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But if I may wonder aloud why you called me here. You still haven't told me."
    "I'm restructuring things," he said. "And I was looking at your file this morning and realized you'd be perfect as the head of the household maids."
    "Excuse me?"
    "Is there something wrong with your hearing?" he asked.
    "No," Lucy said. "It's just that...well, yesterday you were ready to fire me until..And today you are offering to put me in a position of responsibility?" She couldn't help but feel suspicious and she knew she looked it. "Why?"
    "Because, Miss Primm," he said. "Yesterday you showed me that despite my misgivings you possess the one quality I find most beneficial in staff?"
    "And what is that?"
    "Respect for a chain of command," he said. "I have a strong feeling that after our little 'chat' yesterday you will not question my authority nor undermine it. If I give an order, I believe you more than anyone will understand the importance of seeing that it is carried out."
    "The position comes with a pay raise," he said. "And insurance."
    Lucy's eyes shot up to his. "Seriously? Insurance?" Neither she nor Kegan were insured, and she spent many hours worrying that one of them might get hurt or develop an illness she couldn't afford to treat on her own.
    "Yes," she said.
    "Miss Primm, you haven't even heard the job description."
    Lucy was going to say she didn't need to, but bit her tongue and listened politely as he listed her duties and responsibilities. She would be in charge of the morning lineup, and of making sure her maids were all properly dressed in period garb. She'd also be in charge of noting demerits for things like cell phones, improper jewelry, noticeable perfume or makeup, or anything else on the laundry list of infractions he'd ticked off to her on that first day.
    "I'll be providing you with a list," he said. "And of course you'll be responsible for reporting any infractions directly to me."
    He paused. "You'll be supervising your friend, Michelle. Do you think that will be a problem?"
    "No," Lucy said. "I think Missy will be happy for me."
    "I mean will it be a problem for you, Lucy. Remember, whatever they do reflects on you."
    "No, Mr. Ellis. I don't think it will be a problem."
    He smiled a small smile.
    "I'm glad to hear that. Having friends can complicate things."
    Lucy laughed. "That's a curious thing to say. I've always felt that friends enhance our lives. Surely you feel the same way about your friends."
    He stood from his desk and walked back to the window, his back straight and stiff.
    "Not really," he said. "I prefer not to make them if I don't have to."
    "You're kidding?" Lucy looked at him with shock. "How can you live without friends?"
    "It's easy, Miss Primm," he said. "Friends are fickle. They are an unknown. The only thing we can be sure of in life is what we already know."
    "Like history?" Lucy asked, suddenly curious. She felt as if she were gaining some insight into this man, into what made him so very harsh and rigid.
    He turned back and smiled, a real smile this time. "Yes, Lucy Primm," he said.
    Lucy chewed her lower lip thoughtfully.
    "Perhaps," she ventured slowly. "But the people you admire, the people who walked these halls, they approached each day with new hope, ready to embrace the unknown. Times were harsher then, as you've said."
    "Yes, but simpler. The crops may have failed, but there were fewer variables in relationships. Things were arranged, planned. Behaviors were detailed, ingrained. And discipline was sure and certain when warranted."
    "They were predictable? Controllable?" she asked.
    "Yes," he replied.
    Lucy laughed a bit now. "Well, I imagine even in their well-ordered world the Colonists had their share of surprises. Some things can't be predicted, not even with perfect planning."
    She stood. "May I leave? I'm quite eager to look at the material you gave me and get started with my new duties."
    "Certainly," he said, walking over and handing her a packet of papers in a parchment