Jane Read Online Free PDF

library door behind us. “For the most part. Except for the third floor. It’s completely off-limits to most of the staff.” She led me back toward her office, a comfortable den with a desk and a sofa, where we sat down.
    I nodded. “What’s on the third floor?”
    “I suppose… well, nothing. It’s just there.” A crease appeared between Lucia’s brows. “It’s dangerous. The floorboards are old and rotting. You could fall through.” This struck me as strange. Why wouldn’t a multimillionaire have his floorboards repaired? But something in Lucia’s voice told me not to inquire further. I promised to avoid the third floor.
    Lucia then proceeded to lay out my duties, hour by hour. I took notes, writing as quickly as I could for fear of missing a crucial detail. Maddy’s days sounded like a blur of preschool, ballet lessons, and trips to the aquarium or zoo — a schedule that would be exhausting for any grown-up, and all the more so for a small child. I was reviewing my notes when the doorbell rang. I followed Lucia to the front door, and a little girl swept in, her T-shirt, jeans, backpack, and sneakers all in pink. “Come and meet someone,” Lucia urged her, taking her by the hand. “Did you have fun at Cassandra’s house?”
    “We made play-dough out of flour and water and food coloring,” the girl said. “See, my fingers are purple.”
    Lucia maneuvered Maddy in front of me, and I crouched down to be at eye level with her. “This is Miss Jane,” Lucia said in a kindly voice. “She’s going to live with us and help Daddy take care of you.”
    Maddy’s blond pigtails stood high on her head; her T-shirt read, in letters made of glitter, PRINCESS. “Hello,” she said, looking down at the carpet.
    “Hello,” I said back. “I’m happy to meet you. Those are the purplest fingers I’ve ever seen.”
    Maddy’s shoulders rose to meet her ears. “Can I go to my room now?”
    “You’ll be having dinner soon,” Lucia said. “Macaroni and cheese.”
    Maddy nodded absently, her gaze still fixed on the floor.
    “You can go play now,” Lucia told her. “Miss Jane will go with you. You can show her your figurine collection.”
    “I don’t want to,” Maddy said.
    “Show her your stuffed animals, then. Or your fish.”
    Maddy ran off toward her room. I followed at a distance, down the hall and up the stairs, and knocked on the door she slammed shut behind her.
    “It’s Miss Jane,” I said through the door. “You don’t have to show me your things or even talk to me, but it would be nice if you let me in.”
    The door opened a crack. “I like Miss Bridget. I don’t like you.” But she stepped aside to let me in.
    “You don’t know me very well yet. Maybe you’ll like me when you know me better.” I sat down in a pink, child-sized armchair. “You don’t need to talk to me if you don’t want to.”
    I watched as she pulled a box of Disney figurines out from under her bed and began arranging them on the carpet. “You gohere,” she said to Pluto, putting him beside the Little Mermaid. She hummed softly as she sorted the figures out.
    Ten minutes went by before she said another word to me. “Are you going to take me places?” She kept her eyes on her playthings. “To FAO Schwarz?”
    “If you want me to,” I answered. “We don’t have to.”
    “Miss Bridget was going to take me to FAO Schwarz.” Maddy looked up at me. Her eyes were deep-set and brown, fringed with long lashes. “She promised.”
    “I never make promises I can’t keep.”
    She crawled nearer to me, a figurine in both hands. She held one up an inch from my nose. “This is Beauty from
Beauty and the Beast.
”
    “I recognize her,” I said. “Is she your favorite?”
    “I like all the princesses.” She crawled back to her collection. “My mom is prettier than you.”
    “That’s okay,” I said. It was true; I’d seen pictures. “Pretty isn’t everything.”
    Maddy raised an eyebrow, a neat trick for