The Kiss (4 page)

Witch
, they whispered, and neither Adam nor his Papa had
ever doubted otherwise. 

Evie’s grandmother. 

Chapter
Five

Eva was surprised by the splendor of her bedroom, more than
surprised—in fact she was shocked. She walked around the room slowly, touching
the rich fabric of the drapes and running her fingers over the polished wood of
the tables. The carpet felt thick underfoot, the bed huge. Everything was
covered in the softest white linen she’d ever felt. Everything but the drapes,
which were thick velvet and wouldn’t let even a slither of light in once
closed.

It was the most beautiful room she had ever seen. Everything in
it screamed money and class, and after living in a one room studio, aka a
hovel, for the last six months it was unbelievable. In fact Eva was pretty sure
it was a mistake, a bedroom like this would surely be meant for the guests not
the staff.

She placed her single bag—looking, she had to admit, downright
grubby in these surroundings—next to the closet and peeked inside. A row of
startlingly white shirts hung on one side, followed by a row of black skirts.

Her uniform she guessed.

Eva pulled a shirt out—it felt exceedingly soft—the material
almost fluttering through her fingers. The startling whiteness would work
brilliantly with her own olive skin and she smiled at the contrasting color.

She also recognized the designer and the fact that it was in her
size. Slowly she counted the shirts, fifteen in all, a quick mental calculation
and Eva was sure there must have been a mistake. Shirts by that designer did
not come cheap and fifteen of them? She pulled a skirt out and it too was in her
size, it too designer.

She held it up against herself and turned to the full length
mirror hanging directly next to the closet. It looked a little on the short
size, would need to hang low on her hips to cover her generous ass.

Sighing Eva hung the skirt back up and turned back to the mirror.
God I look a mess.
Her hair was once again escaping the braid that she
tied it in every morning. No wonder though, it had a mind of its own. Eva had tried—when
funds were available—every product known to man and nothing had the power to
subdue the curls. Brushes died in Eva’s hair, it was not unknown, after a
really excruciating brushing session, for her to find wayward bristles days
later. It was no good cutting it either, it just stood out from her head in all
directions, a gift from her Mediterranean ancestors who knew how many
generations back. The only solution was to keep it long and tie it up.

She stepped a little closer to the mirror, and wished she hadn’t
gained so much weight. She knew that a lot of women hankered after the hungry
eighteen year old look but not her. Eva liked hips and boobs and an ass—she
looked good with them, now though she wondered if she had too much. Her breasts
looked huge outlined against the thin fabric of her jumper and she could only
imagine what the tailored shirts in the wardrobe would do to them.

Her stomach was still relatively flat but her hips flared
outwards alarmingly.
Talk about hour glass.
The tiny skirt was going to
emphasis all of that and Eva sighed at the thought.

Feeling a bit dispirited she moved away from the mirror to
explore the rest of the room. The fireplace looked as though it actually worked
and she shivered in delight at the idea of having an actual fire. Her room at
home had only one tiny heater and she’d spent the last few months—once winter
set in—wrapped in numerous blankets to ward off the chill.

She noticed another door next to the bay window; it opened into
another room and Eva’s eyes widened. After a moment of looking around she was
absolutely
certain
that there definitely had been a mistake in her
bedroom allotment.

A huge circular bath dominated the room, a pile of the plushest
towels ever sat next to it and a basket filled with lotions and creams sat next
to them. Eva picked a bottle up, recognized the brand and shook her head
slowly.

Expensive, everything was expensive.

She was unsure what to do and wondered if Finn had got confused,
surely he couldn’t have mistaken her for a guest?
He did seem a bit… simple?
Decision made Eva picked up her bag and placed it on the dresser. She wouldn’t
unpack, she’d leave everything exactly as it was and then when the mistake was
realized she could move to her actual room without any fuss.

The window drew her and Eva pulled back the flowing muslin to
look outside. Her breath caught and she couldn’t help but gasp in delight. The
room overlooked the driveway and directly below... the fountain.

