The Touch Of The Outcast

by Amalia Altman

  “This is Elise, my lord. She just arrived. She said she’s not hungry, so I thought that I’d give her a tour when you’re finished here.”

  “That would be great, Nikola, thank you. I’ll send her down to you when I’m finished.”

  Nikola nodded, then disappeared, leaving Elise alone with Lord Ashton. Elise still stood in the doorway, holding her hands in front of her, looking at Lord Ashton as he looked her over.

  “Elise,” he said, and for some reason the way he said her name made a shiver run down Elise’s spine. “Please have a seat.”

  Elise sat down in one of the chairs across the large oak desk. She looked around the room, which looked almost like a library, with hundreds of books on dark wood cases that were built into the walls. Elise could feel his eyes on her but hesitated to look at him; something about the way he looked at her made her feel slightly flustered, as if he was looking inside of her. Elise was used to being the one with insight, the ability to see the images that were running through people’s minds when she touched them. She didn’t like being on the receiving end of being looked into—it made her feel uncomfortable and naked.

  “Have you ever been a maid before, Elise?” he asked, his voice soft. Elise did look at him then, meeting his eye, and something in his gaze made her blush. That made him smile, a look that was almost sly.

  “No,” she said. “But I used to clean my own house. I can cook, too.”

  “I have a cook,” he said. “I only need you to clean.”

  “I can do that,” Elise said.

  “Did you know that the madam would be sending you here?” he asked.

  Elise shook her head. “She only told me that I would be going to live with a rich man,” Elise said.

  “And that’s why you took the job.”

  “I took the job because I don’t belong in a brothel,” Elise said, trying not to let her voice get too sharp. She resented the idea that she was only interested in the money for some reason; she had never been that kind of person. She had grown up with brothers, two men who were so greedy that they used to steal from their mother and sell the few precious items she had in order to collect coin for themselves. “I don’t care about your money, sir.”

  “My lord,” he corrected, his voice calm but stern. That irritated Elise, too, but she tried to keep her annoyance under control.

  “My lord,” she corrected, though her voice was dripping with sarcasm. His mouth twitched as if to smile at the tone.

  “You’ve got a bit of a temper, Elise, don’t you?” he asked, an amused look in his eye. At the same time, she noticed that he looked slightly irritated with her as well.

  “Not unless provoked,” she told him. He laughed at that.

  “I’ll try not to provoke you. But do try to control your attitude. You are a servant in my house, and you will be respectful.”

  Elise crossed her arms over her chest, rankled.

  “I may be your servant, but I won’t bow and scrape to you,” she said firmly, holding her chin high, making sure that her voice didn’t waver. She felt bold, unruly, but the way he was looking at her was making her feel somewhat uninhibited. His gaze was almost like a caress, a soft touch on her skin that made her hot all over.

  He only stared at her for a moment, his hands folded on his desk.

  “I’m half-tempted to send you back to that brothel,” he said.

  “If it means that I don’t have to kiss your boot, so be it,” Elise said, though she desperately hated the thought of going back. But she didn’t care if the man was a lord or not—Elise wasn’t going to bow to any man for any reason.

  Lord Ashton scraped his teeth over his bottom lip, and Elise took his silence as dismissal. She stood up, turning to go.

  “I’m not asking you to kiss my boot, Elise. Sit down.”

  The soft command in his voice made Elise feel a warmth spread through her hips. She sat down, looking at him.

  “I’m going to send you down to Nikola for a tour. You can settle in after that. Tomorrow, you can start work.”

  Elise nodded. “Thank you.”

  He gave her a look, raising his eyebrows.

  “Thank you, my lord,” she said through gritted teeth, and that playful looked passed over his face that made her blush again.

  “The kitchen is downstairs on the first floor, first hallway on your right,” he said. Elise got up to go, feeling his eyes on her as she left.

  Elise looked up, wondering what was on the third floor . It would make more sense that he would want to have her clean the whole mansion, but she supposed she was glad that her workload was going to be lighter than she had expected it to be.

  Elise made her way down the winding staircase, marveling at the rich red rug that covered the marble steps. It felt luxurious under her feet, soft even through the very thinly-lined boots that she was wearing. When she got downstairs, she managed to find the kitchen by following the sweet sound of humming. She found Nikola in there, scrubbing at dishes in a bucket of hot water.

  “I can do that,” Elise said, coming up next to the woman. Nikola lifted her hand out of the water and waved Elise off.

  “Nonsense,” she said. “I’ll be done in a minute.”

  “Okay,” said Elise, looking around the room while she waited. She had never seen a kitchen like this before, with a massive stone stove and a special basin for washing. There was plenty of space to cook, too, and everything in the room was tidy and neat.

  “You ever live in a house like this before, Elise?” Nikola asked.

  “No,” said Elise. “I’ve never even—I’ve never even imagined a place like this before.”

  “It’s a lot to get used to,” said Nikola. “And it’s a bit grim. I’m afraid our lord is the morbid type.”

  “What does that mean?” Elise asked her curiously.

  “It means he likes things dark and quiet. You’ll do best here if you try not to disturb him. He’s a kind man, but he can be sharp.”

