“What about Mr. King?”
“I assume he knows. She doesn’t exactly hide it, coming back all hours of the night with slick men. It’s none of my business, but honestly, no man should have to put up with it.” She lowered her voice. “I suppose that is why they live completely separate lives. I have never, not even once, seen him and Madam together, not even to stay and talk in the same room. She occupies the East wing and he never leaves his quarters in the South.”
At her words something heavy struck my heart. I didn’t know who he was or the extent of damage that had been done, but I knew what disfigurement could do. It can completely ruin your life. When I was sixteen my friend had been the victim of an acid attack. Overnight her entire world changed. Her scars were so horrendous her own parents couldn’t recognize her when the bandages came off. After years of surgery she was still a mess.
I used to fly into a rage whenever we went out together. All I wanted to do was confront the staring people and tell them to fucking stop staring, pointing, and whispering, that she was just a normal person with some scars, but I couldn’t because then I would have called attention to and made it even worse for my friend. So I either glared at them, my eyes shooting sparks of fury, or I completely ignored them.
It was through her I learned how shallow and cruel the world can be. She didn’t stand a chance. They rejected her purely on the basis of her looks. The depth of pain and abject despair she felt haunted her eyes and crushed her little heart. Sometimes she told me she wished she had not survived the attack.
In summer we used to go and have breakfast picnics at the park. We’d go so early there would be hardly anyone there. At that time I was still living in my parents’ house. One night she called me and asked me to come really early to her house. She said she had made my favorite double-chocolate cake. I was very greedy in those days so I left my mother’s house at five. When I reached her house it was still in darkness. Surprised, I let myself in through the back door and crept up the stairs to her bedroom. I honestly thought she had overslept.
But Aisha was already stone cold in her bed.
On the bedside table was an empty bottle of pills and my double-chocolate cake and two letters, one for me and the other for her parents. I didn’t shout or scream. I sat on the bed beside her and read my letter. She apologized for the shock, but she knew I was strong, and I could help her parents by easing them into the news of her death.
After Mrs. Blackmore left I quickly went back to the drawing room and retrieved my notes. Taking off my glasses and releasing my hair from its tight bun, I lay on my bed and went through seven pages of closely typed instructions in growing disbelief.
The notes gave detailed instructions on every aspect of the child’s life. From how the practice cards should be used to putting away project materials when projects were over. Even worse every single thing was regimented and tightly regulated.
Breakfast at 8.00, snack at 10.30, lunch at 1.00.
Not 0nly the time of the meals, but what food and snacks could be had were detailed.
Only open the windows in the morning from 8.00am to 11.00am.
Do not allow Zackary to be outside.
Then …
Wear head coverings in the sun.
Which was it to be?”
It was so ridiculous that by the time I reached the end I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
I’m sorry, Mrs. King, but no. Just no.
Chapter 8
Charlotte
I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It concerned me now at how I would be able to navigate my way in a household that was so tightly controlled by what I would have deemed a psychopath. I wanted to help Zackary and perhaps his father too. I still felt a lingering sense of guilt about Aisha. I had not done enough for her. I should have known by her voice what she was planning to do. Maybe this was another opportunity for me to do for the father what I had not done for my friend. A second chance to redeem myself.
Maybe there was a reason I was here. But at the same time, I was not a person to suffer fools gladly. One of these days I was going to blow up and tell Mrs. King exactly what I thought of her and that would be bad, very bad for my resumé.
My phone rang. I got out of bed and accepting the call fell back into bed.
“Hey,” April said. “How’s it going?”
“I’m not sure.” I twirled a piece of hair.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a weird situation.”
“Weird like what?”
“Weird like the mother is a raving lunatic, the father has been in a terrible accident and has become a recluse that no one ever sees. The child vomited because he was too excited to see his mother. I’ve got eight pages of instructions from how to wipe his bum to how many grams of cereal he can get.”
“Oh! My! God!”
I sighed. “That’s what I thought.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know yet. I hate giving up before I even start.”
“Don’t think of it as giving up. You know I need you.”
“Yeah, I know. But I can’t walk away when things are so obviously wrong.”
“You actually think you can help?”
“Yeah, I think I have a shot at the boy. He has spirit. It’s a bit crushed, but I think I know how to make him come out of his shell.”
“What about Godzilla though?”
“Actually, she doesn’t look anything like Godzilla. The woman looks like she stepped out of a fashion magazine. She’s very, very beautiful.”
“It sounds like you have a keg of dynamite over there. You think you can handle her?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On how much time she actually spends here. It sounds like she spends a good bit of time out enjoying herself and hiring me I would take to mean she wants even more. I think I’ll give it couple of days and see how things go. Now, enough about me, how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. As a matter of fact, I’m feeling on top of the world.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m in bed.”
I laughed. “I don’t believe it. It’s ten o’clock in the morning and you just had sex, didn’t you? The amount of shaking you put your poor baby through it’s going to think it’s a bloody Martini.”
“Very funny. Actually, we didn’t have sex. Yuri just thought I needed to relax.”
“OMG! He gave you a blowjob.”
“He might have,” she said smugly.
I smiled. “Remember the first day you came back after you met Yuri?”
“Yeah.” Her voice was dreamy.
“Remember when
I said I wanted to watch you guys have sex?”
“Yeah.”
“I take it all back,” I said dryly.
She just laughed shamelessly. There was a knock on my door so I told her I would call her back and went to open the door. Outside was a woman about my age.
She grinned widely at me. “Hi. I’m Melly. I’m Mrs. King’s personal assistant and I just came to see how you are getting on. If you needed anything?”
I smiled back. It was good to see a genuinely friendly face. “I’m great. I haven’t had a chance to look around or get a grip of my duties, but thanks for the offer. I really appreciate it.”
Her grin widened. “Trust me when I tell you there isn’t much going on. This has to be the most boring place on earth. There’s one pizza joint in the village serving rubbery pizza. The library is full of old people smelling like sausages. The tea shop is nice enough. But the real saving grace is the pub. It’s pretty dire most nights,” her eyes twinkle, “but sometimes big brawny farmers come in.”
I laughed.
“We should go for a drink some time. It’ll be a laugh.”
“Yeah, that would be nice.”
“Okay, I’ll give you a few days to get yourself settled in. I’m in the room by the kitchen. If you need anything just pop in and I’ll be glad to help.”
“Thank you, Melly.”
“Right, back to the grindstone for me. I’ll see you at lunch?”
“Yeah, sure. See you downstairs.”
She flounced away, a bundle of joyful energy. I closed my door and leaned against it. Maybe I had been too hasty. If she could put up with Mrs. King and run such a happy ship, maybe I could too.
Chapter 9
Brett
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYiU_JCYtU
Numb
I knew the nanny had arrived. I could not put my finger on it, but there was a subtle change in the energy of the household. At first I was against the idea, but I think I was wrong. A nanny would mean I no longer need to interact with Jillian to beg for information about Zackary. I could deal directly with the nanny. Every night I could call her on the intercom and ask for a breakdown of the day.