by Tara Brown
I turn and follow him down the dimly-lit hallway. A smell assaults my nose. I cringe, “What is that?”
He glances back, “Pack rat, they found it in the walls. Killed it this morning.” His eyes glisten when he says it. He is officially scary. The stink and the dark hallway add to his creepiness.
He stops at a room at the end of the hallway and opens the door with a key. He hands me the key and walks away.
I look at the back of him, “Thanks.”
He doesn’t say anything. He just leaves. I sigh and walk into the room. It’s neat and doesn’t smell like the hallway. It overlooks the lake and the town. I had always imagined the view of the town was better though. I can barely make out the small shops, and yet from the town, the mansion is colossal and easily seen. The window is large, and the feel of the room is soft and airy. I like it, instantly. I want to stay. I want to sleep. I want to fit in here. I have no idea why, and yet, no desire to argue with the want to be here.
I ignore all of my common sense and sit on the bed, bouncing to test out the softness. It’s firm but not too firm. I lie back, closing my eyes and let out a huge sigh. I feel wearied in ways I can't explain. I get up to lock the door and jump back onto the bed, curling up to sleep. I should change and help out with the cleaning, but I am drained in a way I have never been.
When my eyes shut again, I have the strangest feeling I am being watched, but I crash into a deep sleep too fast to care.
Chapter Five
I wake to a sound that reminds me of something.
Without opening my eyes, I prepare for Mary to wake me with biting fingers and rage. I open my eyes slowly and see that, instead, I am in the pretty room at the mansion and not my dingy bedroom. I feel like I’m waking up at home, but it’s not Mary’s, it’s my real home.
Maybe I am at home. Maybe all along it has been my home. I don’t remember where I lived when I was little. My mom said it was in Maryland. A small town in Maryland that was never important to us. I don’t remember leaving our old home. I just remember living with Mary and being sad about Dad dying. Then Rosie was born and Mary loved her. Mom killed herself and we were alone. And then Rosie died and I was alone.
Lying here thinking about it, I sense somehow that by being here, I am less alone. It is a sudden feeling and entirely linked to this house. Like when I met Bastion. The moment he climbed onto my roof and sat in my window, I felt less alone. It was a feeling I had never had. Not even when Lune became my friend or Sarah or Maggie. It was different with Bastion, from the moment our eyes met really. It was like I knew him, and somehow he saw me beyond the curse from the start. I miss him. I guess a week is long enough to make feelings for a person because I still genuinely have them. In fact, I am haunted by the incomplete feeling I have from not saying goodbye.
As I’m wondering where he is and if he’s thinking about me too, I have the faintest sensation like the air just left the room.
Bastion leaves my brain and I look around the room. I don’t remember why I fell asleep, why I am here, or why I have not left yet. My common sense has returned with the night’s sleep. It takes a second for the events to catch up in my mind. It's then that I realize I am in a strange home, with strange people, and no one I know has a clue as to where I am. I have no explanation as to why I was so reckless and stayed. The memory of it is even a little foggy.
But no matter how at home I feel, I need to find my friends and tell them I’m okay. I need to leave, now.
I get up and glance out at the town below. I wonder if they are scared or concerned that I am gone. I can barely make out the stores. I can't see any cars or people though. It is as if the town has shut down for the day.
I sigh, knowing no one but Brandon even knows I am gone. He didn’t even seem worked up by the fact I was getting into a stranger’s car. Oddly enough, neither did I. The smug look on Mary’s face, and the dead look in Mrs. Hamilton’s eyes, haunt me. Looking down on the town, it is easy to feel at home in the creepy old house; I am a monster everywhere else. I deserve to live in a place like this.
I get a creepy tickle crawling up my spine as I think about the past few days and the ways in which things have gone, and the fact that to recall it all, I really have to concentrate.
