I awoke groggily, and rolled to my side, observing the bars of my crib.
So, it wasn't a dream. I really did reincarnate as Xavier Blackthorn.
I rolled to the other side, and saw Nina dosing in a chair.
This time, I managed to get a better look at her.
She was young, maybe in her early twenties, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
She was dressed in a black blazer, with a white blouse and a black pencil skirt.
Her hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, and she wore a pair of black pumps with stiletto heels, and her long legs were covered in black tights.
She looked more like a high-powered executive than a nanny.
I wondered why she hadn't changed into casual clothing, but then shrugged it off.
Honestly, I liked her prim and proper look, so I resolved to try my best not to make any messes for her to clean up. I'm pretty sure she'd appreciate the savings in the dry-cleaning bill.
I tried to sit up, but my muscles were still not developed enough to lift my own weight, so I rolled onto my stomach, and tried to push my self up.
That worked, and I managed to get into a crawling position.
I experimented crawling forward and backwards in the confines of the crib.
Looks like I can crawl. I crawled forward, grabbed the bars of the crib and tried to pull myself up.
Ugh! This is harder than I thought. I tried again, and managed to get to my feet.
I held onto the bars for support, and looked around. The crib walls were too high for me to climb out, but the crib itself was on the floor. Holding firmly on the bars, I tried to walk around the crib.
My legs felt like jelly. After a couple of steps, I flopped down, and resigned myself to crawling for now.
After a couple of rounds of crawling, my stomach was making it painfully obvious that I was hungry. Sorry Nina, I need to wake you up. I crawled to face her, and tried to call her name.
"Niaaa!" my immature vocal cords called out. Nina jerked awake and saw me.
"Hello, young master Xavier. Are you hungry?" she asked.
"Obviously!" I wanted to say, but all that came out of my mouth was a petulant "Ooo!"
Nina laughed, and picked me up. She carried me to a table with a high chair and sat me down.
She then fetched a bowl of some gooey mass that hardly looked appealing, used a spoon to scoop some of it and offered it to my mouth.
The food tasted warm, meaty, and actually quite nice.
My adult consciousness was equal parts mortified and appreciative.
I mean, I'm in a blue onesie being fed what seems to be puréed beef stew, but I'm being fed by a hot babe in a black suit.
I slurped the food as carefully as possible, trying my best not to soil Nina's blazer.
She seemed to appreciate the effort, and smiled at me.
"Good boy! I don't even have to clean you up!" she said, as she carefully wiped my mouth with a napkin.
"Well, it's because you're cute" I wanted to say, but "yuu-yuu" is what came out of my mouth.
Nina giggled, lifted me out of the high chair and set me down on the carpeted floor of the nursery.
I crawled around, exploring the nursery and the soft toys. Nina sat on the floor, watching me, as I crawled around. I crawled back to her, reached out and grabbed her tights.
She laughed, and gently removed my hands. "No, no, master Xavier. That's not a toy." she said, as she handed me a stuffed bear.
I gave her a glare, pushed the bear aside, and planted both my hands firmly on her knees.
"Stubborn are we?" she chuckled, as she let me feel the soft nylon. I explored the tights, feeling the texture and slowly moved down towards her feet.
"Oh, you like my shoes?" she asked, as I felt the leather of her pumps.
"No, no, that's not for you." She said picking me up before I could grab the sharp stiletto heel of her shoe.
Fine, if I can't play with your shoes, I'll play with your blazer, I decided and immediately grabbed her lapel. "Oh, you're a naughty boy!" she laughed, as I clutched onto her lapel. "Alright, come along" she said and carried me out of the nursery.
The clicking of Nina's heels and the rustling of her suit as she carried me around the house filled me with a sense of comfort.
Yeah, being carried around by a bombshell like Nina is the best!
We went down the grand staircase, and into a large sitting room. My father was sitting in a large leather armchair, reading a newspaper. He looked up as we entered, and he smiled.
Alright, he seems to be capable of emotions other than cold and hard. "Good morning Xavier. I trust you slept well?" he asked.
"Goo!" I replied, eliciting a chuckle from both him and Nina. He put down the paper and held out his arms to take me. Nina handed me over, and I reluctantly let go of her lapel.
My father settled me on his lap, and I looked up at him. His blue eyes were cold and hard, but there was a hint of warmth in them as he looked at me, before turning his attention to Nina.
"How are you settling in Nina?" he asked her as he gently bounced me up and down on his knee.
"Quite well, thank you sir. Xavier is very well-behaved, except for the fact that he seems to like playing with my clothes" she said, as she smoothed down her lapel.
"Good. Now, report on the staff performance and discipline" commanded my father.
"Of course, sir. The staff have been performing their duties satisfactorily, and there have been no incidents of insubordination or misconduct. However, I have noticed that some of the staff have been slacking off, and I have taken the necessary disciplinary measures to ensure that they do not repeat their mistakes" she said, her voice firm and professional, quite unlike the caring voice she used with me.
Lord Blackthorn nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent. And how have you been progressing with your skills?" he asked, his eyes sharp.
Nina blushed slightly, but answered: "I have been progressing, sir. I'm now quite proficient with the cane, but still not very accurate with the whip. And I'm now able to handle 10 cm heels for about an hour."
Lord Blackthorn nodded in approval. "Yes, I believe your progress is satisfactory. And your training agenda for today?" he asked.
"Whip practice for an hour, followed by deportment training, and then elocution practice" she replied blushing harder.
"Very well. Proceed, and report to me at the end of the day" he said.
Nina rose and left the room. My father turned his attention back to me. "Now, Xavier, let's go and do some work, shall we?" he said, as he stood up and carried me out of the room.
He carried me into what I presumed was his office, where Hans was sitting in a chair, and set me on the carpet. He then sat at his desk, and booted up a computer attached to a massive monitor and started working.
I busied myself by crawling around the office, savouring the rich smell of mahogany and leather.
My father seemed to be completely at ease with discussing the smashing of unions, ordering the use of both legal and even physical force to quell dissatisfied employees, and "inspecting" the outfits of certain female employees, all in my presence.
I was fascinated by his ruthlessness, and his ability to command respect and fear from his employees.
He and Hans occasionally took turns to play with me, as the day progressed, before I finally succumbed to sleep.