The Knight's Mysterious Maid
Chapter 178: The woman in the manor (3)

Chapter 178: The woman in the manor (3)

Annalise walked back and forth in front of Rafael’s door, still contemplating if she should take the tea to him or just go to her room despite the fact the tea was already prepared and in her hands.

Annalise stopped and looked at the door. She had already gone through the trouble of making the tea herself, but it wasn’t too late to take it back to the kitchen and go to bed.

"I can only blame myself for this," Annalise said, carefully pressing the tray to her body and holding it with her left hand. She used her right hand to knock on the door. She then moved quickly to hold the tray with two hands again.

The last thing she needed now was for the hot tea to spill and burn her.

Annalise waited for him to come to the door instead of going inside like always did. She did not want to walk in and disturb him if he was getting dressed or doing something else.

"Don’t tell me the night I decide to make tea he has no problem falling asleep," she muttered.

It would make her feel more of a fool if he was sleeping right now while she was still awake and made tea for him.

Not wanting to hold the tray with one hand again, Annalise set it down on the floor and then knocked a second time.

"Rafael," she said to let him know that it was her disrupting his alone time. "I should have told him earlier that I would be bringing tea. Well, that solves my not wanting to be here. Oh."

Annalise stepped back, startled by the door opening when she was ready to leave.

Rafael looked surprised to see her there. He stared at her without saying a word and Annalise could not help but wonder if he was not pleased to have her disturbing his night.

"I brought tea to help you sleep. Not the one I promised I would make, but tea I made in the kitchen. I put it together carefully after speaking with Jonah and made a good blend. It smells good so I hope it tastes good too," Annalise said, bending down to pick up the tray. "If you don’t need it, I can take it back down to the kitchen. I should have told you that I was bringing tea and not showing up here without a word prior. Do you want it?"

Rafael still could not believe that Annalise was standing before him. She would normally come to him as soon as he was finished with dinner and when she did not tonight, he thought she had gone to bed. He heard the knock at the door and thought it might be Mavis or Edwin so he ignored it since he didn’t want to speak now.

Then he heard his name and thought he was imagining it coming from Annalise. He thought he needed to get some rest since he was hearing her voice, but when he heard the faint sound of someone talking outside he decided to take a look to see if it was really her.

Rafael looked down at the tray in her hands with the tea that she made. "Come inside," he said, stepping to the side to give her space to enter.

"Inside? I was just going- I didn’t plan to- Okay," Annalise answered, stepping inside because of his intense gaze. For a second she read his mind and it was telling her to not have to make him convince him to enter.

Luckily, at this time of the night, most of the servants were either heading home or getting ready for bed in the servants’ quarters. The knights as usual were up late drinking while the guards were the only ones wide awake to make sure no one was sneaking around the manor.

Annalise felt her nerves suddenly rising the moment the door closed and Rafael walked toward her. Coming into his room when there was daylight was normal, but coming at night when there was hardly any light was different.

The windows were wide open to let a strong breeze come inside. His bed was messy compared to when she tidied it for him before he went to dinner.

"I am sorry for disturbing your rest," she apologised.

Annalise placed the tray down on the table in his room to start pouring the tea for him. She hoped it tasted good since she had not gotten the chance to taste it herself.

Rafael stood at a good distance from Annalise, watching her pour the tea she made. He considered adding more light to the room to make her a bit more comfortable and able to see better. It was like this because he was going to attempt to go to sleep.

"You only brought one cup," Rafael said to get rid of the silence in the room.

"The tea is meant for you. How can I drink it? I told you that I do not want to have some of what is meant for you," Annalise replied, setting the teacup on the table for him to sit down and take.

"You made me tea that you only know smells good and have no idea how it tastes, then expect me to be the only one to drink it. Give it a taste," Rafael said, coming to her side to take a seat at the table. He liked Annalise, but his mother already had the spot in his life for him to pretend to like something that was terrible.

Tasting horrible tea before bed might keep him awake longer rather than help him sleep.

She couldn’t get upset with him for not wanting to try the tea no one tasted before it was brought to him. "I will go down to get another cup."

Rafael grabbed her hand to make her stop. "Why? Use the cup that you have here with the tea poured into it already. What sense does it make to make you go down to the kitchen to get another?" He asked.

Annalise looked at the single cup on the table that was for his use only. How was she to share a cup with him? "What will you drink if I use this cup?" She replied though she had a feeling about what he might say.

"Unless you spit tea back into the cup, I will use the other side of the cup. I have shared sacks of water with my knights when we were not close to water and had to share what was left. I am less afraid of where your mouth has been than the knights I have drunk after. Drink or is it that you wanted to poison me?" Rafael questioned, letting go of her hand to not overstep her boundaries.

He was still mindful of touching her though she said that he could.

"As commander, you should be able to drink first. Not after the knights. I have overheard the tales some of them tell to each other so you should be concerned about their mouths. As for poison," Annalise said, taking up the cup of tea to give it a try.

"I would not be so careless to poison you after I have told Jonah that I was personally making you tea. And I would never kill my kind employer," she added for safety.

Annalise sipped on the tea and smiled instantly when the tea filled her mouth. "You’d be surprised to know that I am an excellent cook and great at making tea without having to taste it."

"I don’t make tea often unless it is a cold day or I need to relax before going to sleep, but I might be talented enough to open a tea shop here in town. Enjoy your tea and have a good night’s rest," she said, holding out the cup to him.

"Stay."

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