An Inconvenient Attachment

Chapter 1

Dear Ms. Harrison,

I feel it is my duty to inform you that it was your father's friend, the late Mr. Keating's intention that you be offered a place at Keating Hall on the eve of your 18th birthday. The positions of employment available are as follows: housekeeper, tour guide, or tutor to the two youngest children, Talia (14) and Maximus (8). Should you wish to accept a position you will be paid a strict income of $35,000 a year and expected to reside within Keating Hall. Please reply back before the end of the summer hols. 

Best,

Rose Langforth 

Eliza Harrison stood clutching the letter in her mother's tiny apartment. Her eyes scanning the thick parchment over and over again in an attempt to understand. Eliza had never heard of these people, why were they suddenly offering her a job?

"Mother," She called out, her voice echoing in the room. For a moment only silence stretched and Eliza briefly wondered if her mother had gone back to sleep again. The bedroom door creaked open and thin blonde hair and beady grey eyes peaked out.

"Yes?"

"Do you know a Mr. Keating?" A flicker of something flashed through her mother's eyes, as her face scrunched slightly. 

"Your father did."

Eliza clutched the letter closer behind her back, crinkling it slightly. 

"They were friends then? Before father's death." Eliza confirmed. The letter hadn't been lying then.

"Some might say that," was her mother's reply as she looked down. "Why do you ask?"

Eliza paused, unsure whether to confess she had received a letter. Her mother was unlikely to support her moving across the country on a whim.

"Just a name that popped up in one of the boxes I was sorting," Eliza said gesturing behind her where some open boxes were being unpacked. They had just moved into the smaller apartment in an attempt to save rent. Working as a waitress was simply not enough with her mother's hospital bills piling up.

"You'd be wise to ignore it. That family forgetting about us is the best thing that could have happened." Her mother said finally.

Eliza hummed noncommittally, stepping back. A vicious cough wracked through her mother's body as she leaned on the door to steady herself.

"Are you-" Eliza began to ask, but her mother simply shook her head and closed the door, a resounding thud as she closed it. 

Eliza sighed and moved towards the trash can. She held the paper over it, hovering, but not opening her fingers. Something stopped her, curiosity even. She glanced over at the stack of bills on the table, the red words of "past due" stamped on each of them.

$35,000 was a lot of money compared to her waitress job. It was only getting them so far and Eliza was well aware that university would not be an option in the fall regardless of her mother's insistence she attend. 

Eliza sat down at the table pulling out a clean piece of paper, she paused momentarily before writing.

Dear Ms. Langforth,

I humbly accept the tutoring position at Keating Hall. I am available as of the first ofJune. Please let me know if there is more paperwork I need to complete.

Sincerely,

Eliza Harrison