A Desire for Dragonfire
By Maxwell Avoi
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2012 by Maxwell Avoi
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Lily was nervous about going to work at the Socard estate. There were all kinds of rumors about the Socards: that you never saw them outside of the house, or that they were all inbred, that people disappeared. When she found that the current living Socard, Lionel, had asked for her specifically at the temp agency, a tiny voice in the back of her head had started to recite those stories and she couldn’t seem to make it stop.
She pulled up to the Socard mansion and drove around to the rear, to a genuine servant’s entrance. She knew the Socards were traditionalists but this was a little more traditional than she’d expected. The mansion deserved the name; Lily had no idea how big the building was but it was the biggest one that she’d seen outside of the state capitol. She went up and knocked and after a measured amount of time the door opened. A tall man in a severe suit looked at her as if she had lice. “Yes?” he said.
“Lily, um, Peck. I mean, I’m Lily Peck,” she said, cursing her nervousness. She sounded like a mouse. It was bad enough that she felt like one.
“Quite. Please follow me.” He turned and glided into the mansion, moving quickly enough that she nearly lost him when she turned to shut the door. She hurried to keep up.
“I am Preston,” he said, as if she should be impressed. “I run the day-to-day for the Socards.” He led her through several hallways, moving through the maze with the ease of long practice. He stopped in front of a door and turned to allow his nose to stare at her. Once more she felt herself wilting a little. “I’m sure you’ve been informed that you were specifically requested by mister Socard. Please try to make his choice a wise one, hmm?”
He unlocked the door and swept inside, revealing a very plain suite. “This is the maid’s dressing room. If you wish, and if you work out, you may use it as your private quarters as part of your pay.”
“A room? The ad didn’t say anything about a room,” said Lily, looking around in surprise. There were no decorations but there was stout furniture and a separate bedroom off to the side. She glanced inside and saw more of the same, though the bed was larger than she was used to. It was a lot better apartment than the one she’d managed to find off campus. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to stay in this huge old building’s basement or not but it was tempting.
Preston shrugged; either she would take the rooms or she would not. “Regardless, your uniform is in the closet in the front room. Do put it on. I’ll wait outside, of course.” His tone implied that he wouldn’t wait very long.
Once he stepped out into the hall, Lily scrambled to get into the uniform. It wasn’t exactly a bondage-style French maid outfit though it was black and had white trim and ruffles. She felt slightly ridiculous but the mirror told her that the outfit actually looked quite nice on her. It flattered her slim curves and she felt comfortable enough in it. She put the dust-shield in her hair and bustled out to meet Preston, who stood there looking as if his day was ruined by her mere presence.
He looked her up and down and his face relaxed slightly. “Acceptable, I suppose,” he said. He turned and started gliding again. Lily followed him. “You’ll now meet mister Socard. Do not refer to him as anything but mister Socard. Your goal is to be neither seen nor heard, but if you must choose one try to remain unheard. Your duties are strictly cleaning. You will not be asked to prepare or serve food, nor anything beyond the scope of your cleaning duties. You will have Thursdays and Saturdays off to start.” He droned on about her duties as she followed him, and she gradually phased him out while she looked around.