Rosecliff Manor
Автор
Laura Venus
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Jane steps into Rosecliff Manor as a simple housekeeper, but the halls echo with whispers she can’t ignore. The Master’s son is charming, the manor is beautiful, yet shadows slip into her nights and visitors arrive with questions that cut too close. Their knowing eyes hint at secrets about her—secrets tied to a scheme far bigger than she imagined. Every corner hides a hush, every glance suggests a game she hasn’t been told the rules of. As Jane is pulled deeper into the mystery, the warmth she feels in one man’s presence collides with the chill of Rosecliff’s conspiracy. What truth waits in the dark, and what ominous endgame is she destined to uncover?
Arrival
Rosecliff Manor… This has to be it.
Jane checked the address in her booklet, then looked up. A large Victorian manor loomed over her, encircled by a sprawling landscaped garden. She knew it would be a big house, but this borders on being an actual castle, she thought.
Setting foot onto the driveway almost felt like trespassing, but she reminded herself she had permission and stepped onto the paved road in front of her.
She walked up to the portico. The tall pillars and pointed roof above her already made her feel as if she’d stepped into another world.
The paneled double doors were decorated with intricate woodwork, and the brass doorbell to the side looked ancient and expensive. She took a moment to straighten her clothes and hair before ringing the bell.
A classic, deep ding dong echoed quietly behind the doors, almost making her feel guilty for disturbing the peaceful atmosphere. For a few seconds, it seemed as if the place was abandoned before a loud clacking sound signaled that the door was being unlocked.
It opened, and a frail-looking older woman appeared. “Jane Copper, might I presume?” she said, her voice clear and somewhat piercing.
Jane nodded. “Yes, I have an appointment with Mr. Sinclair about the housekeeping job,” she answered.
The woman opened the door a little farther, beckoning Jane inside with a nod. Jane followed her into the great hall.
The hall was large and hexagonal, with wraparound staircases on both sides. It was fairly bright, thanks to the many long, checkered windows. The wallpaper was ochre with a dark wooden wainscoting.
Jane handed the woman her coat. “With whom do I have the pleasure?” she asked, trying to match the woman’s courtesy.
“Hilda Burton. A pleasure,” the woman replied.
Jane offered her hand to shake Miss Burton’s, but instead, the woman bowed her head in greeting. Jane quickly retracted her hand and copied her. When in Rome…
“Well then, the master has been eagerly awaiting your arrival,” Miss Burton said, hanging Jane’s coat on a large mahogany coatrack and walking over to a decorated runner on the floor that led to a few other doors.
“I will inform the master of your presence, and then I will show you around the house and, more importantly, the quarters where you will be staying.”
Jane quietly walked with Miss Burton, a little taken aback by how formal and posh she was. Would this be expected of her as well?
Jane wasn’t used to being in an environment like this—far from it. Her family had always been lower-to-middle-class, just getting by.
A place like this… She looked around at the sconces on the wall, the elaborate oil paintings in baroque frames—this great hall alone might be worth more than her parents’ house.
Even being able to work at a place like this—though it was still mostly mid-level, manual labor—was not something she had ever expected. It was purely by chance that her parents had to move all the way across the country to the nearest city, before getting this job recommended for their daughter.
Miss Burton halted in front of another set of double doors. “Please wait here for a moment,” she said before slipping into the room.
Jane quickly straightened her hair again, pulling stray hairs from her clothes and making sure her skirt wasn’t wrinkled. Just as she was checking her shoes for any dirt she might have tracked in, Miss Burton opened the doors again.
“The master is ready,” she said.
Jane stepped past the door as Miss Burton opened it and closed it behind her. The room was quite large, though not as huge as the hall she’d just left.
The walls were a dark green, partially covered by tall bookcases and various paintings. Two large chesterfield couches were arranged around a delicate coffee table, along with two large fauteuils—in which a man and a woman were seated.
Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair, Jane thought.
“Master and Mistress Sinclair.” Miss Burton corrected her thoughts.
Jane awkwardly approached them, half expecting them to get up and shake her hand, but remembering her meeting with Miss Burton, she decided on a slight nod, half bowing in the process.
