Tea party with the Count (4)
I looked into the man's eyes for a while. When he handed me the tablecloth, I finally came to my senses.
- Oh, thank you.
I hesitantly walked over and took it. I looked up at him and our gazes met again. His brown eyes squeezed shut.
- I'm glad.
- I'm sorry?
Elegance radiated from his soft voice. He looked straight at me and his gaze was friendly.
I opened my eyes wide, wondering what the stranger meant. This time the man raised the corners of his mouth and smiled. By the time I felt that gaze lingering on me for a long time, I realized that he saw my face very well, due to the fact that my bangs rode up.
I quickly grabbed my bangs and pulled them down. It was so awkward. I felt my face burning.
- I'm sorry.
- Why?
“With such an appearance, I shouldn’t have shown my face.”
I know I look ugly. Someone told me that having such a terrible appearance is a sin. I was born this way not because I wanted to, but people judged me only by my face. They pointed their fingers at me in disgust. That's why I hide my face. I recently got out of the habit of doing this, because now I spend all my time with Vincent, and he can’t see my ugliness.
- You are beautiful.
-...
A gust of wind rushed behind me. I glanced at the man to make sure I heard correctly. He still looked at me friendly. This gaze captured me.
This was the first time I had heard someone say this to me, so I hesitated, not knowing how to respond. But then from somewhere far away I heard Vincent’s voice.
At that moment, I finally remembered where I was and quickly turned around. While I was running after the flying tablecloth, the distance between me and Vincent increased, and now he was nowhere to be seen. In the current situation, this was a fortunate coincidence - after all, Vincent must now be walking with his arms outstretched in front of him, and no one should have seen this.
If we look at this situation from the outside now, then, obviously, it was unreasonable to think that no one would see us while walking in the forest. After all, this man ended up here. If I were with Vincent now, everything could end very badly. You shouldn't trust Vincent's words that there couldn't be anyone in this forest.
I looked at the man again. He also turned towards the sound.
I bowed down.
- Thank you.
And she turned away.
I hurried back, folding the tablecloth as I went, but suddenly I felt that there was something hard in it. After rummaging through the folds of the fabric, I pulled out an envelope.
- Letter?
When I turned the envelope over, I saw elegant gold letters on it.
- This!..
I looked back again, but there was no one behind me. As if what had just happened was nothing more than a dream. The man disappeared.
Having walked a little forward, I saw Vincent looking back.
- Mister.
-...
He stopped in place, his stern face turned towards me.
- Sorry for being late, there was just someone there...
I started to approach him, telling him about the man I had just met, but he, sensing my approach, reached out, grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it very tightly. Before I could react, he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him.
In an instant, the distance between us decreased. The stern face in front of me showed concern.
- Don't do that.
- Mister?
- Don't ever do that again.
His voice trembled, even though he warned me. Vincent extended his other hand towards my face, but then quickly lowered it. Instead, he leaned down and rested his forehead on my shoulder.
- Don't leave me alone.
-...
A sigh of relief escaped his lips. The hand that was squeezing mine slid down and stopped at my waist. His body pressed against mine, as if in an embrace. Golden hair fell over my trembling eyes. I felt the heat coming from his hands.
Anxiety, fear and relief washed over me.
I realized that I had done something terribly wrong.
- Sir, forgive me.
- Let's go back. I'm tired.
- Yes. Let's go back.
I clung to his hand like a lost child, and we walked out of the forest. I looked back every now and then, but, fortunately, no one was following me.
When we entered the outbuilding, I saw Isabella in the distance, hurrying towards us. She moved unusually quickly. Isabella's eyes darted around, as if looking for something, but when she noticed Vincent and me returning from our walk, she stopped. She looked scared for a moment, but quickly regained her composure.
- Mister.
– What is all this fuss about?
- This is...
She didn't have time to finish.
- Vincent!
An unfamiliar voice interrupted Isabella's words. Moreover, it was a female voice... Someone was approaching us. It was a young girl, her long dress fluttered as she walked. I had never seen her before and she was stunningly beautiful.
Who is she? I opened my eyes wide and looked at her. Her gaze fell on Vincent, who was standing behind me. For a moment she was stunned, as if she saw something she shouldn’t have seen, and then suddenly she began to cry.
- Vincent.
At this moment my hand clenched.
The tips of the fingers that held me tightly trembled slightly. I looked back at Vincent, his face was hard and tense. I didn't understand what was going on. When I looked forward again, the strange girl in front of me opened her mouth, her eyes still fixed on Vincent.
