Suffocating Love [A Brahms Heelshire Story]

The Doll

A yawn escaped Alice's lips as she tried to keep herself awake. It had been a long two days of travel and she was feeling it start to wear on her. Traveling all the way from the Midwest of the United States to England's country side just for a small adventure. Alice had always dreamed of traveling Europe, but never had the funds for it. As a recently broke college graduate she looked into at the very least working overseas in order to fulfill her lifelong dream. What she didn't expect after hundreds of applications that the one for a babysitting position would actually hire her.

She hadn't put much thought into the job when she found it on LinkedIn, she was honestly applying to any and all jobs that she came across hoping that she'd just get an interview or a call. When she received an email that they wished to hire her with no need for an interview she had been a bit suspicious.

Expecting the job to be some sort of scam or trafficking operation that got young woman to travel abroad only to end up going missing. But looking into the Heelshires they seemed to be legit. They had been a prosperous family during the Victorian era, but fell off around the mid 1900s. Though a little closed off from the rest of the world nowadays, but that wasn't too much of a red flag. I mean, don't we all wish we could just escape the rest of the world sometimes and hide out in the countryside.

Leaning her head against the cabby's window she watched as the trees flew by. The Heelshires had actually paid for the cabby to pick her up at the airport once she landed. Ever since she's been on the road for the last three hours. Trying to nap in the uncomfortable back seat of the black Toyota Prius that weirdly smelled of pickles.

Arriving at the house was amazed at how beautiful their home was. The stone work that made up the outside of the home was intricate and breathtaking in its craftsmanship. It was an old style Victorian manor that must have been in their family for decades.

Stopping the car in front of the house the cab driver informed her that the Heelshires should have the door unlocked and that they would meet her in the parlor room.

The outside of the house was gorgeous but the inside was astounding. The walls made of wood were a deep shade of red showcasing the craftsmanship of the home, with paintings of landscape put up along the walls. While her eyes roamed from painting to painting among the walls of the entrance hallway Alice's eyes laid upon a painting of what she could only assume was the family. A young mother and father, with a smile boy nestled between them.

They looked happy together. She smiled at the photo of them all, as Alice never had the best childhood growing up. Hence why she was ecstatic to move across the world to simply work. Not only did she want the adventure of traveling, but she wanted to escape her old life. Seeing the family in the painting made her excited to work for them. Who knows maybe if she does well enough they might call her back next year for a nannying job. The salary was surely nothing to sneeze at, so she'd be more than happy to accept it twice.

Making her way to what she assumed was the parlor room she took a seat on a cushioned chair and waited for what could've only been a handful of minutes before an elderly woman entered the room. She wore a plaid skirt and a red cardigan sweater with her hair pinned up in tight greying curls.

"Hello, you must be Alice Quinn. I'm Mrs. Heelshire. If you would follow me to the family room Brahms and Mr. Heelshire are waiting for us." The woman stated bluntly motioning for her to get up and follow.

Thank God for her immediately turning around and walking out of the room or she would have seen the shock on Alice's face when she said she was the mother. How old was this little boy? Did they adopt? There is no way in hell the woman she had just met had popped a child out within the last ten years. Yet when putting some thought into it she did notice that the older woman did bore a striking resemblance to the young woman in the painting she saw earlier. Was she looking after that very same boy in the painting? If that was true he had to be close to late 20s early 30s. There's no way Alice would ever nanny a 30 year old man all by herself out in the middle of the English countryside.