Chapter 7: She's a Terror

The Gelsper house is a godsdamn fucking mansion.

Actually, this whole side of the town feels different. The second I crossed the river and ventured into the west side of Robin’s Brook, the streets grew more orderly, cleaner, and notably more affluent. It’s normal for a town to have different neighborhoods with different vibes, right? Then why does this feel so strange? It’s like the entire town changed the second I crossed the bridge.

I’d gotten a taste of this yesterday, when I visited the library. It was technically on the other side of the river, too, but close enough that I hadn’t really noticed the transition. Now, though, as I roll by expensive manor after ludicrously expensive manor, I’m realizing just how different this area is, and just how out of place I’m feeling.

Is this why Addy hates Mr. Gelsper so much? Because he’s rich? That certainly would fit her vibe; she seems the type to want to eat the rich, and honestly, I’m with her on that one. 

Thankfully, despite the obvious differences, I’m not spotting any political signs or anti-LGBTQ rhetoric that usually distinguishes the kind of neighborhood I prefer to avoid. Still, this is strange for me. I’m the one with no money who’s been living out of her car for the better part of a week, and here I am in front of some of the most opulent homes I’ve ever seen—seriously, does that one have a three-story set of bay windows? That one over there clearly has an outdoor pool in the backyard that’s bigger than Addy’s entire living space. And that one’s got an entire guest home attached through a breezeway with a wraparound porch…the fuck?

It boggles my mind how people even have this much money. I think the most I’ve ever seen in my bank account is like $700, and that was only after a particularly lucrative weekend at the pizza place I used to serve at. Then I blew half of it on a new phone.

In my defense, my old phone was, essentially, a brick.

Speaking of phones, I take mine out to confirm the address Addison sent me one more time: 1518 Jefferson Lane. There’s 1512 and 1514, which means…

I pull up in front of 1518 and my jaw hits the floor. The Gelsper estate—because that’s what I would call something like this, a godsdamned estate—is an old 18th century mansion painted stark white, sitting atop a beatific hill surrounded by weeping cherry trees and enormous oaks. The driveway winds down the hill at least a couple hundred feet before it reaches the ominous black gate my car is parked in front of. I back up so I’m not obscuring the gate, grab my purse which is currently stuffed with the envelope Addy gave me, and step outside, heading to the intercom next to the gate. With no other leads to follow, I press the big green button below the numpad and wait. Soon after, a polite voice answers: “Greetings. May I ask whom this is?”

“Uhh, Lum,” I say, stupidly. “Lum Everness.” Then: “I’m here with rent from the Rat & Raven for Mr. Gelsper.” Then, as if to answer why I’m physically here, I add, “Cash.”

There’s a short pause, and then I hear the gate click open. “You may enter. I will see you at the door.”

This is too much. I consider running straight back to my car and retreating to the Rat & Raven, but I don’t have much choice. The last thing I want to do is have to tell Addy about how I chickened out on a task after telling them I’d help out around the place to earn my keep. I march up the path, noting the swing set below the oak tree next to the east wing of the manor—and yes, it’s big enough to have wings. There’s also what looks to be a little fairy altar beneath the cherry tree out front. I remember seeing things like this when I was a kid. Little girls would leave shiny baubles, pieces of old jewelry, and poppets they made in order to attract fairies. I haven’t seen one quite this elaborate in a while, though. It looks like a miniature vanity, complete with a mirror and rows of trinkets, necklaces, bracelets, you name it. Several pink peonies are planted around it like a fey circle. I dare not step inside. You know what they say about the whims of fairies.

The driveway circles into a roundabout in front of the main doors to the manor. I cut through the grass in the middle and head straight for the door, hoping not to delay this any longer. There’s an old metal knocker set into the mouth of a brass lion’s mouth, which has been kept well-polished despite its obvious age. I pull it back and knock on the side of the door, the result much louder than I anticipated. A few moments later, the door opens, and I’m face to face with—

—some white guy. He’s dressed in all black, like a butler, but in trousers and a simple suit vest. And he’s younger than I’d picture a butler to be, too. Maybe in his 40s, with a graying beard and bushy black hair that curls around his ears. “Mx. Everness,” he says with a smile. “Come in, come in. Miss Gelsper is brewing tea and will receive you in the parlor.” 

