Rescued By Fire

The New Maid

Chapter 2 –

                Easton –

I rushed to the basement as fast as I could, by the time I got there the screaming had stopped. All I could hope is that everyone was okay, and the woman hadn’t run off. I made my way to the kitchen and found a sleepy Jill standing over the coffee pot. I put my hand on her shoulder.

“Is everything alright Jill? I heard the screams from my bedroom and came as fast as I could” I said.

“Ah, Mr. Easton, she’s doing ok. When she woke up she was terrified, rightly so. Shelia ran in to calm her down and I came out here to make her some coffee. She’s doing better not so delusional” she replied.

“Very good.”

I decided to walk to the bedroom door and knock.

“Sheila is everything ok?” I asked.

                Millie –

I woke up and my eyes were hazy, I remember falling, but not much more. I wiped my eyes to clear my vision and looked around the room.

                Where am I? It isn’t like them to put me somewhere so clean and nice.

The room was still dark from the night but I could make out outlines of furniture and something else. Something that looked like a pile of clothes, maybe. I started to stare at the clothes.

                Are they moving?

Just then a large mirror fell from the wall and the pile of clothes jumped up, all I could do was scream.

“Shh, sweatheart, your ok its just me.” The voice was sweet sounding, I quit screaming and let it speak. The figure went to the lamp and turned the low light on. It was a woman, an elderly woman with silver hair and sweet blue eyes. She stood by the lamp for a second staring at me.

“My name is Sheila, can I come over and sit with you?” she said.

I looked at her, but decided she wasn’t a threat to me. I nodded and allowed her to sit with me. She shuffled over to the foot of the bed and took a seat.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Millie” I replied.

“Do you remember how you got here?”

I shook my head. To be honest I could barely remember any of my life. The last thing I could remember is just fragments of last night.

“It’s okay to not remember, I watched you fall from a bus last night. I ran out to get you and Mr. Sharp graciously let you stay. We called the doctor because you were quite beat up and burned. You had a bad infection and fever last night so I stayed in here to watch you. I’m sorry to have startled you so bad.” She said with pitiful eyes. She most definitely was not a threat to me, but this Mr. Sharp might be. Just then there was a quite knock on the door.

“Sheila is everything ok?” a mans voice said through the door. Shelia glanced at me.

“Yes Mr. Sharp. I will be out in a little bit to update you on our guest.” she shouted at him through the door.

“If I raise my voice, he won’t ask anymore questions” she whispered to me with a wink. I chuckled a little.

Through a smile I said, “I have never known a servant to speak to the master of the house in that way.” Sheila’s eyebrows furrowed.

“What do you mean servant and master” her tone had become angry.

                Oh no, I’ve upset her.

“I-I…I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were his family, I’m very sorry ma’am.” I lowered my head preparing to be scolded. She started laughing.

“I am not Mr. Sharps family, but he is the owner of the house, and I am his maid. He would never treat me as a servant though” she said.

I just nodded my head, I have never know a man to be so kind.

“Oh my dear! You must be in pain so bad! Let you get you a pain killer the doctor prescribed for you.” She jumped up and started rummaging through the paper bag on the side table, I knew what pain killers were but I had never once been offered them. I spent most of my life in pain, I wasn’t sure why she made such a big deal about this pain. She came back over and handed me the large pill and a bottle of water. I took a sip of water and swallowed the pill.

“Who is Mr. Sharp?” I asked.

Sheila looked up at me in surprise, “he’s the owner of Sharp Industries, he’s got various investments in all kinds of products around the world.”

I just stared at her, “I’ve never heard of him” I said.

“That doesn’t surprise me, he doesn’t go out much. Unfortunately, Easton was injured when he was a child and has huge scars on his body. He does have a good makeup artist though, so he is able to go out when they are here for the day” she said.

“Why wouldn’t we go out with his scars? I used to travel all over the town with bruises.” I looked over towards Sheila, she just wandered into thought.

“You bruises are not…disfiguring though” she said softly. I stared at her, what an ugly word to use. I couldn’t imagine that he was that horrible of a sight. I yawned real big, who knew a healing body required so much energy.

“Get some rest dear, we have another maid that lives down her, Jill, a young girl. If you see her don’t be afraid, she helped you just like me. If your not up by supper I will wake you” she said. I nodded at her and shuffled under the covers, lowering my body in the bed. Sheila picked up a few things and then turned out the light and left.

