Page 3 of The Nanny Contract
“Don’t worry, darling,” she said. “I know he’s not Mr. Warm and Fuzzy. But give it some time and you’ll see he’s less rigid. I tell him all the time to relax, but he’s too busy saving lives, you know.”
She winked at me, and I already felt like I was in on family secrets.
“Don’t let Logan scare you off,” she said. “He’s all bluster, really. And if my grandson Henry acts up, you just let me know. I’ve raised two Westbrook men. I can handle another!”
I smiled. “I just hope I can make a good first impression during the interview.”
Betsy chuckled. “Oh dear, were you under the misguided impression that Logan makes the hiring decisions around here? Bless your heart.”
She was a firecracker. And my earlier suspicions had been confirmed: Betsy called the shots around here.
She shook her head. “My son doesn’t know what’s good for him half the time. But he’s a good father to Henry. After his wife Gloria passed two years ago, Logan has struggled.”
I nodded. “I’m so sorry.”
“Time heals all,” she said. “My husband Frank passed away a year ago and I think about him every day. We’ve had a lot of loss around here, Casey. But we’re all decidedly ready for a big change.”
“I completely understand.”
Betsy pointed at the house. “Now all we need to do is talk over lunch. Don’t worry, nothing too formal. Just us; you, me, Logan, and Henry. Lunch will be ready soon; meet us in the dining room in half an hour. Go through the front door and down the main hallway—the dining room is the first room on the right. I have a good feeling about you, Casey.”
For the first time in months, I felt confidence coursing through my veins. If I played my cards right, this could be an incredible opportunity for me. Especially since the Westbrooks were offering almost double my previous salary.
I couldn’t say no to that.
Betsy pointed off in the distance toward the gardens. “Westbrook Meadows is the kind of place you need to experience firsthand. Head over to the greenhouse to grab some exoticflowers. When you return, I’ll place them in a vase for a beautiful table setting!”
Whenever Betsy spoke, it felt like a directive rather than a suggestion. I didn’t mind at all. She was very frank, and I admired that.
She grinned at me with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. “You’ll have to go through the garden maze to get to the greenhouse for the flowers. The maze is a place of whimsy. Wonder. And… the occasional existential crisis.”
What?
“But don’t worry darling!” she added, turning to walk away. “Only two people have ever been lost in there for more than a day. I’m quite sure you’ll fare better.”
Her words caught me off guard and shook my newfound confidence.
Westbrook Meadows was already the kind of place with a forbidding element to it.
I didn’t want to humiliate myself by getting lost in a garden maze.
Then again, I didn’t want to say no to my new boss. Well, hopefully my new boss, if everything went well during the interview.
“Just remember,” she said with a playful smile as she ascended the stairs into her palatial home, “if you hear whispering, it’s probably the wind. Probably.”
A few minutes later, I was firmly planted at the entrance to the infamous garden maze.
My task: to retrieve some unnamed exotic flowers for a table setting.
Perfect, I thought.This is exactly what comes to mind when I think of typical nanny responsibilities.
But Betsy had made herself clear.
So, it was onward for me.
Wandering into the garden maze, I was initially enchanted by its charm. The mysterious hedges loomed far over my head—at least ten feet tall. They were perfectly well kept by what I could only imagine was a small army of gardeners. Light barely filtered through the leaves, casting strange, ominous shadows on the ground, shifting and moving.
Relax. Don’t be a scaredy cat. It’s just a garden.