Chapter 38

ChapterThirty-Eight

“Thank you, dear. I’m so sorry to even ask you to help with this,” Nora said as she bustled through the kitchen. “It’s just that the other maid, you see, her mother still isn’t doing well and she’s the only one who knows how to run the kitchen with me. Without her, I can’t serve like I usually do.”

“Isn’t that a butler’s job?” Thea asked as she tied the pretty white apron around her waist. The laced edges were rather lovely, if outdated.

“It would be if the boys weren’t off to school.” Nora placed a large tray down on the table and started loading it with food. “Unfortunately, that just leaves little ol’ me to take care of everything. Normally that’s fine! I don’t mean to complain. Feeding one man isn’t all that hard, even with you added into the lot. I don’t mind cooking for a few people, but when the meal has to be fancy because Alistair invited important people from the school, well, it’s just a little overwhelming. Is it hot in here?”

Thea watched as Nora fanned her face. The housekeeper was bright red and perhaps a little concerningly pale at the same time. The poor woman had met her match with this plan and she was too overwhelmed to even think straight.

Grabbing a few additional plates, Thea loaded up the tray with a bright smile and then placed it on the dumbwaiter to yank upstairs. “I think the food looks marvelous, Nora. In fact, I would believe it if you said you had cooked this for a king before.”

Though the words were ridiculous, they made Nora feel a little better. Her red face cleared up a little, and the splotches smoothed out. “Do you think?”

“I know.” Thea marched back and dropped a kiss to the other woman’s cheek. “Now stop worrying so much, or you’re going to make the food taste off because everyone will get anxious.”

Nora pressed her hands against her cheeks. “Oh no. Do you think I already did that?”

With a shrug, Thea started up the stairs. “At the very least, they’ll leave a little earlier that way!”

And she knew that was what Alistair hoped. The poor man had been beside himself for the past week, trying to plan all this. He kept muttering about pig headed men who tried to force him into doing things he didn’t want to do. Which, considering the fact that they’d just freed the domovoy from the basement, she could only imagine meant he was feeling what the creature had felt.

She’d set the domovoy up in one of the spare bedrooms. After all that, the beast refused to leave the house. It had made a nest in the corner out of Lysander’s old clothes and seemed quite content to stay there for a while. She brought it tea and biscuits every now and then, but Alistair kept telling her to leave it milk.

Unfortunately, they had no milk because that liquid curdled the moment Alistair’s carriage man walked by. She’d have to ask about that later.

For now, Thea had to learn how to pretend to be a good little maid who wanted nothing more than to serve food to these esteemed guests. She had a feeling she’d break the moment one of these Wildecliff professors thought they could talk down to her, but she’d do her best. Alistair needed her to help.

She was quite sure he’d be angry to see her helping. He’d explicitly told her to spend her evening in her own bedroom, and if anyone asked about her, he would say she went back to Waterdown for the night. As though that was easy.

Even getting letters home was hard enough. Her mother had to pull a few favors to get the last one to Thea, and even that had been shorter than either of them would have liked.

Sighing, she walked over to the dumbwaiter and yanked on the chain. The food came up rather easily, although it clanked and groaned. She suspected it needed to be oiled but didn’t know who would do that now that the butlers were back in school.

“Is it just Nora and I left?” she mused as she carried the tray toward the dining room door.

Using her hip, she bumped the door open and walked into what clearly was meant to be a masterpiece. They’d found a chandelier in the basement, which now gleamed and cast rainbow lights all over the room. And though it was still gloomy—the house would never be anything else—the table was at least pristine and there were three other tables on each wall filled to the brim with fountains, drinks, and glasses ready for anyone to use. She’d never seen such opulence. Not to mention the giant table with green velvet chairs and all the food already piled there.

Why did they need more food if they already had enough to feed an army in front of them?

Each chair was filled with people from the Academy. Thea had tried to pull details out of Alistair about who was getting invited, but he refused to give her even a hint about the event. Thus, she walked in blind.

