title: A Butler's Life: Scenes from the Other Side of the Silver Salver
author:  Christopher Allen 
description: Part memoir, part how-to, A Butler's Life -- the account of Christopher Allens real-life duties Behind The Silver Salver-- offers a contemporary peek into this fascinating, yet demanding profession.Those for whom the mental picture of a British butler is the impeccable Jeeves or Remains of the Days prim Mr. Stevens will find Christopher Allen a surprise and a delight. The engaging Englishman, while no less a paragon of service than his literary peers, is charmingly human in his ongoing endeavor to master a profession whose most perfect representative is invisible. And, for those whose homes might not be staffed with live-in servants but who would enjoy benefiting from their expertise, nearly two dozen sidebars reveal tips of the trade--everything from hints for seamless entertaining to advice on household management.Far from a relic of a past era, Christopher Allen demonstrates that being a butler -- in villas on the Cote dAzur and in California, on luxury yachts in England and estates in the Hamptons -- is still a very viable, rewarding way to make a living in the twenty-first century.
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  CHAPTER ONE
  Chapter 1
   
  Handsome or not, he was a stranger. Saffron Skye saw him standing
  on the beach, looking entirely out of place in a loose-fitting suit, black
  wingtips, and a fedora. His face looked as if it had been hewn from oak—a
  strong jaw, angular cheekbones, and narrow temples. He was crouched
  down, letting Saffron’s rooster, Curry, peck at something in his hand. But
  between glances down at the chicken, the man was clearly staring at
  Saffron’s house.
  Saffron’s house—a blue bungalow with a wide lanai wrapped all the
  way around it—was charming, but it held no interest next to what was
  behind the stranger: a golden beach and the wide sweep of the turquoise
  
  Pacific. In her six months here in Hawaii, Saffron had seen dozens of
  people wandering up and down her beach, and few of them even glanced in
  the direction of the house.
  The stranger was riveted, though. He seemed to be memorizing the
  place. Or casing it, she supposed. But he would be surprised i