Odelia had never encountered such kindness from a stranger before, and she felt emotional as she listened to the old master's kind words. He had even promised to stand up for her. From her memories, she remembered Don Gardner saying that his grandfather was quite stern.
When the maids had come to summon her from the bedroom, one of them wore a condescending expression as if she were in trouble, which left her slightly unsettled; nonetheless, she attempted to conceal it behind her self-assured and distant demeanor.
She had been expecting to be interrogated by the old master and maybe receive an earful of words of disapproval from the man, but she was surprised the man looked glad to see her even on their first meeting, an emotion her own birth parents hadn't shown her.
