Faith

Chapter 2 || Rich Marriages

"Good." Mrs Thompson nodded slowly. "I see everyone is here. This is a very important announcement and I expect you all to pay close attention."

"Yes Mrs Thompson." We all agreed in union.

It didn't seem like she was about to fire me so my body relaxed only a bit, it soon relaxed even more when a smile crept up onto Mrs Thompson's face. It seemed a bit creepy but for someone like me who was already used to every side of Mrs Thompson, it was a good sign. The announcement was something good.

"As you all know, Evelyn just turned twenty one on Monday and it's been three days since then. In those three days we have been preparing her for marriage." She explained.

I almost sighed out loud as the realisation hit me. Why didn't I think of that before? In this country, the marriage age was twenty one and for rich families, it was an opportunity to marry their children off in order to bind two successful companies together. Everything was arranged by the parents and the children being married off had no say whatsoever. Sometimes I was glad that I didn't have that problem but I knew deep down that my mother would've never allowed me to marry into a family that I didn't want to. As for the Thompson family, I doubt they'd care about Evelyn's feelings. They did the exact same thing to Sofia, their oldest daughter who for married two years ago causing the Thompson Flights company to become richer by the minute.

"We've searched hard for a good match and we've finally found the right guy for her and for the family's business." Mr Thompson continued. "I know that it's last minute but he would be coming to ask for Evelyn's hand in marriage tomorrow."

Tomorrow. That meant waking up extra early to prep and clean. That meant a new rich brat moving in. As tradition states, the male had to come to ask the girl's hand in marriage then move into her home if her parents agreed. He would have to stay in the home until their wedding day where she would then move into the house he bought for her. It was a crazy but long lived tradition. I dreaded the fact that tomorrow we'd have another brat to work for. Sofia's husband, Jackson Astor from Astor Comforters was the worse person to please. He always had a problem and threaded each and every one of us that he'd fire us if we didn't get his demands correctly. We were all relieved when they moved out ten days later.

"I expect all of you to work extra hard to make sure that his room is clean and comfortable, as well as everything else in the house." Mrs Thompson demanded in her loud squeaky voice. "Amelia and Elizabeth, I expect his room and every inch of the house to be spotless."

"Yes Mrs Thompson." Elizabeth and I agreed in union.

"Harper. You would be on your best behavior and tardiness would not be accepted. Make sure that you have plenty of energy." She moved on, eyeing Harper.

Harper took a while to answer as she cocked her head to the side as if challenging Mrs Thompson before she finally lowered her head and agreed.

"Jacob and Michael. Make sure that every tree is groomed to perfection and I would be inspecting them for any dry and rotten leaves. No twigs in the driveway or on the sidewalks." She warned, narrowing her eyes at Michael who always slacked off.

Michael was Jacob's nephew and he was only seventeen years old. After dropping out of school, his uncle forced him to come and work here unless he wanted to go back to school. I never knew anyone could choose working as a gardener over going to school but he must've hated school. I wished that I had that opportunity, to go back and become a better person. Go and study business and rebuild everything I lost but it was hopeless dreaming.

"Yes Mrs Thompson." They agreed.

Jacob had to silently remind Michael to lower his head by shoving his elbow into Michael's side. I bit on my lower lip to prevent a laugh from escaping, I always thought Michael was nothing but a cute boy who deserved way more than what he has. According to Jacob, Michael rebelled against his parents causing them to throw him out. That's how he landed in Jacob and his wife's care, only a few days before Jacob's wife died in a bus accident.