Chapter 6 - The Fiancee's Quiet Warning
I stacked the last dessert plates along my forearm and carried them out of the dining room. The candles had burned low and the air still held sugar and melted wax. Behind me chairs scraped and low talk started up again as people stood and moved toward the living room. My hands were shaking just enough that the forks rattled.
I told myself to keep moving. Clear, rinse, load. Keep my head down and the night would end.
The kitchen was bright and too quiet after the dining room. The dishwasher was already steaming. I set the plates by the sink and reached for the faucet, and then I saw her reflection in the dark window over the sink.
Selene was standing by the island behind me.
She had not changed. Still the black satin gown with the long sleeves, still the diamond drops at her ears and throat. Her heels made no sound on the mat, and her small light metallic clutch was tucked tight under her left arm. Her hair was still pulled back smooth. She watched me with her arms close to her body, not relaxed.
I dried my hands on the side towel. "Miss Selene. Did you need something?"
She did not answer right away. She looked at the back doorway, then at me. She took two slow steps closer. I could smell her perfume, something cold and clean.
"I wanted a minute while Adrian is with his guests," she said. Her voice was low. Controlled. "About tonight."
My stomach tightened. I nodded and kept still. "Yes, ma'am."
She set her fingertips on the edge of the island. Her nails were pale and perfect. "You work in this house, Maya. You do good work. I want to be clear about what that means."
I waited.
"It means there are boundaries," she said. "The dining room table is for family and guests. Staff eat in the kitchen. Staff children stay in their rooms or with you during service. That is how it works here."
I felt heat climb up my neck. I kept my eyes on her face. "Lily knows that. She was excited. She shouldn't have walked in."
"She shouldn't have," Selene said. She paused. Her mouth made a small, tight line. "And going forward, she will not be seated at that table. Do you understand? It was a kindness tonight, nothing more. I don't want her expecting it."
I swallowed. The faucet dripped behind me. "I understand the rule."
"Good." She studied me for a second. "Then we won't have another scene."
It wasn't a question. I nodded once because she expected it.
She shifted the clutch higher under her arm. She didn't look down at it. "The other thing," she said, "is what she said at the end. About the locked room. About a card."
My hands went cold. I gripped the towel.
"Mr. Balanki keeps certain rooms private," Selene went on. "You know that. Everyone who works here knows that. Lily is five. She plays in hallways. She hears things. She imagines things."
I breathed in through my nose. I could see Lily on the stairs in my mind, pointing, her socks slipping a little on the wood. My chest hurt.
"I'm sorry for the disruption," I said. "Tonight was not easy for anyone."
Selene tilted her head. "Then tell her that. Tell her she made a mistake."
I looked at the tile floor, then back up. "She's five. She says what she thinks she saw."
"That's not an answer." Selene's voice stayed soft, but something hard came into it. She stepped around the island until she was closer, between me and the back hallway. "I need to know you will handle this."
I held the towel tighter. "I will talk to her about interrupting dinner."
"That's not what I mean." She glanced toward the dining room door to make sure no one was coming. When she looked back, her eyes were steady. "I mean the story about me. About that door upstairs. That cannot be repeated. Not to Mr. Balanki. Not to a guest. Not to anyone else in this house."
The dishwasher hissed and clicked. Somewhere down the hall a glass clinked.
I thought about my room off the laundry, Lily's little bed against the wall, the rent I didn't pay and the paycheck I needed. I thought about Lily's face when Selene had spoken to her. I did not want to lose this job. I also would not stand there and call my daughter a liar to make it easier.
"I'm discreet," I said. "I do my work and I keep to myself."
Selene watched my mouth while I spoke, like she was checking each word. "Discretion is why you still have this job. There are plenty of women who can clear plates, Maya. You stay because you understand the house."
I nodded because my throat was too tight to speak.
She moved toward the back hallway and stopped, expecting me to follow. I did, carrying nothing, my apron still damp at the waist. The hallway was narrow and cooler, with the laundry humming at the far end. The light back there was flat and white.
She stopped by the time clock where the wall was scuffed from carts. She lowered her voice even more.
"If Lily keeps talking about things she doesn't understand, Adrian will start to wonder why. He doesn't like embarrassment in front of guests. I don't like it either." She held my eyes. "You don't want him to think you can't control her. You don't want me to think you are encouraging her."
"I'm not encouraging anything," I said quickly. "I told her to stay in our room tonight."
"Keep telling her." Selene adjusted the clutch again without opening it. Her fingers pressed into the metal edge. "Forget the locked room. It has nothing to do with you. Nothing to do with her. If she mentions a card again, you correct her."
I felt the threat under the calm. It sat there between us, clear as the hum of the freezers. I forced myself to breathe.
"I'll keep things quiet," I said. "I'm sorry she interrupted your dinner."
For a moment she just looked at me. Then she gave a short nod, satisfied, like I had agreed to more than I had.
May you like
"Good," she said. "Let's leave tonight behind us."
She turned and walked back toward the warm light of the kitchen, heels quiet on the tile, her gown catching the light once before she disappeared around the corner. I stood in the back hallway listening to her go, the towel still twisted in my hands, my heart beating hard against my ribs.
