The maid had her back turned from Tessa. Her furious glower was placed on a familiar little girl.
Verona.
Verona was backed up into a wall, her hands covering her face as she slid down the wall. She didn't look as energetic as she was when Tessa arrived at the huge manor. In fact, Verona looked as if she were used to being treated harshly by the maid.
Tessa pushed the maid out of the way. She wrapped her arms around Verona, stroking her hair. She had put herself between her and the maid, protecting Verona with her body as she was used to with the girls in the orphanage.
Tessa picked up the little girl and held her close. "I need you to stay away from Verona," she said, shooting daggers with her eyes at the maid. And with that she stalked out the room.
"What’s he going to do? He won't believe anything I say." Verona frowned, sad tears glazing over her eyes. "It's as if he prefers the maids over me. Heck, that's the reason I'm so loud and obnoxious. I just want someone to notice me."
"Um, maybe the office? I don't really know, to be honest. He just scurries around the place doing his job." Verona mumbled, biting her lip as she tried to think of where her father might be.
Verona nodded her head and left Tessa’s comforting arms. The little girl ran down the hallway and stopped at a tall door with a brass knob and black coat.
Tessa opened the door and pulled Verona through before closing the door.
"Sir," she said, seeing if he would just brush her off or actually listen to what she was going to tell him. "It's important."
