Page 54 of The Midnight Order
It was a nice sentiment once I realized he wasn’t trying to be as weird as I initially surmised.
It’s nearly eleven in the morning, and I’m jonesing for coffee in any form and something starchy.
The kitchen has been fully remodeled and has new fixtures and appliances that look as if they have never been used, even though a plump woman in a maid’s uniform is scrubbing them down with a rag and spray.
She turns, and her red eyes gleam in the recessed lighting. “Didn’t hear you come in.”
“Sorry, I was just looking for coffee and maybe a bagel. Could you please point me in the right direction? This kitchen is massive.”
“No.”
Well, then.
“I only mean,” she says, turning and placing her cleaning rag and spray down on the island, “there’s no food in here. They don’t eat. We don’t eat. Well, we do, but…” she sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.
She’s awkward, and I like it. It’s refreshing to know that even as an immortal, she can be a hot mess, just like some humans.
“I’m Silver.” I step toward her and offer my hand, recalling the moment with Lowell and wondering if it was the right thing to do.
She takes it and shakes it correctly, though. “Milly.”
“Pretty name.”
“As is yours,” she says.
“They keep no food here? Where has my food been coming from? The ice cream I found in the freezer the other night?” Come to think of it, it was the only carton in there…
“They bring food in for you, and I think Lowell was the one who said you liked black cherry ice cream and made a big deal about having it here for you, even when Master Jasper said that wasn’t a necessity.”
“Ice cream is always a necessity.”
She smiles, her fangs glimmering and calling attention to themselves.
I clear my throat. “So, am I allowed to go into town, then? Where is everyone?”
After showering this morning, I made my way downstairs, but now I realize I haven’t seen anyone save for Milly.
“Who knows, with them? I’m sure you’re allowed to do as you like, being the lady of the house. There are cars in the garage; I can show you the way if you’d like.”
I know wholeheartedly that I’m not the lady of the house or allowed to take off with one of their cars, but I still nod at her to show me to the garage as I run and slip into my shoes quickly.
She leads me into a space that resembles a mansion for cars more than agarage.
The sprawling room lights up one area at a time as Milly clicks on the lights on the panel to our right.
“Whoa.”
“Mm.”
“Who needs this many cars?” I whisper, walking forward and running my hand over the side of a fire engine red Ford Thunderbird.
“Well, there are four of them, and they have been alive for a very long time,” Milly offers.
Smirking, I nod as my eyes cast a few cars over, finding a car I know all too well because I’ve had my eyes on one for years, but haven’t had the nerve to spend the cash on it.
A Bugatti Divo.
It’s silver with a teal blue trim, and the windows are too dark to be legal.
