As soon as Adam was out of the door, Noah appeared in his place. "I'm supposed to take you to the nursery."
Rain nodded and followed him from the room. She felt like the walls were closing in on her as her conversation with Adam played over and over again in her head. Why did he think she was a Harvard graduate? What the heck was she going to teach the boys? She wanted to get back to her room so she could formulate a lesson plan.
"What's got you thinking so hard?" Noah asked after they had been walking for a while.
"What?" she replied absentmindedly.
"You seem really distracted. I thought you were going to run into a wall a couple of times."
"Oh. I'm just really worried about doing a good job. It's a lot more intense then I anticipated."
"You'll be fine," he said reassuringly. "Master Canmore is a bit intimidating at first but he's very reasonable. And the boys are very well behaved. You shouldn't have any problems."
"But I, I've never been responsible for so much all at once! How am I going to keep track of the boys and Sunny? And the schedules and protocol?! It's all too much!" she exclaimed. She was trying to calm herself down but it wasn't working. She felt the tears fall down her cheeks and wanted to cry even harder in embarrassment for breaking down in front of this man that she barely knew.
"Miss Dae? Are you okay?" Noah asked, his voice laced in concern or fear, she couldn't tell.
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself sliding down onto the floor as her breathing quickened signaling the impending panic attack.
Noah joined her on the floor and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Miss Dae? Rain? Look at me."
Her tear-filled eyes shot up to meet his concerned gaze.
"Good. It's okay. You're okay. Breathe with me. Deep breath in...."
She drew in a shaky breath.
"...and out. Good! You're doing so good. Let's do that again. In...and out. Keep breathing. It's going to be okay. Rebecca and I are here to help you okay? You're not alone."
She nodded quickly, feeling her breath slowly returning to normal. "I, I'm sorry, Noah."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"It's not your job to babysit me."
He snorted. "I'm your bodyguard. That is literally my job."
Rain cracked up at his statement.
"Hey! There's a smile," Noah said, offering Rain his hand to help her off of the floor. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah," she replied with a sigh. "They usually don't last long."
"Do you have these attacks frequently?"
"Can we talk about something else, please?" she asked quietly.
"Uh, sure. We've arrived at the nursery," he said, gesturing to the doors to their right.
She followed him into yet another large room. "You call this a nursery?" she asked in disbelief.
Noah chuckled. "What did you expect?"
"I don't know! Certainly not this!"
The entrance to the nursery was not unlike her and Sunny's suite. There were a few armchairs next to a large bookcase off to the right. What was shocking to Rain was the main room. Each area of the room was dedicated to different activities. There was an area for reading, an area for what looked like legos, an area for artwork and the list went on. There was even a large jungle gym in the back of the room toward the large french doors that led to an outdoor play area.
"This place is huge!"
A door off to the right opened and a portly woman with stark white hair came into the room followed by the most well dressed little boys Rain had ever seen. They were wearing pleated khaki shorts with navy blazers. Sunny wasn't far behind them, looking slightly disheveled in comparison as one of her bows was sliding down her hair.
"Mommy!" Sunny exclaimed.
"Tsk!" The woman said sternly and Sunny froze. "What did we discuss Miss Sunny?"
"Young ladies do not shout when indoors."
Rain opened her mouth to give this woman a piece of her mind but was shocked into silence when a wide grin broke out on the woman's face.
"You are such a clever girl, Miss Sunny," she said caressing her cheek gently.
Sunny beamed up at her and grabbed her hand pulling her over toward Rain. "Mommy. This is Nanny Schmidt."
"How do you do, Miss Dae?" Mrs. Schmidt asked with a smile, extending her hand to Rain. She had a thick German accent and a kind demeanor.
"I'm fine," Rain replied hesitantly.
"Your daughter is an angel of a child," Mrs. Schmidt said. "I must admit, I was worried about how the boys would get on with her but they've become fast friends."
Rain's gaze fell on the two boys who were standing perfectly still behind Mrs. Schmidt. She smiled at them. "Hello there."
"Hello," they chorused together.
The boy with the curly blonde hair stepped forward. He looked nothing like Adam in Rain's opinion. "My name is Jonathan," he said calmly. He seemed very serious to be only seven years old.
"And my name is Alexander!" the other boy said. He was the spitting image of his father, with his dark brown locks and bright blue eyes.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sure we're going to have lots of fun together," Rain said with a smile.
Mrs. Schmidt glanced at the clock. "Oh dear. Look at the time! I've got to get the children ready for dinner."
"What's to get ready?" Rain asked.
Mrs. Schmidt looked at her as if she had two heads. "They must get changed into their dinner attire! You should probably get going so you can dress as well."
Rain looked down at the dress Rebecca had given her earlier that day. "What's wrong with this?"
Somewhere behind her Noah groaned. "Did you even look at your contract before you signed it?"
Rain rolled her eyes and took Sunny's hand. "Come on Sunny. Apparently, I have some more reading to do."
********************
Rain stared at her reflection in the large mirror in her bathroom and sighed. She really wished she had read her contract more carefully. They were all expected to dress in semi-formal attire for dinner. Every night! She didn't have enough clothes in her wardrobe for that.
