3. Shadows of the Castle
Lily's POV
Clearly, I had never been in a castle before in my life, so it was with surprise and admiration that I was looking at the imposing place. Inside the Ward's castle, it seemed tremendously dark, with large, heavy curtains covering the side windows of the entrance hall. It was a spacious place with a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and the walls were adorned with portraits of my employer's ancestors scattered everywhere. Dukes and duchesses, counts and countesses from the past stared at me, judging me with their eyes as if I were a complete stranger invading the space they had worked hard to conquer over the centuries. I averted my eyes from those portraits as I felt overly judged. Was it because I had hidden desires for their son...?
In an effort to distract myself, I looked around the rest of the place. There was a large, dark, and elegantly extended sofa accompanied by several shelves filled with thick, old books. It was clear that my employer enjoyed reading. If the place didn't seem so dark with its low lighting and heavy atmosphere, it might have been pleasant. Apart from the household staff, did Mr. Ward live alone in this place since his wife had died? Did he have any other family members? People in town said such terrible things about him. They claimed that he was actually a werewolf who devoured his family members on full moon nights, and that his wife was his last victim. I knew it was all nonsense, but looking at how cold and somber this castle was, and how cold and arrogant my employer was, I was starting to believe those rumors. There was a large red carpet leading up the stairs, and the castle was so grand that I felt like I was inside a Victorian horror film. Would the ghosts of that castle haunt me at night...?
"Come with me. Arthur's room is upstairs," my employer ordered as he walked along the red carpet towards the stairs. I followed behind him, feeling small with the baby in my arms. I carefully climbed the staircase, which was wide and polished. What would my employer do to me if I tripped and rolled down the stairs with his child still in my arms? Surely he wouldn't care if I got hurt or not. He would only care about his son and would definitely blame me for everything.
A lump formed in my throat as I remembered how rude he was to me, how my mind wandered, thinking he was opening the car door for me out of courtesy. I really was so deluded. "You will have the assistance of all the other household staff whenever you need it. I don't want to see you doing any other tasks except taking care of my son. If you ever feel hungry or thirsty, ask for as much food and drink as you want. I need you to be healthy and well since you are feeding my son with your breast milk."
He spoke as we walked through the spacious corridors, where heavy curtains also covered the windows, making the place dimly lit. Perhaps my employer didn't like brightness. Looking at him, all dressed in black, living in such a haunted castle, I would say he was at least a vampire. I nodded in response to his words, but I realized that since he had his back to me, he wouldn't see my nod. So I replied verbally, though my voice came out small and feeble.
"Yes, sir..." There were several doors in that place, and we climbed more flights of stairs to reach the corridor that led to Arthur's room. He opened the door as soon as we arrived. There was a large crib in the middle of the room, an armchair by the window, and a simple wardrobe against the wall. The room was spacious, but it was almost empty, containing only the described items. There wasn't even a decoration in that room, as if Mr. Ward didn't love his son enough to make even minimal decorations in the boy's room. But I knew that not everything was right there. After all, this man practically left his baby at the Saint Laurent orphanage and disappeared from the world, only to return after five months, take his son, and return to his castle pretending nothing had happened.
It could be that he truly loved his ex-wife too much and was deeply affected by her death. I had never loved someone like a woman loves a man, so I couldn't exactly know the extent of the pain he must have felt with her death, but I imagined it must have been immense. I sighed and entered the room with the baby still in my arms. "If you need anything, you are free to call me. Know that you are taking care of my most precious possession," he said, his last words carrying a heavy expression. His overly blue eyes were like two frozen lakes in winter, completely cold and ruthless. There was a hint of threat there, as if he wanted to ensure that I would do my job correctly, or else I would suffer drastic consequences. That made me swallow hard with fear. I nodded slightly and replied, "Alright, sir. I won't disappoint you." He had his hands clasped behind his back as he left Arthur's room, walking straight and rigid. It was only after he left that I could breathe normally again.
Holding the baby with one arm, I used the other to adjust his blanket properly and laid him gently on the mattress, being as calm as possible not to wake the baby. He stirred a bit, but was still asleep. After making sure he was sleeping soundly, I lifted my head and sighed, looking around the room. The place felt too stuffy for a baby's room, so I quickly went to open the curtains and the glass window, allowing a fresh evening breeze to enter, making me breathe more easily. I rested my forearms on the windowsill and looked down. We were truly high up, and from there, I could see the small citadel of York illuminated in the distance. The sky was indigo as the dawn hour bathed Northern Europe. The view was so beautiful, it was breathtaking. So, this was how it felt to be inside a castle.
"The view is beautiful, isn't it?!" I heard a female voice behind me. When I turned around, there was a slim middle-aged woman with a few strands of her hair already turning white, perfectly tied up in a bun. She had a long nose, thin lips, and a piercing gaze in her light eyes as she looked at me. I quickly moved away from the window and clasped my hands in front of my body.
"Good afternoon, ma'am," I greeted her with all the respect I knew. I didn't know who she was, but she seemed to be someone important.
"When Garrett told me you were beautiful, I didn't believe it, but apparently, he was right," she spoke so naturally that it surprised me. Who? Garrett? Arthur's father? My boss? He praised me in front of this woman? I had to lower my head because my cheeks were too red. I was so embarrassed... Why would my boss praise me? What on earth did it mean?