6. Zeth #2
Tucking three layers of fluffy blankets around Millie seemed excessive, but our host did it with care, as if these two were old friends.
Anna was five years older than my sister.
Surely they hadn’t played together in school.
Besides, Anna was always helping with grading papers while Millie plotted elaborate excuses for losing hers.
Now, Millie complained about the cold with a hand to her forehead like a fair maiden who wouldn’t shut up after being rescued, and Anna…
she played along. She tested Millie’s forehead with the back of her hand.
And when Millie asked for a fourth blanket, Anna agreed, but she failed to hide a silly grin behind the wisps of her golden hair.
As soon as our amused host left in a flurry of skirts to scrounge up yet another unnecessary blanket, I shook my head at my sister. “Did you injure your head in the fall? Anna knows you’re being a fool.”
“And strangely, she likes it!” Millie blathered with excitement. She tugged the blankets to her chin, and then she frowned. “Perhaps she’s lonely here, all by herself in a big house. Maybe she doesn’t feel useful.”
“Unlikely,” I scoffed. “She has the running of this entire estate to keep her busy, and a battalion of servants to keep her company. I saw seven downstairs when they bussed you in, maybe another two maids upstairs, two hands in the stable, and one gardener on the grounds. So, not lonely. There must be a reason she’s tolerating your ‘poor me’ act. ”
Millie pouted. “It’s not an act. I really hurt my ankle.”
“Aye, Doc Light confirmed it.” I leaned over to kiss her cheek. That smoothed out her annoyed look, making me feel a little better. I didn’t mean to release my anger on her.
Millie waved me off, and the masculine plaid on her nightshirt caught my eye.
It probably belonged to Anna’s deceased dad, and hopefully no one would explain that to Millie.
She believed in ghosts. She claimed to see them many times growing up.
I didn’t want anything to ruin her happy mood as she settled.
Burying my hands in my jacket pockets, I found one full of crackers, so I set those on the side table for Millie to eat if she became hungry.
“I love you, grumpy bear,” she assured me.
“Grumpy bear?” I asked in offense. We hadn’t used nicknames at bedtime in years. Hearing the wrong one now made my stomach tighten. “What happened to Clever Cat?”
Millie blinked like she forgot I was there and scrunched her face. “You never talk. Ever. So now you’re not clever.”
“Well, I guess I still love you too, Sassy Cat,” I grumbled back. What did she mean, I never talk? I talk all the time.
The tincture must be easing Millie’s mouth as well as her pain. I needed to watch her closely until sleep took her.
A dark green chair at Millie’s bedside beckoned me, so I sat down. It was so plush I nearly moaned. I scooted my tired ass deeper and crossed my long legs to acquaint myself with my new favorite chair.
“Alright,” I rested my elbow on the chair arm and raised a finger in the air to catch Millie’s glazed eye. “So… one night of rest in that bed, doctor’s orders. Then we have to go back to the laundry.”
“Do we?” Millie moaned at the same time Anna asked, “Do you?”
I flinched and spun in the chair at Anna’s return.
She was standing in the doorway with a new blanket, this one knitted from red and green wool.
How long was she standing there? Guilt flooded my cheeks as I quickly reviewed the past few minutes.
Anna might have heard us talking about her, though she didn’t seem angry.
Just the opposite, she appeared pleased.
Anna even offered, “You can stay longer. I am enjoying Millie’s ‘poor me’ act.”
I groaned. “You heard that?”
“It’s fine.” Her kind, blue eyes reflected like a clear summer’s day. She was nice enough looking… kind, polite, and intelligent to boot, but there was nothing that made my heart flutter.
I rubbed the velvet arm of the chair—so damn soft—and swore to use it as my own when I moved in. It was one of the benefits of marrying Anna. But… I liked the chair more than her. Was that horrid to think?
Instead of answering that tasteless question to myself, I glanced up.
Anna was still by the door with a blanket in her arms. Her tilted head and evaluating stare made me feel like a frog again, only this time I didn’t ribbit to entertain Anna.
It felt like my attractions were spread out with pins for her to dissect. And she found nothing there.
Flustered to be so obvious, I sat up and brushed dried mud from my thigh. And when that fell from my pants to dirty the carpet, I cringed. “Excuse me, ladies, I should seek out my own bedroom. We don’t want rumors, now do we?”
“What sort of rumors?” Millie hiccupped, and my head rotated to glare at her for being crude.
Anna chuckled like a bell and moved in to cover Millie with the knitted eyesore. Clearly she was getting to the bottom of her blanket reserve. “It’s foolish to worry about what people think of you, Zeth. Let them talk. Be yourself.”