Her statue was facing away but she could see from this angle that
the alabaster cloth hid only his front. Sculptured shoulders, spectacular
buttocks and long muscular legs greeted her gaze. She smiled and made to grab
her sketch pad... no, she shook her head, she would wait until she could see
him up close, until she could capture him as he should be captured.

She pressed her face closer to the window and could see in the
distance the statues of the embracing men and the voluptuous women, they too
were ripe for drawing. The view went on forever, bare trees and frozen fields,
it was a view many would flash the cash for.

Another car turned on to the lane and Eva hastily moved away from
the window. A guest or a worker, she didn’t know. Either way she didn’t want
them to see her gawking out of what must surely be one of the best rooms.

She looked around again not really sure what to do, unwilling to
make a mess of anything. Her stomach gurgled at the exact moment she spotted
the basket of fruit and chocolates on the bedside table. Eva was damn hungry
and nothing had been said about dinner. Carefully she took out a chocolate bar
and rearranged the basket so it wouldn’t be obvious, sat down on the very, very
edge of the bed and took a bite. The chocolate was wonderful and she was
strongly tempted to grab another.

I’ll ask Grace, she’ll know what the hell is going on
.
When she got moved to her actual room she would unpack and settle in. In the
meantime... Eva eyed the goodie basket again...

Four months in the middle of nowhere wasn’t exactly her idea of
fun but it occurred to her, as she grabbed an apple, that in these surroundings
it wouldn’t be so bad after all.

* * * *

“Everyone understands their assignments?” Grace asked.

Heads bobbed around the room.

“Good because I don’t have time to molly coddle anyone. The staff
schedule is in the staff room and you should all be able to follow it, if you can’t
you shouldn’t be here.”

Another row of nods followed and Grace smiled, in what Eva now
took, to be her usual grim fashion. Eva guessed she must have left London not long after her to reach the Estate in time to brief everyone, it didn’t show on
her though. She looked immaculate and Eva suspected she was the sort of woman
that always did. 

Looking around at her fellow staff members Eva was struck again
how young they all were. Grace had clearly meant what she said about fitness.
Eva couldn’t see a single person who looked bigger than size ten. It also
occurred to her that everyone was quite good looking, maybe it was down to her
enforced celibacy over the last few months but the men all looked pretty fit,
the women all lovely. Eva wondered if their appearance actually had been a part
of the interview. If so she had to say she was surprised to have passed.

“Dinner will be a help yourself affair in the staff kitchen, feel
free to make your way there now, rest afterwards and work will start tomorrow,”
Grace added.

More nods, some good natured chatter and the group began to head
off to the kitchen; despite her desire to get to know everyone, and her
rumbling stomach, Eva realized dinner would have to wait.

“Erm, Grace, can I have a word?” she began, stopping her before
she reached the door.

Grace turned, looked Eva up and down in a way that made her want
to brush her hair, and nodded. “Certainly, Eva.”

“I think there’s been a mistake,” Eva said.

Grace’s eyebrows shot so far up they nearly reached her hairline.
“A mistake? Are you suggesting you were mistaken in coming here?”

Her voice was deadly and Eva remembered what she’d said about
losing people in the first few days and not being happy about it.

Quick to reassure her Eva replied. “No nothing like that, of
course not! I’m very pleased to be here, it’s just that I think you’ve given me
the wrong room.”

The eyebrows relaxed a little. “Is there something wrong with
your room, Eva?”

“No, how could there be, it’s lovely, but I think Finn must have
put me in a guest bedroom by mistake.” 

“You’re in the white room, off the landing on the first floor, by
the bust of Aphrodite?” Grace asked.

Eva nodded and Grace’s eyebrows went back to their normal
position.

“I chose which rooms you’re given and that
is
your room,
all our staff are given rooms on the first floor.”

Eva bit her lip not wanting to argue but still unsure. “I thought
we’d be in the servant’s quarters, or the attic.”