Hopefully, they would all appreciate a polite young maid and not want her to be rude or snobby as the rest of them were. Otherwise, she’d be rather embarrassing.

Trying to stay as quiet as a mouse, she skirted around a group of people who had yet to sit down and placed the tray in the center of the last table. Tea cakes, cucumber sandwiches, and plenty of other meats must have been the last item to top off what was quite the spread.

“There,” she muttered. “That should last them for a while.”

“I wouldn’t count on that.” The oily voice was a little too smooth, a little too high pitched, and strangely musical. She hated it immediately.

Thea turned to eye the man who stood beside her. He lacked all color, she observed. White hair. Pale blue eyes. Alabaster, paper thin skin. He looked like a ghost.

She dipped into a low curtsey, hoping that would be enough to turn the man’s attention away from her. “Ah, well, I will go get more food, then. I’m afraid I’m new to the job. You’ll have to forgive me, sir.”

“I don’t have to do any such thing.” He looked her up and down like she was a beetle he’d stepped on. “That’s the first thing you need to learn, girl. If you’re one of the help, then you have to satisfy me. Not the other way around.”

She felt all the blood drain out of her face. This wasn’t what she had expected in coming here. Of course, she had known that people in Wildecliff weren’t the same as the people she’d grown up with, but she hadn’t expected someone like... well. This.

Standing from her curtsey, she prepared herself to give this man the tongue lashing he’d never had before. Someone had to put him in his place, and if that had to be one of the “help,” she’d be happy to oblige.

But she saw Alistair out of the corner of her eyes. He stood behind the crowd and had clearly been talking with an older woman. She stood tall and straight with silver hair that was coiled around the top of her head. Alistair had seen Thea, though, and stopped talking. He stared at her with horror, and then his gaze turned to anger.

He’d do something foolish if she let him. A small part of her wanted to see what that would look like.

But this was an evening for him and his coworkers. She refused to let it turn into a fight.

She watched as Alistair excused himself from his conversation and stalked toward her. It was now or never. He’d make it across the room in no time on those long legs, and then she wasn’t all that certain she could hold him back.

“Hold that thought,” she muttered.

“Excuse me?” the pale man asked.

Thea grabbed a glass half full of wine and met Alistair in the middle of the room. She thrust it at him, standing in his way so he couldn’t go any further.

“Stop it,” she hissed as she tried to force him to take the glass. “Everyone will look, and then what will you do?”

“You’re not supposed to be here.” His attention zeroed in on her, and suddenly she wished she’d let him yell at the other man. “You were to stay in your room, away from everyone here.”

“Nora and I are the only ones left to help. I didn’t have a choice unless you wanted to serve these people yourself.” Which was a conversation she needed to have with him. How was this esteemed house bleeding money? “Take the glass so people don’t think we’re arguing.”

“We are arguing. Get upstairs, now, and do not come back until I tell you to do so.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and waved the glass of wine away. “I already have a headache.”

“I’m going to continue serving because that’s what the house needs right now.” Louder, she added, “I’ll go get you a tea for that headache. Do you need anything else while I’m down there?”

“A maid wouldn’t say that,” he grumbled.

“This one does.” Thea hoped no one saw her reach out and touch his elbow. “Let me do this for you, Alistair. Nora can’t cook and serve at the same time.”

He looked at her, and she saw hopelessness in his eyes. He feared one of these people would hurt her, but surely he knew that wouldn’t happen? She could take care of herself, after all.

“Don’t talk with any of them,” Alistair muttered. “Especially not that one.”

She already knew he meant the pale man. He didn’t have to warn her away from that one twice.

Thea kept her head down for the rest of the evening, and it seemed to go a little smoother. Most of the people at the table were polite enough. They’d snap their fingers and point to whatever they wanted refilled at least, and that kept her on her toes. For the most part, she was quite pleased with her performance.

Alistair had worried for nothing, she decided. They were all focused on each other and him. As if he had some grand announcement, and that was the meaning of the dinner.

