"Ms. Mandy, I am William Reginald, your personal butler." A gentleman in his early fifties, dressed in a dark suit, approached Mandy and introduced himself, reaching out to take her luggage just as she was about to hand her car keys to the resort valet. Overhearing him, Pam and Mary, who were heading to the front desk with their luggage to book their rooms, paused in their tracks.
Mandy swatted William's hand away from her luggage, staring intently at him before replying, "I don't recall hiring any butler services."
"It was Mr. Gregory Macoy. He has booked our most expensive lake cottage for a week, as a present for you and your family," William informed her politely, unfazed by Mandy's reaction. He quickly added, "He is waiting for you at the lake cottage's private dock."
"Greedy Greg? Isn't this present a bit too generous to be from someone like him?" Mandy asked skeptically, knowing Greg wouldn't do anything good for others without an agenda.
"Is there a problem, Mandy?" Pam asked, hearing the butler mention Greg's name. Without waiting for a reply, she turned to her nephew and instructed, "Ace, go fetch your uncle."
"Sister, I can handle this by myself," Mandy said, hurriedly signaling Ace to stop. But the latter ignored her and headed out of the resort's main gate, where Dan was waiting for him. They had planned this arrangement to avoid the hassle since they were towing a 27-foot-long boat trailer.
"I know you can, but just in case, it would be reassuring if your brother-in-law were present," Pam said, recalling the devastating downfall of Greg's competitors. She wasn't willing to take any chances, especially with her little sister locking horns with someone as tricky as Greg over Hank's auto salvage yard.
"Fine, whatever," Mandy replied, not wanting to waste her breath on Pam, knowing it would only lead to more drama. She turned to William and ordered, "Make arrangements to launch my brother-in-law's boat in the lake by the private dock you just mentioned while we wait."
"Right away, ma'am," William nodded, reaching for the walkie-talkie on his waist. He swiftly relayed Mandy's request.
"Mandy, are you sure about this?" Pam asked, concerned about Mandy accepting Greg's gift without knowing his true intentions.
"William, tell my sister about your resort's spa," Mandy said, deliberately ignoring Pam and signaling her to stop undermining her decisions and to let her do her business.
Understanding the cue, Pam fell silent, waiting quietly for her husband to arrive. Meanwhile, Mary fidgeted, unsure of what to do. She had little knowledge of what was going on and even if she did, she wasn't in a position to do much. She was a regular housewife; this was out of her depth.
"Madam, our resort offers world-class spa treatments. If you have any special requirements, please let me know, and I will do my best to accommodate them," William said, handing a pamphlet to Pam and Mary as a formality.
Soon after, a Lincoln Navigator towing a boat trailer stopped in the middle of the resort driveway. Ace and the party got out of the car while Dan gave William a wary glance before asking his wife, "What's the problem?"
Before Pam could answer, Mandy interjected, "Nothing. We're staying at a lake cottage. It comes with a private dock, so you can launch your boat there. Hand the keys to the butler; he'll take care of it."
"Great, that saves us a lot of trouble," Dan exclaimed, relieved since launching and retrieving boat from the lake was always a hassle. He handed the keys to William, adding, "Be careful."
"Rest assured, sir. Please give me a moment to make the arrangements," William replied sincerely before excusing himself to instruct a nearby valet. Then, he returned and led the group to an eight-seater golf cart, saying, "Let me show you to the lake cottage where you'll be staying."
"The lake cottage has five rooms, each with a view of the lake and the sunrise. It also features a large hot tub that can seat up to 12 people, along with other amenities, including a complimentary buffet for 10 people at each meal. My colleague and I will be available to assist you 24/7. As our VVIP guests, you also have free access to our water park. We also offer additional services such as renting small floating docks for parties, entertainment packages with DJs, bands, dancers, and chefs, and even a treasure hunt package that includes military-grade metal detectors," William explained as they drove toward the cottage.
"We won't need all that; we're here for crabbing," Dan announced, losing patience as the boat trip was not turning out as planned.
"Sir, I'm afraid that's not possible—" William began to explain, but Dan interrupted him.
"Don't worry, I have a license. I'm a regular on this lake," Dan insisted.
"Sir, we also provide fishing licenses to our customers, but that's not the issue. The concern is the weather. Our resort's meteorologist predicts rain in the coming evenings," William clarified, causing Dan and Alwin's expressions to freeze.
"No way! The forecast didn't mention rain when I checked earlier. It only said the nights would be cloudy," Alwin immediately argued.
"Sir, did you check the weather specifically for the lake? Online forecasts usually cover the town, but our meteorologist's predictions are specifically for this area of the lake," William explained.
"So, we won't be spending our nights on the boat?" Danny asked, his interest in crabbing waning after hearing the long list of resort services, not that he had any to begin with.
"Shut up," Dan snapped at Danny, misplacing his frustration, only for the latter to argue under his breath, "It's not my fault it's going to rain." With his mother around, Danny had become slightly bolder.
Meanwhile, Ace was busy sharing his senses with Dame Wasp to use her cybernetics to scan the resort for any curse activity. As the only curse user in the family, it was his responsibility to ensure his family avoided any unexpected encounter with the 'World of Curses.'