Master Sinclair got up, and his wife followed his example.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jane Copper,” Jane began. She noticed Miss Burton slightly stiffening her posture beside her.
“Miss Copper, how nice to finally meet you—Richard Sinclair,” Master Sinclair said, and to her surprise, it sounded very genuine.
He was a bit shorter than she’d expected but still made for an imposing figure. He had auburn hair, a short beard, and hazel eyes, and he wore a formal three-piece suit that looked like it belonged in a designer magazine.
“Lianne Sinclair. We have been awaiting your arrival, Miss Copper,” Mistress Sinclair chimed in. Her hair was a little darker than her husband’s, but it still had a reddish undertone. Her spotless dress made Jane feel as if she herself were dressed in a potato sack.
Jane smiled awkwardly. “Thank you so much!” she said, unsure of how else to respond. They seem to treat their staff very well. That’s a good sign.
“Miss Burton will show you around, hand you your uniform, and give instructions about your new housekeeping duties. I trust everything will be to your liking,” Master Sinclair said.
Jane nodded again, starting to feel more and more out of place—unsure how to respond accordingly.
The following silence, in which the three of them all smiled at each other rather uncomfortably, seemed to last an eternity until Miss Burton bowed curtly and ended the silence by announcing, “I will indeed be showing Jane around.”
The meeting ended rather suddenly, taking no more than a few minutes. Jane followed Miss Burton back out into the hallway.
Miss Burton had a stiff look on her face, making her look just a bit like a hawk—or a vulture. She revealed the reason for her dismay after she closed the door to the sitting room. “Miss Copper, from now on, when addressing the master and mistress, it would be proper to use the vocative case.”
Jane responded by giving her a puzzled look. “Vacative case?” she replied.
“Vocative case,” Miss Burton corrected. “Instead of saying, ‘Thank you,’ it would be proper to add their names: ‘Thank you, Master and Mistress Sinclair.’”
Jane felt her shoulders tense up a little. “Right. I’m sorry. I’ll do that from now on…Miss Burton,” she added quickly.
Miss Burton nodded. “Splendid. Now, let us start at the ground floor.”
She showed Jane around the manor, which was larger than any building she had ever set foot in. There seemed to be three dining rooms suited for different occasions, a kitchen fit to feed the entire city, multiple hallways connecting different parts of the manor, a library, several studies—not to mention all of the bedchambers, most of which had their own private bathrooms.
Jane was so sure she wouldn’t remember where everything was she stopped trying to halfway through the tour, hoping to just learn by trial and error eventually.
“Here is the staircase down to the servants’ quarters. To your right is my room. Yours is over here to the left.”
Miss Burton walked down the stairs in front of Jane and opened the door. This room was smaller than the other areas in the house but still larger than any bedroom Jane had ever set foot in.
There was a single bed in the corner next to the window, a vanity in front of a large mirror, a wardrobe, and two chairs. Though the wallpaper had a flowery design and the furniture was obviously of high quality, the room looked rather minimalistic compared to the obvious splendor in the rest of the house.
“Do our colleagues also stay in these quarters?” Jane asked, thinking of the remaining doors they had just passed.
“Mr. Marsh, the cook, stays at the end of the hallway. Mr. O’Hara, the butler, has a bedroom on the first floor due to his closeness to the master and mistress. Mr. Reid, the gardener, works every other day—he lives in the city.”
Jane waited for her to finish. Then she noticed that had been it. “Wait, what about the rest of the cleaning staff?”
Miss Burton pursed her lips. “The Sinclairs do not like having a larger staff at hand—it makes the house feel rather crowded.”
Crowded? Jane gaped at her. “So it’s just the two of us keeping this entire mansion clean?”
Miss Burton walked toward the door. “You will soon learn the Sinclairs value their privacy. A larger staff would only result in unnecessary crowding. Besides, with diligence and structure, it is all very doable.”
A clock chimed somewhere in the distance. Miss Burton raised a finger, punctuating the sound.
“Now, Miss Copper, I do want to give you a fair warning. Whatever you do, do not leave the servants’ quarters past ten o’clock,” she said.
When Jane opened her mouth to ask a question, Miss Burton quickly spoke again.
“Do not ask. After ten, we all stay put. For our own good.”
