Nanowrimo 2020 - Day 3 Word Count and Favorite Bit (Patreon)

Today I added 2,677 words to Match.God, making my current total word count to 7,066! 

Eventually, the car stopped at the top of a large hill. Hannah and Lindiwe stared out of the back windows at the large Baroque mansion. Golden lion statues sat on either side of wide, white stone steps. The large, red-painted double doors opened up as the driver put the car in park, and a reedy, older gentleman in a waistcoat stepped out to greet them.

The next few minutes passed by in a blur as Hannah and Lindiwe were hurried out of the car and deposited in front of Mr. Waistcoat with their things. Once the deed was done and the driver was already pulling off without them, Hannah realized that she was already forgetting what the man looked like. True she hadn’t paid all that much time with him – and most of that time had been spent looking at the back of his head – but she couldn’t even tell you what his hair color was. That…that was odd, right?

Maybe she had more brain fog than she’d wanted to admit.

“Good afternoon,” the man in the waistcoat said, pulling Hannah’s attention away from her own thoughts. He had the faintest of Italian accents, but it was more than Hannah could have said about the driver…not that she could say much about him at all at this juncture. “My name is Giotto Amoretto, steward of this estate and vineyard. I’m afraid the mistress is unable to join us at this point, as she has many things yet to prepare for the ceremony, but she has tasked me with making you feel welcomed. Might I have your names, so that I may assure her that all of her clients arrived safely?”

“I’m Lindiwe,” Lindiwe said, plucking at her skirt in the vaguest attempt at a curtsey. “Lindiwe Jones.”

“Welcome, Ms. Jones,” Giotto said with a nod. He turned his eyes to Hannah, who felt like squirming under his discerning grey gaze. “And would that make you Ha-yun Kim?”

“Hannah,” she corrected. “But yeah. That’s me.”

“Excellent,” Giotto said, his tone brisk. “I shall let the mistress know you arrived safely. In the mean time, if you would follow me, we shall get you settled in your rooms.”

The man turned with the click of his heels. Hannah snatched her bags up from the ground and practically ran up the stairs after him. “Um, excuse me!”

Giotto stopped, turning on a dime to face Hannah. She flinched at his sudden movements, barely regaining her balance before she fell down the steps. “Yes?”

“Um. Will we be seeing the uh…mistress… before we meet the people she’s matched us with?” Hannah asked nervously.

“Yes,” Giotto confirmed. “She will return the day before.”

That didn’t give Hannah a lot of time, but she’d take it.