Page 63 of Halstead House

Mother’s lips pursed as the silence extended painfully. “I see,” was all she said, but Chef Lou’s face reddened and he turned abruptly away.

“Mother, please,” I murmured. “You said you’d be kind.”

“I didn’t say a word, although I could have. His food might be world class, but that man is lying to everyone who passes through this kitchen. I should have known when he called me Mademoiselle that he was a fraud. Do the Halsteads not worry about having employees with integrity?” she said loud enough to carry.

I shriveled up inside at the look on poor Lou’s face. I couldn’t imagine the accent would make a reappearance after this. “Let’s move along, shall we?”

I attempted to do nothing more than gesture into Ana’s office area, but Mother noticed her typing something on her computer and wanted an introduction. I followed along as she pushed her way inside.

“Mother, this is Ana. She’s the facility manager. She’s over running the household and staff, and keeping everything up to par.” Ana gave Mother a warm smile. “Ana, this is my mother, Mrs. Lillian Burke.”

“How old are you?” Mother asked abruptly.

Ana’s eyes clouded in confusion, but she kept her smile in place. “I’m twenty-eight, ma’am.”

“So a little older than Grace? Have the two of you struck up a friendship?” Mother’s smile was kind, and I blinked a few times.

“Ana has been very kind to me and taken me on a few sightseeing adventures,” I replied before Ana had a chance.

“Yes, I did think you looked a little more relaxed than the last time I’d seen you.” Mother reached over to give my cheek a tender pat, her eyes crinkling. As always happened with any displays of affection, my face warmed and I felt pleased. She turned back to Ana. “Thank you for taking care of her.” She smiled. Then, the gears shifted. “Just think, only twenty-eight and running a household of this size, on your own.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Ana said. I could read the questions she shot at me with her eyes. She thought I’d lied to her about my mother. It was only because Mother was currently stringing her sugary web.

“How long have you been doing housekeeping work?”

I felt my face tighten. “Ana isn’t a housekeeper, Mother. She runs the entire household, including all the accounting and staffing...”

Mother cut me off with a wave of her hand. “Still, you must have had to work your way up?”

Ana looked back to Mother and answered the question. “I started as a day staff member doing all sorts of jobs when I was eighteen.”

“Did you attend college?” Mother asked casually, almost as though she didn’t really care. I winced inside. Here came the kill.

“No, ma’am.”

“What a shame. You seem an intelligent girl. I’m surprised you would choose to give up your life for this house when you have more potential than that. Well, to each their own, I suppose. Sometimes we don’t have the strength to crawl from where we were dropped.” Mother turned and walked back out the door.

Ana blinked a few times before her eyes met mine. I tried to apologize with a look. She mouthed the wordwowbefore shrugging and getting back to her work. She didn’t seem devastated, but I promised myself I’d return to check on her later.

“Mother, what on earth was that all about?” I caught up to her as we circled back through the dining room and into the entrance hall.

“What?”

“Telling Ana she’s wasting her life here.”

“She is,” she stated.

“She’s not. This is a good career for her. You have no idea what goes into running a business of this size.”

Mother scoffed. “A business? It’s a family home that they’ve opened up for entertaining.”

“The Halstead Corporation includes this mansion and several businesses. Ana runs this arm of the company.” My jaw clenched. “She has a good, steady job working for decent people. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Mmm. Perhaps. It’s sad, really.” Mother didn’t bother to look at me as she said this, but headed for the main staircase.

“What is that supposed to mean?” My warmth at her affection was quickly taking a back seat to the familiar chill.

“Grace, I would suggest you watch your tone.” Her eyes snapped to mine with a glare that would have frozen the earth’s magma.

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