The Knight's Mysterious Maid
Chapter 67: Gather the servants (2)

Chapter 67: Gather the servants (2)

"Why were we called here?" Cara whispered to Annalise and Heidi when they joined her. She was pulled away from cleaning the windows over a sudden urgent message from other maids that Rafael wanted them to line up in the yard.

Heidi bit her nails, fearing that it had something to do with the maids down by the river since Rafael was there for a moment. Could it be that he saw something he did not like?

"I don’t think it is something we need to worry about," Annalise said even though she did not know why Rafael was gathering all the servants. He seemed just as annoyed with Aria as she was so she thought he would have dealt with Aria privately. Why did everyone else have to be here?

"What did I miss since one of you seems to know what is about to happen and the other is about to eat her hand?" Cara said, pulling Heidi’s hand away from her mouth.

"I was present when he told Aria to find Mavis and have her gather us, but I have no idea what he plans to do with us here," said Annalise.

"Maybe one of you got in trouble," Jonah’s rough voice startled the three. "Who was it that did something and now I am out of the kitchen? I left my pot on the flames."

"I don’t you should have done that. What if something catches fire?" Heidi asked.

Jonah folded his arms. "That’s why we need to get this over with fast or we’ll be running around for water to put out a fire. I hope it is none of you that is behind all of us called here," he said, peering down at Annalise.

Cara and Heidi joined Jonah in looking at Annalise.

"Why are you looking at me? This has nothing to do with me," Annalise said, avoiding their gazes. It most likely had a little bit to do with her, but a whole lot to do with Aria who could not keep her assumptions to herself.

Mavis gave the maids a look, warning them to be quiet when Rafael finally came out to the yard. She also thought this had something to do with the maids down by the river and once this was over, she would give all of them a punishment for making her job harder than it needed to be.

In the midst of the crowd, Aria nervously played with her fingers out of fear that Rafael would fire her here in front of everyone. This was a moment she recently imagined happening to Annalise, but it had flipped onto herself.

Rafael overlooked the large group of servants, from the maids to those that worked on the outside of the estate. He had never called for the servants to gather in front of him.

"I will keep this short and simple. I do not and will never have an intimate relationship with any of my servants. I won’t tolerate any gossip or bullying since you have seen me speaking with anyone who works here. I want the line that I have drawn between us to be noted. I am friendly with many of you since I have known you for years, but you are not to forget that I am your employer," said Rafael.

"The butler and head maid are here to deal with any concerns you might have, but if you feel you cannot speak to them, you may seek me out, but in a respectful manner. You do not need to like each other, but I expect you to put your issues with each other to one side and do your jobs. If you cannot bear working with someone and will argue with them at first sight, you will need to end your job here."

"From this moment on, I will be strict and fire anyone who spreads lies for whatever reason, and I will fire those who let their personal issues with someone cause conflict in my home. I deal with enough feuds in my life. My home is my safe place and I do not need to deal with your antics. This is your one warning. You may go back to your jobs now," Rafael finished.

Now that they heard this from his mouth, anyone who continued to spread lies or create stories about him or any one of the maids could only blame themselves for being fired. He had too much to deal with concerning the kingdom and the king for him to be dealing with the antics of maids.

Rafael left to return to his study, with Edwin following behind him.

"Shall I bring something for you to drink to your study?" Edwin asked since Rafael appeared to be stressed. "I will keep an eye on the servants and give you a list of those who did not heed your warning."

"Bring water. Nothing else," Rafael replied, not in the mood for something with alcohol or any taste.

"Right away," Edwin answered, leaving Rafael’s side to get the water and a few fruits to place on Rafael’s table. Rafael would work himself away until dinner, so at least there would be a few fruits Rafael could reach out to grab to eat during that time.

"Rafael!" Logan called, running to catch up with Rafael. He heard about Rafael gathering the servants, and wanting to know the reason behind it, he waited around for Rafael. "What happened with the servants?"

"Nothing. I hopefully put an end to something that was growing out of hand," Rafael answered.

"It had to be pretty bad if you gathered all the servants. You normally only call upon the knights, and when you do that, it is usually that you are about to make us regret wanting to be a knight," Logan said as he followed up to the second floor. "The men seem to be in better spirits now that they have had a day to relax. Most of the men who went to visit their families have returned, and your new rule for the gates has started."

"Who came to visit?" Rafael asked. He was following Edgar’s advice to restrict anyone from coming through his gates without his permission.

"Who else but Giselle and a few men who have brought along their daughters? I am surprised to not see Delilah here to mark her claim on you. We returned at the wrong time since it is the start of a season and young women are in a rush to get married."

"You are a strong candidate here in town. I suggest you find a young lady to have on your arm to act as if you are taken," Logan suggested, but even then, the women would consider him single until an engagement was announced.

Rafael did not plan to use Logan’s suggestion. He didn’t need a young woman to get the wrong idea just so he could get rid of her peers.

Rafael fished his pockets for the key to his study, and as he tried to take out the key, he also took out the rock he had not given back to Annalise as he had forgotten about it. He unlocked the door and walked inside, staring at the rock, trying to figure out if she liked it for its color or if there was something more to it.

Logan peered to see what Rafael was staring at. "A rock? What is it with you and rocks?" He asked, looking at the big one Rafael already had on his desk.

Rafael sighed as he sat down on his chair and placed the red rock on his desk. "Nothing," he answered.

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