Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
CARA
I watch as the woman snaps at Ezra, her clipped tone sharp enough to cut, though it doesn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. His devilish grin stays firmly in place, unfaltering even as she trails behind him, scolding him like a mother would a wayward child.
My pulse stirs with something unsettling - disappointment maybe - twisting around my heart like ivy as he reaches for the massive arched doors.
He hauls them open with ease, stepping inside without a backward glance, vanishing from sight.
I exhale slowly, willing the tension from my shoulders as I drag my case across the driveway and lug it up the stone steps.
I’ve never allowed any man to occupy my thoughts like this before.
‘Yet here you are, nerves frayed, soaked between your legs and wondering what that big slice of man pie might taste like.’
My tongue darts out to wet my dry lips, heat blooming on my cheeks as I try to push the handsome stranger from my thoughts.
I don’t get further than the pillared entryway when the woman - my new boss - swings around to face me.
With sharp features, legs for miles, and flawless porcelain skin, Matron Lenora Blackwood is pretty enough to have been pulled from the pages of a top end magazine.
But looks can be deceiving—I suspect the sweet feminine exterior is a rouse.
Her death-stare penetrates me down to my soul as the awkward silence grows between us.
My smiling like a fool is an involuntary reaction to the situation.
She positions herself before me, her arms crossed over her chest, rigid as a soldier, barring my entry as if she’s protecting a secret from an enemy.
I wait patiently for her to address me. My arms struggling to keep hold of the books and my case that seem to grow heavier with each passing second under her scrutiny.
“Cara Morgrieves, I presume?” Her monotone voice has my teeth on edge as she lazily gazes from my boots up to my face with a disapproving scowl.
“Yes,” I meekly reply, that small word feeling too big for my dry mouth.
“Yes, what?” she goads, pronouncing every syllable as though each letter has the ability to physically burn me. Two minutes in her presence and she hates me already.
Way to make an impression, Cara.
“Yes, ma’am.” My voice falters, unsure if I’m giving her what she has asked for.
“This isn’t the place for creative expression, so let this be your one and only warning. I will be docking your pay for the new uniform. I expect that to stay the colour it is intended. There will be no second chance if the rules are ignored again.”
My lips part, ready to explain about the red sock and the awful morning I’d had at the washing shop, but her glare warns me that she isn’t interested in whatever it is that’s about to fly out of my mouth. Pinching my lips together, I regard her kindly with a simple, “Understood.”
“Understood what?” she snaps, and I suddenly feel like a teenager again being reprimanded by the headteacher at school.
“Understood, ma’am,” I force out, my toothy grin dripping with disdain.
“That’s more like it. Manners cost nothing, Miss Morgrieves, you’d be wise to remember that. That’s simple yes?”
I don’t risk upsetting her again by following up with an answer; instead, I nod my head to let her know I agree, exhaling a sigh of relief when she seems satisfied and turns to walk inside.
Her welcome lacks the warmth I was expecting.
I note she didn’t offer to help me with my stuff, but why would she?
Lenora Blackwood doesn’t seem the type to be helpful for any other reason than personal gain, and right now, I have nothing she wants.