Page 2 of Nanny and the Beast

The girl is headed in my direction, but her eyes are glued to the ground. She looks on the verge of tears.

I should probably mind my own business, but something compels me to step in the girl’s path.

“Hey, are you okay?” I ask.

She stops walking and lifts her gaze toward me. A tremor runs through her slender frame as she swipes the tears from her lashes.

“Are you here for the nanny position?” she asks. When I nod, she says quietly, “Don’t go inside. It’s not worth it.”

Without waiting for my response, she heads toward another parked car. I stare at her until she disappears from view.

Her words echo in my head as I walk up the marble stairs.

I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t absolutely have to.

I step over the threshold and into the mansion. A heavy feeling sinks into my bones. People talk in Ravenwood. I’ve heard whispers about the master of the house.

Klaus Sinclair.

They say he’s a recluse. An arrogant, wealthy snob. A monster.

And I’m about to head into the monster’s den.

A curvy woman in a purple skirt suit greets me at the bottom of a sweeping staircase.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” she asks.

“Emma,” I say. “Emma Turner.”

She flicks her pen against the notepad she’s holding.

“Come with me.” She heads up the stairs. I follow her, trying not to gawk at all the luxury around me.

The inside of the mansion is hauntingly beautiful, almost otherworldly. But at the same time, something about it is unsettling. It feels like it’s alive and trying to tell me something.

“I’m Helena, by the way,” she says, breaking the dark pattern of my thoughts. “I’m the head housekeeper.”

“Nice to meet you, Helena,” I say, smiling at her.

“You were sent by Hendricks Agency, right?” she asks.

“Yes, I was.”

“Victoria and I go way back.”

“You know Mrs. Hendricks?”

“Sure do,” she says. “Both of us grew up in Ravenwood. We even went to the same high school.”

She smiles at me, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. She seems troubled by something.

We reach the top of the staircase.

“Can I ask you something?” I say.

“Of course.”

“What happened to the kid’s parents?”

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