The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 30: Different (3)

"He thought I would be weak and let his guard down. I used it to my advantage and tripped him up the first chance I got. On the farm back at home, I’ve dealt with many strong cows and chased away the other farmers trying to ruin our crops. I’m not that weak," Annalise patted her arm, hoping he would let the story end here. She wasn’t in the mood to make more lies she had to keep up with.

"I see," Rafael replied. "More training is needed then."

"So they could be better at taking advantage of women-"

"No," Rafael tilted his head slightly, looking at Annalise, who must have lost her mind. "So they don’t let their guard down in battle."

’Did I just help the enemy?’ Annalise wondered. It would be better for her if all of his men let their guard down.

"Young master, I hope that with this you can see that I am not in trouble. Trouble comes to me. So if you could please forget about what happened in your bathroom," Annalise said, using his feeling sorry for her as a way to start over.

"You are still in trouble. I know it was you with the snake," Rafael revealed. There was no way for the snake to get inside, and seeing that she was in the bushes the night before, it had to be her. "You are lucky to not have been fired."

"That wasn’t me. I am scared of snakes. That is why when your friend told me about snakes down there, I got out of there quickly. I was down there because I had to clean my blanket. Someone put dirt in it and I didn’t want anyone to see me cleaning it. I didn’t want them to laugh," Annalise said, trying her best to sound depressing.

Annalise didn’t like the fact she couldn’t read Rafael’s facial expression. He just stared at her to the point where she wanted to blurt out that it was her. Annalise looked away so she wouldn’t expose herself. Rafael would have to torture her to get it out of her mouth that she was the one with the snakes.

"Very well," Rafael said, deciding to let it go since he wouldn’t get the truth from her anytime soon. "I will forget what happened in my bathroom. Not that I have been thinking about it. You can return to your room now. I will tell Mavis since I have a feeling you do not want to speak to her yet. If you feel any pain, you can visit the doctor."

"Thank you for coming to save me," Annalise smiled. "Oh! You should take your coat-"

"Keep it. You might run into other maids or knights on your way back to your room. Use my coat to cover yourself, and then return it to me in the morning. I must leave to deal with Connor and his father. Excuse me," Rafael said, turning to leave. He wanted to get the story straight with Connor’s father before anyone could lie. Annalise was the only victim here.

Annalise’s smile fell now that Rafael had turned his back on her and left. It was becoming painful to force a smile whenever he was near. Her cheeks were starting to hurt, and if she continued to force herself to smile, her face might be stuck that way forever.

"I should have killed him," Annalise muttered. A man like Connor should never be left alive. He would never learn to listen and would just target someone else. "If only I knew where he lived," she said.

She would pay his home a quick visit and finish what she started tonight. It was frustrating to have to hold back and not go for the kill like she wanted. This house had more than one way of torturing her.

"I need to-" Annalise paused as her hands went to Rafael’s coat. He was kind enough to help hide her appearance from those watching. He was a kind man to those he believed to be his people. "Father would kill me if he were to see me wearing this," Annalise said, taking off the coat.

If her father were to see her now with something Rafael wore, he would drag her to the river and try to scrub off Rafael’s touch. So his daughter wouldn’t be called a tainted woman for being near a man who serves the Castro king.

Annalise held out the coat at a distance with two fingers like it was something horrible to touch. ’Well, it does present the opportunity for me to speak with him tomorrow. He should pity me and let me serve the king,’ she thought.

Annalise sighed and began to make her way back to her room. She would have preferred to change and go back to serving the knights so she could hear their drunken words, but while the grand hall would be busy, she could roam the other parts of the estate.

"Annalise!" Gloria called as she ran after Annalise.

Annalise bit her tongue. It was bad timing for Gloria to seek her out now when she was in such a foul mood. She didn’t know if Gloria was entirely aware of what Connor wanted to do, so she bit her tongue for now. "Yes?" She turned to face Gloria.

"Oh!" Gloria covered her mouth after seeing Annalise’s torn dress. "I heard of what happened, and well, I wanted to come to you to clear up something."

’I can’t let her tell the young master or Mavis that I sent her in there,’ Gloria thought. Connor was certain that Annalise would be shaken up and run out of here, so there would be no need for her to worry about getting caught. Gloria didn’t know what happened inside the room, but seeing that Annalise was walking around without crying, she had to convince Annalise not to say her name.

"I didn’t know that he was going to hurt you. He said that he wanted to tease you, so I had to find you. I thought... I thought the-"

"Okay," Annalise interjected, not wanting to hear any more of Gloria’s babbling.

Gloria’s eyes widened at the fact that Annalise had accepted her words so quickly. She almost wanted to laugh at how gullible Annalise was. Why did the other maids who were here long before Annalise have such a difficult time getting her under their thumb? Annalise was no different than the other new maids they ordered around.

"You will finish your work in around five hours. Shall I send a man to your room so he can tease you?" Annalise asked, dropping Rafael’s coat to the floor as she slowly walked over to Gloria. Gloria was a terrible liar.

"What?" Gloria replied, her happiness disappearing. "Why would you-"

"Why? It’s alright for you to try setting me up to be alone with a man, but I cannot do the same to you. Only when it happens to you is it wrong. That’s a pretty necklace," Annalise said, complimenting the necklace Gloria wore around her neck.

Most of it was hidden under her dress as she could not flaunt it around guests, but Annalise had a feeling it was pretty. This necklace wasn’t there when Mavis gathered all the maids before the party started.

"Is that what he paid you with to get me? Relax. I only want to see how pretty it is. I want to see how much I am worth you setting up another lady," Annalise said, reaching out to pick up the necklace and hold it in her hands. "You’re a pretty girl, but you lack any sense," she said, pulling on the necklace to tighten it around Gloria’s neck.

"W-Wait!" Gloria panicked, stumbling forward because of Annalise’s strength.

"I will forget just this once, but if you are so foolish to try setting up another maid in this house, I will take your pretty head, clean off your neck, and stuff this necklace into your mouth," Annalise said, pulling on the necklace tighter, almost breaking it before letting go.