The Knight's Mysterious Maid
Chapter 162: Haunted (3)

Chapter 162: Haunted (3)

"Now you speak highly of him. I warned you not to get caught up in the life of a maid. You are only there to listen and if needed, kill him or his guests. I’d hate to think-"

"That somehow I have come to love, Rafael Callahan? Because he showed me kindness or is that what you believe from seeing the two of us walk side by side? It is not the first time you have seen me with a man and because I do not speak badly of them, you think I am in love. Romance is the last thing between me and Rafael. Do not assume it anymore," Annalise replied, tossing her dress up onto the grass.

Love was the last thing on her mind now and she would not love anyone from the enemy’s side. She could see her father down on his knees crying if she were to ever tell him that she fell in love with a knight. He’d grab his sword and travel to where the man was to have his head.

Annalise smiled as she imagined her father weeping while her mother tried to calm him. For such a leader who was always seen as tough, he was quite emotional when it was just the three of them. He cried for days when she played a trick and said she loved a childhood friend more than her father.

"It was only an-"

"I don’t want to hear it again, Thomas. You know me and you know the position that I am in. That sooner or later, my father expects me to marry the son of others just like us so we have more allies to go against the kingdom. Rafael Callahan is the last man on my mind so for the last time, do not assume it anymore," Annalise replied.

"I apologise," Thomas said, not wanting to anger her any further. "It is not my place to question your feelings or loyalty. It is more than you that I worry about. It is the man beside you. I know nothing of what he is like and he is our enemy so I must worry."

"He has countless women ready to throw themselves at his feet like he were a king, but he sends them away. He has made it clear that he will never be with one of his maids. I hear some of the other maids complaining that there is no chance for them since he pays them no mind. I am not telling you there is nothing for you to worry about because I have feelings for him. I have been listening and looking to form my own opinion," Annalise said.

She spent a lot of time alone with Rafael and all the man did was tease her or force her to eat. Of all the ladies who visited him, what would make Rafael so crazy to let her be the one he finally wanted to be close to? It was ridiculous.

"I fought against him," she revealed.

Stunned, Thomas turned to face Annalise without thinking and quickly lowered his gaze when he saw her without her dress. Her back was fortunately turned to him.

"Why are you acting all shy when we have baths together when we were young and much into our adult life? Though we wore more clothing as we got older. I don’t expect you to stand and watch bathe, but your turning another colour is amusing. I am almost finished so we can avoid you passing out," Annalise said, standing up now that she had washed her body clean.

Her dress was soaking wet and all she had now while she waited for it to dry was the cloak.

"Do you have more clothes?" Thomas asked.

"Only a cloak to keep me dry and we cannot start a fire to dry my dress faster. I do not want to bring any attention to where we are now. It is good that you are here to sit with me a little while the water runs out of the dress. We can speak for a moment since I don’t want to go back to the manor. You can turn around now. I have on the cloak," Annalise spoke as she wrapped her body with it.

"You need to be more aware and not be alone with men like this-"

"It is the second time I am hearing that I am not to bathe alone. I know the dangers and I make sure that I am truly alone before I get in the water. I am more aware than you think. After all, it is me who will be in danger if I am not careful and I trust you so I can let my guard now," Annalise said, stepping up onto the grass to sit.

Thomas turned around now that she was somewhat dressed and moved to sit beside her at the side of the water. There were more things he wished to discuss with her about Rafael, but he did not want to anger her. He would take her word that she was not starting to feel something for that man.

The world would be crueller than he knew it to be if she were to look beyond him and fall for their enemy. He had been patiently waiting for her to turn her attention to him, but she never did. Still, he stayed beside her because regardless of his feelings she was not only the daughter of the leader but a friend he cherished.

"It is honestly not Rafael who you need to worry about courting me. There is a knight who will not listen to my rejection-"

"Who?" Thomas questioned, furious with this. He instinctively moved to touch his knife. How many men did he need to worry about? "Who is this man? Shall I get rid of him for you?"

Annalise chuckled as she had purposely said this to get Thomas worked up. "There is no need. I will help him to get rid of his feelings on my own. I swear, how has your poor heart lasted being my friend? You are always worried about something and I am sorry to say that I get a kick out of worrying you."

"There is always a pain in my chest when you are around. I think I am slowly dying when you are near," Thomas said, sitting down at a far distance so his heart could rest.

"Oh please. You like the excitement that I bring to your life. Is that not why you dropped everything and followed me here? Your mother will beat you with a stick when you return and your father will give you a look. I will make sure to pay you a lot when we return. Have you heard anything about the king coming to this town?" Annalise asked.

"There has been no confirmation that he is coming, but I have heard even if the king does not come, his uncle or another relative might show up. They are still as good as killing the king. You should think carefully about us leaving this town and going to Lockwood. I can find my way into the palace to take care of the king," Thomas suggested.

"Not yet. There seems to be some growing war between the king and a man named Grant Henson. When they are distracted by their personal issues, we will leave and try to get rid of the king if he does not come to this town. For now, I want to rest," Annalise said, inching closer to where Thomas sat to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Thomas, I have trouble sleeping at night. Do you mind getting me everything I need to make the same tea as my mother?" Annalise asked, playing with her fingers to distract her mind from focusing on the fact she was lying to Thomas.

"Of course."

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