“Miss Silver doesn’t like taking direction, sir. I told her not to be banging on the piano at this time of night and she took Eleanor and their sticky ice cream fingers and did it anyway!”
I don’t hear a response from him, so I lean a little closer and hold my breath.
“Sir, did you hear me?”
“Yes, Miss Perry. I heard you and I don’t care if Miss Silver and Eleanor play the piano. I want her to learn music.”
Relief washes over me when I hear his response.
“But, sir, that was Meredith’s piano.”
My breath catches in my throat. I had no idea about that fact.
“She just picked it out. She never touched it, didn’t even know how to play,” he responds, sounding very uninterested in her argument.
I hear a change of tone in Miss Perry’s voice, going from shrill to syrupy sweet.
“I’m sorry, sir. Did I do something wrong? I feel like you’re incredibly tense and I will absolutely make sure that the right person is hired for the nanny position this week.”
“Margot is perfectly adequate, Miss Perry. I don’t know why you took so long in the first place to hire someone.”
“Margot?” I hear the surprise in her voice, and I can only assume it’s because he called me by my first name, something he hasn’t done in front of me.
“Yes, Miss Silver.” I can hear the agitation growing in his voice. “Now if you please, Miss Perry. I have some work I need to finish up before my work trip next week.”
“But Mr. Ha—”
“Enough!” I hear him bark and it causes me to jump back. “Miss Silver is the new nanny. She is more than adequate and until she proves otherwise, I don’t want to hear another word about it.”
I can hear my heart thumping in my chest. I turn and sprint down the hall back toward the parlor before Miss Perry can open the door. I hear her heels clicking at a rapid pace. I peek my head around the door and see her stomping up the stairs, hands balled into fists.
I giggle to myself at her petulant display and go back to looking over the books on the shelves. I’m reading over the names when suddenly the thought hits me that Miss Perry likes Mr. Hayes.
Is that why she didn’t call me back? Is she jealous of another woman in the house?
I shrug at the thought and run my fingertips over the spines of the books. I pull one from the shelf. The Two Magics: The Turn of the Screw and Covering End by Henry James. Two of my favorite books.
I open the cover. “Holy shit!” I say as I close it cautiously and put it back on the shelf.
“Something startle you?”
I jump and clutch my chest. Mr. Hayes is standing in the doorway eyeing me.
“Did you know that’s a first edition?” I say, thumbing toward the book I just put back on the shelf.
“I’m aware,” he says, and I feel a little silly asking him that. Of course he knows. It’s his house, his books.
“It doesn’t bother me if you handle them or read them. That’s what they’re there for.” He shoves his hands deep into his pockets and I realize that he’s still in his dress pants, oxfords, and vest. Even his thick black hair is still perfectly in place.
Does he ever just throw on sweats and chill?
The image of him in gray sweats causes my cheeks to flame and I turn my attention back to the shelf, praying he doesn’t notice.
“Miss Silver, I have a business trip coming up on Monday. I’ll be gone for a few days, but you have my contact information and so does Miss Perry. Also, my mother is close by should you need any assistance with Eleanor.”
He turns before I can say anything and walks out. I let out a sigh of relief. But just as quickly he’s back.
“Oh, and Miss Perry mentioned she still needs your paperwork so if you could finish that and give it back to her tonight.”
“Yes, it’s done. I meant to give it to her before dinner and forgot.”
He nods but this time he doesn’t walk away. He just stands there and I’m unsure what else to say so I go back to looking at the books.
“You like to read?” I look back at him.
“Not particularly.” His tone is flat, uninviting.
I see a copy of The Phantom of the Opera on the shelf above my head. I stand on my tiptoes, extending my arm as I reach for it but it’s just a little too far out of my grasp. I fall back on my heels and suddenly, I feel Mr. Hayes’ presence right behind me.
I can feel the warmth of his chest inches from my back as he extends his arm and grabs the book, bringing it down to my hands. The movement causes his cologne to waft in the air. It smells rich and warm and causes my belly to tingle.
“Thank you.” My voice sounds breathy, like it doesn’t belong to me. I spin around but he’s already walking back to the door.
“Have you ever re—”
“Good night, Miss Silver,” he cuts me off and exits the room, walking back down the hall toward his office.
I feel light-headed and dizzy and suddenly I realize I’ve been holding my breath. I exhale a shaky breath and clutch the book to my chest before walking out of the parlor and sprinting up the stairs to my bedroom.
I place the book on my nightstand and grab the papers I need to give to Miss Perry. Her room is a few doors down from mine so I walk over and knock softly on her door.
“Miss Perry, I have the paperwork you need from me.”
The door opens and she greets me with a fake smile, holding her hand out toward me. I place the papers in her hands, and she goes to shut the door, but I put my hand up to stop her.
“I’m sorry but I have a quick question.” I can see by the scowl on her face she’s already annoyed with me.
“Eleanor has been talking a lot about getting a cat. I asked her if she ever had a pet and she said no.”
“And?” Miss Perry says, not seeing where I’m going with this.
“Well, I didn’t know if Mr. Hayes would be open to it. I know the posting said ‘no animals’ but I assume that meant he didn’t want the new nanny bringing along pets, but do you think he’d be okay with Eleanor getting a kitten? I would absolutely make sure she took care of it. I’d teach her and help her.”
Miss Perry’s scowl morphs into a big smile that reaches all the way up to her eyes. It reminds me of that scene in the cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas when he gets the idea to dress up as Santa and rob Whoville of all the presents.
“You know, I think he would absolutely adore a kitten.” Her voice has morphed into that overly sweet tone that I heard her speaking in earlier behind closed doors. “I’ll make sure I tell him but if I were you, I would absolutely go adopt a kitten for little Eleanor. Mr. Hayes will be very happy she has something to occupy her time. He’s actually a huge animal lover himself.”
“Oh, wow! I’m actually shocked, I thought for sure you’d say it’s a bad idea. I’ll double-check with hi—”
She darts her hand out and places it on mine. “No, no, don’t trouble yourself, sweetie. Honestly, he does whatever I tell him so it’s probably best I’m the one who mentions it. I’ll be sure to tell him tomorrow morning before his trip so you and Eleanor can pick one out this coming week.” She gives my hand a squeeze, then she winks.