Eve gestured toward an armchair. “Take a seat.”
Faith sat down. Eve sat in the couch across from her, folding her hands on her lap in a ladylike manner. She looked Faith up and down, appraising her. Her eyes narrowed at Faith’s bright red lipstick.
Faith shifted in her seat.
“So, Faith,” Eve said. “Tell me about yourself.”
“Well, I’ve been babysitting my whole life,” Faith began. “I had a huge family, and I used to take care of my younger brothers and sisters and all my cousins growing up. Then I did some babysitting in college, and when I graduated I started nannying full-time.”
It wasn’t what she’d planned to do after college. She’d attended art school, mostly because she’d had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, and when she’d finished she’d struggled to find a job. So, when one of the families she babysat for had offered her a nanny position, she’d snapped it up. She enjoyed it, after all. And she was good at it. “I’ve worked for a few families long-term. The Yangs were the last.”
“They spoke highly of you. So did your references. And your qualifications all checked out. I also took the liberty of doing a thorough background check. It came up clean.”
That was a relief. Faith was always worried that anyone who dug around in her background would find out about the brief period she went ‘missing’ eight years ago, but it hadn’t come up yet. Perhaps it was because she’d been a minor at the time.
“I’m going to be frank,” Eve said. “I’m in desperate need of a nan
ny. I returned to work recently for the first time since the twins were born. I was in marketing before I had the children so I decided to start my own small firm. But it’s becoming impossible to keep up with work while looking after the twins’ needs. For now, I share custody with their father, but most of the real work falls on me.”
Eve crossed her stockinged legs and smoothed down her skirt. “I’m looking for someone to help out with the more practical parts of taking care of the twins. Taking them to lessons, chores, and so on. We have housekeepers for general household tasks, and I won’t expect you to do anything that will get in the way of your duties with the children. But I may need you to do the odd personal errand for me. You’ll be well compensated, of course.”
“That’s fine with me.” The last family Faith had worked for briefly had had her scrubbing toilets, so this would be an improvement .
“Can you drive?” Eve asked.
“Yes.”
“I’ll supply you with a car to travel to and from work, and to drive the kids around. We used to use a car service, but I decided to cut down on some of our unnecessary expenses. Live more modestly.”
Faith glanced around. This was living modestly? What had Eve been living like before?
“I’ll need you to stay overnight on occasion,” Eve said. “I’ll have one of the spare rooms set aside for your use. And you’re not to bring anyone else around the kids. Friends. Partners.”
“I would never do anything like that.”
“You’d be surprised how many babysitters I’ve had that think it’s appropriate.”
Faith studied Eve. For the past few minutes, she’d felt an air of discomfort coming from the other woman. Faith had just thought it was because Eve was uptight. But perhaps Eve was simply feeling uneasy about the idea of leaving her children in a stranger’s hands.
“I’m no babysitter,” Faith said. “I’m a professional. I might seem young, but I’m fully qualified, and I’ve been looking after children my entire life. I assure you, your kids will be in capable hands with me.”
“And I expect nothing less.” Almost imperceptibly, Eve seemed to relax. “Now, your hours will be erratic for now. Since my ex-husband and I don’t have a custody agreement yet, the days I have the twins vary, but I’ll make sure you get plenty of time off. Speaking of the twins, why don’t I call them down so you can meet them? They’re upstairs.”
“Sure,” Faith said .
Eve went out into the hall. “Leah? Ethan? Come down here, please.”
Faith waited in silence. She heard the patter of feet coming down the stairs.
“No running, you two,” Eve said.
The footsteps slowed. Moments later, Eve walked back into the room accompanied by two small children: a girl and a boy. They had their mother’s blonde hair, carefully combed and styled, and the same hazel eyes, not to mention the same serious expressions. They were dressed as though they’d walked right out of an upmarket children’s clothing catalog.
“Leah, Ethan, this is Faith.” Eve sat them down on the couch and perched on the arm of it next to them. “Why don’t you introduce yourselves?”
The children did as they were told. They were polite and well-spoken. Faith questioned them about school and their interests. They were both involved in half a dozen extracurricular activities.
“As you can see, Leah and Ethan have plenty on their plates,” Eve said. “They’re in first grade now, and they’re getting extra tutoring. They both take Spanish and French lessons, as well as music classes. Piano for Ethan and violin for Leah. Leah does ballet, and Ethan plays baseball and soccer. That’s on top of all their scheduled play dates and other social activities.”