“Those are rooms of Rachel’s daughters. The elder one is called Christina. She lives in the school and doesn’t come home very often. The younger one is called Constance. She stays at home because of her health problem. Don’t get close to her…Rachel hates any man to have contact with them. So I will be responsible for the cleaning of the two rooms.”
“I got it.”
Jason nodded, feeling puzzled.
“You have to keep that in mind all the time. No kidding. If Rachel finds that you have unnecessary contact with them, she would not only fire you, but also seriously punish the two girls.”
Fearing that Jason might not take it serious, Linda added.
Jason frowned and said, “Is it really so serious?”
He thought this was overreaction. They would live under the same roof. How could they not have any contact as time passed?
“It is more serious than you can imagine. Anyway, when Rachel and I are out, after you prepare the food, you can only send to the door of Constance’s room. You can knock on the door to notice her and then leave immediately. Don’t do anything unnecessary—Constance’s room is the one with a window to the front yard.”
The maid who always looked amiable and gentle instructed him with a stern tone when she talked about this topic. Jason was surprised but he understood the seriousness of the matter. He nodded silently.
People called him Nanny, Manny, Household Aid, etc. Anyway, he was a servant. He just needed to follow the instructions given to him.
Talking about the room on the right-hand side of the corridor on the third floor, with a window facing the front yard, Jason suddenly thought of the elf-like girl he saw just now. That should be the room Linda referred to.
So her name was Constance. Jason repeated the name in his heart.
A day soon passed without his knowing in a lot of work. The night fell.
He moved some pot plants to a shelf under the shingles under Linda’s instruction, as she said it might have rain that night. After he added the cat food to feeder and changed the cat litter, he finally got free for the day.
Unless Rachel had some extra requirements, the time followed belonged to him.
He went back to the sitting room exhausted. A pleasant scent from the dining room made his mouth water and his stomach groan immediately.
“Jason, you must be very tired. Wash your hands and come to have dinner,” Linda said to him with a gentle smile.
“Okay.” Jason nodded.
As he was going to sit down, he saw with the corners of his eyes that Rachel put down the notebook computer on the table by the French window and was going to operate her wheelchair to move to the dining room.
“Let me help you, Rachel.”
Jason walked to her hurriedly and pushed her wheelchair.
Rachel allowed him to help her. When they were going to reach the dining hall, she looked up suddenly at Jason with a cold warning in her eyes.
“I don’t have very high requirements for you. As long as you do the job well, I don’t care about other things. But there is one red line that you can’t cross—do not get close to my two daughters. Not for any reason! Otherwise, I will fire you immediately, without a word!”
Jason was taken aback and he frowned inside. However, as Linda had already told him about this, he concealed his puzzlement and nodded.
After finished eating, Rachel put down the cutlery and used the napkin attached to her chest to wipe her mouth gracefully.
After it was done, her cold glance rested on Jason again and she said, “We don’t have many rules in this family. We do not require people to keep quiet during the meal, but watch your language and do not attempt to impress me with words or action, nor try to fool me or my daughters with any strategy.”
After she said that, she turned the wheelchair around and rolled it away from the dining table by herself. Jason was left there very awkward. He wondered if she was not pleased that he told a few jokes during the meal.
“Jason, don’t take it to heart. Rachel wasn’t blaming you.”
Linda comforted Jason, watching him with worry.
“Does Rachel…find me disgusting?” He wondered if he had done something crossed the line.
“No…You misunderstood. It is not like what you think.”
Linda sighed and shook her head with resignation.
“Then why did Rachel…”
Jason couldn’t find the appropriate words to describe Rachel’s action. It was okay that she was cold to him, but she acted as he was a thief. She had warned him twice in such a short period of time. He thought nobody would feel comfortable being treated that way.
Linda paused for a while and turned to look at the study. And then she moved to sit by Jason’s side and leaned her mouth over to Jason’s ear.
A pleasant scent ran into Jason’s nostrils. Jason bent his head down slight and pricked his ears to listen. His glance fell on Linda’s legs wrapped in black stockings.
Linda’s legs were very beautiful originally. Wrapped in the stockings, they looked more tempting. Her maturity and sexiness were enhanced. The abstinent black dress on her plus her gentle and composed temperament made the men want to rip off the stockings, press her down and crush her savagely.
Her two legs kept together tightly in a graceful manner. There wasn’t any gap between the two legs. On her knees where the stockings were stretched tightly, Jason could see the faint color of the skin. Her feet in slippers were small and shapely, looked very attractive.
Jason swallowed. He had to admit that Linda was a charming woman. Without any physical contact, just feeling her warm breath blowing to his ear, smelling her pleasant scent and watching her legs in the black stockings, some part of his body was having reaction.
As his mind was wondering in somewhere else, Linda started to speak.
“Rachel’s ex-husband is a womanizer and a greedy person, but she didn’t know it at first. After she married him, she let him have a high position without much work to do in her company. However, that man was not satisfied. He not only cheated on Rachel, but also conspired with his mistress to kill Rachel. They attempted to fake an accident and steal Rachel’s wealth.”
Jason opened his eyes widely. ‘s**t! This is far too exciting!’
“He almost made it. Rachel had a narrow escape. She had the police arrest him and his mistress, but she is incapacitated and has to sit on a wheelchair because of the serious injury and intense spiritual trauma. She has to take medicines regularly to stabilize her mental state too…She doesn’t dislike you. It is just after being betrayed, she hates all men…”
When she came to this, Linda’s voice had a tinge of sadness and anxiety.
“After that incident, Rachel dismissed all the servants of the family and rebuilt the walls of the garden. Hedges and trees were rearranged to block view from outside. She tries to avoid letting any men have contact with herself and her daughters. They’ve lived in a closed environment since then…Rachel suffered a lot. So perhaps you would find it easier to understand her and be more tolerant to the conditions we are working in after you know this.”
“I see now.”
‘But…
“…Why would Rachel want me to work here? Wouldn’t she feel uneasy with me in her house?” Jason asked after a pause.
“I am surprised at this arrangement too at first.”
Linda pulled herself together and smiled with resignation. “But you know, Rachel is a kind-hearted woman in fact. Besides, you saved us. So it is not so strange that she hired you…”
Jason fell into silence. He felt as if there was a heavy stone pressing his heart. His emotion was more complicated than before he asked the question. He turned to look in the direction of the study again. His eyes had a mixture of gratefulness and pity.