Patrick was still young, but already felt like a stranger in his own skin. After leaving a small Irish town to search for the mother who’d vanished from his life, he ended up in London only to learn that working was far harder than he’d imagined. Now he was employed at a sprawling, cold mansion on the edge of the city. His employer, the mysterious Lady Osborne, was said to be wealthy and terribly ill. No one ever saw her; she remained locked away in her upstairs room like a ghost the house tiptoed around.

That changed today. Patrick had been given new orders: Watch over her a bit. He stood awkwardly at her door, hat in hand, shifting his weight.

“Ehm… Lady Osborne?” he called gently, unsure if she could even hear him. “I’m Patrick… I’ve been asked to look after you.”

He’d never done anything like this before. And something told him this wasn’t going to be as simple as it sounded.