Chapter 2 Two

"N...no...nothing." Sarah replied suddenly removing her hand. And keeping them at the sides of her gown, he ran his hand through her once and then turned towards his sons before re-placing her hand on his, pulling her eyes up to look at him again.

"Let's go."

"Does she have a warranty? I asked."

"Jeffrey," Bardulf finally spoke, after acting like he didn't hear him saying that the first time.

"He’s right, though," Kael added, stepping forward. He walked a slow circle around Sarah, his shoes clicking on the stone.

"She’s a child. She looks like she’d break if the wind blew too hard. Is this what you’re into now, Dad? Buying girls Riven’s age?"

Buying? Is this...is this how they actually talk? In real life?

Riven didn't say anything. He just stared at Sarah, his jaw tight, his hands balled into fists in his pockets.

"She is the new mistress of this house. You will treat her as such." Bardulf commanded.

He turned to Sarah, his hand dropping from her back, her hand leaving his. "Kael will show you to your suite. I have a call with Tokyo."

Sarah quickly reached back her hand to him halting him in his tracks, and he turned, "What is it?"

"Uh..." Are you really leaving me here? She thought but those words wouldn't leave her mouth because not only was one pair of eyes on her, there were more than one, especially those boys.

She slowly let her hand slip off Bardulf who looked at her for another moment before he turned and walked out of the house, his shadow stretching long and dark across the foyer.

Sarah stood alone on the steps with those boys still behind her. She clutched onto the sides of her wedding gown, still not letting her eyes leave the shadows and the scents of Bardulf that just left the room.

Then she heard footsteps behind her, someone was coming closer and this made her tense up even more, then she heard;

"Well, Step-mommy," she heard before she felt a hand reaching out and tugging on a strand of her hair.

"Welcome to the family." It was a whisper before she turned to see the eyes, then the lips moving in a slow smirk, "Hope you don't mind getting burned."

"Leave her alone, Jeff," she heard again, coming from the boy who looked her age, Riven. Everyone knows him, the last child of Bardulf with a terrible reputation just like his older brothers but still worshiped by all and sundry since he's a fashion model despite being a student.

"Leaving her alone isn't even a given in this house," the one who hadn't spoken, the eldest precisely said in a way that made the airs on her arm stand up.

He was the one who had the most resemblance to Bardulf and to crown it all, his reputation online, what everyone have said about him...he's the Kael.

He sized her up, his eyes traveling from the hem of her white dress to the pulse fluttering in her throat.

He gave a weary, bored sigh. "Follow me." He said and turned on his heel, his expensive loafers clicking sharply against the granite steps.

Sarah cast one last look toward the foyer where Bardulf had vanished before she lifted the heavy skirts of her gown and hurried after him.

"Keep up," Kael called over his shoulder and she did.

They entered the Grand Hall, a space so cavernous it felt like the belly of a cathedral. The walls were lined with portraits of men who shared Bardulf’s severe brow and iron-grey eyes.

"This is the Primary Study," Kael said, gesturing toward a pair of towering mahogany doors.

"Father’s inner sanctum. Unless you’re invited, you don't breathe near those doors." He said turning briefly so Sarah could read the words on his face, "Don't let him deceive you into thinking you could make it in here."

He took a step closer and she stepped back, holding her breath, her eyes not leaving his. "I personally don't want you to make it into this place." He said, running his eyes all over her face before he turned around moving again and she exhaled.

For three long minutes, she fought to catch her breath, her eyes still following him before her legs started moving again.

They moved through a corridor lined with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the cliffs.

"The West Conservatory," he noted, pointing to a glass-domed room filled with exotic, sharp-leafed plants that looked more like weapons than flora.

"And across from it, the Gallery. It holds the collection of the previous Mrs. Voidmeres’ favourite art." He turned again, "If you know what that means." He said kissing his teeth before he proceeded again.

Sarah felt a chill. Previous Mrs. Voidmeres?

They climbed a sweeping marble staircase that led to the Music Room, where a grand piano sat draped in a black cloth like a coffin.

Kael led her past the Billiard Room, the Private Cinema, and a Library that smelled of old parchment and cold tobacco.

Each room was more beautiful and more terrifying than the last, devoid of any personal touch, no family photos, no stray shoes, no life...

"The East Wing is off-limits," Kael said, his voice hardening as they passed a heavy velvet curtain.

As soon as he said that, her mind focused on the east wing and a question welled up immediately, why? "Why?" She blurted and there was a sharp halt in his tracks immediately.

Oh no, she had dared to say something wrong. What happened to keeping quiet like she had been all along.

He turned around slowly, "Because someone more special to the family occupies there."

Someone more special to the family?

He stepped closer before she had a chance to dart back, "Don't worry, I will help your little head to know that." He said standing just an inch away,

"I was speaking about Elara."

Elara? The name...she knew that name and she knew the woman she was talking about. Barduff's ex-wife. The one rumoured to be his mind and soul.

He smirked as if he found her expressions amusing and then turned around walking again, through the hallways, to another list of hallways.

Would she never get lost in such a big house as this with fewer servants? How do they manage to take care of the house if there are not enough servants to help the house?

Or are they contracted workers? The voidmeres always had their stuffs figured out, don't they?

"The Wine Cellar is through that iron gate," he said, pointing to a dark, descending staircase.

Finally, they reached a set of double swinging doors made of brushed stainless steel.

Kael pushed them open with a flourish, and the sudden warmth of industrial ovens hit Sarah’s face.

It was the kitchen; a sea of chrome and white tile, smelling of rosemary and roasted garlic.

At the center island stood a woman in a crisp white uniform, beautiful, sexy, almost passing for a model or an actor.

The boys considering their reputation must have something to do...Sarah felt a spank before she saw it as it landed on the cook's butt causing her to wince, wriggle, giggle and turn with a smile to her face.

And the person who slapped her? Kael.

"Mrs. Gable," Kael announced.

She looked up but she didn't smile. She assessed her like she was someone who should be ejected as much as she was infused into this Manor.

"The new one?" Mrs. Gable asked.

"The new one," Kael confirmed. "Sarah, this is the chef." He introduced getting close to her, lowering his head a bit to whisper into her ear;

"This is the only person in this house you should actually fear. If she doesn't like you, you’ll find your tea tasting of arsenic and your soup full of salt."

Sarah swallowed hard, letting her eyes sit with the cooks. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Gable."

The cook didn't respond. She turned back to the duck, the blade thudding into the wood of the cutting board. "Welcome to the house new mistress."

Sarah blinked at the discourtesy but that is the least of her problem right now. She watched Kael groping over the cook, whispering all over her, and she was giggling, muttering, his hands going all over the cook's body while she still stood there with her eyes wide open.

Refusing to close, to blink, to even make a shift, even as they started kissing.

Is this going to be her life with the Voidmeres?