I swallow, hard. That couldn’t be the same Miss Gelsper, could it? She seemed to be about my age, surely she has her own place, right? Maybe it’s a younger sister or something. I’m not exactly eager to find out.

“My name is Josef, I am the Gelsper family’s valet. If there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask. Here, I will take your coat.” He raises his arms like he’s going to take my jacket off, but lets me do it without touching me. 

I feel very strange right now. Like, important, but small. So, so small.

Josef the “valet” hangs my coat in a closet by the foyer and leads me into an adjoining room, where two fancifully cushioned couches flank a small circular coffee table, embroidered with a flowery design. An honest-to-gods chandelier hangs over the space from an enormously tall vaulted ceiling. What do these people do for a living? It can’t just be the landlord gig, can it? “Please make yourself at home.” I sit nervously on one of the couches. It is, by my estimation, the least comfortable couch in the universe. “Is there anything else I can get you right now, Mx. Everness? Some tea?”

I’m about to say no when I realize how nice a warm cup of tea sounds. “That would be great, thank you,” I squeak and clear my throat. “Please.” He legitimately bows and heads off, returning momentarily with two of the fanciest tea cups I have ever seen before vanishing once more. I wait here in this enormous empty room for what feels like forever. Well, not empty—it is filled to the brim with ornate decorations, bookshelves stocked with all manner of thick important-looking tomes, a fireplace with an enormous bouquet of flowers on the mantle, the works.

A buzz from my pocket. I check my phone—there’s a message from Addison.

Addy: Hey there lamb. Lemme know how it goes with Mal. The whole family is kind of a lot so I’m sorry I sent you there. But better you than me. I’ll explain later.

A few moments later, I hear stairs creaking from behind me. I crane my neck to spot none other than the librarian from yesterday gliding down the stairs. She’s wearing a light, knee-length dress with a floral print and a hell of a deep v neck that exposes some eye-catching cleavage. And I can’t help it, but the first thing I notice is that Miss Gelsper is a lot more stacked than I originally thought, for such a petite woman.

Another buzz and I take the opportunity to tear my eyes away from perfect umber skin and lovely curves. 

Addy: PS I’m hoping you don’t have to deal with this, but watch out for Mal’s daughter Laetitia. She’s a terror.

“Ah. If it isn’t the degenerate.” She says from just over my shoulder. I scramble to put my phone out of view and plaster on the fakest smile I can muster. Of course it’s her. Of course it’s the librarian. Kill me now.

“Lum, actually,” I correct her, although her chosen epithet probably is accurate, given how much I’m struggling to keep my gaze at eye level.

“Yes, I remember,” she says. It’s lucky I’m keeping my eyes on hers, because I happen to notice her eyes briefly raking over my body. I scratch at the back of my neck nervously.

“And you’re Laetitia, right?” I venture a guess. She nods, one eyebrow raised.

“So. Mx. Everness. Josef says you’re here for my father?”

I don’t know what to make of the fact that she refuses to say my first name. Is that a rich person thing, or is she mocking me? “Rent,” I reply, brandishing the envelope marked HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

Laetitia looks flustered for the first time since we’ve met. Well, the word “met” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence, but even so. “You live at one of his properties?”

One of his properties. I guess that explains some things. But…how many properties does someone have to own to afford a place like this?

“No, I’m—this is from the Rat & Raven.” I don’t have to explain what that is; she registers the name immediately with wide eyes and flared nostrils. “I’m, uhh…” I pause for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. Staying there? Living there? “Working there,” I settle on.

There’s a heavy pause. “I see,” she says at last, tsking loudly. “So you’ve fallen in with that crowd. Explains a lot.”

Okay, call me a degenerate all you want, but Addy and Val are good people. I drop the envelope down on the table and cross my arms, scowling. “The hell does that mean?”

