HIDDEN DESIRE

LEAH POINT OF VIEW

"The housekeeper will be with you shortly," the uniformed maid said, then gave me a small smile and walked away. 

I looked around the sitting room I'd been left to wait in awe. The whole house looked more like a castle than a house. It was truly something out of a fairytale. I'd always had an eye for architecture and I liked to think I'd inherited it from one of my birth givers. 

"Good evening, Lisa," a woman's cool voice said. 

I looked over my shoulders to see a woman walking into the room. She had ash blonde hair pinned back in a severe bun. 

"Good evening, you must be Mrs. Charles." 

She nodded sharply, "sorry for the delay. If you could follow me, I'll show you around the house and point out what type of duties you'd be doing in the house." 

I stood up, "the house is beautiful." 

Her smile became stiff, "Yes, it is." 

I followed her out of the room, curious about her reaction. I let it sit at the back of my mind and tried to concentrate on my instructions. If I was going to succeed as a maid here, I needed to adhere to instructions and make sure my conduct remained faultless. 

I couldn't afford to be fired. I didn't just want this job, I needed it. 

"This is the east wing," she said, motioning. Here, you can find guest rooms and sitting rooms. Whenever the master has guests, you have to stay out of their way as much as possible. As servants, we should always be some degree of eternally in reach but not seen." 

That sounded horrible but I nodded in agreement. She narrowed her eyes at me and continued down the hall. 

"These are the staff quarters. The house has eight staff members at the moment. You'll be the ninth. There's me, my husband, who is the groundskeeper, a cook, his valet and the four maids." 

Then she continued the tour. At the end of it, she came to a row of rooms. "This is the west wing, the master's wing. You shouldn't be seen here under any circumstances. This area isn't part of your job description, and you'll be fired immediately if you're caught there." 

Not if you don't catch me, I thought snidely. 

"The master is a very private man and he doesn't tolerate curiosity. Just do your job, keep your head down and your mouth shut." She said sternly. "Whatever happens in this house, stays in this house." 

I blinked at her innocently, "are we keeping some sort of secret?"

The look she sent me would have had a less woman scurrying away in fright. Unfortunately for her, I wasn't afraid of her. 

"Asking stupid questions like that will get you in trouble. Do as I say, or you'll be gotten rid of," she said, "and the hassle of finding new help is starting to be too much."

"Yes ma'am," I replied.