  “So I noticed,” Elise grumbled, and the older woman smiled at her.

  “He’s already gotten on your nerves?”

  “No,” said Elise hurriedly, not wanting to offend the woman, who was clearly very fond of her lord. “No—I just— “

  “It’s okay,” said Nikola. “You’ll get used to him. If you ever see him, that is.”

  “Why wouldn’t I see him?” Elise asked. For some reason, the thought made her feel slightly disappointed. She hated that feeling and tried to ignore it—given the fact that they seemed to bicker whenever they were together, Elise knew it was probably a good idea that she wouldn’t be spending much time with him. Still, she couldn’t deny that something fascinated her about her new employer, and despite herself, she was interested in knowing more about him.

  “He stays in his office or is away on affairs of the estate. He insists upon doing everything himself.”

  Elise snorted, an unladylike sound, and immediately covered her mouth with her hand. The woman looked at her, grinning, an eyebrow raised.

  “I’m sorry, I just thought—he doesn’t seem like the kind of man who would be willing to do anything himself,” Elise said.

  “He’s not like other lords,” said Nikola. “What makes you think that?”

  “He was very adamant that I refer to him properly. That kind of man usually likes to give orders.”

  “He can be hard on his maids,” Nikola admitted. “You really just have to stay out of his way. He gets snappish. But he’s harmless.”

  “Does anybody else live here?”

  Nikola swallowed, and Elise noted that the woman’s gaze darted away for a moment.

  “Just the master and the servants,” she said.

  “How many servants?” Elise asked.

  “There’s me, you, the gardener, and the cook,” Nikola said. “He keeps a small staff.”

  “Just one maid for this whole household?
”

  “I know it seems like a lot of work,” said Nikola. “But it’ll keep you busy. Maybe it will put some muscle on those bones. We’re going to have to feed you, fatten you up.”

  “I don’t mind doing the work,” said Elise. She had done household chores all of her life, though never in a place like this. Elise was excited to explore the mansion, although it still had to her a grim feeling, one that hadn’t dissipated since the moment she’d walked in. Nikola was friendly, but her bright smile wasn’t enough to make the dim, dreary building any more welcoming.

  “Good,” said Nikola. “Then you should get along with Lord Ashton well when you see him.”

  “I hope so,” Elise said. They began making their way through the house, and Elise let her eyes drink everything in as she walked through the halls. There were paintings all over the place, hung on the walls in large brass picture frames. She noticed that some of them were rather macabre—depictions of war, of battle and death. She stopped in front of one picture, unable to take her eyes off of it. There was no blood in it, but it featured a very old man, so shrunken that he looked like nothing much was left but skin and bones. It was his eyes that captivated her—just like Lord Ashton’s, so pale brown that they were almost gold. Unlike Lord Ashton, however, the man in the portrait had no life in his eyes, almost as if he’d been painted after the life had already left him. Elise shivered, then turned to hurry down the hall after Nikola, who opened the last door on the left. She looked inside, surprised to see what appeared to be another library, this one with even more books than before. The shelves were floor-to-ceiling with long wooden ladders that stretched upward.

  “You’ll probably just dust in here,” said Nikola. “Nobody uses this room, so there’s never much to clean up. The bedrooms will be a bit more involved, but once you’ve learned one of them, you’ll know how to do them all.

  Elise nodded as Nikola shut the door behind her, locking it up.

  “Why do you lock it,” Elise asked. “if there’s nobody in the house? Are we not allowed to go in there?”

  “All rooms must remain locked at all times,” Nikola said, and her voice sounded more stern than before. “You must never leave a room unlocked. You will have a set of keys with a master key, as well as some other ones that the master doesn’t fit. Lord Ashton expects you to carry these keys at all time, even when you’re not working.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Elise said, confused when the woman started back down the stairs. “Aren’t we going to go up on the third floor?”

  Nikola peered at Elise, giving her a warning look.

  “Best you not even think about the third floor,” the older woman said. “Don’t go up there, don’t pay attention to it. The entire floor is strictly off-limits.”

  “Is it dangerous?” Elise asked curiously, looking upward, wondering what secrets the third floor held.

  “Yes,” said Nikola, but left it without an explanation.

  The two women continued their tour of the house, and Nikola showed Elise each of the bedrooms. It took a couple of hours before they finished every room on both floors—the house was even bigger inside than it looked on the outside, and Elise marveled at the fact that people didn’t get lost forever inside its walls.

  “This is your room,” said Nikola, opening the door to show an elegant, luxurious room with violet silk bedding and a canopy bed. It was a room fit for a princess, and Elise was so shocked to see it that she couldn’t even bring herself to step inside the magical place.

  “What’s wrong?” Nikola asked.

  “This is—this is beautiful. Oh, this is too much,” Elise said, looking at the older woman. “I can’t possibly— “

  “Lord Ashton insists that his servants have some of the best rooms,” Nikola said proudly. All of the rooms had been fine to Elise, but this one was the finest of them all. She hadn’t been allowed to go into the master bedroom, but Elise assumed that it was just as rich.