Laetitia lets out an exasperated breath and sits on one of the chairs across from the couch. She pushes her glasses up and straightens her back. “There’s two kinds of people in this world,” she says. “Civilized and uncivilized. Those who work to advance society and those who tear it down.”

Who does this bitch think she is, anyway? Who talks like this? “Let me guess. You’re the former, they’re the latter?” 

She leans over to take a sip of her tea, and damn, I might be mad at her right now, but that is a hell of a view. “They’re miscreants,” she says. “All they do is leech off of people.”

“That’s total bullshit!” I can’t help but raise my voice at her. “Addy has been nothing but perfect to me since I got here. She gave me food when I needed food and a place to stay when I had nowhere else to go. Compared to you, she’s a saint.” I’m not particularly proud of that last bit, but fuck it.

She looks like she’s about to argue until my words sink in and she deflates. Her eyebrows twinge in frustration. “You’re…staying there? With her?”

I gulp and stammer through some semblance of an explanation. “W-well, not. Not with her. Just. I mean.”

Laetitia’s gaze bores into me. She’s gripping her tea cup like she wants to crush it. Then, she sighs and puts the cup down. “Be careful, Mx. Everness.”

“Lum,” I interrupt.

“Addison Grey is trouble,” she continues unabated. “She plays at generosity, but do not be fooled. She and her ki—her…friends, they are dangerous. Flames are pretty from a distance, but if you are not careful, they will scorch you.”

Her tone is different now. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was…concerned? Regardless, what she’s saying doesn’t add up. I know I’ve only just met her and all, but I can’t imagine Addy being legitimately dangerous.

“Look, I don’t know what beef you have with Addy, but she’s been good to me. I’m not worried.” I rise to my feet and take a stomping step closer to her. “And how dare you. I didn’t come here to be scolded for my choice of company like you’re my godsdamn mom.”

She stands and matches my anger, closing the distance between us until I can smell her coconut-scented hair. “You don’t know them like I know them,” she seethes. “You don’t know her like I know her.”

“Why do you even give a shit, anyway? I’m already just some degenerate in your eyes, aren’t I?” I’m only just now realizing how close to me she is. One more step and I’d practically be in her embrace. Wait, why am I thinking about that right now?

“Because—” she makes an attempt, flustered for once. “Because she hurts people. She and her...friends. And she’s going to hurt you, too. And maybe I just don’t want to watch it happen again.”

“Well you won’t need to, because I’m leaving. And you sure as hell won’t find me in that library ever again.” I slap the rent money down on the table, huffing. Arguing like this takes a lot out of me. Always has. But after everything that happened with the ex and work and the family, it feels so, so much worse. My heart pounds in my chest. A headache starts splitting my skull between my eyes.

Then an ice-cold hand grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls, and the next thing I know whatever little distance remained between us has vanished. Our noses practically touch. My eyes instinctively snap to her plush lips, then back to her bright blue eyes. She does the same. Then her fist unfurls and she rests the palm of her hand on my collar bone. Her skin is so cold, gods, why is her skin so cold?

“Just be careful, Mx. Ever—Lum,” she corrects herself.

I choke for a moment. I don’t know what’s happening right now.

Thankfully, I don’t need to figure it out. We both hear the front door swing open in the next room, and whatever moment we were sharing just now, it’s over. Laetitia spins on her heels and clasps her hands behind her back as Malcolm Gelsper enters the room, coat slung over his shoulder. 

“Oh, I didn’t realize we had company. Lum, was it? Glad to see you’ve decided to stick around.”

I shake my head. “Just passing through.” He raises an eyebrow, but I don’t elaborate. “I, uhh, Addy sent me here to give you this.” I motion toward the envelope of cash on the table. He takes one glance, reads Addy’s message, and chuckles. “Well, it’s about time. Thank her for me.” Then, as if his daughter’s existence has only just now dawned on him, he points back and forth between us. “What’s going on here, anyway?”

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