After that they settled down to some serious gardening, with Celine digging the holes and Kylie dropping the seeds in and covering them with earth. Then it was Kylie’s job to water the seeds while Celine weeded out that section of the garden to make sure they didn’t choke the seedlings when they popped out of ground.
They were so absorbed in their task, working together in comfortable companionship, that they both jumped at the snap of a twig behind them. They whirled around to see a tall, blonde and exquisitely beautiful in woman in a cloud-white summer dress staring down at them. Celine put up a hand to shade her eyes from the sun and that was when she saw the woman’s face, perfectly made-up with crimson lips that curled in what looked like disdain.
Celine, taken aback by the sudden appearance of the stranger, took off her garden gloves and rose to her feet. She was at least a couple of inches taller than the unexpected visitor but somehow she felt almost intimidated in her presence. The woman was looking at them with such an unfriendly expression that it was as if they were the intruders and not her.
“Hello,” Celine said, still feeling a little off balance. “May I help you?” She felt Kylie move closer to her and she put a reassuring hand on the child’s shoulder.
“So you’re the new maid,” the woman said, her eyes flashing with something akin to dislike. “I heard about you but nobody told me you were beautiful.”
“Excuse me?” Celine said, unnerved by her statement.
“Pierce told me he got a nanny for his new…responsibility.” She turned her eyes on Kylie and from her look Celine could tell that, for some reason, the child was a source of annoyance to her. Then she trained her flashing blue eyes on Celine again. “But I thought it would be somebody like Mrs. Simpson. He never told me you were young.” Her brows settled into a frown that made it obvious that this was a major problem.
Celine raised her eyebrows, unable to hide her surprise. “And you are?”
The woman’s eyes widened as if shocked that she would ask. Or maybe she was shocked that she didn’t already know of her. Celine didn’t know which.
“I am Sophia Redgrave and I own the home next door. Pierce and I have been friends for several years.” The woman said the words with a haughty sniff.
Celine did not miss her deliberate emphasis on the word ‘friends’. Sophia Redgrave was obviously sending her a message. Her relationship with Pierce was a whole lot more than just friendship.
Celine didn’t know what deflated her more, the thought that Pierce was involved with the woman or the thought that there was any possibility of Sophia Redgrave getting involved in Kylie’s life. The woman obviously had a problem with the child’s presence at the house. Heavens, what if Kylie became Pierce’s charge permanently? And what if Sophia became his wife? What would happen to poor little Kylie? She shook her head, trying to dispel the horrible thought. She gave the woman a cold stare, as chilly as the one that had been directed at them. “Is there anything I can help you with, Ms. Redgrave?”
“No, there’s nothing you can do for me,” she said and raised a delicate hand to brush away the wisps of hair that the soft breeze had blown into her eyes. “But I’ll speak to Pierce about the activities of this child. Why do you have her out here digging in the dirt? Shouldn’t she be in school?”
“There’s no school on Saturdays. Besides, she’s only four. Whatever she needs to learn I teach her at home.”
Sophia frowned. “You? Teach her? What would a maid know about what’s best for a child? She needs structure in her life. The best thing that Pierce could do for her is to get her into a good boarding school.”
Celine gasped. “Boarding school? Are you mad?” The words were out before she could stop herself. She could not believe the woman would suggest such a thing.
Sophia’s lips tightened and she glared at Celine. “I would ask you to remember your position.” Then with a look full of scorn she said, “I went to boarding school in Europe all of my young life and it did me a world of good.”
Celine could just imagine the good it had done her. That was probably what had turned her into the world-class bitch she was now. The nerve of her to even think of putting dear little Kylie into boarding school.
“Celine, am I going away?”
She looked down to see Kylie gazing up at her with huge, scared eyes, the hint of tears already appearing in the corners.
Celine felt like someone was squeezing her heart. How could she have been so thoughtless? She’d been discussing Kylie’s future with this woman right in front of the child as if she weren’t there.