Winston

Winston is a butler who worked for the Boulton Estate. He originally meets Maddie when she discovers him taking candlesticks from the mansion’s Maintenance Room.

He worked for Ursula’s brother Leonard until Charlie’s death.

Story[]

Maddie hears a noise coming from the maintenance room and uses a crowbar to open the door. Inside she finds a gentleman dressed in a butler’s outfit. Neither of them recognize each other and the Butler challenges Maddie. Maddie asks the gentleman why he was stealing candlesticks from her family house and the Butler, who introduces himself as Winston, tells her that he was a butler to the Boulton family, and that more specifically it was to a Leonard Boulton and he was under his instruction to take the candlesticks. Maddie has never heard of a Leonard Boulton and the Butler informs her he’s the last remaining Boulton heir to which Maddie forcefully informs him she will find Grandma Ursula to settle the matter once and for all. Maddie finds Grandma and informs him of the candlesticks. She is about to give Winston’s name when the two instantly recognize each other, completely shocking Maddie. Winston tells Ursula he thought she was dead and Maddie inquires more about Leonard Boulton. Ursula informs her she has a brother, as Maddie has only known about Grandma’s sister Deb.

Maddie wants to call the police but Winston informs her that might be a bad idea following Ursula’s recent arrest. Maddie presses him wanting to know how he could know about the arrest but not whether she was alive. Winston then tries to make a ruse in order to escape but it doesn’t work and Ursula wants to know what all he has taken. Winston tells her Leonard has requested his assistance several times over the years to help collect various knick-knacks. Maddie is more than upset but Ursula states that this behavior just wasn’t like him, and that he was always so gentle and nice. She goes on to talk about how much they loved him as his dad was their dad’s butler before passing the torch to Winston. She tries putting him on a guilt trip, saying to just imagine what their dads would think, knowing that he’d robbed them like that.

Winston feels remorseful and tells her that Leonard has been blackmailing him for many, many years, and that after he lost his job and Leonard caught him talking something for himself, Leonard kept it a secret, but only if Winston agreed to steal things for him from the estate. Grandma informs Maddie that her brother Leonard had a gambling problem and didn’t know when to stop, and this was one reason he received money when their parents died, rather than a part of the estate. They didn't trust him, and rightfully so. Leonard quickly lost all the money. Winston tells them they can call the authorities if need be and while Maddie is okay with it, Grandma decides instead to give him the candlesticks, telling him she hopes it helps. Winston tells her he thinks Leonard is slowly getting better and then quickly disappears. (“Maintenance Room”)

Maddie is startled again by Winston after she discovers him in the Conservatory. She insists that he must be there to steal more but Winston insists that he and Leonard have parted ways. He tells her that Leonard pushed him too far this time and that now he was without a job of a house but refuses to tell Maddie what happened between them insisting it’s a secret. He tells her that the real reason he was there was to pick some of the famous Boulton Lilies as he missed their scent.

When Maddie notices the somewhat foul stench of one large flower, Winston then tells her about it. Known as the "corpse flower,” but referred by its Latin name Rafflesia, Winston tells her that it is very unusual to find one outside of the wilderness and that it takes great dedication and care to keep one alive. Winston then gives Maddie a few seeds and a seedling kit but hints that she may never grow it as good as...

Winston doesn’t continue, insisting it was a story for another day as he was only there for the lilies. Maddie is annoyed but agrees to come back to it later, asking if Winston had ever spoke to her grandpa, Charlie. Winston confirms they were good friends and when Maddie tells him she had received a call from Charlie, Winston becomes relieved as he was confident Charlie was still alive. He mentions Charlie going through some kind of trouble and says that it would surprise him if Charlie was on the run. He says he doesn’t know what kind of trouble Charlie was in but tells Maddie that her Grandpa Charlie built Ursula the conservatory just a few years after they got married. He says Charlie worked hard making the Boulton Lilies bloom and that they are Ursula’s favorite flowers. She asks if there might be anything hidden in the room but Winston hastily disappears. (“Conservatory”)