  Elise went into the room, her fingers trailing along the fine, delicately carved wooden hanging on the walls. She sat down on the bed, which was so soft that she felt she was floating on a cloud. Elise ran her hand along the fine silk bedding; it was the softest thing she had ever touched, probably the most expensive thing that had ever been against her skin. There was a fire lit in the chimney already and it was deliciously warm in the room compared to the rest of the mansion, which was always cool within the stone walls. Elise was relieved to see her small bag sitting next to the wardrobe in the corner.

  “I’m going to let you settle in for the night,” said Nikola. “My room is just next door. If you need me, don’t hesitate to knock, though I can’t guarantee I’ll hear you. My ears aren’t so good anymore.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine. Thank you, Nikola,” Elise said. Nikola nodded and bid Elise good night, then disappeared from the room. Elise stood up, walking around, touching everything and looking closely at the paintings in the room. She was glad to see that none of these were as gruesome as the depictions of war in the hallway, but were instead surprisingly pleasant. There was a picture of flowers—a watercolor, with soft, pastel colors that were relaxing to the eye. There was a portrait, too, of a beautiful woman with pale blonde hair and big blue eyes. Elise stared at the picture for a long moment before she stood up to undress for bed.

  There was a knock at the door and Elise glanced over at it, staying where she was. The knock came again and for some reason a chill ran through her body. It was late, and Nikola had gone to bed. Elise assumed that the lord of the mansion was asleep as well—there had been no lamp lit in his office when they had walked by on their way to Elise’s room.

  “Who is it?” Elise called. There was no answer, but another knock on the door.

  “Nikola?”

  Still no answer. Elise got up out of bed, walking slowly across the floor as the knocking continued, relentless now, unceasing. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest—she had no idea who it could be, who might be on the other side refusing to answer her. The knocking stopped suddenly and there was silence. Elise crept toward the door, putting her ear against it to listen for any telltale noise on the other side. She jumped, nearly screaming when the knocking started again. Elise held her breath then, throwing the door open to see that the hallway was empty.

  Elise exhaled, leaning out and looking up and down the hallway. It was dark, lit only by the moonlight that was streaming in at either end of the house. Elise tried to focus her eyes in the dark but couldn’t; she shivered, looking around anyway, realizing then that anybody could be standing in the shadows just a few feet from her and she wouldn’t even know it. She glanced up and down the corridor one last time before going in her room, making sure to lock the door behind her. Elise crawled into bed, getting under the covers and pulling the blanket up to her chin. Though the fire was still lit, it had somehow gotten cold in the room, and Elise couldn’t stop shivering even as she curled up under the thick wool blanket.

  Chapter 4

  Elise woke up in the morning, blinking against the sunlight that was streaming in through the open curtains. She sat up to see that someone had come into her room at some point, and that there was a large tub of hot water steaming in the corner of the room. Elise smiled when she saw it—she hadn’t had a bath while she was at the brothel or for days beforehand. The wash rooms in the brothel were always full and bustling with women coming in and out, and Elise couldn’t bring herself to undress in front of anybody who would walk in the room. She was much too shy for that.

  Elise stripped out of her gown and stepped into the hot bath, taking a sharp breath when the water stung her skin slightly. It felt good to her—cleansing—and she slowly lowered her body inside of it, allowing her skin to adjust to the temperature. Presently, she was surprised to find a black block of soap next to the basin, and ran it all over her body, reveling in the luxurious lavender scent. When she was finished, she reluctantly rose out of the bath, wishing th
at she could spend all day in there, but knowing that she had to get to work. She tied her wet hair up so that it was off of her neck and got ready for the day, opening the wardrobe to see a simple maid’s uniform hanging on the line. Elise took it down and put it on, glad that it fit, and looked at herself in the mirror. She did miss the pretty dresses she had gotten to wear at the brothel, but the shift was comfortable and fit her just right. She left the room feeling satisfied and ready to work, heading down to the kitchen to get something to eat before she started.

  When she got into the kitchen, Nikola was sitting at the counter, chatting with a large, round man who looked at Elise when she walked in. His face was fat and jolly, cheeks red, his eyes green and sparkling as he looked at Elise.

  “You’re the new maid,” he said. Elise nodded.

  “I’m Jason. You can call me Potts.”

  “Elise,” she said.

  “You’ll have to remind me to show you the servant’s hallways, Elise,” Nikola said as Elise sat down with her to eat. “Lord Ashton doesn’t insist that we use them, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to wander about in plain sight when the lord has company over.”

  “Does he have company often?” Elise asked.

  “Not often,” said Nikola. “But sometimes he has his peers over, other noblemen, businessmen and merchants who work on his properties. He entertains once every fortnight or so, and I’m always careful to make myself scarce when he has people over.”

  “Why?” Elise asked.

  “I’m just old-fashioned,” Nikola said. “But I would prefer if you would follow that rule yourself. I’ll show you the servant’s corridors. You don’t have to use them daily, but when Lord Ashcroft has his guest over tomorrow night, you’ll need to be acquainted with them.”

  “Tomorrow night?” Elise asked. “Who is coming?”

  Nikola shot her a stern look. “You’re a young girl. I understand you’re curious. But it’s best not to ask too many questions in this place. Keep that in mind.”