Crazy owner (6)
First, he went out for a walk around the village to get some fresh air, but he was attacked by a boy selling some goods. Vincent was quite young, and therefore vigilant. He was able to quickly dodge the sharp blade that was about to pierce his chest and cut his stomach. The escort who accompanied him caught the boy, but he immediately committed suicide. There was no hesitation in his actions, as if he had been specially trained. Because of this, they were never able to establish the identity of the customer.
Since then, Vincent has been reluctant to go outside. The garden in front of the mansion became the only place for a walk.
One day, when Vincent was alone in the garden, he was attacked again. They say that a servant, sent for warm clothes on that windy day, came running at the sudden cry and saw a dead man with an iron rod in his chest. Vincent sat on the ground nearby, gasping for breath, covered in dirt. The servant hastily called the guards.
The attacker was seen in the mansion for the first time, and establishing his identity led nowhere. In defense, Vincent hit his opponent on the head with a stone and stabbed him in the chest with an iron rod that lay nearby.
Well, you could say he was lucky.
However, despite increased security and a thorough check of everyone at the entrance and exit of the mansion, the gentleman no longer left the building.
Another time, while eating, he suddenly felt pain and lost consciousness. Luckily, at that point, he vomited everything he had eaten and there were no serious problems. It later turned out that the food was poisoned.
Soon, a maid working in the kitchen was found dead in the forest. It was rumored that she died trying to escape and that she was to blame for her death. However, it was never possible to find out why she decided to run away and who killed her.
Vincent, who survived the poisoning, was afraid to eat after that. He was sensitive to every meal and at some point began to refuse food altogether.
His condition worsened day by day as he refused to go outside and eat. In fact, Vincent would like to leave the room, but there were many people in the mansion, and no one could be trusted with his secret. One day he went for a walk and could not return back. He was gone for some time before it was noticed. Fortunately, nothing much happened, but it became an important memory for Vincent, and so he went straight into the annex, after which he never left the room again.
Fearing everything around him, he gradually lost weight. He was told that he had severe depression.
Fear that someone will try to kill him.
Fear, ignorance of the identity of the one who is capable of this...
If it were known that he had lost his sight, people would doubt his ability to be the head of the family. Therefore, he remained in the estate under the pretext of restoration and locked himself in a room. Without meeting and with anyone, without contact from the outside world, he gradually faded away.
***
Hearing this story, for the first time I felt pity for him. His physical illness turned into mental illness. It was clear that the exhausted body soon became the cause of an illness in the mind.
So I tried to understand and accept his character.
Still, it was unacceptable to throw away food in this way. I was angry at his behavior. Food is precious. In order to eat, I had to endure beatings every day.
But this man...
– Only a reprimand can correct bad behavior. Children and adults should be scolded if they do something wrong. Haven't you ever heard that food should be treasured? Or do you think it can be thrown away because you have a lot of it?
-...
I was overwhelmed with emotions. I had to suffer every time to such an extent that my body was covered with abrasions and bruises. And all this in order to get some food.
The memories were so painful that I almost cried. He may be blind, but I can’t cry in front of him. It's humiliating.
I clenched my teeth, afraid that my scream might escape.
"Calm down. It's disgusting to find out who is more unhappy."
Luckily, the bowl didn't break. I used my apron to wipe the floor where the food had spilled.
- I'll bring it back. If you are uneasy, I can try it first, and the master will eat the rest. All for the sake of my cowardly master. If it becomes difficult to finish, please eat as much as you can and I will take care of the leftovers. I hope you are satisfied.
- I won't eat this.
– You don’t want to say that you’re not hungry? I am ready to sacrifice myself for the sake of my precious owner, checking that the food does not contain poison. Master wouldn't turn a blind eye to my sincerity, right?
I didn't think he would be so heartless.
Shaking off the dust from my clothes, I walked heavily on the floor and left the room.
She ran downstairs and asked the cook to prepare a new dish for the gentleman. He looked at me sympathetically and served me another portion of rice.
I ran back and knelt down in front of the bed again.
He flinched when he heard my voice. His eyes were still unfocused and wandering around.
