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She opened her trunk to retrieve her suitcases, and he gently but fir her protests that she could carry her own bags She was at least able to hold onto her laptop and handbag

"Are these all your cars?" she asked, waving at the garage

"Not at all-- to the staff here Matt has a car, as does Williams, the butler, and Mrs Smith, the housekeeper, who you’ll meet Also Mrs Phillips, the cook Soether Only five of the vehicles belong to me"

"Oh, only five," she said, arinned cheekily at hi her He was even ht wistfully and then mentally shook her head Only one week, she reminded herself sternly

"So not all your staff lives here then?" she asked, wanting to distract herself, but truly curious about how such a large household ran

"No, most of them live in town or nearby, but they also keep rooms here for situations like this with the blizzard I don’t want anyone going out and risking their lives unnecessarily," he said grimly, and Maria remembered that his wife had died in a car accident She wondered if it had been in weather like this

"If they need to leave, and soet hoht now the house is only partially staffed Don’t worry about the power going out--I have oes out So we’ll ride out the storhed softly "Oh, I had no worries there So when do I get to ht you’d like to settle in first and unpack How about in an hour? I’ll show you to your rooet you when it’s tio out of the way--just tell o there," Maria insisted

"Maria, it’s no bother at all Besides, I’rounds are quite extensive--I’ve souests when they arrive," he said dryly

Maria giggled "It is very grand, isn’t it? I thought it lookedelse!"

"I’lish asped in surprise "Really? Did you bring it over?"

"It was ed to an earl who had lost his randfather fell in love with it and the earl’s daughter and hepresent for his bride, he bought the house and then dismantled it and reasseht to do sorandfather and my father also made additional renovations as have I, so it’s not nearly as expensive to inal state would be"

Maria was iht--Gabriel was old money, but he obviously didn’t rest on his fortune, since he seemed to work a lot as well

They entered the ourmet kitchen, where Gabriel introduced her to Mrs Phillips, the cook, as excellent at her job if the delicious so by

Mrs Smith, the housekeeper, entered the kitchen a moment later, and Gabriel introduced her to Maria as well She liked her immediately--Mrs Smith had a warm, efficient air about her that reminded Maria of the nuns at the convent, especially the Mother Superior Mrs Smith offered to show Maria to her roo he wanted to show her around the house

"Oh, and Mrs S Maria to the Blue Room" Gabriel could see confusion on Mrs S nothing He soon led Maria back to thethat he indeed was the perfect butler, Williaht of Maria back in the house after leaving it in such dramatic fashion a short time earlier And of course Gabriel made noMiss Berger to her room Will you inform Matt that I will be down in ht has been cancelled? I’ht now--just have Matt call Chicago and let thes due to the weather, and perhaps we can schedule a video conference instead"

Williams nodded "Of course, sir How ht?"

"We just saw her in the kitchen so no need to tell her, but it’ll be seven tonight Thank you, Williams"

Gabriel led Maria to the second floor, to the east side of the house "This is the fa of the house The nanny traditionally has a rooenerally well-behaved and noise shouldn’t be an issue"

The roo to her was actually not the rooh it was close by It was a room typically reserved for family, and it was definitely more luxurious Gabriel just wanted Maria to be as coive her every incentive to stay, not that he thought luxury was particularly i closer to the h Gabriel firmly reminded himself that he couldn’t touch Maria--at least, not yet

Maria laughed "Don’t worry, nothing short of a nuclear blast can usually get h because I was always running late in the n that I wasn’t meant for convent life"

At that Gabriel arched a broicked gleam in his eye, and Maria blushed hotly--she remembered that he had actually woken her up in thebody and fucking her into a shuddering orgasht, before exhaustion had claimed theasped when she saw the sheer size and elegance of the roo the large half-canopy bed, draped in royal blue velvet curtains This was a far cry from the basement bedroom she had at the Scotts, which had been a major improvement over her spartan room at the convent and her cramped studio apart bathroo door