Beneath The Manor's Veil

1: The Job

Present

The mansion is nothing like I expected it to be. It is too quiet, the quiet that makes you feel as if you're being watched, even when you know you are not-yet.

I shift from one foot to the other on the polished, marble floor beneath my feet. Everything around me gleams, from the chandelier hanging above my head, the cold gold frame of the family portrait on the wall,

Mr. Rossi, Mrs. Rossi and Lily. All three smiling like they mean it.

But smiles can lie. I've learned that the hard way.

footsteps echo down the hallway, before I see him, Mr. Rossi. Dressed in a black button-up shirt and black slacks.

His intoxicating cologne reaches my nostrils, and memories flood back to the front of my mind, but I force them back.

He stares at me a moment more than appropriate before he looks away and puts his hands in his pockets.

"You're Vera." He says in a cool, firm tone.

I nod. "Yes, sir."

He glances at my worn-out clothes and backpack before he gestures for me to follow him.

I do.

We walk past a dozen closed doors. The house is grand but lifeless. He leads me to what I guess is a study, and he gestures for me to sit.

"You'll watch Lily after school till nine. Keep her away from the west wing, and don't let her go in the garden alone. My wife will give you her schedule in the afternoon. My child is very important to me, and I must know what she does and how she feels at all times."

I nod and swallow the lump in my throat before I offer him a small smile.

"Any questions?" He asks, and I shake my head, standing up.

"Good, than you may leave." He nods toward the door.

I give him another smile, turn and walk to the door, but stop when he calls out my name.

"You remind me of someone."

I don't turn around to look at those merciless eyes. Those same eyes that haunt my every dream.

I open the door, walk out, and leave him guessing if I remember anything about that night. I don't want him to figure out why I am actually here, though he probably already figured it out, but I'll just be the naive little girl everyone expects me to be.