Chapter 3 - THE PRICE OF KINDNESS
By the third month, Nora knew the difference between Giovanni’s discomfort and exhaustion.
She still called him John.
Nobody had bothered to tell her anything else.
When his eyes tightened, she checked his position.
When he looked toward the glass, she offered water.
When he turned his gaze away, she stopped asking questions.
She had no training.
She had simply started paying attention.
Mrs. Gable noticed that, too.
“You’re spending too much time upstairs.”
“I go after my work is finished.”
“Then you don’t have enough work.”
The next morning, Nora’s assignment list doubled.
Cellar stairs.
Guest bathrooms.
Brass railings.
Winter curtains.
Near the end of her pregnancy now, she stood at the bottom of the staircase and stared at a bucket she could barely lift.
Mrs. Gable appeared above her.
“The master’s coming home.”
A nervous silence spread through the staff.
Nora had heard the name Lorenzo Moretti whispered in the kitchen.
Thirty-two.
Dangerous.
Rarely present.
The kind of man people obeyed before he finished speaking.
“Everything must be perfect,” Mrs. Gable said.
Then she pointed at Nora.
“Start with the study carpets.
On your knees.
Use the stiff brush.”
Nora swallowed.
“The doctor told me not to lift anything heavy.”
“The doctor isn’t paying you.”
“The curtains—”
Mrs. Gable came down two steps and grabbed her wrist.
“Do you have another job waiting?”
Nora shook her head.
“A husband?”
“No.”
“A place to go?”
Nora said nothing.
Mrs. Gable released her.
“Then stop wasting my time.”
For two days, Nora worked until her hands shook.
She ate standing up.
She rested when nobody could see.
She told herself the tightness across her belly was exhaustion.
But she still went to room 4B.
On the evening before Lorenzo’s arrival, she brought chicken and mashed potatoes.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
She lowered herself onto the stool with a sharp breath.
Giovanni looked at her wrist.
Four small bruises stood out against her skin.
Nora pulled her sleeve down.
“It’s nothing.”
His eyes lifted to hers.
She tried to smile.
“I know.
That’s what people say when it isn’t nothing.”
Outside, wind struck the windows.
Nora fed him, adjusted his blanket, and checked the fire.
When she rose to leave, his fingers caught the edge of her sleeve.
Not tightly.
Just enough.
She froze.
“John?”
His hand trembled.
May you like
His eyes were no longer gentle.
They were afraid.
