The Rose Queen

Secrets and Suspicions

Being a maid for the Garners was not all that much different than working at the Rose Queen. Still, I somehow found myself missing the familiar halls.

I found the other staff to be mostly friendly. A few, like the head cook, were not as friendly as others. She was an older, grandmotherly woman by the name of Ruth. Her hair had long since lost any hint of its former color. Every time I saw Ruth, she had a scowl on her face. I did my best not to upset her, but she always seemed to be angry anyway.

I met one of the groundskeepers, a man not more than three years older than me by the name of Thomas. Thomas had moved here not long after turning eighteen from the city. The Garners had given him a job to help him get started. He idolized Mr. Garner.

"Did you know that Mr. Garner has given more to different charities throughout his lifetime than most of the other rich people this side of the Mississippi? He's a great guy. I know there's a lot of rumors about him, but I promise. When you meet him, you'll see. He's a great guy."

That was the mantra around the house, it seemed. 'He's a great guy.' The more I heard it, the more I couldn't help but wonder just how true it was. Sure, Mr. Garner (and even Mrs. Garner to a degree) looked great on paper and sounded great when I was talking to the others on staff. But just how great were they in person?

I wondered, also, if Adrian was real. No one seemed to know anything about a son of the Garners. Let alone one that had died.

"I think there was a nephew, a few years back, who lived with them. But this would have been 2010 or so. Not that long ago. And he didn't die, he moved to Paris." This was from one of the gardeners.

I was left with the impression that the Garners were great people, but that even their help didn't seem to know what happened behind closed doors. The Garners might be great people. Or, as I was beginning to suspect, things weren't as they seemed.