The Knight's Mysterious Maid
Chapter 145: Strange day (4)

Chapter 145: Strange day (4)

Rafael noted how quiet Annalise was as she ate. Completely consumed in eating the food she did not want at first. Her eyes lit up as they did when she first tasted candy. She was just as interested in the coffee that he had offered her. He dared not comment on the fact that she ate and drank all that he offered her.

The little food seemed to give her the energy that she needed. Rafael did not understand why she was not eating the breakfast prepared for servants and was mostly eating bread.

He continued to eat what was left on his plate. Rafael planned to stay in bed a little longer but after Edgar’s letter, he needed to go to his study and write a response. He needed to get to the bottom of this marriage Edgar spoke of.

This was the second time he wished Lockwood was much closer.

Annalise looked around the room while Rafael ate to see what she might need to clean later. She wished the letter was about something more important than a wedding. She did not see what was the big shock about someone getting married. People can change their minds.

"I will be going to my study when we are finished. I already had my morning bath long before you came. After that, we are going to the training yard," Rafael said.

"Those bruises are small, but I don’t think you should be getting hit on them so soon. You might bleed," Annalise replied, not wanting to have to drag him to his bedroom if he became hurt. ’Why would I when there are so many knights around?’

"For that to happen, the knights would have to land a hit on me."

’Cocky bastard,’ Annalise thought. One fight against her and she would wipe the confidence from his body. She didn’t mind their height difference and how much he weighed. She could knock a tall man like him off his feet.

"I can feel you glaring at me, Annalise. That is not you being a good maid," Rafael teased.

Annalise folded her lips, stopping herself from saying anything. It was so much better at home where you could speak your mind. She was starting to conclude that this town was hell and Rafael was a demon pretending to be a saint. ’I’m onto him,’ she narrowed her eyes.

She could only smile and began to pack up the plates they were finished with.

"You went down to the river-"

"Were you spying on me?" She asked. Who was the pervert now?

"I am not interested in watching a maid bath alone in a river," Rafael said, wanting that to be understood first. He was not some kind of pervert or so desperate to see a woman.

It was not hard for him to find someone to lay with when he was in the mood. He was simply not that person anymore. Plus, he had enough self-control to not need to lust after a woman. It was easier to do than some men thought.

"That is what they all say. I have heard tales from the maids who worked at other homes before coming here. Of the young masters of the house taking a liking to them and always watching what they do. I won’t call any names since they might be one of your friends. I knew that you weren’t there last night when I was by the river, but I did hear someone for a moment and I was ready to knock their head off with a rock. This size," Annalise said, opening her hand to show how big it was.

"It could have been another maid looking to bathe, got spooked, and ran off. If it was anyone with bad intentions they would have stayed. Unless it was someone watching me bathe and that was all they wanted," Annalise wondered.

"Does it not bother you that someone might have been watching you bathing alone in the river?" Rafael asked. He wished she was a little bit scared about things like this. Her reactions made him worry more than he wanted to.

"It does bother me that someone might be so disgusting to do that, but it was dark and I did hear them leave as soon as I looked the direction they were coming from. I doubted they would have much of a good look at me down there. They might have lost their life if they intended to do something more," said Annalise.

Rafael was curious about what caused her to be so confident that she could take on whoever it was. He made the comment about her joining the knights so he could train her, but it seemed like she had some background in fighting. He clearly remembered her beating the hell out of Connor. That was still a mystery since as foolish as Connor was, he was still a good knight.

"Would you like to have a match against me, Annalise? If you win, I will stay in bed. If I win, you are to not go down by the river at night," Rafael proposed.

’Let’s see. Get to fight him like I wanted to and have Mavis lose her mind or deny it and have a quiet day? Which one?’ Annalise thought it over.

"No," Annalise turned down his offer. She ignored the aching feeling in her chest. "A maid should not fight against the owner of the home she works for. Even though it is you asking me to fight against you. If you weren’t stalking me, you wouldn’t have known that I was down by the river and then you would not need to worry."

"I did not stalk you. Edwin told me that when he went to take the water to your room, you were not there. I would only assume that you went down to the river and you confirmed it just now. I am finished with breakfast. Take the tray down to the kitchen and then return to my study, but first, you should wipe your mouth," Rafael said as he stood up from his bed.

Annalise touched the sides of her mouth but found nothing there. She was not a messy eater and she was extra conscious of how she ate in front of him. She glared at the back of Rafael’s head as he walked away from his bed. It took everything in her to turn down fighting against her when there was so much anger and annoyed feelings he created that she wanted to take out on him.

The people in this manor were all wrong about Rafael. He was not quiet and he was not a saint. He talked too much and had this small love of teasing her. Annalise wished she could expose the truth about him.

"Why did I not leave him in the hole?" she muttered as she carefully packed his plates on the tray. She could have pushed a big rock down on his feet to wound him and then dropped an animal that would feast on him, but she just had to listen to her grandmother. "One day I will get what I am dreaming of."

"I hope you aren’t cursing your employer," Rafael said.

"No, I was saying how kind you were for sharing with me. Thank you," Annalise said, forcing a smile.

Rafael heard every bit of a lie come out of Annalise’s mouth. It was a good decision not to fire her since she kept his mornings so entertaining.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m