Francis wasn't joking when he said he hired a driver for her. The man reports to her, ringing her doorbell at eleven on the dot and Mary lugs her suitcases towards the door, going to open it wide.
"I'm Sam, I'll be driving you around for the foreseeable future, Miss Stuart," he says, nodding politely. "Excuse me if I don't shake your hand. I must keep these gloves white."
Mary chuckles, waving it off. "It's fine. My hands are full of suitcases anyway. It's just these three," she replies, pointing to the large, medium and small suitcases. Clothes, shoes, toiletries with underwear and makeup.
Sam enters her home, collecting the smaller and medium suitcases first and taking them to the Mercedes. He already has the boot open and slots the cases inside before coming for the last one.
Mary retrieves her keys and handbag, making sure the lights are turned off and her stove is switched off before collecting the food and liquids she'd had in the freezer and fridge and leaving her home, locking the front door behind her. She'll still be coming in the weekends and she knows her mother would worry if she doesn't reply to her mandatory drop by every other week.
Sam opens the car door for her and she gets into the backseat and does her seatbelt as he closes the door and gets into the driver's seat.
Soon, they're on the way to Kensington.
It's not that far from her home by car. She lives in London but in a modest home in a modest part of it. She's got two storeys, not four like Francis and Jean's home so she wonders if she'll get used to going up multiple flights of stairs quickly or not. It would surely be a workout.
"So," Sam starts, clearing his throat to make conversation. He eyes her through the rearview mirror, how they both share a smile at how Uber-ish this feels. "What made you choose to be a nanny?"
"I love children," Mary simply says. "They are marvellous creatures. How they think, how they see the world... Who doesn't like kids? I mean, we were all one at one point in our lives, it's impossible not to feel happy when a child is around."
"But you're-"
"Rich?"
Sam coughs a little. "Yes."
Mary smiles wryly. "Rich people can be nannies too."
"But why?"
"I don't see the money I'll get from this job, I'll see the experience and who knows? It might affect how I'll raise any future child of mine," Mary tells him easily. "Parenting is a learning experience. This way I can practice and help nurture a sweet kid into being a great future leader. Children of today are the leaders of tomorrow."
"You have me sold, Miss Stuart," Sam replies, smiling. "We will arrive at the house in fifteen minutes."
Mary nods and unlocks her phone, slotting her headphones on and listening to music. A smile graces her lips in serenity.
...
"The home gym is on the very top, it's a workout to get up there and that's why I like it that way," Francis tells her lightly as they scour the second floor where Jean's bedroom is on. "You will be across from Jean. You have your own bathroom and my bedroom is upstairs if you need anything. We have a basement off from the ground floor, that's just the indoor swimming pool-"
"Why am I not surprised?" Mary asks lightly.
Francis bows his head. "I know, it's over-the-top but Jean has swimming lessons every morning at six."
"He wakes up that early?"
"He does," Francis affirms. "He won't start his new school until the new school year so you are his teacher. I have put together an itinerary of a normal day for him, I've taken the opportunity to rotate English Language, Latin, German, Italian and Spanish so you will teach him a language a day."
