The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 494: Time away (2)

"Edwin! A Callahan carriage is coming through the gates."

"It is? Find Mavis right away," Edwin ordered the maid.

He then rushed to the front door to see who was arriving. Was it Siena or was Beatrice here?

Edwin hurried out the door to be by the carriage door to help whoever was inside. "Young master," he greeted Rafael, surprised to see that he was back. "You have returned."

"It is good to see you, Edwin. I hope you have been well and not working yourself hard to look after the manor," Rafael said as he exited the carriage. He was alone after taking his parents home first.

"I have plenty of experience taking care of the manor so it comes easy to me. I will have a warm bath and food prepared for you right away. Will you be expecting the lady later on?" Edwin questioned about Annalise so he could know if her room needed to be prepared.

"She won’t be here until a week or two has passed," Rafael answered, going around the back of the carriage to the bags.

"You can leave the bags. I will have the maids take them inside so you can wash up. Are there gifts you want me to send to the school here? There is a doll sitting among your bags," Edwin noted.

"No, that is to stay here. I need one of the extra rooms near my own to be emptied and painted a colour suitable for a girl to use. Then start to order furniture a young girl will need. Until it is finished, store the dresses, toys, and everything not belonging to me inside of Annalise’s room," said Rafael.

Edwin nodded his head though he wasn’t understanding what Rafael was planning. Was Annalise expecting a child? If that was the case, why was Rafael so quick to believe it was a girl?

"Young master!" Mavis’s voice came from the front door. "You finally returned to us."

Mavis was quick to do a look around for Annalise and felt relieved when the young woman was nowhere in sight.

"It is good to see you again, Mavis. Like Edwin, I thank you for looking after the manor in my absence. I hope the knights didn’t cause you any trouble," Rafael said since they were here without him to watch over them.

"Of course not. The knights are alway well-behaved. My greatest task was getting them to stay away from my girls and be out of the way when they train. I shall have your bags inside quickly," Mavis said, clapping her hands for the maids to move faster.

"Edwin, I need for you to call someone from the papers. One who will be able to send around what I want to share to other towns. Then get me all the papers about the cost of the materials we were going to need to expand the manor," Rafael said, ready to work on sending over what was needed to build the new manor.

"Yes, right away," Edwin answered. It felt good to be getting back to work for Rafael.

"Before you further question why there are things for a young girl, I must inform you that I adopted a child. A little girl from the orphanage I frequent with my parents. When she arrives, I expect that she will be treated with respect. Anyone who makes her feel uncomfortable shall be fired on the spot," Rafael gave the order and he was standing on it.

There would be no second chances for anyone who made Lydia uncomfortable in her own home. He didn’t care who the person would be.

Mavis’s mouth fell open while Edwin smiled.

Rafael returned to the manor with good news. Not only did the manor have a lady, but now they could expect a little girl running around filling the manor with laughter.

Edwin planned to go over with Mavis what might be dangerous to leave around for the child to get her hands on as there was a lot of armour decorating the walls. Meanwhile, Mavis was still stuck on the fact Rafael had adopted.

"Annalise and I are also engaged. I will be moving if possible in the next few months to live closer to where she is heading now. I’ve kept Annalise’s home a secret and before it is shared with all the servants, I need you to be aware first. Annalise comes from the border-"

"The barbarians?!" Mavis gasped, covering her mouth. How was that possible?

"I advise you not to use that name when Annalise returns to the manor. They are not as you have heard and I would like that you do not disrespect Annalise. If anyone cannot bear working while Annalise is in this manor, you are free to leave," Rafael said.

He’d rather they pack their things and go than try to convince them to go near Annalise. It’d be better to have people willing to give it a try.

"I’m sorry," Mavis apologised for her reaction, but it wasn’t everyday you heard that someone from the border was nearby and Rafael was officially marrying one.

’Could she have killed me?’ Mavis wondered.

"I will be in my study after washing up. I do not want any guests aside from the person for the papers or if it is someone bringing an important message. Did the palace send any letters?" Rafael asked.

"There is one that looked as if it came straight from the king himself so I placed it in your study. The usual place for everything that is important," Edwin replied.

"Thank you."

Rafael left Edwin, Mavis, and the maids to take his things from the carriage. He could not stay to offer his help today because he had many plans to start. One with helping spread around about the war being over and the new town and the other was getting all he needed for the new manor.

If not disturbed, he could have them well on their way with their plans.

Rafael walked through the manor doors just as Christian was going outside to see what had the maids scurrying around.

"The man of the manor is back. Finally, I could give you back your job and get some rest," Christian said, happy to have Rafael back as it was tiring leading the knights with their training. "I heard that you got engaged to that crazy woman and that you were going to stay a little longer to adopt. Are you a father now?"

"I’ve been a father for longer than I realised," Rafael answered, referring to Annalise carrying their child and them not knowing. "You’ll need to continue with training the knights today. I have work to do."

"I deserve a lot of time off to visit my family after this and a bit of money since I lost a bet with you getting engaged," Christian muttered, following Rafael up the stairs. "We’ve trained for the morning and are taking a break so I have some time to spare to update on what happened when you were away."

"You can inform me as I work."

"Where is Annalise and the precious Callahan child now as we speak?" Christian asked.

"If they followed my map and instructions, they should be a day away from the border," Rafael answered, hoping that they were safe.