Chapter 42

The next morning, or rather like three hours after I saw Beau, Mia and I leave our room. Mia is her bubbly old self, grinning so wide, dimples form in her plump cheeks. I look like the crypt keeper. I’m delusional with the lack of sleep. So much so that I run into someone in the hallway.

“Shit, sorry,” I grumble. I’m expecting the gruff bark of Archer or something sarcastic from Beau but I hear neither.

“Oh, don’t worry!”

My eyes widen as I realize the person I ran into is a girl. I rub my eyes and look up at the person in front of me. She’s beautiful looking with bright blue eyes and fiery red hair. It’s swept off her face and I can see the high arches of her cheekbones. She’s smiling at me which is the oddest thing I’ve ever seen in this house. I rub my eyes again, convincing I’m making it up. The woman laughs.

“Oh darling,” she says. “You look like you need a big cup of joe!”

Her voice has a slight Southern drawl to it. Like she spent time in the Southern territories and adopted the dialect but wasn’t born there. I open my eyes and give her a half smile, slightly embarrassed.

“Sorry,” I say again. “I didn’t get much sleep last night with all the –” I wave my hand haphazardly at Archer’s door. My face feels hot even thinking about it. “You know.”

“Oh, oh,” The woman says. She laughs, deep and genuine and shakes her head. “No, no. I wasn’t with Archer. I’m Neil’s girlfriend, Angela.”

Neil’s girlfriend?

How have I been her almost a month and still haven’t seen her around?

“Oh, hi,” I shift Mia on my hip and stick my hand out. “I’m Chloe. The Nanny.”

“Yes, I’ve heard a bunch about you,” she says. She puts her perfectly manicured one in my crusty dry hand. The juxtaposition is jarring. She peels her lips back to a toothy smile. Her teeth are perfect.

“Nice to meet you Chloe.”

“Likewise,” I say.

Mia babbles and reaches for Angela. Angela puts their hands together and laughs a bit more. I’m taken aback by how genuinely lovely she seems. I’m half convinced I’m being pranked.

“Say,” Angela says. “What are you up to today? I’d love to take you and Mia out for a bite. My treat.”

I blink a few times at her. Where the fuck am I? What the fuck is going on? This is not the pyramid I know and I hate. I open my mouth and make an unattractive, confused noise before shifting Mia on my hip again.

“Not much I don’t – uh – I don’t think,” I say. “But you don’t have to pay. I can split it with you.”

“I insist,” Angela goes on. “You’ll be around a lot in the next few months. I want to get to know you.”

“Two months,” I correct. She gives me a funny look. I clear my throat. “I’m only here for three months total. So two more months after this.”

Angela continues to give me a weird look. She then laughs it off and continues on like nothing happened. I’m left blinking into oblivion once again. She gives me a gentle pat on the arm and starts towards the door to the gold room.

“I’ll have my car pick you up out front around one, is that okay?” she says. I can do nothing but nod. “Fabulous!” She gives me a wave. “Ta ta!”

The door to the gold room slams shut and I’m alone again with Mia in the gold room. Mia pats the top of my head and I can hear how crunchy it sounds under her hand. I look at her and sigh.

“Guess we’re showering after breakfast, huh?” I say. Mia squeals excitedly.

The morning passes by very quickly. The clock reads twelve forty-five by the time I get Mia into a dress. I then realize I have fifteen minutes to find an outfit worthy of a posh date with some rich ass model. My closet is all Hayes branded and makes me cringe to think about wearing it to a lunch. I try and find the least offensive version and make an outfit that’s so boring, I could die.

I shrug into my navy blue crew neck sweater with matching embroidered crest. The skirt I match with it is beige and looks like a school girl uniform. I think about wearing the ballet flats Archer picked out but then roll by eyes and grab my Docs instead. Have to give the outfit a little spice.

It’s twelve fifty seven when I rush through the halls of the pyramid to get out. I assumed Angela meant the car would be coming to the service entrance but when I get there, I see nothing but a clock reading one-oh-three and an empty parking spot.

I almost sprint across the pyramid to get to the front entrance. I’m a mess as I get into the car with Mia and the diaper bag. I apologize up and down before Angela holds out a hand to stop me.

