4
Armand
I want to spend the rest of the afternoon getting to know lovely little Daniela, but duty calls. Or rather, my mother does.
I make my way up to the palatial top floor, where my mother rules and rarely descends outside of parties and mealtimes. My shoes make no sound on the thick red carpet as I walk up to the door of her library.
“Mother? You summoned me?” I already know what it’s about, but it’s probably best to play innocent anyway.
My mother puts her copy of Faust down and slips a gilt bookmark between its pages. “I hear that you hired a new nanny for my granddaughter.” She looks up at me with her sharp black eyes. “I trust that you did not just hire her for her looks.”
“I never do, Mother, and you know that,” I say patiently, squashing my irritation. “Daniela is quite co
