CHAPTER 2 — THE DOOR BETWEEN

Nancy came back the next morning and the moment she had her tea, Emeera gave her the gist. Her eyes popped as Emeera talked about the Duke offering her a job.

“Can you even believe it?”

“I’m amazed. I mean, I gave him an eyewitness account of what happened. But still, he offered a job? I’m surprised.”

“And he saw me naked,” Emeera said. Nancy’s teacup fell on the rug.

“Oh now I understand. He is a libertine. Through and through. Trust me, you don’t want to be involved with the Duke. He has slept with all your high society women from duchesses to actresses to the rest of them. Trust me, if he gave you a job because he saw you naked, it only means one thing: he will sleep with you and when he tires of you, he will relieve you of the job. No explanations.”

After that conversation, Emeera weighed her options. She needed a job fast. Nancy was a great friend who kindly accommodated her but since Emeera got her certifications in hospitality, she was yet to earn money from them. After her trainings, she had applied to many places but never received a positive response. Managing a Duke’s estate was an experience any of her old classmates would kill to have. Especially Dorothy. Dorothy with the bad attitude that was covered by fake niceness. She could see the envy in Dorothy's face if she heard Emeera was managing the estate. The next day, after Nancy had gone to work, Emeera dialed the number. It was one of the few times she enjoyed the luxury of living with a girl who had a telephone at home.

“Hello, you have reached the Duke of Savoy’s residence…” a voice said. Emeera knew then a new chapter in her life had begun.

Nancy drove up to the imposing manor and packed in front. She turned off the engine and turned to Emeera. “Emeera I know you are in desperate need of a job but are you sure you want this particular job? It’s not too late to turn back and run.” The girls laughed.

“I am sure I want this job. But thanks for the advice.”

“If you run now I promise not to judge and nobody will know.”

“I want to work, Nancy. I am certain I have to start here,” Emeera said and hugged her friend. “See you at home. I’ll come back with stories every night and I will be fine,” Emeera said. Nancy shrugged like she did not believe a word of that.

Once Emeera stepped in, she was led to the ground floor dining hall. Everyone sat around the dining table — Alfred, the Duke of Savoy, Emeera and Mr. George, the Duke’s attorney. She was passed her contract of employment to sign. Emeera’s hands shook a bit as she signed, but she was done before anyone noticed. After signing, the lawyer shook hands with them and withdraw.

“Ms. Charles, I formally welcome you to my home.” He extended his hand and Emeera shook it. His grip was tight. Then slowly, he released her hand. She kept her eyes steady on his brown eyes. “My long time head maid, Mrs. Fletcher will show you…” as if she knew she was being summoned, Mrs. Fletcher, a thin woman with grey hair, entered the room and stood at the other end of the massive table. She gave a little curtsy to Alfred and threw a thin smile in Emeera’s direction.

“Mrs. Fletcher, this is Ms. Emeera Charles, our new manor manager. She is in charge of the staff and contractors,” The Duke said. “Ms. Charles, meet the efficient Mrs. Fletcher who has dexterously manned the Savoy Manor since my father’s time,” the Duke declared.

“You flatter me your grace,” Mrs. Fletcher said with another little curtsey; she was obviously happy with the compliments. Emeera could swear she saw a tinge of pink on the wrinkled cheeks.

“So please show her to her rooms and guide her till she has familiarized herself at least with all that is needed to run this place.”

“I shall do that, your grace,” she responded. It was all still strange to Emeera who was not used to being in constant close proximity with the gentry. She could not imagine calling this man your Grace and curtseying at every point she ran into him. With her ancestors from the middle East, she was still a stranger to the European culture of the gentry. But everyone in the duchy of Savoy made it look so natural. Plus, the duke had an awe-inspiring physique; tall and muscular, his bearing commanded respect. Emeera thought if respect was all he would want from her, she would gladly give that to him. She shuddered to think of him demanding more.

Mrs. Fletcher took her up to the second floor, talking as she went. “All the servants sleep on the ground floor. But you are the house manager so you get to sleep up here with the family. But it was not always so, when the Duke’s father was alive, the house manager had to sleep in a room on the ground floor with the other servants. His Grace thought it better to have the house manager up here in order to have him at his beck and call at all times and for other kinds of emergency.”

“Was the last manor manager a man?”

“They have always been. You are the first female manager in the Savoy Manor.”

“So What happened? where did the last one go?”

“I cannot say. But this I can say, if you want to last here, you have to learn to mind your business," Mrs Fletcher said curtly and Emeera knew immediately that manor would be trouble.

They arrived at a door which Mrs. Fletcher opened with a beautiful key. Together, they entered the room and Emeera gasped. The room was not a room at all but a suite with the fanciest bedroom Emeera had ever seen. Everything was pure luxury. The bed was laid with shiny white silk, the curtains were made of white linens. The whole room was immaculate white like nobody had been there before. Surely this was a mistake, Emeera thought. Or maybe they were here to do something before going to her room. She could not bring herself to think, she could not dare hope that this suite that overlooked a beautiful pond and gardens could be her room.