The creepiness of the mansion is short-lived as I glance around the room and the yard. There is a devil on my shoulder, whispering the sweet things I need to hear when I look around the room. I am warm and comfortable here, and that has to be a bigger priority right now. The other people in the house seem nice. I don’t think anyone has come into my room. I might actually be as safe as my heart believes me to be. I don’t know how long I’ve been here napping, but I have a bad feeling I’ve slept through my first day. The sun looks to be rising and the day has that fresh feeling to it.
Maybe I should give the job a chance, before leaving without even a single attempt at it.
I quickly change into my maid’s uniform in the closet, cringing at how short it is. I’m not a costume girl on a good day, so this one makes me feel like a stripper. It comes to my knees. It isn’t tacky, but it looks like a real maid’s uniform. Like the kind Lune, Sarah, Maggie, and Jenny like to wear to get the boys to notice them at Halloween. I sigh and leave the room, locking it before I go, just like home. At least here I have the feeling I am safe. Here there doesn’t appear to be anyone like Mary to hurt me, not yet anyway.
Maybe staying isn’t such a bad idea. They don’t know who I am at least.
The hallway brings back the instant dislike of the mansion. It’s still dark and creepy. The stench of the rat is gone but it isn’t a huge improvement. I tiptoe past the spot that has been patched. No more pack rat. I glance around the corner at the top of the stairs, but no one is there. I look ahead at the foyer and I get a strange feeling, like I’ve seen it before. I glance around again, certain no one will see me if I venture left. The wind comes instantly, but I walk through it, pushing my way across the stairs and down the dark corridor. The leaves scratch along the floor, as if trying to sound an alarm and get me caught. I ignore the wind, it really is the only way. I walk until I come to a single doorway; it is the only one in the hall.
The light seems to be even more lessened in this part of the house, like it doesn’t want to come this far down the hallway. I reach forward, actually scared of the thing I will find in the room. I touch my fingers to the door, about to push it open, when fingers dig into my arm, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHO BROUGHT YOU?” I’m spun around. The voice is deep and angry.
I wince, preparing for the swinging of arms. I see a man; I cannot make out his face. He lowers his head so I cannot see him. Not that it matters, we cannot really see each other in the dark. “Why are you here?”
I stammer, “M-m-maid.” My breath is ragged.
His grip on my arm lessens and eventually he lets go.
I am shaking when I muster a few words, “I-I-I’m sorry, I-I-I’m the n-n-new maid.”
He drops his hands, “This part of the house is off limits to all staff. Do you understand me? This is my private part of the house.” He sounds different suddenly.
I nod quickly, jerking my face. He sighs, “Just go downstairs and get some breakfast. Heidi will tell you the rules of the grounds, and I suppose, I will see you down there.” His tone is disappointed, maybe that I am there. I don’t understand.
I want to move past him but he is blocking the way. He's huge and frightening there in the dark hall, nearly pressing me into the door. Regardless of dismissing me, he has not moved to make it possible.
He leans forward and I hear him sniff the air. I feel a disgusted look cross my face. I’m ready to knee him in the balls, when he steps to the side and lets me pass. I run, rounding the corner and flying down the stairs. I try to open the door, but it’s locked so I follow the wind and round another corner, going towards the light. I look behind me to make sure he hasn’t followed me and smack into something hard, getting knocked back onto my butt. I cry out
as I land on the hard marble floor.
A huge hand reaches down, lifting me off the ground. I look up to see the angry face of Alex. He narrows his dark-blue eyes at me, “Watch where you’re going.”
He walks past me, leaving me there in the hallway holding myself, trembling.
I stumble forward, looking around. The rooms are open and massive. Our whole town’s population could fit inside one of them. I walk into what I assume is a formal sitting room. Looking around, I’m confused as to what is going on and how I will help clean all of this. There is dust, debris, and mess everywhere but the house is beautiful, if you look past it all. There, in the bones, there is beauty.
“Stunning, is it not?”
I spin to see the man who scared me in the hallway, at least it sounds like him, only he’s being nice to me. I’m not sure how to react at first, but then I see him, really see him. It makes me recoil. He has a cloak on, covering his body. The hood hangs down low enough to cover his face except for his lips and chin. I can see a mark on his chin, a scar maybe. I stare too long at it. He walks into the room, leaving the huge black cloak on. He points out at the lake, “The family who built it was cursed, apparently.”
