Stiletto Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

income. So come Monday she would be wearing something entirely different from the leather and lace she wore every Saturday night.
    * * * *
    On Monday morning Emma arrived at the place of her new employment. It was five a.m. exactly. Yup, she was instructed to start her first day at five a.m. sharp since there would apparently be a lot of prepping before she could start her daily duties.
    While the taxi came to a stop, Emma gawked at the mansion in front of her. Lit up by various lights against the early morning darkness, was a beautiful double story French chateau-style mansion—opulent and so, so grand. It reminded Emma of pictures she had seen in magazines of sixteenth century French mansions and castles. The mansion featured a steeply pitched hipped roof highlighted by cast-iron cresting. Encrusted with decorative flourishes, the handsome masonry exteriors of smoothed square limestone were graced with full width balconies. Paired windows divided by heavy stone mullions combined with semi-circular bay windows seemed like they would light every room in the house perfectly. There was a huge fountain right in front of the house, in the middle of the circular driveway. The fountain was decorated with statues of horses and birds, and it was incredibly romantic. Emma got the idea that whoever lived here most definitely had a taste for romance.
    Suddenly Emma’s stomach turned with nerves. Maybe she had bitten off more than she could chew with this job. But it was too late to turn around now. Besides, how hard could it be? Her job was simple. Follow instructions exactly and stay out of the residents’ way as much as possible. Simple.
    When Emma got out of the cab and stared up at the massive, but very impressive building, she absentmindedly glided her hands down the navy blue maid’s uniform. Even though being a maid wasn’t a glamorous job, this job did pay more than the going rate, and it would allow Emma to have enough toward giving Lizzy a better life.
    So the next two hours passed quickly. Yeah, it took Beth, the head maid two hours to give Emma the grand tour of the mansion. But throughout the entire tour Emma was in awe as she took in the splendor and luxurious décor. Beautiful natural toned drapes of what seemed like the finest silk and linens set against roughhewn stone and peeling paint, together with lavish chandeliers, bleached wood and ancient beams set a divine contradiction of the huge chateau’s charm. But everything just worked perfectly and it somehow made her think of the home she and Lizzy once had when their father was still alive. Emma had to fight the unwelcome urge to give into the very unhealthy feeling of nostalgia at that moment. She had to concentrate on her new job and not screw it up.
    “How many bedrooms does this house have exactly?” Emma looked around as they continued down one of the many halls with carpet covered floors.
    “Eighteen bedrooms along with twenty bathrooms,” Beth answered.
    Beth seemed like she was in her early fifties, her dark hair grayed on the sides with a few wrinkles, evidence that she had not had an easy life. Emma instantly liked her. Beth had a real mother hen way about her.
    “Your responsibility will be to maintain the south wing. There are four maids, and three gardeners, and together we make sure that this house is always in perfect condition,” Beth continued. “There are also two chefs who alternate shifts since the master of the house is quite picky when it comes to meals and catering. Oh, and that reminds me,” Beth turned to her with a serious look on her face, “do not speak to the master without being addressed first. Understood?”
    Okay. There was a definite warning in her voice, and Emma knew that that was probably the most cardinal rule in making a success of her new job…as a maid. At least she was a maid in one of the most glamorous homes she had ever seen in her life.
    “And on occasion you will be expected to sleep in—especially when