Escaping Her Curse—Completed

Chapter Eight

The glass conservatory was filled with greenery and colorful plants, as well as the warm sunlight. It was intricately designed to play off the beauty of the plants and make the space inside seem larger than it was. In the middle were tables, with one being set for tea. Simon pulled out a chair for Jessie to sit in, and she sank into the plush cushion, staring at the teaset in front of her.

“I find it hard to believe that you’ve never had tea from a tea set before,” Simon teased with a smile.

Jessie quickly grinned back as she picked up her cup. It was a bright white porcelain with a hand-painted in gold, geometric design. From a first glance, it looked like a flower, but as Jessie peered closer at it, she could see the details that went into making the illusion. The artist had used the white of the cup to his advantage to give the image a more striking appearance.

“I’ve just never seen anything so beautiful and unique before. I don’t feel like I should even be using it to drink my tea!” Jessie exclaimed.

“You…you like the design?”

Jessie beamed at Simon. “I do, very much. I wonder what it would look like in black or red or any other color as the background. If it would change the boldness of the design or the striking visual it gives.”

Simon let out a laugh as the maids began serving the two. They placed little sandwiches and snacks in front of them and let the tea brew.

“You are a very interesting woman, Jessie. I must say,” Simon mused.

“And why do you say that? I think I’m rather common and ordinary. Just a maid plucked from a duke’s household.”

Simon shook his head. “You are nothing of the sort. You bring curiosity everywhere you go and make those around you crave your attention and approval.”

Taken aback, Jessie remained quiet. She didn’t dare let herself think about anything outside of the box she’d placed herself in. She was a maid. Nothing more. She couldn’t be more.

“I’m getting the impression that you think far too highly of a maid you just met,” she finally replied.

“And I think you don’t see yourself as you should–as those around you do. At least, not the opinions that matter.”

Jessie raised an eyebrow. “You hardly know me, Sir Simon, so how–”

“Just Simon. Remember? You are to call me by my name. No titles.”

“You hardly know me, Simon, so how can you say all of these things? There’s no way you can come up with such a high regard about me unless I’ve tricked you somehow,” Jessie tried again.

Simon leaned back in my chair. “Do you not trust in my ability to read people? Do I not have a good judge of character?”

“This isn’t what I said. Please don’t twist my words to fit your narrative or manipulate me into thinking something that I don’t believe in,” Jessie said, her tone more serious than before.

“I’m terribly sorry, Jessie. That was certainly not my angle. I understand that we barely know each other, but I cannot deny that you captivate me. I don’t comprehend why you do, just that you do, and I would very much like to get to know you better.”

“I captivate you?”

Easing into his easy smile, Simon nodded. “Yes, you do. I’ve never met a woman quite like you. Our first encounter proves it so.”

“Does that merely make me a goal for your to conquer? Am I just a conquest?”

“Absolutely not,” he answered immediately, astonished. “I realize that my reputation paints me as some playboy, but I would like to change that.”

“Wow! Do my ears deceive me? Did I truly hear the great womanizer, Simon Ponce, say that he wanted to change his ways?” Oliver burst in as he walked up to the table. “I thought I might find you two here,” he then added with a grin.

Simon swallowed his sarcastic reply and gave the prince a gracious smile. He did not enjoy the prince’s presence ruining what was supposed to be an intimate moment between him and Jessie.

“You did, indeed,” he said.

Jessie giggled and watched as Oliver took a seat. The serving staff were quick to get the prince a cup and pour him a cup of tea.

“Don’t worry,” Oliver continued. “I won’t be staying long. In fact, I’m here to collect Jessie, so that I can show her what her new role will be like. We’ll be taking our leave, Simon.”

“Oh!” Jessie exclaimed, jumping from her seat. “I’d love to know what I’ll be doing.”

Simon smiled at the two, but his happiness faded immediately. Ever since meeting Jessie, there had been an invisible war between the two for her attention. Being a competitive person, Simon didn’t like the idea of having to vie for Jessie’s affections, especially with his best friend. The two had never had to share a lady before, and he wasn’t going to start now.

“Why don’t you follow me?” Oliver asked Jessie as he too stood from his seat.

Oliver then downed his tea in one gulp, smacked his lips in appreciation, gave Simon a knowing smile, and then beckoned Jessie to follow him. Politely bowing to Simon, Jessie eagerly fell in step behind the prince.

“Jessie!” Simon called out before they left the conversatory. “Please dine with me tomorrow, after you finish with your first day. Let’s celebrate!”

She turned and graced him with a winning smile. “That sounds wonderful and much too kind.”

“We’ll all dine together and make it a party!” Oliver called out.

Simon struggled to keep his smile from turning into a grimace. He found himself realizing that Oliver wasn’t going to let up, and that the game was on. He then nodded his head at the prince, who only smiled, as the two understood each other in the moment and saw the other as the one to beat for Jessie’s heart.

Oliver took Jessie over to the other side of the palace, where the scholars and inventors were placed. He had an office on both sides, but tended to spend more of his time away from his father’s prying eyes. Leading Jessie up into his office, he gestured at one of the many couches in the room. Jessie sat and eyed the neatly folded up uniform resting on one of the seats.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“It’s your uniform. You will be expected to wear it every day. I only have one for now, but more have already been ordered and will arrive at your room when they’re ready,” Oliver replied nonchalantly.

Jessie nodded and sat quietly, waiting for Oliver to continue explaining everything. After flipping through a bunch of papers on his desk, Oliver finally looked up and held out a packet for her to take. Once grabbing it, Jessie began reading it, her eyes growing larger with each page. Once she was finished, she looked over at Oliver, who was leaning against his desk with a large smile plastered on his face.

“You’ve got to be kidding, right? I can’t accept this,” she stated.

“You will. You must.”

At a loss for words, she sputtered, “B-but, I-I really can’t! You can’t seriously be considering paying me this much for doing this!”

“This is the contract. And you don’t have a job with Duke Laroche anymore. This is kind of your only option at this point,” Oliver said with a shrug.

“Then lower the wage,” Jessie countered.

“No.”

“Then make me do more than what’s stated.”

“No.”

“Then–”

“NO!” Oliver said with a chuckle. “Please just accept the offer!”

Flabbergasted, Jessie sat stunned in her seat. Not only had she never been offered such a wage, but the work was minimal. She wasn’t going to be a maid, and so she wouldn’t be expected to wash floors or dust rooms or be ordered to do menial tasks. She’d be able to use her brain and explore the world. She’d get to go farther than she ever dreamed she could. It truly was an offer she couldn’t refuse, and Oliver was quite adamant about her accepting it.

Before she could come up with another excuse, she blurted out, “Alright. I accept.”

“Wonderful,” Oliver grinned. “Welcome to the team, Jessie Montgomery, as my new personal assistant. You are to be in this office every day at 8 in the morning. Tardiness will not be tolerated. Over there,” he pointed to the far wall, which had sheets of paper tacked onto it, “I’ll have a list of expectations. You are do all of them by the end of the week. Feel free to ask me clarifying questions. On top of the list, I’ll have this,” he held up a leather-bound folder. “Which will have my schedule for the day inside of it. You are to present at every event with me as well as have all the needed materials for whatever it is I’ll be doing. You will essentially be in charge of everything that concerns me. Rupert will explain tomorrow morning. Any questions so far?”

Jessie felt slightly nervous as she took in all the information Oliver had just dropped into her lap, but shook her head nonetheless. She knew she could handle whatever he threw at her. It couldn’t be that much harder than all the work she had done for the Laroche’s.

“Perfect,” Oliver said, his blue eyes glinting with glee. “Let’s get to the fun part.”