I swallowed, uncertain if she was referring to my lack of interest in her or the doctor’s rude teasing downstairs about my past. Or maybe she was simply spouting off platitudes.
Anna moved her blonde head to catch my troubled gaze with confidence. “Do what you want, but tonight I aim to smother you both with kindness, as a welcome back gift. I’m truly glad you came home.”
Home. She meant it. Even though I was a horrid kid to her, Anna sounded excited to have me and Millie back in town. She welcomed us into her home with open arms.
I mentally chewed on that as Anna went about pouring tea that I didn’t notice steeping in the corner.
Cups filled with polite splashes that Anna must have practiced as a child, and then she strolled over to hand me a delicate cup and saucer decorated with lilacs, clearly designed to match the room.
I sipped without tasting because the concepts of kindness, and a real home, felt foreign. I didn’t expect either.
I once called the old laundry home, but that place was nothing more than an empty shell without furniture or family.
This chair felt better than anywhere I ever lived, with its plush seat and soft velvet arms that hugged me close.
Something this nice remained forever out of reach.
Maybe I didn’t deserve a home, though I wanted it desperately.
I wanted this house. I wanted Anna’s kindness.
Anna was sitting on the edge of the bed now, petting a few of Millie’s brown curls as my sister drank from her cup.
I was grateful for Anna’s assistance, making sure Millie didn’t spill her tea.
Anna had spunk and compassion. She said she didn’t care about rumors, and I admired that, but she probably had enough money to pave a way through all the troubles. She was lucky.
A soft voice cleared their throat, and a maid appeared in the doorway. When Anna straightened on the bed and nodded, the maid spoke to her, “The Ivory Room is ready, ma’am.”
“Thank you so much, Betty. Mr. Washer will sleep there tonight, close to his sister, in case he’s needed. It’s been a long day already, so I’ll have supper brought to your room if that’s alright, unless you require anything else?”
I didn’t know who Anna was asking until the maid turned to me with a patient prompt. I turned to Anna, “Oh, no, thank you.”
Lumbering up from my favorite chair, I set the teacup and saucer on the side table before giving Millie one last peck. Her tired eyes were closing. Anna was right, this was my cue to leave the ladies for the evening.
Thankfully, Anna was already removing a few of the unnecessary blankets. My needy sister certainly ate up that attention. Maybe Millie was the lonely one, and Anna happened to notice. It would do Millie good to make some friends.
I stepped through the doorway to join the maid in the hall, granting Betty what little charm I had left in me tonight. “Thank you. I’m sure I can find the Ivory Room myself. Am I correct to guess that it might be the one painted ivory?”
The maid twitched her lips and nodded. She seemed to like me well enough. I had a way with women if I tried. Betty bowed low, as if I actually were a gentleman, and walked along the hall to head downstairs. Her steps slowed halfway down. She was checking to see if I left her mistress safe.
And I intended to do just that. But then Anna slipped out of the door and closed it behind her with a soft clink before motioning for me to follow her away from the stairs.
My heart kicked up a few paces at Anna’s boldness while she led me into the room right next to my sister’s.
With the curtains closed, it was dim. Anna shut the door behind us and made her way to a little table to turn on a lamp.
The room suddenly glowed softly, and the white walls appeared warm and inviting.
It was a little surprising for Anna to test our compatibility so quickly. She didn’t strike me as overly interested prior to this moment, yet here she was luring me into a bedroom and sending me excited glances as she approached with a spring in her step across the lush carpet.
“Miss Winters,” I said, since formality seemed appropriate as I adjusted my collar. Damn, it felt tight. “I should tell you that I wish to court you officially with hopes of an arranged marriage between us in the future.”
If that didn’t spell out my lack of attraction to her, I didn’t know what would, besides a simple fuck off .
Thankfully, she nodded sweetly. She even paused briefly in her pursuit of me.
Then all too quickly, the mischievousness was back in her expression.
This wasn’t the Anna I remembered who scolded me with soft shushes for talking behind our teacher’s back.
This Anna appeared playful as she continued moving closer with a bouncy stroll until she stood right in front of me with an expectant glance.
Well… how hard could it be to kiss a woman?
I planned on marrying, after all, so I needed to do more than press my lips to hers if we wanted to have children.
And she probably wanted children. I should just kiss her now and get that over.
It would make our public courting kiss easier.
But why did she have to look so sweet, like my little sister?
I couldn’t help it, trepidation overtook me. I leaned my head away from her. I didn’t like how Anna’s blue eyes twinkled at me, or how her head tilted in observation. I wanted to beg the woman to stop when she tiptoed higher to whisper as devilishly as Millie, “Do you want to go fishing tomorrow?”