At first, she thought she would just have to head into town, wherever town was, and get some more clothes after she received her first paycheck. But alas, it was not to be. She was not allowed to leave the grounds. For any reason. At any time.
She huffed and pulled on a cardigan over the short black cocktail dress she was wearing in an attempt to dress it down a bit.
Sunny came running into the bathroom looking adorable in a pale pink dress a moment later. "Mommy we're going to be late!"
"I'm ready to go sweetheart. Let's go."
Rebecca was waiting for them outside of their suite. "That is what you're wearing to dinner?"
Rain scowled. "It's the most appropriate thing I own."
"We'll have to get you some new clothes ordered," she said with a disapproving look. "Follow me."
She turned on her heel and started off down the corridor. Rain bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something she'd regret. What was this bullshit? Was she all of a sudden Maria from the Sound of Music?
When they arrived at the great hall, Rebecca stopped so abruptly that Rain almost ran into her. "Every evening we are expected to arrive at dinner before Master Canmore. Once he arrives, we may begin eating."
Rebecca strode into the hall leaving Rain thoroughly bewildered. This just kept getting stranger and stranger. Rain and Sunny quickly followed her inside and took the seats that she directed them to. Jonathan, Alexander and Mrs. Schmidt were already seated at the large table.
Five minutes of silence passed and Rain felt antsy in her seat. Even Sunny was handling this strange situation better than she was. Her stomach growled as she stared down at the steaming plate of food in front of her.
After what felt like ages, Adam finally entered the room. Everyone stood to greet him. By the time Rain had realized what was happening and followed suit, everyone else had sat back down.
Adam peered at her with a mixed expression of amusement and irritation as she scrambled back into her seat, her cheeks flaming in embarrassment.
"I apologize for my tardiness everyone," Adam said, taking the seat at the head of the table. "My meeting ran longer than expected. You may begin."
The silence in the room was suffocating, the only sound in the room coming from the scraping of utensils on plates.
Rain cleared her throat. "So. How was everyone's day?"
No one responded. She elbowed Sunny who shook her head rapidly and kept eating. Little traitor.
"Well, my day was okay I guess," Rain said. "Most of the people at my new job have been very welcoming."
She glanced over at Adam who looked furious. She swallowed nervously but continued anyway. "My suite is stunning and extremely comfortable--"
"Miss Dae," Adam interjected.
"--And I'm very excited to be working with such sweet little boys--"
"Miss Dae," he said again, with a warning tone.
"Then again, I realize now that I will be confined to this house and won't be able to--"
"Miss Dae!" Adam slammed his hands on the table and Rain jumped. "Is there a reason you insist on disturbing our peaceful meal with your nonsensical monologue?"
It took a moment for Rain to regain her composure but when she did she glared at him. "I was just trying to make polite conversation."
"May I speak with you outside?" he asked through his teeth after noticing the three children's worried expressions.
Rain gulped and followed him from the room.
"I don't know what kind of person your previous employer was but I do not tolerate disobedience or disorder," he hissed at her when they were alone. "I was on the fence about hiring an American but your agency assured me that you were a professional and the best available. What I have seen from you thus far has been less than satisfactory. Do not make me regret my decision to hire you, Miss Dae."
He turned on his heel and walked back toward the great hall but stopped when he realized Rain was following him. "You are dismissed."
"What?"
"You may return to your suite."
"But I'm not finished eating!" she protested.
"I will have someone bring you up a plate. And Nanny Schmidt will bring Sunny up after dinner. Good night."
Rain stared at his retreating form, huffing angrily when he disappeared from sight. She stomped all the way back to her suite feeling like a petulant child being sent to bed without dinner.
"Screw him!" she exclaimed slamming the door behind her. "He thinks that he can just order me around? Stupid man with his stupid accent and his stupid silent meal," she muttered to herself as she collapsed onto the couch.
Mrs. Schmidt returned Sunny a short while later and Rain quickly got her ready for bed.
"Why wouldn't you talk to me at the dinner table, my Sunny girl?" she asked, tucking Sunny in.
"Mrs. Schmidt told me that there's no talking at dinner unless Master Canmore speaks."
"How was I supposed to know that?!"
Sunny sighed and kissed her mother on the cheek. "You really should read your contract, mommy. Good night."
Rain snorted in disbelief and headed to her own room. "I did read the stupid contract!" She glanced at the thick agreement sitting on her desk and groaned aloud flipping through it once more. Sure enough, there it was. Attached to the back was a memo with all of the rules, regulations, and guidelines.
She made sure to read carefully this time, making sure she didn't miss a single thing and then got to work forming her lesson plans for the boys. She crawled into her giant, comfy bed with a sigh of contentment after preparing for her first real day of work. Feeling the jetlag catching up with her, she immediately drifted off to sleep.
Despite things getting off to a rough start, she was excited to get started and find her niche within the household. Adam Canmore might be a pretentious asshole, but that didn't mean his boys didn't deserve a quality education. And she was going to do everything in her power to make sure they got what they deserved. Adam Canmore was not going to get to her.