matters.”
That’s a lovely sentiment, but Cadence isn’t convinced by it.
“Everyone should get to spend time with their family, Marlee.” She flings an arm around her waist. “How long’s it been since you last visited home?”
Tears invade Marlee’s eyes again, but she refuses to set them free. “Almost three years.”
“Are you serious?!”
Cadence isn’t sure what she was expecting to hear, but it wasn’t that. She doesn’t recollect Marlee ever being away from her for any length of time, but she always assumed that visits, while perhaps rare, must be occurring somehow.
Marlee tucks a lock of drying hair behind Cadence’s ear, gazing affectionately at her. “I don’t get time off from taking care of you, honey.”
“But—”
Marlee stops her. “I don’t want time off from taking care of you. I love taking care of you, and I knew what I was giving up when I accepted the position as your nanny.”
“But your family …”
“I meet my sister for lunch a few times a year, when she’s not off gallivanting around the country with her eccentric hippie boyfriend. My parents come up the odd time, too. It’s always very brief, but we’ve grown accustomed to it. Ultimately, I’m paid a fair wage, my family’s income is supplemented by your family’s kind donations, and I get to spend every minute with you. It’s a fine arrangement.”
Fine, but definitely not fair. Other nannies get annual vacation time to spend at home with their families, but the Ashlocks made it very clear from the outset that they wouldn’t be able to accommodate her taking any time for herself. In lieu of that, they offered to provide her family additional financial support—an offer she simply couldn’t decline.
It did all work out for the best, though.
The spectacular orgasm she just experienced is a testament to that.
Chapter Fourteen
Marlee pays for the ten minute taxi fare on her personal credit card, so that their little excursion to Milford-on-Sea might remain concealed from the Ashlocks. They’d never approve of Cadence meeting her family, which is precisely why none of her relatives have ever been invited to spend time at Neverleigh, and why visits have to be conducted only when Cadence is occupied elsewhere.
The reason? Because the Meeks family are working class folk, and Cadence has been instructed not to mingle outside of her own social group. Such interaction might detrimentally blur the dividing line between their two very different worlds. Heaven forbid.
In fact, Cadence has been so shut off from the realities of life that Marlee wonders how she’ll react to the tiny former council house they’re about to visit. Will it seem strange to her that an entire family can live in a box not much bigger than Neverleigh’s grand entrance hallway? Will she laugh and offend someone accidentally? Will she feel uncomfortable? Cadence is used to space—emotionally and physically—and that’s not something you’ll ever find in the Meeks household, where everyone is always rubbing shoulders.
Nervous, Marlee stands on the curb in front of a red brick house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, holding Cadence’s hand. The front garden is well-tended, the flower beds weeded, the grass kept short, and the front door has a fresh coat of white paint. Somewhere nearby, children are playing. Seagulls are squawking, fighting over the day-old, discarded leftovers of someone’s fish and chips. The smell of fish pervades, someone in the cul-de-sac having recently gutted a fresh catch.
She looks down at her clothes, wondering if she picked the right outfit: deliberately faded jeans; white, low cut camisole; a loose cotton shirt, buttoned halfway. She wanted to look nice, but not fancy. Why had she put on such expensive shoes? She wiggles her toes inside a pair of black, patent leather stilettos—the same ones she wore last night.
Shoes are her one weakness. She likes the way a nice pair of high heels makes
That’s a lovely sentiment, but Cadence isn’t convinced by it.
“Everyone should get to spend time with their family, Marlee.” She flings an arm around her waist. “How long’s it been since you last visited home?”
Tears invade Marlee’s eyes again, but she refuses to set them free. “Almost three years.”
“Are you serious?!”
Cadence isn’t sure what she was expecting to hear, but it wasn’t that. She doesn’t recollect Marlee ever being away from her for any length of time, but she always assumed that visits, while perhaps rare, must be occurring somehow.
Marlee tucks a lock of drying hair behind Cadence’s ear, gazing affectionately at her. “I don’t get time off from taking care of you, honey.”
“But—”
Marlee stops her. “I don’t want time off from taking care of you. I love taking care of you, and I knew what I was giving up when I accepted the position as your nanny.”
“But your family …”
“I meet my sister for lunch a few times a year, when she’s not off gallivanting around the country with her eccentric hippie boyfriend. My parents come up the odd time, too. It’s always very brief, but we’ve grown accustomed to it. Ultimately, I’m paid a fair wage, my family’s income is supplemented by your family’s kind donations, and I get to spend every minute with you. It’s a fine arrangement.”
Fine, but definitely not fair. Other nannies get annual vacation time to spend at home with their families, but the Ashlocks made it very clear from the outset that they wouldn’t be able to accommodate her taking any time for herself. In lieu of that, they offered to provide her family additional financial support—an offer she simply couldn’t decline.
It did all work out for the best, though.
The spectacular orgasm she just experienced is a testament to that.
Chapter Fourteen
Marlee pays for the ten minute taxi fare on her personal credit card, so that their little excursion to Milford-on-Sea might remain concealed from the Ashlocks. They’d never approve of Cadence meeting her family, which is precisely why none of her relatives have ever been invited to spend time at Neverleigh, and why visits have to be conducted only when Cadence is occupied elsewhere.
The reason? Because the Meeks family are working class folk, and Cadence has been instructed not to mingle outside of her own social group. Such interaction might detrimentally blur the dividing line between their two very different worlds. Heaven forbid.
In fact, Cadence has been so shut off from the realities of life that Marlee wonders how she’ll react to the tiny former council house they’re about to visit. Will it seem strange to her that an entire family can live in a box not much bigger than Neverleigh’s grand entrance hallway? Will she laugh and offend someone accidentally? Will she feel uncomfortable? Cadence is used to space—emotionally and physically—and that’s not something you’ll ever find in the Meeks household, where everyone is always rubbing shoulders.
Nervous, Marlee stands on the curb in front of a red brick house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, holding Cadence’s hand. The front garden is well-tended, the flower beds weeded, the grass kept short, and the front door has a fresh coat of white paint. Somewhere nearby, children are playing. Seagulls are squawking, fighting over the day-old, discarded leftovers of someone’s fish and chips. The smell of fish pervades, someone in the cul-de-sac having recently gutted a fresh catch.
She looks down at her clothes, wondering if she picked the right outfit: deliberately faded jeans; white, low cut camisole; a loose cotton shirt, buttoned halfway. She wanted to look nice, but not fancy. Why had she put on such expensive shoes? She wiggles her toes inside a pair of black, patent leather stilettos—the same ones she wore last night.
Shoes are her one weakness. She likes the way a nice pair of high heels makes
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