AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good. There’s a lot that needs doing.” Janet rubbed her hands as though she loved being busy. “It’s Caroline Lovechilde’s birthday. There will be forty guests dining.”
“That’s the mother?”
“Yes. For the staff, it’s Mrs. Lovechilde.”
I nodded. “Have you been here long?” I asked as we scuttled down the hallway and into a room with a huge dining table.
“I’ve been here for ten years. They’re a good family. I helped raise the children, who now as adults are a little on the spoiled side. To be expected, considering how indulged they were.” She smiled tightly. “Other than the eldest, Declan, that is. He’s a true gentleman.”
Just as astoundingly opulent as the rest of the house, the dining room boasted crimson walls covered in more gilded art, and bay windows that looked out to the columned marble entrance and beyond onto the vast grounds.
Janet took a cloth out of her apron and wiped a silver candelabra on the dining table. “As you can see, we start preparing early.”
“What time do the guests arrive?”
“At six. As is customary, the guests gather in the front room for cocktails, and then at seven they come here for a seven-course meal.” She wiped dust off a vase. “Jennifer, the girl before you, missed things. She was always flirting with Ethan.”
“Ethan?”
“That’s the son. Come, let me show you around, and then we’ll discuss the evening’s procedures. Don’t want to overload you.”
“I’m good.” I smiled. I liked her. Although she was jumpy, I sensed a considerate, hard-working woman in Janet.
We walked along the hallway into the front room with a wall of windows that offered a view of the manicured grounds with a hint of the sea beyond. The dark teal walls astounded with their white scrolled edges and a painting of naked nymphs on the ceiling.
Awestruck by its beauty, I stared up at the sky scene. “It’s fabulous.”
“Yes.” She smiled. “Once a month, the house is opened to visitors. There are some major artworks, and the building was designed by a celebrated Victorian architect, which attracts scholars. The house has its own page in history due to its unique design.”
“I do like the columned entrance,” I said.
“Right.” She snapped out of her chat mode. “This is where the guests will hang out for the first hour. Your role is to help with the drinks.”
She moved to the front door, and we stepped outside.
“I’ll show you the path you must use to get to your quarters. You must never come through the front entrance.”
I followed her along the cobbled path fringed with flowerpots all the way to a courtyard that led into the servants’ quarter. My heart expanded and I wanted to hug Janet but refrained. That would have been a bit too weird.
