Despite himself, Traes couldn’t help but smile. Then he turned serious. Businessman time.
“I’ll give you seventy-five credits a week,” he said. “But I want you to come through for Cleb. He needs to start studying and learning otherwise he’ll fall behind his peers.”
“I think a hundred would give me extra incentive,” I said.
He smiled at me and my legs turned to jelly. I was glad I was sitting down or I might have fallen flat on my face.
“Oh, I think we both know you’re not motivated by money, Bianca,” he said.
Dammit. He had my number.
“Fine. Seventy-five. But I don’t want you to question my teaching methods. I’ll have to undo his bad habits before I can build good ones.”
Traes cocked his head to one side.
“The other governesses always used textbooks,” he said.
“They probably won’t work well with Cleb,” I said.
“Then how will I know if he’s improving or not?” he said.
“Because we’ll do tests. They might take a different form to what’s common on this planet but he’ll be able to answer them as quickly as any other student. Maybe even faster.”
I could tell he was intrigued by what I was suggesting.
“All right,” he said. “Now, if that’s all—”
“What about accommodation?” I blustered.
“The advert said the position was live-in.”
“I know it’s live-in,” I said, rolling my eyes as if I was dealing with an amateur. “But there’s live-in and then there’s live-in.”
“I don’t understand what you mean. Your quarters are on the third floor. They’re very comfortable.”
“I’m sure they are,” I said. “But I want an upgrade.”
“An upgrade? You haven’t even seen the room yet. Why don’t you give it a look over before you decide—”
“Employers always put the help in the worst rooms,” I said.
“They’re not the worst rooms—”
“But they’re not the best either.” I snorted. “And I thought you had a healthy respect for education.”
“I do—”
“So it shouldn’t be too much trouble to give the educator of your child—”
“He’s not my child—”
“—the best and most comfortable accommodation in the house.”
“Would you like my rooms?” he said keenly.
I ignored his sass.
“That won’t be necessary,” I said. “The second best will be fine.”
Traes pressed his hands to the desktop and pushed himself up onto his feet. He glared down at me. Maybe I went too far…
“Fine!” he said. “See Waev on your way out and he’ll get you situated.”
He waited. I didn’t move.
“Is there anything else?” he said.
“Just one more thing,” I said. “How much are the second-best rooms worth?”
“Excuse me?”
“If you were to rent them out, how much would you get for them?”
“I’ve never rented them out.”
“If you did. How much would you get?”
“A rough guess? I don’t know. Maybe twenty-five credits a week—”
“Agreed!” I said.
“I’m sorry, what’s agreed?”
“My final payment.”
“We already agreed on seventy-five.”
“That was before downsizing was taken into account.”
He slowly sat back down.
“Downsizing?” he said.
“I don’t need such large rooms,” I said. “They’re too big for a woman of my size.”
“But you said you wanted the second-best rooms in the house…”
“I didn’t say I wanted them,” I said. “I said they were what a governess of my experience and stature deserves. I would be much happier in a smaller room.”
“Fine,” he said. “You can have a smaller room. You can have every room for all I care.”
I was getting under his skin. It felt good.
“Excellent!” I said. “I’m glad we could come to an agreement.”
He looked exhausted.
“So am I,” he said. “So, it’s seventy-five a week, plus room and board—”
“A hundred.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s a hundred a week plus room and board.”
“How do you figure that?”
“It’s seventy-five a week basic, then a room worth twenty-five. I will graciously downsize to a much smaller room. The previous governess’s room will suffice. So, that’s saving you twenty-five credits, for a total of one hundred.”
Traes’ eyes narrowed.
“What you’re saying is, you want me to pay you a hundred credits a week,” he said.
“It’s not what I want,” I said. “It’s what Cleb needs.”
“And he needs a governess that costs twice the amount of a very experienced one that comes complete with references.”
Had I pushed too hard? Would he buckle and decide he didn’t want me to teach Cleb?
I stood on eggshells waiting for him to make his decision.
“Fine,” he said. “One hundred a week. You must have your reasons for needing it.”
Sure do. One thousand of them.
“But I want your word that you won’t suddenly quit,” he said. “Cleb has had enough people leaving his life. He doesn’t need another one.”
I blinked at that. What did that mean?
Suddenly, I felt bad. I’d gotten what I wanted—well, if I got what I wanted, I would have gotten a thousand credits upfront and be on my way—but ten weeks teaching that cute little boy wasn’t exactly a hardship for me. And neither would having to put up with his grouchy uncle every day.
Now I looked like someone who only cared about the money. Nothing could be further from the truth. I wished I could tell him the real reason I needed the money but I couldn’t take the risk. I bit my tongue.
“Thank you,” I said.
“See Waev,” Traes said. “He’ll take you to your room.”
He bent over his paperwork and continued to read documents with letters so tiny he needed a microscope to see them.
“Okay,” I said. “Right.”
I got up and moved for the door. I looked back once at the huge desk and Traes who scratched at the paperwork behind it. He cut the loneliest figure I’d ever seen. A lone soul in that big old house, behind his big desk covered with piles of boring paperwork.
And now I had become just another one of his many employees. I felt sad as I shut the door behind me.
Waev was surprised to find I had no other luggage besides the S’mauggai leather bag. Still, he insisted on carrying it for me as we ascended the stairs to my room.
“As governess, you aren’t a traditional part of the household staff,” he said. “Your rank is roughly the same as that of the