I laid in bed going over what had happened to me today. It was hard for me to think that I was safe and that this wasn’t all going to be a dream. I shifted in bed and realized those pain killers were working.

                Huh. What an odd feeling to not be in pain. I hope it doesn’t go away.

                Easton –

Ever sense I was rushed off by Sheila I have been pacing the house, I wondered about the new guest in my house. Even though it was out of character for me to take someone off the streets into my house I couldn’t stand to see her in pain like that. I eventually made my way into the library and took a seat to read the newspaper. Even though it was hard to focus the very least I needed to do was read the stock market.

Sheila came through the door slowly and took a seat on the couch across from me. She remained silent so I lowered the paper and locked eyes with her. I sighed.

“So how’s your patient?” I asked. She looked around a little before she replied.

“She’s a sweet girl, doesn’t remember much and probably been through more than you and me combined.” She started trailing off, I knew there was more on her mind than that.

“What is it Sheila, your not the one to tip toe around things like this.”

“Give her a job here, Easton” she said with a stern voice.

“I’m sorry did you just tell me to give her a job here” I asked.

“Yes.” Her reply was short, I knew I wasn’t going to get off the hook easily with her like that.

“Why do I need to give her a job?”

She shifted in her seat a little, “well you are down a maid without Marissa here now, plus if you gave her the job here you wouldn’t be able to just kick her out. I think she needs us sir.” Her eyes were saddened with the thought of her living on the street again. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

With a sigh I replied “how do you know she could even fulfill the duties of being a maid here?”

“Well when I was talking to her she mentioned servants like she had been one for a long time. I’m sure whatever she didn’t understand I could teach her.”

“It’s a big thing to take someone under your wing like that.” I said. She nodded. “Okay, she can stay.” As soon as those words escaped my mouth the largest grin I’ve even seen crept onto Sheila’s face. I raised my newspaper back up so she didn’t see that grin that also was now pasted on mine also. Sheila got up and left to go tell the woman she had been given the job.

                I should probably call Leslie and tell her to take the ad down.

I picked up my phone and dialed Leslie’s number. She picked up on the first ring.

“Hey Les, how’s it going there?”

“Um it’s a funeral you jackass how do you think its going. What do you want?” she said. I got up and started pacing through the library shelves. Talking to her always gave me the most horrendous anxiety, I used to think it was just the lust that had me nervous, but ever sense we got back from that vacation I have been questioning my feelings for her.

“Yeah I need you to take down that maid job ad. I actually just hired one.”

“Who?” she asked. It then came to my recognition that I never did get her name from Sheila.

“Uh a woman” I then proceeded to tell her the story of last night, of course she was less than impressed with me being so trusting and nice to my maids and a stranger, but they are my employees not hers I reminded her. We talked more about her and she asked for more money to be loaded onto her debit card, I let her know after I went over my bank statements I would. She huffed and puffed at me in anger and hung up the phone.

                Why did I pick this horrible person to be involved with.

I rested my head on the self in defeat. There was a knock on the library door, which was odd, I don’t make any of my staff knock. They come and go as they please. The door opened quietly. A small sweet voice began speaking to me.

“Sir are you in here?”

“Yes I’m here.” I replied. I shifted my position so I could stay well hidden behind the books.

“I was told I would be cleaning this room every afternoon and I wanted to get a look at it before I started my role tomorrow, it that ok sir?”

“Of course, my staff can come as they please and I don’t expect you to knock or call me sir. Call me Easton, like all the others, at the maximum Mr. Easton.” I chuckled a little at the though all my staff calling me sir. “Are you well enough to be walking around miss?”

She started to laugh, “If I must call you Easton you must call me by my name, Millie. And yes, Easton, I am ok to walk, Sheila gave me some pain killers and I’ve walked and cleaned in much worse pain than this.” I could hear the smile on her face.

“I don’t want to bother you, I will let you be.” I could here her steps getting farther to the door. “Oh, Mr. Easton.”

Yes, Millie?”

“Thank you for allowing me to work for you and for rescuing me last night, I apologize if I inconvenienced you at all last night” she said as she shut the library door.

I came out from behind the shelf.                She almost dies and apologizes to me.

I chuckled with the thought of that.

                What an odd little creature.