Lily and the Pea #OnceUponNow

Chapter One

Heavy clouds threatened to open up and drench Lily as she rushed down the sidewalk. The perfectly sculpted lawns and large, stately houses didn't earn a second glance. To her, they were all the same, anyway.

Her pace quickened when Dad's dingy green Rambler station wagon came into view. At a near jog, she reached the car just in time to unlock the door and slide in before the rain started pouring down. Made it.

Lily paused to catch her breath, listening to the rain ping on the roof and windshield. She turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. She tried it again. Still nothing. Flopping back against the seat, she brushed hair out of her eyes. Dad's old car was usually reliable, but when it acted up, it always seemed to be in bad weather. She should have expected this.

Through the wet windshield, she gauged the distance to the nearest house. She could wait out the rain, but it was almost dark. Without a cell phone, she'd have to impose on someone in the neighborhood to call for a tow. But she knew from experience that people in Emerald Hills got pretty upset about unexpected strangers on their doorsteps at night. The only choices were to go knock on a door now or sleep in the car. And sleeping in the car would go over even worse with the residents of this upscale neighborhood.

Deciding she had to do something, Lily took a deep breath, hopped out of the car and made a run for the nearest driveway. Except she hadn't noticed that this particular house had a gate with a security system. She thought about heading to a different house, where she could get to the door. But she was already standing there getting soaked. She might as well just ask for help here.

She punched the intercom button with her finger, already shivering in the chilly spring rain shower. After what seemed like forever, a woman's voice came over the intercom.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, please. My car won't start and it's getting late. Could I bother you for a phone to call a tow truck and a dry spot to wait?"

Silence stretched over the other end of the intercom. Lily was starting to think the woman found her too suspicious and was blowing her off. But then she heard the faint buzz and click of the gate unlocking. She shouted her thanks at the intercom as she dashed toward the house.

Even in the heavy rain, this house was more imposing than the others on the street. It was all tasteful tan brick and floor-to-ceiling pane windows. And huge. Whoever lived here, they were important. She hoped the woman who had let her in was just a housekeeper. The owners around here tended to get the wrong impression of her right off the bat.

After three years working in Emerald Hills, Lily knew where someone like her entered the house. She headed straight toward the side, where the staff entrance would be. Just before she turned the corner of the building, a woman's voice called from the front. The figure at the door waved her over. With a shrug, Lily turned and headed to the spacious portico.

In stark contrast to Lily's sopping wet, disheveled appearance, the woman holding the door was flawless. Short silver hair lay in perfect waves, not a strand out of place. Her eyebrows had been plucked into just the right arch to highlight ice blue eyes. Her makeup and clothing were impeccable. Lily's heart sank. She was definitely dealing with the lady of the house.

As soon as she stepped through the door, a solemn man wrapped a towel around her shoulders and handed her another to dry her hair. He wore khaki pants and a spotless white button-down shirt. Must be the butler, although they were usually older.

While she vigorously rubbed the towel over her head, Lily glanced around the large entry hall. It was stunning. She had been in some lovely homes around here, but this blew them all out of the water. There was marble everywhere. Huge gilded frames - the kind she had only seen in museums - graced the walls. Each contained a painting that could have been in a museum, too.

"It isn't fit for man or beast out there tonight. What brought you to have car trouble outside my home in this weather?"

Lily turned to her hostess, meeting her eyes with chin held high. She refused to feel like she didn't belong here. "I walk dogs for some of your neighbors and I like to park in a different spot each time." She left out the part where she had to move around. Otherwise, some rich snob would get worried about her dumpy car in front of their house and call the police. "It took a little longer to get the dogs home today and that rain moved in fast. If I could just call a tow truck real quick and wait for him here, I'll get out of your hair."

The tinkling laugh that emerged from the woman wasn't the response Lily had expected. "Oh, you act like it's a bother. I don't mind having you here at all. In fact, I insist that you spend the night. No tow truck driver is going to be in a hurry to come out in this rain, so you may as well wait until morning."

Lily shook her head and started to protest, but the woman cut her off with a wave of her manicured hand. "I won't take no for an answer. My name is Evelyn Kenning and you are most welcome in my home. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to a room while Max here finds you something dry to wear."