Grace laughed slightly. She looked very different when she
smiled, younger somehow. “Eva, the Estate has well over a hundred rooms, there
are twelve staff not including myself, Finn, our cooks or the domestics, and
we’re expecting only twelve guests, plenty of room for everyone. Besides our
guests like the staff to be intermixed with them, it just makes sense.”

“I thought we were the domestics?” Eva asked in confusion.

“You’re here to waitress, serve drinks, do a bit of light
cleaning and such,” Grace replied. “I certainly don’t expect you to scrub
toilets or showers. Haven’t you checked the staff schedule?”

“You only just mentioned it.”

“Well make sure you do, all your duties will be on there.”

Not wanting to argue but feeling a little bewildered Eva couldn’t
help but speak. “But you said we were to do a bit of everything.”

Grace sighed. “I say that to put people off, Eva. The harder the
interview the easier they fall. It’s always best to make the job sound worse
than it is.”

“Right…”

“Just relax and get used to everything okay?”

Eva bit down on her lip. “So that’s my room whilst I’m here?” she
confirmed, just to be sure. “And my uniform in the wardrobe?”

“Yes everything in that room is for your own personal use.”

 Eva’s mind went straight to the food basket, followed by the
bath and then the huge bed.
It’s freaking unbelievable. How the hell did I
get so lucky?
She had a hundred questions she wanted to ask, most starting
with why, but Grace’s stern countenance stopped them dead.
Why question your
good luck? Just go with the flow.

“Now go and have some dinner,’ Grace added, giving a critical
once over again. “And afterwards you might want to think about exploring. The
gym and pool are in the basement.”

Chapter
Six

It took Adam over an hour to reach Evie’s home on horseback and
he would be lying if he pretended he wasn’t nervous. The last time he’d visited
the cottage in the forest he’d been a young boy. His mother had been struck ill
following a difficult birth, the child, Adam’s younger brother, had died and
she seemed set to follow. Granny Hildegarde, Evie’s grandmother, had given his
father some herbs and they’d worked for a time, brought her a few extra months
to spend with her remaining child.

Since that day the old Lord Winterwood had given them an interest
in the cottage for as long as they wanted it. Likely it would be passed to Evie
one day.

The cottage was located at the foot of the forest, surrounded by
imposing oak trees and climbing vines it looked tiny—though Adam knew from
experience that it was spacious enough inside. Granny Hildegarde had tamed the
wilderness on the ground around the cottage to create a substantial herb garden
and a number of strange plants swayed in the slight afternoon breeze. Adam took
a deep breath, ignoring the myriad of odd smells around him and dismounted.

“Are you okay?” he asked the girl. She’d sobbed gently the whole
ride and Adam had been at a loss for how to comfort her.

“I’m cold,” she replied.

Shock no doubt, but again Adam didn’t know what to do about it.
Brandy might help or some sweet tea, Granny Hildegarde would know surely. He
tethered Sirrah to a large oak, and as gently as he could, lifted Evie down.
She winced as her feet made contact with the ground and Adam held back a curse.

She was so tiny, nothing much to her really. Barely tall enough
to reach his shoulder and as thin as a young colt Adam marveled that anyone
could mistake her for a woman. He brushed back the wild curls framing her face
and shuddered when he saw the extent of the bruising marring her pale skin.

She looked like her grandmother, there was no doubt about that. The
same intent look in her eyes, the same light shading—like she spent too much
time indoors. Shivering next to him, he could see the now dried blood clinging
to her skirts and the marks on her neck becoming even angrier.
Damn Felton.
I should have finished him off for good.

“Yes, you should have.”

Adam started and turned to the cottage, steadying Evie as he did
so. Had he spoken aloud?

“Bring her to me.”

Stood in the doorway Granny Hildegarde, Eve’s grandmother,
beckoned them forward. She was even older than Adam remembered, her skin
wrinkled and pale, her strange eyes peering out at him. Yet even now, who knew
how many years old, she exuded a vitality that Adam couldn’t help but recognize
and be slightly wary of.

Adam swallowed, lifted the girl into his arms, and walked towards
the old woman. “I—”