Hidden Royalty

Chapter 6 Introductions

Jenny's POV

I wake up early with a terrible headache and a nauseous stomach. I lay still until the sick feeling goes away. Then I get ready for the day. My eyes are swollen from crying myself to sleep last night. I don't understand how I can still be so attracted to him after what he did. I try to forget all my doubts and head to the kitchen for my breakfast. It's still early and no one is up yet so I fix myself some toast to help settle my stomach. I hear the creek of the back door and footsteps approaching. A minute or so later a short plump, middle aged woman appears. I introduce myself as Jenny, Mr. Petrov's new personal assistant and ask her name. She replies that she is Anna the cook that lives in a house on the Petrov land with her family. I ask Anna who I should get to fix the squeaky back door and loose floorboards. She gives me a confused look, then says Mr. Sobol is the Petrov's handyman I can fetch him after breakfast if you like. Thank you that would be fine. I am going to explore the house till breakfast. What time should I be back? Breakfast is served at seven am Miss. I say thank you as I walk away to explore my surroundings. The Petrov home is more like a palace than a mansion. Yet each piece of furniture and decoration seems to have been hand picked by someone. I'm admiring a beautiful piece of artwork in one of the many sitting rooms on the first floor when I hear someone enter the room. I turn with a start to see Mrs Petrov, Vadik's mom,. Standing in front of me. "Hello dear I didn't mean to startle you, but you seem to have excellent hearing." Actually my hearing was damaged as a child. Mrs. Petrov looks thoughtful for a moment and then seems to brush the thought away. "I'm sorry we overwhelmed you yesterday. I hope we can start over. My name is Katherine Petrov. I would like you to call me Katherine." Its very nice to meet you Mrs. Petr... I mean Katherine. I shouldn't have ran away like I did yesterday. I'm here now though and am ready to begin working. "How about after breakfast dear. The family is about to come down for breakfast and I would like you to meet them. Vadik insists we eat all our meals together if at all possible." Are you sure he'll want me eating with the family? "Certainly dear,. Katherine says, he gave me strict orders to except nothing less." I take a deep breath to brace myself and follow Katherine to the dining room. It was a comfortable, yet beautifully decorated room with several large tables.

The first person to enter the room was a younger version of Katherine. She looked to be in her late teens. She was holding hands with the young boy from yesterday. His eyes lit up when he saw me, but Katherine shook her head and he stopped himself from coming forward. Katherine introduced me to her daughter Isabel. She is on break from school, Katherine stated and this little guy is my grandson Vadik Nicholas Petrov. We just call him Nikki. I bend down and greet Nikki with a warm smile, when he throws himself at me and hugs me. I giggle and unwrap his arms from my neck. My, that is a friendly welcome. I look up to see a group of people walking in that I didn't recognize. They waved good morning and start fixing themselves a plate from the buffet. Before I know what's happening over a hundred people have seated themselves in the dining room. No wonder Vadik needs a personal assistant. His family is huge and apparently all live together. Katherine stands and introduces me as Vadik's "new friend" and everyone cheers. She tells them all to follow my instructions as if they came from Vadik. I blush at the implication of the word "friend", but I pull myself together and manage a cheerful smile and wave. I suddenly get a whiff of cherries. I turn and ask Katherine if she smells it too? She gives me an odd look and says the local grocer must be here with her delivery. She had ordered cherries for a special dessert she liked.