Chapter 4 - Whispers in the Hallways
By morning, the domestic staff regarded me with a mixture of terror and awe. Word had traveled through the subterranean network of maids, cooks, and guards that the strange girl in the white shirt and dark apron had survived an interrogation by Ronan Cain himself and had been granted quarters in the East Wing, just down the hall from the matriarch.
I stood in the expansive estate kitchen, waiting for a tray of herbal tea to be prepared for the matriarch’s morning audience. The head housekeeper, a severe woman with iron-gray hair named Mrs. Gable, watched me from across the marble island with undisguised hostility.
"You think because the old lady took a liking to your little tattoo that you belong here, Miss Cole," Mrs. Gable muttered, sliding the porcelain teapot onto a silver tray. "Mr. Ronan runs this estate now. Every door, every key, every breath taken in this house answers to him. Cross him once, and not even the matriarch can save you."
"I'm not looking to cross anyone, Mrs. Gable," I replied evenly, lifting the heavy silver tray. "I'm just here to do what was asked of me."
"Careful," she warned, her eyes narrowing. "Curiosity killed more than just cats in the Cain family."
I carried the tray up the sweeping grand staircase, navigating the maze of hallways lined with oil paintings of stern ancestors who seemed to judge my every step. When I reached the matriarch’s private suite, the double doors were cracked open. Inside, sitting in a velvet chair by the tall windows, was Ronan. He was speaking quietly with his mother, reviewing a stack of legal documents tied with red ribbons.
As I stepped into the room, both of them stopped talking. The matriarch offered me a frail, welcoming smile, her diamond necklaces catching the morning sun. But Ronan’s eyes were like flint, tracking my every movement as I placed the tray on the side table.
"Leave us, Sadie," Ronan commanded softly, not taking his eyes off me.
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"She stays," the matriarch countered immediately, echoing her stance from the night before. "Sadie has more right to be in this room than your syndicate lawyers, Ronan."
Ronan let out a low, cynical sigh, running a hand through his slicked dark hair. "Mother, you're playing a dangerous game. The board meeting is tomorrow, and the council is already asking questions about who let an unknown girl into the inner sanctum."
