyah spent the remainder of her time pondering how exactly to manage the young noble’s day to day life.
From withholding allowances to drinking his parent’s coffee, she was being somewhat of a nuisance herself she realised.
Forgiving him for his umpteenth slip of eloquence, his lisp was at least better than a slur, but his profanity was something she couldn’t remedy without failing the mission.
Parameters being that he was not to be harmed or injured in any way, the job posting was awfully specific regarding these sorts of things.
Pensively she tried to teach him to write cursively, but after an incident where her hair happened to become a shade darker because of a thrown inkwell, Eliyah cried and ran off.
He was worse than imperfect, Tobuscus was asinine to tempt her wrath.
She was; after all, a lady of the Blake family, and she did not fear losing prestige over punishing his delinquency.

Eliyah’s words were few, her anger waxing to a penultimate when she refused to cook or clean for him.
She was his babysitter, not his scullery maid; she was not a servant, however much he made her out to be.
Tobuscus’ mess soon swelled to the point that flies were attracted to the home, the dishes stacked as high as Eliyah could fathom.
The lawn required a trim, the house plants; died, the candles around the home were growing dim, and still, Tobuscus sat on his bottom and lied.
After the third time, he said that his parents would be furious with her, Eliyah did not relent in showing him the manuscripts of their wonderful time spent away from him.
This unnerved him.
The correspondences between Eliyah and his parents were brief, but they assured her that the last time they had gone away, they had to burn their house down and move.
This; the mess, was the least of their worries, they earnestly apologised for their son’s behaviour and Eliyah sensed a touch of respect for her family in the amount of fear that was the Yul they paid her for being there regardless.
When they did eventually return, they thanked Eliyah; for her time, and suggested it had been much worse the last time.
This in some way did not surprise her, she accepted payment and departed promptly.
Waving to them as she boarded her carriage, she angrily narrowed her eyes when the driver asked where she wanted to go, showing as little patience for foolery as possible.
The shadowy content of the carriage became that much darker and she roared at him to get a move on.
Knowing very damn well who she was and where she was going, he quickly worked the horses into a frenzy in his haste to do as he was bidden.

Upon returning home, Eliyah contacted a renowned hairdresser and alchemist, to absolve the matter of the water-based ink permanently staining her hair.
A servant notified her that a tidy sum of Yul had been placed on the premises by The lord and Lady of Tobuscus’ manor, in retrospect Eliyah probably should have had perused the letter but she found she had little time for such things.
Cozying up by the fireplace with a red wine, she began reading over a novel that was about trivial things like fairytales where ignorant peasants were punished for their hubris.
It was a comfortable night, the pine wood crackling; pleasantly aromatic, and her bed was fitted with fresh linen.
There had to be easier ways to make Yul, and she had a new found respect for her family who were distinctively well off doing just that.

Word Count: 1,270