I stuffed my mouth with rice so that he could hear, then began to loudly chew this porridge, which could simply be eaten with almost no chewing. I took another spoonful of porridge and handed it to Vincent.
-Let's. "A-am."
But the food was turned upside down again.
- She's dirty.
The bowl rolled across the floor with a loud thud.
Ring, ring, ring.
Half of the rice was still in the bowl, so I picked it up and walked back to the bed.
Vincent was looking at the floor, but for some reason it seemed that he was watching my every action.
I scooped up another spoonful of rice porridge and calmly placed the plate on the edge of the bed. And then she pushed Vincent on the shoulder.
Unable to resist, Vincent fell onto the bed. I quickly climbed on top of him. Grabbing Vincent by the neck, I leaned with my whole body so that he could not escape. I had to put my thumb in his mouth to keep him from closing it. And finally I was able to push a spoon of porridge into it.
- “Kha, kha!”
Vincent resisted. I pressed him down with all my might and fed him rice myself. For a moment I almost lost my balance, and he twisted his hand and grabbed me by the hair. My head fell back. Tears blurred my eyes from the pain, it felt like my hair was being torn off, but I clenched my teeth and didn’t give up.
He dodged the spoon, but my finger was still in his mouth and he couldn’t close it.
I concentrated and quickly put the spoon in his mouth, and then repeated this a few more times. Vincent grimaced, but I didn't care. The main thing is that everything worked out quickly and accurately. I lifted the bowl to make it easier to feed and continued.
“Sir, I’m so glad you’re eating well!”
- “Kha-kha!” You!.. “Kha-kha.”
- Yes, bon appetit!
One spoon, two spoons, three spoons... I continued to feed him until he ate half of what was left in the bowl after the fall. In fact, he spat out another half, but that doesn't matter.
When the bowl was empty, Vincent pushed me away. I was too relaxed because I was very happy that I was able to feed him.
I picked up the empty dishes and got out of bed. It seems he pulled out some hair when he resisted. I touched the back of my head and removed one of the fallen strands. I turned around giggling and Vincent grabbed me by the throat and screamed.
– You’re fired!
– I fed my master, that’s all.
- Ha! You crazy creature, don't you understand what you've done?! How dare you touch someone else's body! You must really want your death!
- How will you prove this?
- What?
I calmly continued:
“There are only two of us here, my master and I.” How do other people know? How can you prove that I touched you?
What I did really deserved to die. If anyone had been watching me, I would have lost my head already. But at the moment there were only the two of us here, and outside the room it was completely empty. No one even walked on this floor because the gentleman was sensitive to the slightest sound due to his blindness.
Moreover, his bad temper was well known to everyone who worked here. Vincent had every reason to fire me, but his words alone were not enough.
- Oh yes, you have a gun. You could kill me with it. But, sir, is it really loaded?
-...
He pursed his lips. For a second there was a look of panic on his face, and I wondered why he didn't shoot then? He probably just couldn't do it. I suppressed a laugh and continued.
“For your information, there is a rumor among the servants that you, sir, are a very picky person, so finding someone for you is not at all easy.” Those who already work on the estate will do anything to avoid serving you. Even if I get fired, no one can immediately replace me. So you'll have to bear with me until a new maid is found. If, of course, she is ever found!
I took a deep breath. My tousled bangs lifted slightly in the wind and then fell back. Through it I saw Vincent grinding his teeth. He looked annoyed.
Seeing him in this state, I laughed quietly.
“I hope you continue to do well, my lord.”
***
From that moment on, a struggle for power began between us.
I forced him to eat when he didn't want to. Every time I changed his clothes, changed the sheets or bedspread, we argued for a long time.
One day I wanted to give him a bath, trying to persuade him. But when I realized that talking was useless, I used force to drag him into the bathroom. And in the end I got hit in the face with his shoulder, causing my nose to bleed.
When I ran out of the room, clutching my bleeding nose with my apron, I ran into Isabella. She looked at me impassively and then turned away without saying a word.
“Since when has she been standing here?” – I thought. - “She must have heard noise from the room?”
No, I realized that Isabella understood everything only from my appearance.