Page 19 of Beautiful Deception

The dining room is a thing of beauty and intimidation. The long, dark table takes up most of the room and the dark walls are not exactly inviting but with the candles on the table, it manages to make things more romantic, like something out of a gothic fairytale.

We all eat in silence for a moment. The pot roast and potatoes are delicious but the casserole could have been better. I can tell Mrs. Green thinks so but she doesn’t say anything. Instead, she only picks at it.

Shame fills me. It’s the one thing I made and I couldn’t do it right.

When I glance at Viktor, I notice that he’s barely touched the casserole too.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out.

“Excuse me?” he asks, looking at me with those intimidating eyes of his.

“About the casserole. It’s not the best, I know. I’m the one who made it. I promise that won’t happen again.”

“It could have been cooked longer,” Mrs. Green agrees.

“I think it’s fine,” Viktor says. “But you’re learning. Mrs. Green, make sure you’re teaching Inessa. Make sure you’re encouraging her. There should be a list of recipes in the kitchen she can follow.”

I look at Mrs. Green. She said there weren’t any recipes around. She doesn’t meet me in the eye as she nods.

“I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again,” she says.

“That’s a pretty dress you have on,” Viktor says to me, taking a bite of the roast.

A blush forms on my cheeks as I shove a piece of the potato into my mouth.

“That color suits you,” he murmurs.

My hand brushes over the neckline of my blue dress. “Thank you.”

“I am curious, Inessa. You’re young. Normally I employ older people who have already lived a life. Do you really want to spend your life as a maid?”

“It’s just for now until I can get on my feet. Unless you want to keep me on for as long as possible. I could always use the money.”

He chuckles. “I’m sure. Everyone could always use more money. But as a young woman, I feel like you should be out living your life. Going to parties. To clubs.”

“I’ve never really been into those things.” Mostly because my father would never allow me to go. I also just never had the money to waste on frivolous things like clubs. Food and shelter came first before anything.

“Really? Most of the young woman I meet are obsessed with parties and gossip.”

“Then maybe you haven’t met that many young women.”

He stares at me for a long and hard moment before saying, “Maybe you’re right. You know, you remind me of my sister. She has spunk. So do you.”

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out. “I didn’t mean to insult you.” I can feel Mrs. Green glaring at me from across the table.

“You didn’t insult me. I found it quite refreshing. Not that many people tell me what’s on their minds. I prefer the truth rather than lies. If that’s what you think, tell me. You can always be honest with your thoughts and feelings to me. That includes you as well, Mrs. Green.”

“I’ve never had an employer say that to me,” she admits.

“It may be a little unconventional but I am not here to frighten my staff. I frighten a lot of people for my work and that’s how I prefer it but when it comes to my home life, I don’t want you to walk around on egg shells with me. It creates a tense home. Be yourself. Both of you. If you ever need to tell me anything, then feel free to tell me.”

He makes it sound so easy but I know I will never be able to confide my true feelings to Viktor. Not when my father tried to kill him. Not when he tried to kill my father.

“Well, if we’re being honest here,” Mrs. Green says, “then I don’t think you should be complementing Inessa’s dress. I think it’s inappropriate. She’s an impressionable young woman.”

He steeples his fingers together and looks at Mrs. Green calmly. “I wasn’t aware of that. I never meant any harm by complementing Inessa’s dress. It was merely a complement. An innocent one, I assure you. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Inessa.”

“You didn’t.” It’s the truth. I found his complement to be flattering. I’ve rarely gotten complements from anyone before. Lack of money and a controlling father prevented me from meeting that many people

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