Chapter 74 (1/2)

Chapter 74

Roman was stunned to silence. She blinked rapidly in surprise and worked her mouth like a fish out of water until she was finally able to utter a faint, “Sorry? Me?”

“Yes,” Amethyst said without hesitation, “Do you perhaps have someone else in mind?”

The question was not a hard one to answer.

“No, Madame,” Roman managed.

Lunia, who had been silent throughout the entire conversation, finally spoke up, “I too think Roman is a good match for the position.”

“Madame,” Roman spluttered, “I am not a suitable candidate. I beg of you to look for someone else.”

Amethyst fixed Roman with a contemplative look, “Please explain.”

Roman summoned her courage, “Firstly, I am not familiar with the workings of the main mansion.”

“Pon will see to that. Right Pon?” Amethyst glanced at him.

“Of course,” Pon said with more enthusiasm than he felt. He’d thought that with Amethyst finally stepping into her role of Lady of the House, his workload would lift somewhat. It appeared he was mistaken and he had to admit; he was disappointed.

“I’ve only done cleaning in the past!” Roman countered, “I’ve never been in charge of anyone before.”

“Lunia will teach you what you need to know,” Amethyst replied calmly, never once giving any indication that she was going to back down.

“Yes, Madame but,” Lunia fumbled as she was drawn back to reality. She’d been so caught up in her resentment she hadn’t realized she’d been glaring. She already had enough to deal with being Amethyst’s personal secretary, she didn’t need to add to her burdens by mentoring Roman as well. She managed to swallow her protest and pass it off with a light shrug. “Of course,” she answered instead, internally berating herself for falling to such a petty trap.

Roman refused to give in, “Even so…”

“Roman,” Amethyst cut in, her voice softened, “I know how stressful it is to be responsible for others. It’s hard knowing that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you work, you can never please everyone and it will never be enough.”

“Then why me?” Roman deflated a little, allowing her shoulders to slump forward.

“You have the qualities of someone for this position. You are honest, you are responsible…”

Roman shook her head slowly, “Just because I’m honest doesn’t mean I’m good.”

Amethyst gave a small smile, “Agreed, but you have shown me you can persevere through anything. For the last 10 years you relentlessly faced every hardship head-on. You never gave up, and that is reason enough. And anyway,” she returned to her business-like manner, “the prince as agreed that honesty is one of the leading characteristics for this role.”