They were simple enough. I was to tend to her whenever she demanded, was to run to fetch whatever her little heart wanted. I wasn’t allowed to linger in her area for too long, wasn’t allowed to look at her unless absolutely necessary, and most importantly: I was never allowed to talk to her.
It hadn’t always been that way, but she’d pushed me too far when we were younger, and I’d gotten mouthy. She cried, her father yelled, and the rule was made. Never to be broken.
I hated Lisbeth. And Lisbeth hated me.
But still, I watched her.
“Sorry. It won’t happen again.”
My eyes were downcast, shame painting my cheeks with red heat. If not for this job, my mother and I would be on the streets, begging for scraps to eat. The Rose family had been good to us, and my fascination with Lisbeth had threatened their kindness on more than one occasion.
But still, I watched her.
Whether that be for lust or hatred, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was it couldn’t be helped. I was a fifteen year old boy coming to age with the raging hormones that came with it. I was tall, much taller than Lisbeth now, but I was still thin, still had a child’s face. Only time would fill out the strength and weight of my body, and time was a tortuous, slow crawl, a rancid beast that couldn’t shape me fast enough.
“Give me the towels. I’ll take them into her room. You should go down and see what help is needed in the kitchen. Everything must be perfect. Lisbeth won’t accept mistakes for this night.”
I handed over the towels, perfectly white and ridiculously expensive. Lisbeth expected everything to suit her extravagant tastes. Her father was only too happy to oblige her. It surprised me they didn’t have a pedestal upon which to perch their beloved doll of a daughter, or a glass case to enclose her. She was loved that much. Pampered beyond words.
It made me hate her more.
My mother reached up to touch my cheek. She knew what I was thinking, knew that if not for my love of her, I would have left the house years ago. I would have gladly relinquished my role as Lisbeth’s abused pet.
“Go now. Before Franklin comes searching.”
Franklin Rose was the overseer of the family’s estate. Younger brother to Marcus Rose, he was Lisbeth’s uncle and the only man with whom I had more than a cordial relationship.
In many ways, Franklin had raised me. He’d been a strong male figure I could model myself after. But Franklin was never a pushover, and he was never weak. He simply didn’t have the highest standing in the family. Although, at times, I believed he preferred the shadows.
Why take the lead when others could handle whatever businesses the family managed?
It wasn’t like Franklin had to go without. He profited just like the rest of them.
My mother grinned and patted me on the cheek, her anger from a second ago lost to the love she had for me.
“Go. I’ll take care of the brat so you don’t have to for once.”
I’d do anything she asked. If not for her, I’d have no one, and she had been a good parent to me despite the long hours she worked.
Rounding the corner, I walked past Lisbeth’s room without looking through her door again, my long-legged steps carrying me down the hall and to a stairwell tucked in back for the servants to sneak around unseen.
Quickly descending to the second landing, I stopped in place to find Franklin waiting for me.
As usual, he was wearing a suit that cost more than everything I owned, his dark hair swept back and greying at the temples. He had shrewd grey eyes that missed nothing and a smile that was more a warning than anything friendly.
A brow arched in question.
“Did your mom catch you spying again?”
“Fuck off,” I growled as I sped past him, my feet hurrying down another flight of stairs as he followed after me.
Franklin had never been the type to get angry with me when I was in a mood. He found it amusing how Lisbeth could push all my buttons and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
Grabbing my arm when I reached the first floor, he spun me around to face him.
“She deserves to be knocked down a peg or two.”
I laughed knowing it would never be me to knock her down.