I wince, nodding, “I’ve heard that.”
He turns his head, I see his lip twitch, “Have you?”
I can see the scar better with him so close to the window. It is thick, I cannot imagine what the rest of him looks like. He must be frightening if he is keeping the cloak up. I look away, remembering how it feels to have everyone stare at me like that. I glance out at the lake, “You must know who I am, if you know about the curse?”
“I do.” He says it so matter-of-factly.
“How?”
“The last name. Just now, when I confronted Lance about offering you the job, he told me your name. I knew instantly. You are the last of the Lakes. The Lachlans, that is.”
“I thought you wanted a maid?”
He nods, “Apparently, I did.”
I glance at him, “If my last name scares you, I can go.”
He smiles, it’s a lovely smile. He has very straight, white teeth and soft-looking lips, like he might be handsome underneath the rest. “You think you scare me?”
I nod once. He laughs. It is the kind of laugh that puts a smile on my lips too. I don’t understand his laughing at the curse.
“You think I, a scarred man in a cloak, would be scared of a young girl?”
I fold my arms. He is mocking me. I like that he thinks it’s a joke. He thinks I am a normal girl. Compared to him, I might be. I nod, “Fair enough, but you should try very hard not to fall in love with me, or else you’ll die and from the grave you can do all the laughing you want.” I nearly slap my hands against my mouth. I don’t even know where the words came from. I could swear, I might have even had an accent when I said them.
He stops laughing, “You should go find Heidi and get breakfast, like I told you to.” His voice has changed. I nod once and turn, leaving the room.
“That way.”
He points a scarred hand to the door on the other side of the room. His hand looks creepy, the way the cloak hangs from his outstretched arm, like the grim reaper is pointing the direction I should go.
I stop, looking at the size of him. He looks massive, even in the huge room. I walk to the door, stealing a glance at the scars on his fingers and hand. They look like thick scratches.
I walk through the door, closing it and pressing my back against it. I am in the kitchen. Heidi gives me a smile from the counter where she is baking bread, “Good morning.”
I nod once, “Is it?”
She laughs, “I couldn’t help but hear, you have met the master.”
I nod again, “I believe I have.”
She smiles warmly, “He is a sweet man, once you get to know him.”
I shake my head, “I don’t think I ever want to get to know him.”
Her eyes glisten, “You never know.” She passes me a plate with a warm cinnamon bun and a cup of tea. I take it and sit in the morning sun at the huge breakfast table. Lance comes in, getting his bun and tea. He gives me a grin, “How are you this morning, love?”
I shake my head, “I don’t know. Tired, I guess.”
He smiles, “Well, it is exhausting changing houses and jobs.” Tim comes and sits next to me. He smiles from his bun and warm milk, “Morning, Miss Erralynn.”
I give him a funny look, “Lynnie. Call me Lynnie.”
He giggles and licks the frosting from his bun, “Yes, miss.”
Laughing, I point, “Just Lynnie. No miss or misses or ma’am. Just Lynnie.”
Alex slumps into a chair opposite me. Heidi hurries over, passing him his tea and bun. I don’t like the way she is waiting on him, hurrying like he will get angry. He sips the tea and makes a face, “You forgot the cream.”
She places it down in front of him, “You drank before I could put it in.”
He scowls at her. She pours the cream, stirring quickly. I laugh at him, “What are you three years old? Baby can't stir in his own cream?”
His eyes turn to me. Heidi’s eyes are wide. She gives me a frightened look.
Alex snarls, “What did you just say to me?”
I sip my tea, “You heard me. Do you know how lucky you are to have someone like her? Someone who makes you tea? Spoiled little brat.”
He jumps up and walks around to me. He looks down on me, “You want to say that to my face?”
I jump up and look up into his dark-blue eyes, “I do. You are a spoiled little brat.” I have no idea what has gotten into me, or why I keep almost using an accent when I talk.