– Vincent, it’s you, isn’t it?
-... Violet.
I jumped at the muffled voice behind me. Is this Violet? She? I stared at her, forgetting my manners.
Ethan walked up to her, looking a little embarrassed, and waved happily when he saw me. And then he looked down, probably because of Vincent standing behind me. A shiver ran through my entire body. I slowly looked around.
“It’s really you Vincent.” – Violet said and took another step towards us.
There were tears in her violet eyes. I felt Vincent’s hands shaking even more and pulled away from him. But he pulled me back.
- I missed you so much.
- Violet, calm down. – Ethan stopped Violet as she continued to move towards Vincent.
She looked at him, then back at Vincent. There was desperation in her face as she tried to get closer to Vincent, as if afraid that he would pull away if she showed him even the slightest attention. Ethan tried to stop her. Isabella, standing behind them, also seemed to not know what to do.
The anxiety spread to everyone around.
- Um... Mister...
-...
I called him in a whisper, unclenching our clasped hands. He looked scared and wouldn't let me let him go. I tensed because I could still hear his trembling.
Looking nervously from side to side, I pulled myself together and squeezed his hand tightly.
- Let's run, sir!
And then I turned around. Confusion flashed across his face, he jerked to the side, but I pulled him and ran with him in the other direction. A muffled “Huh?” was heard behind us, but we didn’t stop.
I headed to his room, leading him with me.
***
The fingers, covered with white gloves, were long and beautiful. They gently grabbed the handle of the glass. There was something graceful and beautiful in the way she lifted the glass and brought it to her mouth. When she smoothly lowered it, my attention was attracted by her violet eyes, as well as her long and shiny golden hair.
They looked like they were made of sugar. It seemed they would taste just as sweet.
Her eyes widened when she noticed me standing in the doorway of the living room. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her large violet eyes sparkled.
- … Cute.
- Oh, thank you.
She smiled shyly. I realized that I had said it out loud. Lowering my head in embarrassment, I placed the treat in front of her, and then looked at my hands, which looked so ugly, with bulging bones and small cuts. I hastily pressed my fingers into my palm to hide them and straightened up.
When I looked up, her violet eyes widened and she thanked me again.
Her name was Violet Margaret. She was Vincent's fiancée.
And it was an unexpected visit.
- Forgive me for not being prepared for your arrival.
“It’s okay, I didn’t warn you about the visit.”
She speaks so beautifully. I wondered if people with beautiful faces have beautiful hearts, but then I remembered the beauties I knew. The only beautiful girl I ever knew was Alicia. She was so beautiful that the son of the village lord was in love with her. But she had a bad character.
The girl in front of me radiated grace even when she was motionless. This is what nobility means.
“I came here separately from her, so you don’t have to worry.” Ethan added, sitting next to her, casually sipping his tea.
It was strange that he returned so quickly after a short absence. As if sensing my gaze, he winked and barely waved his hand.
– You must have been working here recently.
- Yes, I'm new.
Isabella winked at me too. I looked over at Ethan and bowed.
– Nice to meet you, I’m Paula...Please forgive me for the rudeness I did earlier.
- Oh no, no need. Raise your head.
At her words, I bowed even lower. A voice with a hint of panic came from above. It was only when I heard her repeat over and over again that everything was really okay that I straightened up and Violet smiled sweetly.
– Paula, nice to meet you. I'm Violet Margaret, but you can just call me Violet.
She met my eyes and smiled widely, as if to say: “If you are Vincent’s maid, I am grateful to you too.” Her smile was so beautiful. I thought: “Oh my God, there is someone in the world so beautiful and at the same time kind.”
– You did the right thing. It's not Paula's fault, I was in a hurry.
- She's right. Don't beat yourself up too much.
A malicious voice came next to me. My gaze darted to him. Ethan was grinning too. It looked ominous after everything I'd been through with him.
- I heard about you.
I looked back at Violet, she was looking at me so intently that I pulled at my bangs, which half hid my face. I was worried that she would notice how ugly I was.
“You really are pretty, just as I was told.”
"Take back what you said." She was too nice to me.
“Have a seat, Paula.”
- It's OK. I'll wait.
“Perhaps you would like to sit next to me?” – Ethan said and patted the seat next to him.
I frowned, but Isabella winked again. It meant "sit down." In the end, I had to sit next to Ethan.
Ethan leaned over and whispered in my ear.
- Glad to see you again.
- But I don’t. – I whispered back and pushed him slightly.