“Why would I send the car to the service entrance?” she says.

“I’m staff, right?” I say. “Er – the brothers told me to use that one.”

Angela shakes her head and then snaps her fingers twice. The car lurches and were off down the road. The drive is quick, only to the parlour on campus. Angela tells me we’ll be having tea. I’m not sure what that entails but I’m hoping they have coffee. Tea tastes like dirt water.

We get out after someone in a tuxedo opens the door for us. I take note that everyone at the parlour wears them and white gloves. I immediately think the Docs was a bad idea. Angela gives her name at the hostess and she marches us across the floor to a room covered in foliage. Vines weave their way up and down the white awning. I’m amazing by the beauty.

I situate Mia in her highchair before sitting and looking at the menu. Everything is in a font that is barely legible and speaks of things like foie-gras and pain au chocolat and other things I’ve never heard of. I do see coffee at the bottom of the page and make sure to order that when the waiter comes up to us. Angela orders some sort of platter to eat and I just roll with it.

“So,” she starts before she sips her tea. She holds the sauce so dainty and sets the cup back down on it when she’s done. “The infamous daughter of Isaac Jones has come to Moonriver.”

I immediately am on the defensive. “Step daughter,” I correct. “We’re not really related.”

“I heard,” Angela drawls. “Step daughter or biological daughter, he’s still a good man to have in your family.”

I furrow my eyebrows. “Well, yes,” I say. “If you don’t think he’s under the spell of my mother’s dark magic?”

“Is he?” Angela says, point blank.

“No,” I reply.

Angela shrugs. “Then I have nothing to hold against you,” she says. “Love is a weird thing. It transcends class and authority. That may just be what happened with your mother and Isaac.”

“You don’t see me as a poor savage trying to gain power?” I ask.

“No,” Angela takes another sip of her tea. “I see you as making the best of a situation. If my mother married a rich guy who could get me into Moonriver, I’d take that offer no questions asked.”

“You go here, right?” I say.

She nods. “I do,” she says. “My families been going to Moonriver since it opened. The library’s named after my father.”

I search my brain to remember the name of the damn library. When I do, my jaw falls open in shock.

“Your father is Albert Archival?!”

Angela laughs. “That’s him.”

“Gods,” I breathe. “He’s like the world’s greatest warrior. I’ve looked up to him for so long. He’s my idol, really.” I clamp my lips shut, nervous I’d said too much. Angela gives me a sly smirk. She sips from her cup again.

“I’ll be sure to pass it along,” she says. “He loves the praise.”

“I would too,” I mumble.

The sandwiches that Angela ordered arrive. I gently chew on one as I stew over what facts I’d just been introduced to.

Angela is an Archival. Meaning, she has ties to the world’s greatest warrior. Even better than that, Angela is nice. Having someone nice on my side would be nice. Sure, Debbie is great. But Debbie can’t get inside the pyramid. Debbie isn’t intertwined with the Hayes like Angela is. Angela could be a powerful ally to help me brave my way through the next two months.

I can’t, for the life of me, understand why Angela’s with Neil. She’s very proper and poised and looks like one of the dolls I’d begged for when I was younger that my mother could never afford. Neil is handsome, yes, but not the most handsome of his brothers. More than that, he’s kind of judgmental and still a douchebag Hayes. Angela is so sweet. I don’t know how they agree on anything let alone how they’re dating.

I decide it’s none of my business. Especially if I want to make Angela my friend and get a bit of a leg up on the Hayes. If she likes Neil then good for her.

The rest of lunch is pretty timid. We chat about classes and fashion and music. It’s simple girl talk over small sandwiches and Mia’s baby babble. At the end, Angela puts her card down despite my insistence to split the bill. She winks at me and it all feels just so nice.

She drives Mia and I home and we get out at the front of the pyramid. I see a few of the students walking to class glancing at the large stretch limo and the girl in beat up boots getting out of it.

“Thank you so much for lunch,” I say.

“Anytime,” Angela says. “Next time you can pay.” She winks at me and I smile back at her.

“Of course,” I say.

She gives me a little wave and the car drives off. I watch it disappear over the hill as I walk into the pyramid. Somehow, life seems a little less horrible now.