Chapter 7 : Echoes of Secrets

I entered the room and was a bit surprised. When I heard "mistress," I thought I would find a woman in her 70s . Plus the fact that she's taking care of girls in the manor. In reality, she was a woman in her late 30s with orange hair, ghostly white complexion, and beautiful. I began to scan the room; it had a beautiful and classic decor. I noticed a painting of a woman above the bed look exactly like her , perhaps she's her mother or grandmother.

I greeted her, saying, "Hello, ma'am. I'm the new boy, Rick, at your service." She responded, "Hello, Rick. Nice to meet you. I hope you'll excuse Alfred; he's somewhat old-fashioned, not accustomed to our modern times. By the way, I'm Lara, the mistress of this house." I replied, "Pleasure to meet you, mistress Lara." 

She headed to a chair, gesturing for me to sit, and said, "I know you have many questions." I stated, "Yes, I have some questions about the job." She replied, "Now is a good time to answer those questions." My first question came to mind, and I asked her, "The first question, ma'am, what do I do?" She answered, "As you can see, Alfred is not getting any younger and can't handle all the things he used to do alone. So, we need someone else, a young person responsible for household tasks. You'll assist with things like cleaning windows, changing pipes, mowing the lawn, and cutting trees." I said, "So, in general, I'll be handling maintenance tasks?" She said, "Exactly. You don't need to follow a strict schedule, just be around when we need you."

I liked that, so I said, "I understand that. That's good; I'm comfortable with that." She smiled and asked, "Any other questions?" Of course, there was another question about understanding the meaning of this place, so I asked, "What is this place?" She replied, "That's a long story, but today I use it to guide girls who are not privileged." 

Not fully comprehending, I asked, "What do you mean by that?" She explained, "Take Lola, for example. She was a nobody, a girl from the suburbs. Her parents trusted me with her, and I helped her. Now she's Mrs. Mars, with a career in fashion ahead of her." I said, "So you're helping these girls become fashion models?" She laughed and said, "No, not exactly. I help them become what they want to be—doctors, lawyers, fashion models, or even if they want to become astronauts, I'll help them achieve that."

 I began to understand the purpose of this place a bit more and continued, saying, "Oh, now I see. I guess you get paid for this, like a private school?" Her response was surprising, "No, I don't take any fees from the families of the girls. My family was extremely wealthy; now that I'm rich, I want to give back a little of what the world has given me." 

What a kind lady, I remarked, "That's truly wonderful." She continued, "If you have any more questions, feel free to ask." I told her, "Yes, I will." After we finished, she guided me towards the door, saying, "It was nice getting to know and talk with you, Rick." I replied, "Nice to meet you too, mistress Lara."

I left the room and headed towards the door. Mistress Lara seems to be an incredibly kind person; I was amazed that she uses her money to help others without expecting anything in return. Or maybe I'm just still ignorant and don't know the full story yet.

 I started walking towards my room, then remembered, darn it, I forgot to ask about the salary. Am I kidding myself? Is this not the first question you should ask when starting a new job? What a fool. How will I get the money, anyway? Cash? A check? Bank transfer? Will I be paid monthly or twice a month? Oh, what a fool I am. I got caught up in the story and forgot to ask. Well, I'll go back inside and ask her. How could I forget something this important? She'll think I'm somewhat foolish.

 I entered the house, and then I noticed Lorus heading in the same direction. That's when I remembered that she asked him to come back after she's done with me . Maybe some task for him. At least Lorus will be there, either to watch my back or witness my stupidity.

He entered the room before me but left the door slightly open. What's with these people and leaving doors ajar in this house? Instead of rushing in, I decided to wait a bit until Lorus finished with her. Then, I'll knock gently on the door and enter. I don't know how long this will take. I started overhearing their conversation. Oh, they're talking.

 Instead of hurrying, I chose to wait until they finished , then I'll gently knock on the door. I started to overhear them talking. Then, I heard Lorus saying, "you felt a good vibe seeing that young man. Very strong. Full of youth. Yes, yes, mistress Lara, I'll be delighted, and I know you'll be too. I'm at your service. Let's see, maybe I have enough inside me." I didn't understand the flow of the conversation.

 Then, I heard mistress Lara starting to sing a strange melody in an unknown language, and then... wait, what the fuck ? what's happening? What is this, for heaven's sake? How? What am I seeing right now ? Is this even real?

Mistress Lara just...