The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)

by Freida McFadden

“And please clean up this room. I’m not paying you to flirt with the landscaper.” With those words, Nina strides out the front door, slamming it behind her.

“Thanks.” I add a little bit more salt to the mashed potatoes, which are already drenched in butter and cream. “Can you tell Cecelia to come down? I called her twice but…” Actually, I called up to her three times. She has not yet answered me. Andrew nods. “Gotcha.” Shortly after Andrew disappears into the dining room and calls her name, I hear her quick footsteps on the staircase. So that’s how it’s going to be.

“Why did you give me water?” She crinkles her nose at the glass of filtered water I put at her place setting. “I hate water. Get me apple juice.”

When I place the new glass in front of her, she carefully examines it. She holds it up to the light, narrowing her eyes. “This glass is dirty. Get me another one.” “It’s not dirty,” I protest. “It just came out of the dishwasher.” “It’s smudged.” She makes a face. “I don’t want it. Give me another one.” I take a deep, calming breath. I’m not going to fight with this little girl. If she wants a new glass for her apple juice, I’ll get her a new glass.

I went to prison when I was seventeen. I wasn’t a virgin, but my only experiences included clumsy high school sex.

“Um,” I say. “Should I…?” Andrew pushes back his chair and grabs Cecelia’s plate from the table. “Okay, I’ll make you some chicken nuggets.” I follow Andrew back into the kitchen, apologizing profusely. He just laughs. “Don’t worry about it. Cecelia is obsessed with chicken, and especially chicken nuggets. We could be dining at the fanciest restaurant in Long Island, and she’ll order chicken nuggets.” My shoulders relax a bit. “You don’t have to do this. I can make her chicken nuggets.” Andrew lays her plate down on the kitchen counter and wags a finger at me. “Oh, but I do. If you’re going to work here, you need a tutorial.” “Okay…” He wrenches

“I’d rather just eat in my room,” I say. He looks like he’s going to protest, but then he thinks better of it. “Sorry,” he says. “We’ve never had live-in help before, so I’m not sure about the etiquette.” “Me either,” I admit. “But I don’t think Nina would like it if she saw me eating with you.” I hold my breath, wondering if I’ve overstepped by stating the obvious. But Andrew just nods. “You’re probably right.” “Anyway.” I lift my chin to look at his eyes. “Thank you for the tutorial on the chicken nuggets.” He grins at me. “Any time.”

“It’s a fire hazard, probably.” She looks down at her nails and frowns at one where the white paint is chipped. “I don’t think so.” “Well, I’m not sure, but… I mean, the room should have a window that opens, shouldn’t it? It does get awfully stuffy up there.” Nina

“Nina is just a bit… high strung,” the brunette says. “Nina is nuts,” the redhead pipes up. “Literally.” I suck in a breath. “What?” The brunette elbows the redhead hard enough to make her gasp. “Nothing. She’s just joking around.”

“Excuse me,” I say to the woman. “I work for the Winchesters and Nina asked me to pick up Cecelia today.” The woman arches an eyebrow and places a recently manicured hand on her hip. “I don’t think so. I pick up Cecelia every single Wednesday and take the girls to karate. Nina didn’t mention a change in plans. Maybe you got it wrong.” “I didn’t,” I say, but my voice wavers.

The woman reaches into her Gucci purse and whips out her phone. “Let’s clear this up with Nina, shall we?” I watch as the woman presses a button on her phone. She taps her long fingernails against her purse as she waits for Nina to pick up. “Hello, Nina? It’s Rachel.” She pauses. “Yes, well, there’s a girl here saying you told her to pick up Cecelia, but I explained to her that I take Cecelia to karate every Wednesday.” Another long pause as the woman, Rachel, nods. “Right, that’s exactly what I told her. I’m so glad I checked.” After another pause, Rachel laughs. “I know exactly what you mean. It’s so hard to find somebody good.”

just feel like…” She frowns. “You aren’t doing a good job getting the sink clean. Can I watch how you’re doing it? I’d like to see what you’re doing wrong.” She wants to watch me clean her sink? “Okay…”

“That’s fine,” she says. “I guess the real question is how are you cleaning the sink when I’m not watching you.” “Um, the same?” “Hmm. I highly doubt that.” She rolls her eyes. “Anyway, I don’t have time to supervise your cleaning all day. Try to make sure to do a thorough job this time.” “Right,” I mutter. “Okay, I will.”

don’t dunk her toothbrush in the toilet. But I do take out my phone and punch in the word “haloperidol.” Several hits fill the screen. Haloperidol is an antipsychotic medication, used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, delirium, agitation, and acute psychosis. And that’s just one of at least a dozen pill bottles. God knows what else is in there. Part of me is burning with shame that I looked in the

For a moment, I allow myself to think about the possibility of dating a man in the future. I close my eyes, trying to imagine what he might look like. Unbidden, the image of Andrew Winchester fills my head, with his easy charm and handsome smile.

“Is that Family Feud?” I jerk my head up. Even though it’s the middle of the night, Andrew Winchester is somehow standing behind me, as wide awake as the people on the television screen. Damn. I knew I should have stayed in my room. “Oh!” I say. “I, uh… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” He arches an eyebrow. “What are you sorry for? You live here, too. You have every right to watch the television.”

“Hmm.” He rubs his stomach. “Would it be really bad manners if I eat some peanut butter right out of the jar?” I cringe at the mention of peanut butter. “As long as you’re not eating in front of Cecelia.” He tilts his head. “Why?” “You know. Because she’s allergic.” They really don’t seem very respectful of Cecelia’s deadly peanut allergy in this household. Even more surprising, Andrew laughs. “No, she’s not.” “Yes, she is. She told me she is. The first day I was here.” “Um, I think I would know if my daughter were allergic to peanuts.” He snorts. “Anyway, do you think we would keep a big jar of it in the pantry if she were allergic?”

“Blueberries,” Andrew says.

“Gosh, what’s the big joke you’re laughing about down here?”

“Hey, Nina.” Andrew yawns and climbs off the sofa. “What are you doing up?” Nina is glaring at us. I don’t know how he isn’t panicking right now. I’m one second away from peeing in my pants. But he seems totally cavalier about the fact that his wife just caught the two of us alone in the living room at one in the morning, both of us in our underwear. Not that we were doing anything, but still.

Nina,” I begin. “Nothing was going on between me and Andrew…” She throws her head back and laughs. It’s a disturbing sound, something almost between a laugh and a cry. “Is that what you think I’m worried about? Andrew and I are soulmates. We have a child together and soon we’ll have another baby together. You think I’m scared that my husband would risk everything in his life for some trampy servant living in the attic?” I swallow. I may have just made things much worse. “No, he wouldn’t.” “Damn straight he wouldn’t.” She looks me in the eyes. “And don’t ever forget it.”

“I’m fine,” I mumble. I shouldn’t even be talking to him. “You look like you’re about to cry,” he points out. I wipe my eyes self-consciously with the back of my hand. “I’m fine. There’s just a lot to do for this PTA meeting.” “Aw, that’s not worth crying over.” His brow crinkles. “These PTA women are never going to be satisfied no matter what you do. They’re all awful.”