The Naked Butler
by
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The repeated, shrill buzz of the front doorbell startled Imelda out of her reverie. Quickly gathering her few dishes and putting them into the sink, Imelda smoothed her skirt and crisply starched white apron as she raced over the marble floor to answer the door. It was only Gilles, the Marshalls‘ chauffeur. He had dropped by with a copy of the International Herald Tribune and a fresh baguette for the still dozing butler‘s breakfast. Exchanging pleasantries in French, Gilles communicated to Imelda that the Marshalls would be away until the end of the month. He had been given time off to take his family on a brief vacation and would report for duty again on August 1st. "If you would like to take some compensatory time off," Gilles added "Mrs. Marshall suggested you discuss your plans with Martin on Monday morning."
As it was just 8:15 a.m., and Martin never rose before 9:00 in the Marshalls‘ absence, Imelda decided to start her workday by stripping the beds and dusting until the butler woke up and she could begin vacuuming the carpeted hallway. It was the only length of floor carpeting in the entire Venice Renaissance apartment and was at the very back of the flat, out of sight. Its only reason for being there at all was that the corridor it covered linked the three bedrooms with the kitchen and ended just short of a magnificent expanse of honey-hued marble. The thick woolen pile had been laid to cut down on noise and disguise Mr. Marshall‘s nightly raids on the icebox. The carpet absorbed heavy footsteps and the sound of clacking high heels so that others might have an undisturbed night‘s sleep. Not that sensible Mrs. Marshall would wear high heels herself anymore, but her daughter and occasional visitor, Rebecca, was known to. And, of course, Martin had a pair of disco-dancing shoes with taps that he proudly donned on special occasions, clicking across the resonant stone floors like Shirley Temple in a tantrum as he made his way out the front door and into the seductive Parisian night. But Martin was still asleep, poor dear, probably completely exhausted from another raving weekend in the clubs.
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About the Book
Come join Martin Spear's carousel world of sex, wealth and intrigue. As butler to both famous and infamous personalities, Martin's dizzying career carries him along at jet-set speed to jobs with haute bourgeois dilettantes to heiresses, to what ends up being his final post in Paris. Had he underestimated the secretive and suspicious nature of his last employer, American financier Philip Marshall?
In Martin's whirlwind life, hard work must be compensated with hard play in order for him to keep his sanity. His penchant for hunky dark men keeps him steadily on the prowl. Yet, he doesn't reckon with the outcome of his last sexual interlude. Not when he was well on his way to becoming independently wealthy through the exposure of some high-priced secrets...
About the Author
Mark di Frangia has had something of a merry-go-round life himself. After a two-decade career in international aviation and globe-trotting on his own account, he became a butler and served a variety of employers in that capacity throughout Europe. During a hiatus from catering to the whims of the rich and famous, he published his first book, an autobiography, entitled Answering the Siren's Call, in 2004. Since then, he has portrayed himself as a butler in two German television productions while giving this, his first novel, some finishing touches. You are invited to visit him at: www.markdifrangia.com