Moirai

CHAPTER 21

The head housekeeper, Anita, gave me the quickest tour imaginable. I felt as though I was in her hair just being around. She was polite but displeased to see me. I wanted to ask why but held my tongue. Now was not the time to cause trouble. I needed to keep to myself, find out when the Governor's Ball was scheduled, and relay the information to Jaxon.

I spent most of the afternoon with a dust rag, grateful I'd been assigned a task that would allow me the opportunity to snoop around. I worked the first floor rather quickly, knowing there wasn't anything interesting worth finding. I waited until Craynor disappeared for dinner before taking the cloth with me into the study. At least if I got caught, I'd have an excuse for being inside his office. I shut the door behind me as I stalked over towards his desk. Papers were strewn everywhere. Most of it made little sense to me. I fingered through reports on cotton and fuel, pushing them aside. I needed to find the date of the Governor's Ball. It had to be coming in the next few weeks. I knew I hadn't missed it yet, I just hoped I didn't have to wait months for news. I wasn't sure how long I could deal with these people. Letters to Governor Craynor were stacked to the right of his desk. Curious, my eyes glanced over the delicate script.

Craynor,

I beg you to consider what alternatives we have. Negative population growth is an ever present and growing concern; maybe not today or tomorrow but our children's children will have to face our consequences based on foolish actions.

You may wish to ignore a growing problem, but it won't vanish by simply throwing away my letters. I will have you know I am not the only one up in arms over the failure of our great nation. Politics aside, we must consider a progressive step forward. I will call a meeting in September. With or without you there, a decision will be made.

Richards

Was Richards another Governor? I'd never heard of him but we didn't study the leaders of neighboring communities. It wasn't part of our curriculum. Whoever Richards was, he was right the system was flawed; time would catch up with the town. It didn't seem like a problem now, but I guess that was why Craynor wasn't concerning himself with it either. It wouldn't affect him in his lifetime.

Putting the letter back as I'd found it, my fingers moved over the center of the desk and shuffled through until I reached the bottom page, a calendar of events. Most of them seemed insignificant until I landed on one two weeks from Saturday with the initials “GB.” It was the only thing that made sense. Although I had the date, I couldn’t just up and leave. Not without raising suspicion. Besides, I wasn’t entirely certain it wasn’t something else, although the fact it was a Saturday and Craynor had every other weekend off made it seem the most likely answer.

I jumped as I heard the door creak open and came face to face with Craynor. “Jacqueline, what are you doing in here?” He asked.

“Cleaning.” I returned my attention back to the desk, running the dust cloth over it, tidying the papers as best I could, trying to make it look as if I hadn't been snooping. “Was I not supposed to come in here? Anita told me to dust the entire place, top to bottom.” She certainly hadn't mentioned the study being off-limits, not that I would have listened anyhow. Craynor studied my face, trying to see if I was lying, I could tell. I didn't give him any indication I'd done anything more than clean. “Would you like me to come back later?” I asked. “If you're busy in here?”

Craynor sighed, thinking it over. “You've worked enough tonight. The rest of the staff is off, you may as well go home too.” Although I technically didn't have a home to go to, I smiled, took the dust rag, and slipped out the door past him.

Heading downstairs, I made my way through the dark hallway towards the laundry, tossing the rag into the hamper before doing a thorough search for Jaxon. No such luck. I should have asked where he planned on staying. Turning the corner, I walked straight into Joshua's father, Dylan Warren. He refastened his belt buckle and my eyes widened. He'd just left Anita's room. The door was still ajar and she was sitting at the edge of the mattress naked, putting her uniform back on. My eyes widened as I dropped my gaze. “I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, sir, I'll be more careful.” I scurried away, doing my best to run from his grasp. My stomach flopped. I hoped he had no intention of doing to me what he had to Anita.

He caught my arm, pulling me back, unwilling to let me go. “You're the new servant, Jacqueline?”

This was a bad idea, using her name. I was stupid, we were stupid expecting no one to know who she was, who I was. Making up a name would have been simpler in some respects: there'd be no ties to anyone. Of course, forging papers takes talent, and the rebel alliance has that talent but they don't have the access to add an entirely new name into the system, at least not yet. I'd have to manage.

“Is it you?” His voice caught in his throat and I let out a hesitant sigh, nervously chewing on my bottom lip. At least he wouldn't accompany me to my bedroom. Things could be worse.

“I'm sorry, sir, I don't know who you are.” I looked up at him confused. Dylan Warren always scared the crap out of me when I was a kid, and today was no different. The only difference was that right now, he thought I was his long lost daughter.

“Of course you don't, Jacqueline.” He said my name with such care and adoration, I felt my stomach flop. He reached out, his fingers moving towards my red locks as he pushed an errant strand behind my ear. “You've grown up so much, I can't believe you're here, but if I remember correctly, shouldn't you be in school, in Livery?” He wasn't accusing me of anything yet, or rather his daughter.

“I think you have me mistaken, sir. I don't know your daughter and I certainly don't know you.” I pulled from his grasp and took a step backwards, walking into Governor Craynor. Could this day get any worse? “I'm sorry, sir.” I turned, apologizing, to the Governor. “I was just heading for bed.”

I felt Craynor's strong grip on my shoulders as he kept me from moving. “What's going on here, Dylan?”

“Nothing, sir,” Dylan shook his head, “I was just asking the servant to bring me some tea.”

Craynor's eyes narrowed. “I see. You do remember, Dylan, we prefer to call our employees housekeepers, not servants. It reminds us of an unhappier time.”

Dylan agreed. “Yes, Governor.”

Craynor's smile faltered, his grip on my shoulders loosening as I chanced turning around to face him. “Was that all he asked of you, Jacqueline?”

Eager to get away from the two of them, the answer flowed like water. “Yes, sir. A cup of tea.”

“Very well.” Craynor nodded. “Please put the kettle on and prepare a cup of tea for Dylan. You can bring me one as well. We'll both be in the study.” His hold relaxed and I slipped from his grasp, rushing down the hall towards the kitchen.

“Tea?” I said aloud to no one in particular. My body froze as a gunshot rang out across the hall. My eyes widened in terror as I dropped to the ground. There were no drones, no planes coming to attack us. My body shook. I hid in the kitchen behind the island. I could hear commotion just outside the door.

“This is your fault,” Craynor scolded Dylan. “You should be thankful I only had one bullet in the chamber.” He laughed as if this was all some joke. “Find Lisa, bring her back at once. Inform her she's needed overnight and will be compensated adequately for her duties.”

“Yes, sir.” Dylan answered. His footsteps echoed towards the front door and a moment later I heard the latch clasp.

Frustration and fear filled me. I wanted to go home, back to Shadow. I was safer there, even with drones attacking our town. I knew I couldn't cower on the floor forever. If Craynor was expecting tea, he would come looking for it.

Picking myself up off the floor, I turned the kitchen light on. The kettle sat nestled above the stove. With shaking hands, I filled it with water and turned it on. It didn't take any training to figure out how to make tea. I dug around the kitchen, searching for tea bags. The cabinets banged shut as I sifted through, searching for the one ingredient I needed and couldn't find.