The longer it went, the more she was quite certain they were all waiting for something. They kept looking at Alistair every time he moved, and then they would all seem rather disappointed when he did nothing but look back at them. And by the end of the dinner, everyone seemed slow to leave.

Thea stood at the front door, handing everyone back their jackets. Thankfully, Nora had organized them, so it was rather easy to get them to their owners. They all wanted to leave anyway. Not a single, well dressed person remained long enough to even say goodbye to Alistair.

At least he remained in the dining room. He couldn’t see how quickly they all wanted to get away from him.

The last jacket in her hands, she held it out to the owner. The black suede wouldn’t keep the person warm, but she had a feeling that it was more about a show of wealth than comfort.

“Have a nice evening,” she said with a bright smile.

That smile shook when she met the eyes of the pale man again. He reached for his jacket, took it out of her grip, and then caught her hand in one of his.

“The evening was an utmost pleasure,” he murmured. “If only because you were here to brighten it.”

Thea tried hard not to rip her hand out of his grip. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the back of her fingers, lingering a little too long. His lips were hot against her skin, and she’d thought he would be ice cold. Like a corpse.

“Thank you,” she said when he released her hand. “Master Alistair goes to great lengths to ensure that his guests feel welcome.”

“Oh, I don’t think that was Master Alistair in the slightest.” The man tried to smile at her, but it looked more like he was baring his teeth. “I think that was all you.”

She pressed her back against the wall when he leaned forward. He pretended not to notice and instead grabbed a lock of her hair and twined it around his finger.

“I am needed in the kitchen,” she said.

“You have midnight hair,” he murmured. “Has anyone ever told you that? I half expect to see stars if I look hard enough.”

She wanted to tell him the only stars he would find would be a horrible case of dandruff. And, in fact, if he wanted to look that hard, she’d make sure she dried her scalp out. Thea would endure the itch to disgust him.

But she felt the ice cold touch of the house growing angry again. She’d thought the reaction was the domovoy in the basement, but apparently, the house itself was still very connected to the man who owned it. And now there was no one left to see what Alistair did.

A shadowy tendril curled around the pale man’s shoulder. The shadow looked like the leg of a spider, but it was... different now. A little less sharp around the edges, and perhaps even more deadly for it.

One moment the pale man had her pinned to the wall; the next, he had been thrown in the opposite direction. He hit the adjacent wall with a hard thud that made his breath wheeze out of his lungs. Sliding down the wallpaper, the man didn’t even try to protect himself as Alistair grabbed a fist full of his shirt and hauled him upright.

“What did I tell you about her?” Alistair hissed into his face. “Say it. I want to know if you heard me.”

“Stay away from her.”

“That’s right. And you didn’t listen, did you?” Alistair’s magic billowed around him. Shadows crawled along the floor to join in on the magic that had been gifted to him by his father. “Remember what my father said to you all those years ago? After days of hearing you scream in the basement?”

The pale man didn’t shake in Alistair’s hands as Thea might have expected. Instead, he tilted his head back and laughed. “Oh, I remember, Alistair. But you are not your father.”

A darkness shifted inside Alistair. He leaned closer to the other man and snarled, “I can be, if I wish.”

Thea shivered at the tones in Alistair’s voice. He released the other man with a harsh shake, and she watched as the pale man straightened his shirt and put his jacket on.

But then, as he started out the door, he paused in front of her. “Alistair will not be around much longer, and you’ll need a new master. One who is able to actually use your talents. Call me when you’re ready.”

A snarl ripped out of Alistair, and he grabbed the back of the other man’s neck. With a harsh shove, he threw the visitor out the front door and slammed it behind him. Shoulders moving up and down in great heaving breaths, he braced himself against the frame.

“Alistair?” she asked, watching him with wide eyes. “Are you all right?”

To be honest, she wasn’t sure if he was. But the tingly feeling up and down her arms was rather... thrilling.