She followed them to the office, trailing a few steps behind, waiting for the moment when there would be a gap in the conversation, so she could ask about the children’s schedules.
It soon became clear there was going to be no gap. With their heads bent over Maurice’s laptop, neither of them was giving her as much as a glance. Cassie became certain that Maurice was ignoring her on purpose. After all, he knew she was there.
She thought about interrupting them but felt nervous to do so. Their attention was so focused, and Cassie didn’t want to make Ms. Rossi angry, especially since the conversation she’d overheard yesterday proved that the businesswoman had a short fuse.
She’d been on top of the world after being hired, commended and praised by this influential woman. This morning, it was as if she didn’t exist to Ms. Rossi.
Turning away, Cassie felt discouraged and unsure. She tried to push the negative thoughts away, and firmly reminded herself that her role was to look after the children and not to monopolize Ms. Rossi’s attention when she was so busy. Hopefully Nina and Venetia would know what their schedule was.
When Cassie went to the girls’ rooms, she found them empty. Both beds had been immaculately made, and their rooms were tidy. Guessing that they must have gone to have breakfast, Cassie headed to the kitchen and was relieved to find them there.
“Good morning, Nina and Venetia,” she said.
“Good morning,” they replied politely.
Nina was sitting on a chair while, behind her, Venetia wrapped a hair tie around her ponytail. Cassie guessed that Nina had just done the same for her sister because Venetia’s hair was already neatly tied.
Both girls were dressed in pink and white school smocks. They had made toast and orange juice, which was set out on the counter.
Cassie was struck by how they seemed to behave as a unit. From what she’d seen so far, they had a harmonious relationship; there was no sign of squabbling or even teasing. She guessed being so close in age meant that they were more like twins than older and younger sisters.
“You two are so well organized,” Cassie said admiringly. “You’re really clever at looking after yourselves. Can I get you anything to put on the toast? What do you usually have? Jam, cheese, peanut butter?”
Cassie wasn’t sure what was in the house, but guessed these staples must be available.
“I like plain toast with butter,” Nina said.
Cassie assumed that Venetia would agree with her sister. But the younger girl looked at her with interest, as if considering her suggestions. Then she said, “Jam, please.”
“Jam? No problem.”
Cassie opened cupboards until she found the one with the spreads. They were on a high shelf—too high for the children to reach.
“There’s strawberry jam and fig jam. Which do you want? Or else there’s Nutella.”
“Strawberry, please,” Venetia said politely.
“We are not allowed the Nutella,” Nina explained. “It is only for special occasions.”
Cassie nodded. “That makes sense, since it’s so delicious.”
She passed the jam to Venetia and sat down.
“What are you girls doing this morning? You look all ready for school. Must I take you there? What time does it start and do you know where to go?”
Nina finished her mouthful of toast.
“School starts at eight, and today we finish at two-thirty as we have a singing lesson. But we have a driver, Giuseppe, who takes and fetches us.”
“Oh.”
Cassie couldn’t hide her surprise. This setup was far more organized than she had expected. She felt as if her role was redundant and she worried that Ms. Rossi would realize she could do without her, and might not require her for the full three-month assignment. She needed to make herself useful. Hopefully when the children came back from school they would have homework that she could help them with.
Mulling over her strategy, Cassie got up to make herself some coffee.
When she turned around, she saw that the girls had finished their breakfast.
Nina was stacking the plates and glasses into the dishwasher, and Venetia had pulled one of the kitchen stools over to the cupboard. As Cassie watched, she climbed onto it, and reached as high as she could to put the jam back where it had come from.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do that.”
Venetia looked wobbly on the stool and Cassie hurried over, foreseeing that this could end in disaster.
“I will do it.”
Venetia clung to the jam jar tightly, refusing to let Cassie take it from her.
“It’s no problem, Venetia. I’m taller.”
“I need to do this.” The younger girl sounded intense. More than that, she seemed desperate to do it herself.
On her tippy toes, with Cassie anxiously hovering behind her ready to grab her if the chair fell over, Venetia replaced the jam, pushing it carefully back into the exact spot where it had been before.
“Well done,” Cassie praised her.
She guessed this fierce independence must be part of the girl’s character and upbringing. It seemed unusual, but then she’d never worked for a high-caliber family like this before.
She stood and watched while Venetia maneuvered the stool back into its precise position. By then, Nina had put the butter back in the fridge and the bread in the bin. The kitchen looked immaculate, as if breakfast had never been eaten there at all.
“Giuseppe will be here soon,” Nina reminded her sister. “We must clean our teeth.”
They left the kitchen and headed upstairs to their rooms, with Cassie watching in amazement. Five minutes later they returned, carrying their school bags and coats, and headed outside.
Cassie followed them out, with thoughts of security still uppermost in her mind, but a white Mercedes was already driving toward the house. A few moments later, it stopped in the circular driveway, and the girls climbed in.
“Goodbye,” Cassie called, waving, but they couldn’t have heard her, because neither child did so much as
