Later in the day, Lord Wakeshaw stayed in the parlor as he spoke with his business partners. I happened to be in the kitchen helping with dinner preparations. Charlotte entered the kitchen, her face stained with tears. I stopped what I was doing.
“What’s wrong, Charlotte?”
“He embarrassed me in front of all those men!” She began to shake, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.
“At every meeting, he embarrasses me!”
I put down the knife and washed my hands. It wouldn’t do for her to be crying like this before dinner service. Lord Wakeshaw’s guests would join him for dinner. We had our hands full, and Vincent already began cooking around noon to get things ready.
“What happened?” I asked, wiping her face with a clean handkerchief.
“He told me to pull up my skirts and show them my chunky legs!” she cried.
“That’s terrible.” I told her, frowning.
Vincent shook his head and made a noise of disapproval. “This happens all the time. There’s nothing we can do about it. She’s the brunt of their jokes.”
The bell for the parlor rang, and I pressed the button to speak.
“Yes sir, what do you need?” I said.
“So, is Charlotte there, crying? Good. She isn’t very entertaining anyway.”
Charlotte didn’t do anything wrong. She’d been embarrassed. What was she supposed to do? A bristle of anger ran through my body.
“Elijah, I hope dinner will be ready. We are hungry.”
The communication cut off, and I went back to tending to Charlotte.
“Don’t worry about helping with dinner today. I’ll do it instead. Go back to your room and relax.”
Charlotte nodded and headed back to her room. I turned to Vincent, who had moved to arranging the salad for dinner.
“You can’t seriously say that happens all the time.” I told him.
“Don’t be surprised. Lord Wakeshaw is a cruel man at times. You just need to experience it for yourself.”
When it was time for dinner, a young lady with curly blond hair sat next to Lady Wakeshaw, dressed a deep blue gown trimmed in black lace and ruffles. She smiled warmly at me. The other guests chatted amongst themselves, and she whispered something to Lady Wakeshaw. She motioned to me with her hand, and I walked over to them.
“Yes?” I asked, bowing.
“So you are brother’s new butler! Well, he sure got a replacement quickly! How long will you last?” her smile bothered me.
“Elijah, meet Fiona. She is Nathaniel’s younger sister. She’s just returned to us from her trip to Lightgale city.” Lady Wakeshaw explained.
“Hannah! I would have thought you would have told me about him before I came back!” Fiona pouted and folded her arms.
“So...”
I turned around to see Nathaniel standing behind me. He reached out and punched me in the stomach. I didn’t double over in pain, but it hurt. I stared at him in shock
“Don’t tell my servants what they can and cannot do.” He snarled, glaring at me.
I stood there, trying to keep my temper under control. Why would you attack me when you were so glad for me to be here? Everyone stared at us.
“Elijah, come with me.”
“Why?”
He grasped my arm and dragged me out of the dining room and down the hall. Then he slammed me up against a wall, his eyes flashing.
“Listen here, I don’t think you understand the rules around here. I am the law. Anything that I say goes. You didn’t have permission to let her off her duties.”
I pushed him away, my chest starting to heave in anger.
“Don’t do that again.” I warned. I did not want to injure him. Heaven would have me back in their grasp within moments. Attacking him would be a breach of contract. I am supposed to protect, not harm.
“Nathaniel stop.” I said.
“Nathaniel? You mean Nathan. See that guy isn’t here now. I’m here, and what I say goes.”
I narrowed my eyes. He grasped my arm and tried to twist it. I punched him in his stomach and watched his legs crumple. I could feel my powers rising.
“You will never, ever raise a hand to me, mortal.” I told him.
He sat there on his knees, head lowered. Then he looked up at me.
“You aren’t…”
“That’s right. I am not a human.”
“Are you…an angel?”
This man was no fool. Humans hardly acknowledged the existence of angels.
“You are here to protect us?” he asked. “Why?”
“I cannot tell you.”
I did not know the reason. But I knew I needed to find out. Maybe I am here to help break their curse. I pulled him back onto his feet.
“You shall forget this even happened.” I told him.
He would not remember this incident. I made sure of that.
Good chapter. My one complaint is that I thought that it was weird how Nathaniel knew that he was an angel in five seconds. It seemed so quick and kinda rushed. Other than that, I enjoyed the chapter.
ReplyDeleteAh, I see what you mean. I am planning a rewrite eventually. I'm thinking of taking it out of journal form and just writing it as a regular story once I finish it.
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