Anna was tired. The night had been hectic and her body was relaxed. She wanted to take a bath and go to bed, but she also wanted to get to know the house that Allister had left for her and she went out, stepping lightly so as not to attract the attention of anyone she might meet while exploring the house for herself.
She went down the spiral staircase and into the living room at the entrance to the house. The house was silent. She looked at every detail, marveling at the luxury and richness of detail in every room downstairs. She also found the library and thought that this would be her favorite place. She reached the kitchen door and heard chatter and laughter inside. She opened the door and there were two cooks chatting animatedly, who didn't notice her coming in. Anna noticed that the cook who was working on the stove was older, and must have been about sixty years old, and the other, younger, was about thirty years old.
"Can I get a glass of water?" Anna asked, giving away her presence.
They heard her voice, looked at Anna and then exchanged glances. The friendly atmosphere ended, the smiles disappeared, and one of them, the youngest, pointed to the fridge, while glaring at Anna, before turning around and starting to cut potatoes.
Anna went to the fridge and, looking at what was in there, found that she had what she needed to make a typical dish from her homeland and got excited. She turned to the young woman who had pointed to the fridge.
"I'm making lunch today."
They looked at each other and the older one laughed, as if Anna had told her a joke.
"You haven't even had time to get out of diapers, can you cook?" The other maid helped the older one laugh.
Anna realized that for some reason, they didn't like her, but she didn't let herself be beaten.
"I can cook... I've been helping my mother in the kitchen since I was seven. I've learned a lot, and although I'm sure I won't be able to make anything as good as your food, I'd like to try."
They looked at each other again, and the older woman, who was busy stirring a pot on the stove, turned to her and crossed her arms.
"Tell us what you want to eat and we'll make it, child. There's no need to ruin your nails with things from the kitchen."
"And besides, there are foods that leave a body odor..." The other said, turning around too, and Anna realized that some of their animosity had faded.
"I don't care about the nails or the smell." She said and showed her hand so that they could see her shamefully bitten nails.
They laughed.
"All right, then. What do you want to do?"
"Have you heard of Scotch broth and Neeps and tatties? I see we have all the ingredients here."
"I've already eaten that!" Shouted the youngest. "It's very good!" And she looked startled at Anna. "But we don't have any lamb..."
"Can't we ask someone to buy it?" Anna asked thoughtfully.
The cooks exchanged a look and smiled. Anna understood. They let themselves be won over.
"Then we'll make Scotch broth and Neeps and tatties." Said the eldest. "We'll have six people for lunch, including you."
"No!" Anna said boldly. "We'll make lunch for the men in black suits too."
The younger woman laughed amusedly.
"Miss! There are eight of them, that would mean making lunch for fourteen people!"
"Sixteen then!" Anna said decisively. "You two are going to have lunch with us too."
They looked at each other in amazement.
"Where are we going to serve lunch to sixteen people?"
"Tell the men in the black suits to get some tables and chairs, and we'll all have lunch outside on the golf course. I'll have a quick shower and be right back." She said and ran off. It had been a long time since she had felt so happy, so free.
At her hasty departure, the cooks looked at each other in confusion.
"What are we going to do?"
"What the boss ordered, any and all of her wishes." The older woman said and looked at the potato in the younger cook's hand. "Will you tell the boys?"
"Yes... When she came in here, I thought she was just coming to humiliate us, because Kate and Sarah don't like her, and they said she was arrogant and haughty when the opportunity arose..."
"I thought so too. But now I realize that they're both just very jealous of this girl, and you know what? I've worked in this house for twenty-three years, I've seen Adam born, I've seen good things and bad things, but the commotion and vibrancy that this girl has brought with her, this desire to please someone, that the boss is showing, are revolutionary things and they won't happen again. This girl is going to change the world of the heirs of the mafia."
"Or she'll be corrupted by the cruelty of the werewolves. It's an easy life to like."
"She won't be corrupted. I saw in her still immature eyes that she's going to become a woman with a strong personality."
The other laughed.
"It'll be fun to see the boss confront her."
"It'll be historic, if she doesn't die at his hands. He's not known for being patient."
The cooks talked some more, and then the youngest went to talk to the men about what they should do. They were a little suspicious, as this had never happened before. The boss liked to be sovereign, and had never cared about the women's wishes, but they followed orders anyway, because the cooks knew that if they told a lie like that, it could be the last thing they did in their lives.
Anna arrived and quickly distributed the tasks among the cooks, in such an organized and efficient way that less than half an hour later, the vegetables were all chopped and the stove was cooking all the food.