The following morning, Sam wakes up early, eager to start her new job as the housekeeper of a nice-looking mansion. After a quick breakfast, she drives through morning traffic. As promised, she arrives right at eight.
When she approaches the front door, she notices a small note taped onto the door. She takes it out of curiosity and unfolds the paper. The message is brief and written in an elegant handwriting:
"To my new housekeeper, I trust Philip has given you a thorough orientation of the mansion and its rules. I expect nothing less than perfection in your work. Good luck on your first day.
—Lothair"
Sam stuffs the note in her pocket, determined to excel on her first day. She needs this job, after all.
The door is unlocked, so she opens it. She hears Philip call out to her.
"Ah, right on time."
"Good morning," she greets him. By the front door are two small tables. Each one has a vase filled with fresh flowers. Sam's nose is greeted with a lovely fragrance. She swears, however, there is a hint of a metallic scent underneath.
"I trust you had a pleasant evening and are ready to begin your duties," Philip says, leading you towards what appears to be the living room. Somehow, the mansion seems more quiet than yesterday.
"I imagine having an entire mansion to clean can be overwhelming at first. I suggest starting here. Then, work your way through the first floor before moving to the second floor. I trust you remember where the supply closet is?"
"I have the place memorized."
Philip raises an eyebrow and nods.
"I'll be in the cellar for a while before tending to the garden. Find me, if you need me."
With that, Philip leaves. He is right about one thing. Being the only one to tidy almost all of the place is overwhelming. Fortunately, Philip gave her an idea about where to start. So, Sam surveys the living room to see what she needs to do.
Sam then goes to the supply closet to get a duster, a brush and dustpan, and the vacuum. Returning to the living room, she sets the duster and vacuum down. She walks over to the beautiful fireplace. The firebox is surrounded by gray granite. Framing the stone is wood. On each side is a carved bird.
Inside, Sam notices a thick layer of soot. She kneels down and begins to vigorously sweep up the ash. As she works, she can't help but ponder the mysterious nature of her employer. It seems strange that Lothair's unavailable during the day. He won't even get to meet the person he must place the care of his home to. It could be that he works at night, so he has to sleep during the day.
Most of the soot has been cleaned out of the fireplace. A strange glint from within it catches Sam's eye. She reaches in to grab a small, silver key. The metal object appears to be quite old.
"What do we have here?" she murmurs to herself. She turns the key over in her hand.
Sam looks around. The logical thing would be to give it to Philip. Yet, a part of her wants to keep it out of curiosity. Though, she doesn't want to get fired for stealing on her first day.
She places the key on the mantelpiece, deciding to show it to Philip later. As she continues cleaning the living room, her phone buzzes in your pocket. It's a text from her sister checking in on how her first day is going. Sam quickly types out a reply.
Sam: First day is going well so far! The mansion is huge and gorgeous, but also really quiet. I'm the only one here besides Philip. Lothair, the owner, doesn't seem like someone who will be around while I work. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Fingers crossed I don't mess anything up and get fired! Talk later, gotta get back to dusting!
Sam finishes up with the living room when Philip pops in.
"I just came by real quickly to check how you were doing. Still working on this room?"
"I'm doing fine. I actually just finished."
"I see you've made excellent progress already. The living room looks splendid."
He approaches the fireplace, his gaze drawn to the key resting on the mantelpiece. His face changes as he spots it, and he quickly snatches it up.
"Where did you get that key?" Philip questions with a stern expression.
"I found it in the fireplace," Sam answers. "What's it for?"
Philip looks at the key again, shaking his head while mumbling something. He puts it in his pocket.
"Nothing important. Don't worry about it. You seem to be doing well so far. Keep it up. I'll be outside if you need me. Oh, one last thing. The curtains need to be closed no later than six. So, be sure to do that before you leave today."
Sam watches Philip stride out of the room. She briefly wonders what the key unlocks. More importantly, how did it end up in the fireplace?
She ignores the strangeness of it and focuses on her work.
Up next is the library. The library is quite still. The only sounds she hears are the occasional creak of the wooden floors. While carefully dusting the spines of the books, she can't help but marvel at the sheer number of them. There must be hundreds of books here.
Sam has never been the type of person to spend hours in a library. Yet, being in one feels somewhat calming. Here is a safe place of solitude away from the problems of the outside world.
The day eventually comes to an end. Fatigue creeps over Sam, and she wants nothing more than to go home. Before she can rest, she has to shut the curtains of each window. While dealing with the ones on the second floor, she passes by the stairs leading to the tower.
She is faced with the temptation to ascend them. The memory of Philip's warning deters her. No one else works here, and Philip is nowhere in sight. No. Going up there is not worth the risk. Her desire to go home is stronger anyway.
Sam makes her way to the foyer of the mansion. She runs into Philip. He tells her to double check there is no dust on some of the tables. Other than that, she did a wonderful job. She leaves for the night feeling tired but happy.