Chapter 10–Alice
Chapter 10 – Alice
“Okay, honey, now we just need to pick a coat.” Alice commented absently, as she hung up the last few pieces of clothing in Millie’s new closetWhich one do you want? The pink or the yellow?”
“I want to see the horses, mommy…!” her daughter wailed, slyly, squirming impatiently on the bed. “I don’t want a coat.”
“But you have to. It’s cold this morning and we don’t want you to get sick, do we?” Smiling, Alice just grabbed Millicent’s favorite blue coat and sat on the bed to help her put it on. ” Remember what we talked about, okay? If Thea asks you not to get too close to the horses or pet them, you must obey. They are very big and can hurt you if we are not careful.”
“I know.” Millie stamped her little feet against the floor when, finally, Alice managed to wrap her up as the unusually cold early spring morning called for “Can we go now? Please?”
“Okay.” Alice laughed. “But promise Mom you won’t you won’t go out again to walk around the mansion alone again, okay?” Before she could even finish that question, her daughter had already nodded and ran away in the door’s direction, jumping like a kangaroo to try to reach the doorknob “You don’t need all this rush, Millie…” she continued laughing softly as she approached her to open the door. “Horses won’t run away from the stables, you know? You will have plenty of time to get to know them.”
“But Hoppy wants a new friend!” Millie said, crossing the threshold and lifting her stuffed friend into the air. “We have to meet the horses as soon as possible! Come on, mommy…!” Millie was in the middle of reaching out to call her, when something at the end of the corridor seemed to catch her attention, making her stop.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Worried that perhaps Massimo was there to make her pay for her intrusion the night before, Alice quickly walked over to her daughter, but her tension disappeared the instant she realized who had arrived “Oh, good morning, Thea. Thank you for leaving breakfast on our doorstep earlier today.” She smiled at the housekeeper and the other two unknown men who were walking beside her “That made a certain someone get ready very quickly for our adventure today.” Alice stroked Millie’s hair as the little girl hid behind her legs, shy.
“Oh, I can see you’re excited to take that tour of the stables, young miss.” Thea cheered, looking just as excited as Millie. “But first, if you and your mother don’t mind, I’d like to introduce two very special people to you. We’ll all be seeing a lot of each other in the near future, after all.” The old woman linked her arm with one of the men, who didn’t look much older than her. “This is my husband Josiah. He is Mr. Bianchi’s driver.”
“Well, I guess you can say I was.” Josiah smiled, a bit of sadness in his expression “These days, I think I can be considered more of a butler. It’s a pleasure to meet you, ladies. I’m sorry for not being here to welcome you properly yesterday, but I was fulfilling a request from Mr. Bianchi. I hope your first impression of the mansion is good so far.”
+25 BONUS
Chapter 10–Alice
“Well…” The way Josiah looked almost guilty as he said it made Alice think he knew there was no way first impressions could be good when Massimo was around “It’s a very pretty place, certainly. And very lovely.” Alice praised, although all those windows covered with curtains, hiding all the sunlight that could reach inside the house, were still bothering her.
“Please be sure to let us know how we can make your stay more comfortable.” The other man, who was much younger, perhaps in his thirties, took off the cowboy hat that was on his head ” I’m Joshua, son of those two old chatters, but you can call me Josh. I am the current administrator of this farm, since Massimo… I mean, Mr. Bianchi…” Josh cleared his throat ” Anyway, a little bird told me that a certain someone really wanted to meet our horses and, by chance, the Stables are some of the few places I still personally look after, so…”
“Are you
friends with horses?” Millie seemed to find her voice again, her little eyes shining as she stopped hiding behind Alice. “And the ponies too?”
“From ponies, donkeys and even baby horses.” Joshua commented proudly, only making Millie even more amazed. “So, why don’t you two join me, my ladies? I’m sure the horses will love meeting them. Even they seeing to miss how busy this house used to be…” he murmured. that last part, but not enough for Alice not to hear.
“I think that would be great. Especially because we’re both really looking forward to it, aren’t we, honey?” Loving how her little girl seemed to be having one of the best moments of her life, Alice picked Millicent up, letting her look Josh in the eyes.
“I want to see the ponies first, Sir!” Millie asked, excited.
“Well, let’s go then.” Joshua saluted, as if he was Millie’s servant “I just let them free in the pasture to eat and run around a bit, so you can start getting to know the tamer ones among them. For example, Pumpink is small and shy, like you. But, I’m sure our adorable and friendly Angel will love to play with you a little…”
That whole sweet and warm atmosphere was broken when the sound of glass being thrown against the wall stopped them on the edge of the stairs, a second before a scream cut through Alice’s ears, causing her to clutch Millicent against her chest.
“Get out!” Massimo’s voice sounded a little distant, but he was certainly far enough away to be heard by that entire mansion.
“I’m not saying you’re going to go back to the hospital right away, Massimo!” another male voice responded, distraught, seeming to be forcing himself to speak as loudly as Massimo” But, if you continue refusing to do important parts of the treatment and ignoring my recommendations, your wounds will continue to open, the pain will intensify and eventually you will be hospitalized again! And no one will need your permission for this, because you’ll probably be passed out when that time comes. You do not understand? You cheated death once, but now you’re trying to put yourself in its hands again!”
“And why should that matter to me?” Massimo growled “I shouldn’t even listen to you, yet! You call yourself a doctor, but you couldn’t even fix my fucking legs!”
Cliapter 10. Alc
+25 BONUS
“I know it’s difficult to deal with this situation right now, Massimo, but your life isn’t just about your legs! I already said, even if you don’t regain movement as you would like, you can still adapt to it. Just let me complete your treatment to improve your physical health, then physical therapy and some consultations with a psychiatrist will…”
Alice and Millie winced together when something else was thrown against the wall, apparently a metal object, but it still wasn’t able to compete with the height of Massimo’s voice.
“Get out of here! Or I’ll get someone to take you out of my house!”
“Oh, dear…” Thea lamented, swallowing hard “Why… Why are we standing here, wasting time? We should go to the horses, shouldn’t we, Millicent?” She seemed to try to hide her shaky smile, but Alice was sure that even a child like Millie would be able to hear the pain in that woman’s voice “Let’s go. Before lunch time arrives! I have something special planned for you today…”
“Uh… Would you do me a favor and take Millie with you, Thea?” Alice asked, setting her daughter down and trying to look as natural as possible while smiling at her “I’ll follow you in a moment, okay, honey? 1 just need to… Solve a problem first.”
“Miss Dawsey… I mean, Mrs. Bianchi…” Thea stammered, looking nervously towards the beginning of the corridor, where Massimo’s doctor would certainly come from, so he could leave the mansion.
my
“There’s something really important I need to talk about with whoever is looking after husband’s health, Thea. I promise it won’t be anything that will affect Massimo directly. But still, as someone who wants to become a nurse and perhaps a doctor one day, I can’t just ignore a situation that I accidentally witnessed yesterday.” Alice was forced to admit “I promise I’ll be brief.”
Chapter 11–Alice
