Aunt Penelope's Harem Read Free Page A

asked Dawn as she helped Melanie throw her
accumulated crap into boxes. “There’s no reality here. You’re rich! Stop acting
like you’ll be waiting tables next week.”
    “I’m not acting like that,” Melanie insisted. “I just don’t
want to get carried away, that’s all.”
    “Melanie, you’re going off to live in a mansion. Your mansion. Your mansion, all expenses paid. Things are already carried away, you
just need to sit back and enjoy it.”
    “I’m going to.”
    “Good. Oh, and please remember me as the friend who was
always there for you and not the friend who set you up with all of those
losers.”
    “Don’t worry. As soon as I get settled in, I’m sending you a
plane ticket.”
    “I can’t wait. I’m so excited for you. This is going to be so
much fun!”
    * * * * *
    One month after Aunt Penelope’s funeral, Melanie stood in
front of the double-doors to the mansion.
    It was hers. All hers. Wow.
    She rang the doorbell. A moment later, one of the doors
opened to reveal a tall, thin, elderly gentleman in a black suit.
    “Ah, Ms. Clover. Welcome to your new home. Won’t you come
in?”
    Melanie just stood there, staring in shock at the immense
entry room. Marble floors, a winding staircase, vases, expensive-looking
statues without arms…it was too much to take in at once.
    “Ma’am?”
    “Huh?”
    “Please, come in.”
    “Oh. Right.” She shook her head back and forth to clear it.
“Sorry, I’m just a little overwhelmed. I had no idea this place would be
so…sizable.”
    “That’s perfectly understandable, ma’am.”
    She wiped her feet and stepped inside. The man gracefully
closed the door behind her.
    “Your coat, ma’am?”
    “I even have coat service here?”
    “Yes, ma’am. As your butler, I provide numerous services,
including taking your coat.”
    “My butler. Oh my God.” Mr. Campbell had told her about
this, but she still didn’t quite believe it. “You’re Rupert, right?”
    “That is correct, ma’am.”
    “And you have a British accent! That’s so cool!”
    “Yes, ma’am. During my formative years in Britain I found it
extremely convenient.”
    Melanie realized that she was making an ass out of herself.
“I’m sorry, I’m just a little bit giddy,” she said, letting him help her out of
her coat. “I never in my life dreamed that I’d have a butler.”
    “Well, ma’am, I hope that I meet all of your expectations
and that you see fit to retain my services.”
    “Oh…I’m sure I will. I mean, Aunt Penelope hired you,
right?”
    “She did. She was a sweet woman. I’m sure I don’t have to
tell you that she is sorely missed.”
    “No, you don’t. I mean, yes, she is. Was. Is …missed.
Sorry, I’m still distracted by the statues.”
    “Would you like a tour?”
    “Oh, yes, please.”
    “Right this way, ma’am.”
    With each room, Melanie found herself more and more
astounded. The dining room was larger than her entire apartment. The kitchen
looked big enough to service an entire restaurant, and she had her own gourmet
chef. There was a library, an indoor pool, a sauna, an entertainment room with
pinball, billiards, and air hockey, a tennis court, a room filled with about
four dozen multi-colored beanbag chairs, and more other rooms than she could
even remember on the first walkthrough.
    The bathrooms alone were spacious and luxurious enough to
make a perfectly suitable spot for a two-week vacation.
    “This is absolutely amazing,” said Melanie. “How long does
it take to vacuum this place?”
    “Less time than you would think,” Rupert informed her. “We
have a superb vacuum cleaner.”
    He showed her through several more rooms, and then led her
down a long corridor that ended at a mahogany wooden door. He hesitated at the
door, obviously a bit uncomfortable.
    “Is something wrong?” Melanie asked.
    “This next area was your aunt’s favorite place in the entire
house,” he said.
    Melanie nodded. “It must be difficult to be in