He grabs my arms, but I do something I have never done before. I shove him back. He is massive so he only moves slightly. A grim smile crosses his lips.
Heidi steps between us, “The master wouldn’t like this.”
Alex gives her a deadly stare, lets go of me, and stalks out of the kitchen. She sighs, shaking her head, “Please, don’t provoke him.”
I make a face, I can’t even fight it, ”Why? He’s an asshole. I’m sure that you could find someone who is better at gardening or whatever the hell he does.” I look back at Tim, “Sorry. Don’t say that. It’s a bad word.” He snickers over his cinnamon bun, and I have no idea what has come over me.
Lance sighs, “We need him because the master likes him here. That’s why. We don’t get to question how things work here, we just do our job.”
I slump back into the seat, “Maybe me working here is a bad idea. Your weird master doesn’t even want me here, anyway.” I look at Lance, “Can you give me a ride back to town?”
His eyes dart to Heidi. She places a hand on my arm, “Let’s not rush into things. I think you and young Master Alex will get on famously once you settle in. He is just an abrupt person. He softens.” Her voice is high pitched like she is lying to me. “Besides, the master will want you here. He just needs to adjust to more staff. He knows we need the help.” I roll my eyes and sip my tea.
Alex seems like a jerk. I highly doubt we will get on at all. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I have a horrid flash of an idea. I could make him love me and kiss him. It is a joke in my mind but somewhere in the back of my head, there is a whisper that tells me that is a bad idea, a sin even. Something terrible has happened to my brain, I swear it. I feel comfortable and cocky in this house. It's like I have been around them as long as Lune and Sam. I don’t need to be meek and scared; I can be me—the me I am with my friends and the few people who know me.
Heidi sits down and sips her tea. She is covered in flour, but it doesn’t stop her from eating and drinking. I like her. I would like to hug her and have her be my mom. She has that plump, comfy-mom look to her. Tim is a lucky kid.
“How did you all end up working here?”
She shakes her head, “Oh you know, me and Tim came on after the boat ride over. We found passage here with a man seeking a cook for his master’s estate. Been here ever since.” She smiles at Tim. The w
hole thing sounds weird and she looks like she’s lying. I have no idea what she’s talking about. What is a passage?
Lance laughs, “I came to work here from Port’s—uhm, Portland. I was working the docks and I answered an ad for a driver. Same as you, I suppose.”
I glance down at Tim, “Do you like it here?”
He looks at his mom before he nods and takes the last bite of his cinnamon bun.
Following suit, I too take a bite of the bun, moaning into it. It’s by far the best thing I have ever tasted. I give Heidi a look, “It’s so good.”
She blushes, “Well, thank you. My mother taught me how to make them. The secret is to over churn the butter slightly.”
I laugh, “You churn your own butter?”
“Once upon a time, I suppose. Now it’s almost like the butter just shows up on its own.” She has a funny look in her eyes when she says it.
I shrug, “Whatever works, I guess.”
After breakfast she sets me up in the study to clean. I dust, wash, and pile debris in a huge heap to put into bags. The work feels like it’s never ending. I swear, I wipe something, and within seconds, it’s dirty again.
I walk to a corner and start to move things into piles—junk and possible keepers. When I turn back to get a garbage bag, the piles are gone and the clutter is where it was. I step back, shaking my head. I did touch the stuff, didn’t I? I did make piles, right?
Oh my God.
The house is creepy like me.
Great.
I look around the old empty study and wonder why I’m not freaking out? Isn’t the rational response to run from the scary mansion, screaming?
I sigh and slump into a reading chair next to a stack of old-fashioned trunks. They look familiar. I think I’ve seen them in a magazine or a movie before. I look around the dusty room for anyone who might see me snooping. My eyes watch the door as I lift a trunk lid. Inside is the oldest guitar I’ve ever seen. I blow the dust off of it and lift it into my lap. I tickle the strings lightly. The sound is bad. I wince and start tuning it. I wish I had a piano, that’s how I learned to tune a guitar.