The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 233: Dresses, drama, and tears (3)

As if hearing about Rafael wasn’t enough, Annalise saw him walking toward where they stood. This was a ball. There was no need to stick next to your parents when there was a woman by your side and Annalise heard someone say that the first dance was about to start.

Instead of walking to where she was, Annalise thought Rafael would be better off going to the middle of the room to dance.

"Rafael!"

Annalise groaned when Beatrice greeted him. She looked off to the side at the white boring walls, hoping she could blend in with them. Siena’s maid was nowhere in sight and Annalise wished it was the same for her. Why did Rafael have to be so nice to let her join his family at the ball?

Beatrice tried not to look at Siena. Not because she was ruining her plans for Rafael and Annalise, but due to the feeling she had that Siena might be up to something with her brother. White Town was big and it was possible that it was just a coincidence, but she had to be cautious since Siena seemed to have a good talent for showing up wherever her family went these days.

Anyone who had something to do with Travis was an enemy in Beatrice’s eyes. She had been burnt many times in the past to know that someone with a sweet face like Siena could be dangerous.

Beatrice went straight to straightening out Rafael’s shirt. "I see you took my advice to brush your hair and tie it up. The wind is normally on your side and doesn’t blow it around, but we shouldn’t take any chances tonight and have it moving with a mind of its own."

"Stop bothering the boy, Beatrice. He hasn’t been here with us for a minute and you are already trying to tidy him up. It is nice to see you again Siena," River greeted the young lady. He was sceptical about her since Rafael believed she was the young woman Travis wanted him to marry.

River already had someone looking into her, but Rafael said he would get the truth out of her tonight. River then realised why Rafael was escorting the young lady since he found it odd when Beatrice said Rafael was attending the ball with someone, but it wasn’t Annalise.

"Likewise. I look forward to spending some time with all of you. Your dress looks splendid, Lady Beatrice," Siena said, eyeing Beatrice from head to toe. She heard stories that there was no one to dress like Beatrice in her youth and now she confirmed that those stories were true.

"Thank you. You are also looking lovely tonight. River, I want to take part in the first dance," Beatrice said, holding his hand and pulling him off to the centre where couples were starting to gather to get ready to dance.

Siena turned her attention to Annalise who was dressed up to the point you would never guess that she was a maid. She had never dressed Kayla this much when they were going somewhere. Only when they were staying at home and wanted to try on new dresses.

Siena couldn’t help but wonder if Annalise spent her own money to get dressed up for the ball, if this was Beatrice’s doing with an old dress, or if Rafael spoiled the maid. Even though he was by her side tonight, Siena couldn’t shake her thoughts of Annalise being Rafael’s lover. She could tell even more by Annalise’s unwillingness to look their way.

"You look lovely tonight, Annalise. The dress really suits you," Siena gave an honest compliment. She couldn’t deny Annalise’s looks which must be part of the reason Rafael fell in love with her. Or maybe it was just a sexual relationship. One that was happening since Rafael was not engaged or married so he was free to do as he wanted.

"Thank you," Annalise replied, looking away from the walls to the couple before her. The purple dress Siena wore complimented her perfectly and earned her many compliments from the people watching her. "You look beautiful. You have everyone smiling as they look at you."

"I don’t think that is my doing. They are looking at Rafael and trying to place who I am since this is my first time in this town," Siena said, turning to Rafael who didn’t make it not obvious that he was captivated by Annalise.

Siena was well aware that he had no feelings for her, but it did sting to see him giving a better reaction to how Annalise looked than when he came to pick her up from Lady Everett’s home. She put a lot of thought into what she was going to wear tonight and Kayla worked hard with other maids to make her look perfect.

Siena could hear the people around her speaking highly of her and saying that she suited Rafael, yet Rafael’s attention was right in front of them. She didn’t plan to get in the middle of Rafael and Annalise, but with her hurt feelings, she couldn’t stop what she did next.

"The first dance is about to start, Annalise. I wouldn’t mind if you danced with Rafael. You seem to take good care of him so it is only fair you share a dance. I won’t care what is said by others," Siena said, letting go of Rafael so Annalise could take up her offer.

She had a feeling that Annalise wasn’t like Kayla to have some background to know how to dance and even if she did, she should know the gossip it would cause if Rafael had his first dance with a woman everyone was going to find out was a maid.

"That is kind of you, but I don’t know the dance. I would constantly step on his feet. You should take the first dance with him since he is here with you," Annalise replied.

Learning the dances here was something she never thought to do since Annalise didn’t see herself ever attending a ball just as she never saw herself becoming Rafael’s personal maid. She would make a fool of herself if she were to accept Siena’s offer to dance with Rafael. Annalise would not give anyone here a reason to laugh at her.

Annalise stared at Siena, wondering if it was a harmless offer or an attempt to remind her that she was Rafael’s maid.

"Then," Siena said, placing her hand back to hold onto Rafael’s arm. "I will take the first dance with him. We must hurry before the music starts."

Rafael wasn’t in the mood to dance with anyone and he wanted to stay near to Annalise since she would be left alone unless one of the knights came to her side, but there was something he wanted to speak to Siena about as they danced so she could not run away.

"One dance," Rafael agreed, turning with Siena to join the other couples who were already in formation to start dancing.

"Oh," Siena stopped, realising she had a fan in her hand. "Please take care of this for me until we return, Annalise."

Annalise forced a smile as she took the fan. Siena should consider herself lucky if it didn’t magically find itself in a pond. She was left alone now that all the Callahans had walked off to dance and since they were not with her, the other guests weren’t paying attention to her.

It wasn’t long before the music finally started and Annalise was unfortunate to have a clear view of Rafael dancing with Siena.