Spy

"Errr…" was the only thing that could come out of Priscilla's mouth to match her stunned expression.

The lady scoffed and shoved her aside and entered the house and went to find Richard. "Richard! Richard!" she called out.

On the other hand, Richard heard the voices and assumed it was the visitor and Priscilla. Who could it be? He didn't have visitors very often so who could it be? Since the person was coming to the dining, he assumed it must Priscilla.

"Oh, by the way, next time you want to cook…"

"She cooked?" the lady dropped her bags and put her arms to her side in an annoyed manner.

Richard raised an eyebrow at her. "Lilly, what are you doing here?"

"What's she doing here?" she asked with a blank face, gesturing to Priscilla who was now standing a few metres behind her.

"She's my guest, be nice." He said, "And yes she cooks!"

Lilly smirked. "So you replaced me already huh? Is the food really that great? News flash, I'm not leaving this house for her."

Richard threw an apologetic look at Priscilla and explained. "I'm sorry for this. This is Lilly my cook and very good friend and Lilly, this is Priscilla my friend as well."

Lilly whiplashed at the lady and asked, "did you sleep here?"

"She did, now answer my question. Why are you back so soon? You were not due till Monday."

Lilly nodded, "true but I moved things up a bit. You know how it is."

"Your friend is very… energetic!" was all Priscilla could say to avoid standing there like a mummy. She felt like an intruder. Now she understood what she meant by being replaced; she thought she was the new cook!

"Very," Richard agreed then turned to Lilly. "Still, you should've called."

Lilly tilted her head to the side and asked in a low voice, "Did I interrupt something? Seeing that she slept over here, you guys might be… ahem… I can go back if you want."

Richard shook his head. "You're already here so get something done."

She nodded and turned to go but then turned again and asked in low whisper, "Did she sleep in my room? You know I don't share that space!"

"She didn't." he answered. Normally, he would have loved to toy with this zealous girl but today was different. Lilly was always like that, very bossy and though he was a trained soldier, he found that her comical displays were exactly what he needed to unwind.

Lilly nodded and turned to Priscilla, "apologies, he hasn't brought any girl to this house since forever and I've lived here with him since he moved so you can imagine my surprise seeing you here."

Priscilla nodded with a smile. "I won't stay for long though."

Lilly nodded and mouthed, 'see you around.'

After the girl left, Priscilla cocked her eyebrow at Richard. "She moved in the same time you moved in? I never saw you as someone who needed babysitting."

"She was hired by my mother and she makes sure I can't get rid of her… it's complicated."

Priscilla laughed a bit, "it is and I can see that. In other words, you're still a mama's boy."

Richard narrowed his eyes at her. "By the way, when next you want to 'cook', remember to 'cook' on your own and not order take out and then serve it on the same take out plates!"

"Busted!" Priscilla covered her face in shame, she didn't think he'd notice but he did anyway. "I told you I was a terrible cook or would you rather eat an abomination?"

"No thanks and since my cook is here, you won't go near my kitchen ever again." He emphasised and she smiled.

….

Lilly got to her room and put down her bag then sat on the bed with a big smile on her face. She took out her phone and dialled a number. "Hello, I've arrived at the house already and guess what I saw!"

The person on the other line paused then asked, "You get to see many things at my son's house so spill."

Lilly calmed down and replied, "He finally brought home a girl!"

Richard's mother squealed on the other end. "That's great news! Wait, how do you know it's not a fling?"

"Simple," Lilly said confidently. "Your son never had a fling before and this is the first lady he has brought to this house."

"That's good but keep an eye out for me and make sure this doesn't go wrong."

"It won't besides they've already slept together."

The older woman interpreted the 'slept together' in another way and hence, gasped in surprise, "send me her photos and everything, I need to know!"

Lilly smiled, "I will. So I guess I don't have to proceed with plan B?"

"Abort plan B till further notice and in case things don't work out for them." Richard's mother replied.

Lilly ended the call. Yes, she was in fact not just a cook but a spy sent by Richard's mother to keep an eye on her son. She is a very protective mother and didn't find it easy when her son joined the army.

She was almost shocked to death when she heard that he had almost died and was in a coma. Lilly had been with him ever since he moved out and she was much trained both in cooking and combat and had pretty good marksmanship as well.

Richard, of course, found out her role but there was nothing he could do so he allowed her to snoop around. She really enjoyed her job here. She didn't necessarily need to protect the Colonel since he was even better than her in combat and his skills were top notch but she did make excellent food.