The Knight's Mysterious Maid
Chapter 57: Exposing friends (1)

Chapter 57: Exposing friends (1)

Rafael did not see why Annalise needed to come between him and Edgar. She could serve Edgar what he needed and then go back to where she stood before. He knew that Edgar had to be up to something, but he did not know what just yet.

Annalise did as Edgar said and left her side of the table to pour him some of the orange juice. She thought he would prefer something with alcohol, but with what she smelled as she carried the jug with orange juice, he had made the right choice.

Edgar paid attention to Rafael’s reaction to Annalise standing closer to them. "That is enough," he said, purposely touching Annalise’s hands and seeing Rafael frown. ’Another fool,’ he almost laughed.

Edgar still wasn’t certain what was happening between Rafael and his maid since it didn’t seem to be anything intimate, but there was something there. It was just amusing to see Rafael, who would normally not pay attention to women and spent more time interested in weapons, keeping watch on a maid.

"You’ve been keeping secrets from me, Rafael. I’m a bit disappointed since I considered you my best friend," Edgar said, taking up his cup now full of orange juice to give it a try. He motioned to Annalise to give Rafael a hint about what he was referring to.

Rafael didn’t look at Annalise to avoid fueling whatever Edgar was assuming. "You are wrong," he answered. He was only watching her to see if she would be in trouble again. Nothing more. She was his maid, and he was the employer. There was a line drawn between them that he would never cross with her or any other maid. It would make life complicated.

"Right," Edgar said, not believing it. It was the same way Tobias acted when he met Hazel, the now current queen of the kingdom. Always watching her without realising it. "Don’t let your mother believe it to be as I think or worse, Tobias."

"It is nothing as you think," Rafael said. He regretted not telling Edgar that he was keeping an eye on Annalise for a reason.

Annalise wished they could explain what they were talking about so everyone at the table and around it could understand what they meant. Why was the duke laughing while Rafael didn’t seem pleased? She had done her job right by pouring the juice, so it couldn’t be about her. She hoped it was not about her.

Since no one else seemed to want the water or orange juice she was holding, Annalise carefully stepped forward so she could place the jugs on the table, and Cara followed suit.

"Is there something else I can get you?" Annalise asked Rafael first since, as the owner of this home, he should not go without a drink. She would help Cara with the other two men afterwards.

Mavis entered the dining room with the other maids, who carried out the food that would be placed on the table for Rafael and his guests to serve themselves.

Aria’s smile, which she normally wore around Rafael, fell when she noticed Annalise standing between Rafael and Edgar. There was no reason for Annalise to be standing over Rafael, peering down at him as they talked about something Aria could not hear.

Annalise was a liar who kept saying she had no interest in Rafael. Her actions here said otherwise. There was something about the duke smiling as he listened to Rafael and Annalise that led Aria to believe that something more than what they were seeing was going on.

Annalise had quickly adjusted to being like some of the women Aria disliked, using her body to get ahead. Aria thought Annalise would be different since she spoke of having no interest in Rafael, but as soon as he showed up, that changed.

Aria thought Annalise was only making a fool of herself since Rafael was not a man who would just marry a maid. Not when there were so many eligible women coming to his home. Annalise was setting herself up to forever be a mistress.

To save Annalise from making a fool of herself and to get rid of the person stealing her chances, Aria was patiently waiting for dinner to be over so she could speak to Rafael. If not for him being so occupied with the duke for so long, she would have spoken to him already to have Annalise gone.

Aria watched with great disdain as Annalise smiled at something the two men said.

’I don’t know what they are arguing about, but I wouldn’t mind if they just start killing each other,’ Annalise smiled as she imagined a fight breaking out between the two powerful men.

Annalise backed away from the table to go to the kitchen to get the wine Rafael requested. Before she left the table, Rafael’s threat to hit Edgar over the head with a plate made her realise that it was just a playful conversation between the two.

Annalise didn’t know much about the friendship between the two other than what she heard from the other maids or in town, but it seemed the duke’s presence helped Rafael relax and talk more. She didn’t find it intense to be around Rafael now compared to when they were in the library alone and he was staring into her soul.

As Annalise walked back to the kitchen, someone bumped into her, and looking to her right, she saw Aria. The last person she would have expected to try this. Annalise sighed. "Aria, it is not in you to try bullying me, and believe me, you don’t want me to retaliate. Though I can’t," Annalise muttered since Rafael said he would be watching her.

Luckily, she had other ways to make it known not to bother her.

"You had me fooled for a moment," said Aria. She was disgusted by how easily Annalise had hidden her intentions in the beginning.

Annalise rolled her eyes, already annoyed by this conversation once more. Wasn’t there something else to argue over? She would rather argue about dresses.

Annalise continued to make her way to the kitchen to get the bottle of wine so she could go back to the table and be far away from Aria. There was a chance for them to move past this, but Aria was burying that chance by continuing this far longer than it needed to go on.

Aria grabbed Annalise’s shoulder and said, "I am going to tell Rafael about you and the snakes."

Annalise’s reaction was unlike what Aria anticipated. Instead of being worried about what would come from Rafael knowing, Annalise started to laugh.

Aria took her hand off Annalise’s shoulder and backed away. The other girls would call her crazy, and now Aria was starting to see it. "Why are you laughing? You could lose your job," she said.

Annalise was laughing for two reasons. First, she didn’t have to worry about Aria going to Rafael since he already knew and had warned her not to do it again.

"I find it funny how you told me your plan before doing it. None of you here know how to plot and carry out the plan. A smart person would have gone to Rafael first before revealing this because anything can happen to you between now and the time you were planning to speak to him. To retaliate against you for betraying me would only be a waste of my time. Instead, I will let you humor me with your failing plans," Annalise said.

Although Annalise wanted to see what Aria would do now, she had a job to do. "Now, if you would excuse me, I have a drink to serve the young master, and you have more anger to release."

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