Circumstances of graph (5)
- Sir Lucas?
- Yes. He'll be here for a while, so keep that in mind.
I helped him undress and gave him new clothes. Lately, Vincent had been wearing casual clothes more often than pajamas. After the bath and meal, I looked at his refreshed complexion and hastened to ask the question that had been haunting me.
– Can I ask you something?
- Forward.
– Are you really happy with Lucas staying in this mansion?
Vincent glanced at me as he finished buttoning his sleeves. My gaze darted to them. Despite the good appearance, the buttons were out of place. I walked over to him to fasten them properly.
– Unfortunately, today you fastened your buttons incorrectly.
–…
Vincent was silent while I buttoned him up correctly. I looked at him to see if he was angry, but there was no sign of it. Instead, his hand pressed firmly to the back of my head. I screamed and tried to resist the strong grip that seemed to pin me to the ground, and continued to mercilessly pull at my hair.
Only after my hair was completely disheveled was I able to free myself. This unexpected action surprised me. I ran my hand through my tousled hair and opened my eyes wide when I saw how the corners of his lips began to rise upward with mischief.
– Don’t worry, everything is fine.
“I’m glad to hear that, but... why did you make fun of my hair like that?”
***
– Paula, so we meet again.
- Yes. We met again.
I bowed and laughter was heard above my head.
– Do you remember me?
- Certainly. You are Sir Ethan's brother.
- I'm Lucas Christopher.
- Yes.
- Lucas Christopher.
AND? He burst out laughing again as I shook my head in confusion. The laugh was slightly unnatural, as if he was trying to express his indignation. I rolled my eyes. Maybe he wants me to call him by his name?
-...Lucas?
- Yes, Paula.
He smiled contentedly. Maybe it was because he was Ethan's little brother, but he laughed a lot too. I already addressed him by name this morning, but he probably didn't notice.
-Are you starting cleaning?
- Yes.
I gave him a look that suggested he needed to leave the room, but Lucas didn't even move. I couldn't look him straight in the eye, so maybe I should say it out loud?
“I’ll sit here, so no need to be shy.”
Having said this, Lucas sat down at the table. He was holding a book in his hands, so I already guessed that he was not going to leave. In that case, I will do as he said and calmly begin cleaning.
First I changed the bedspread, pillowcase and sheets. Then she swept the floor. The silence was broken only by the rustle of a broom. I walked around the room, paying particular attention to cleaning the corners.
But... it was strange... I felt warmth spreading down my back.
I turned around and saw the back of Lucas' head reading a book. I shook my head and focused on cleaning again, but my back felt like it was burning again. It's like someone is watching me.
At that moment, when the warmth turned into a tingling sensation, I turned around again.
– Do you want to tell me something?
- I? No.
Lucas replied with a calm smile. I narrowed my eyes. He answered quickly, as if he had prepared for this question in advance.
“Then why do you keep looking at me?”
- I didn’t do anything like that.
-Are you sure?
- Yes. There was no such thing.
Lucas answered firmly. I decided that it was not worth asking again. Perhaps it was just my imagination. My suspicions towards him remained, but I didn’t want to put myself in an even more embarrassing position because of a mistake, so I focused on cleaning again. When I took up the mop to wash the floor, I felt someone's presence behind me.
"Hey!"
At that moment, an unexpected touch on my hair made me freeze in place. The mop fell to the floor with a crash. Lucas looked at my expression in surprise.
- Sorry. Did I scare you?
- A little... May I ask what you are doing?
- This.
He held a white ribbon in his hand.
“So she chose this as a gift after all.”
- What?
“It looks like it was a gift from Violet.”
I nodded.
“She said she wanted to give you a gift and thought about it for a few days and then settled on a hair ribbon.” Violet said she had so many options that she took a long time deciding on the design and color, but eventually settled on this one.
He twirled the edge of the tape. My gaze lingered on him.
“For your information,” he added, “I thought it was a good idea too.”
- Oh, yes. It's clear.
I was surprised by Lucas' behavior. He only did this to tell me this. Maybe he was just teasing me?
I snatched the ribbon from his hands and fiddled with it until the ends were short enough that he couldn't grab them again. Lucas laughed as he watched me.
- It suits you.
- Thank you.
– I think white looks good on Paula.
I laughed, taking his words as a joke. Lucas laughed with me. He arrived in high spirits. This was clearly different from how he had been when he arrived at the estate. If you think like that, why did he come to Vincent in the middle of the night?
I was still wary because of what he told me last time.
By “last time,” I mean the shocking revelation he shared with me. But this time I kept my cool. I was sure of his innocence.
- It seems I misunderstood your words.
“There wasn’t even a grain of joke in my words.”
He grinned, his words sounding creepy. I didn’t know what he wanted to achieve by creating such a misunderstanding, but I couldn’t say with certainty that he was lying.
Perhaps what Vincent told me was itself a secret. Maybe a simple maid like me shouldn't have known about it.
I pretended I didn’t hear anything, although my heart was heavy.
When I stopped answering, Lucas' smile gradually disappeared. His gaze towards me became more serious.
– Did my brother tell you something?
- I don’t understand what you’re talking about.
I tried to express bewilderment, but it didn’t seem believable. His face hardened even more.
– Did he really talk about this...
- No, he didn’t talk about anything.
Did the expression on my face reveal my thoughts? I unconsciously touched my face. Part of my face was covered by my bangs, so it was unclear how Lucas, looking at me, could guess what I was thinking about. It seemed that he already guessed that Vincent had told me something.
- It's clear. It must be nice to have someone you can trust around you.
-What do you mean?
- Honestly, it's amazing.
- I have no doubt.
I picked up the fallen mop and thought that I needed to quickly finish cleaning and leave. I made this decision and turned around, but Lucas suddenly extended his hand to me.
- I will help you too.
- What?
Lucas immediately grabbed the mop from my hands and rolled up his sleeves. It turned out that he was offering to help with the cleaning. I was amazed and tried to stop him.
- No need, I can handle it alone.
- I'll help you. I still have nothing to do.
“And yet I cannot allow this to happen.” I might get scolded.
“Then you will say that I took the mop by force.”
With these words, Lucas began to diligently wipe the floors. I quickly glanced at the door. Luckily it was closed. I looked around nervously, urging him to stop, but he just laughed, said that everything was fine, and concentrated on cleaning.
I don't even know what's wrong with this guy.
* * *
As a result, Lucas, who never gave me the mop, placed an even greater burden on me. This behavior became permanent. Every time I cleaned, he offered to help, and when I stubbornly refused, he slapped me on the back of the head. As soon as I turned around, he immediately looked away, feigning innocence itself.
He acted like he was desperate to help me. I appreciated his kindness, but I didn’t understand why he would behave this way, and it depressed me.
It was the same when I was caring for Vincent.
He was in the master's room almost all the time, except early in the morning. I don't know if he came to visit Vincent or for some other reason, but Lucas was there every time I showed up in the room. I thought he had something to do, but he didn't, he was just watching us.
Sometimes we ate together in silence, just spending time in each other's company. However, it seemed like I was the only one who felt uneasy.
Everything was different when Lucas and I were alone. He always smiled next to me, but when I sometimes secretly peered through the crack of the door and watched them, he and Vincent had serious faces. Perhaps this was a natural state for Vincent, but this Lucas was different from the Lucas who spent time with me, because his smile was replaced by seriousness. The conversation was cautious and his deep voice was heavy.
If he wasn't in Vincent's room, he was wandering around the mansion. I saw him walking along the corridors, strolling around the territory, leaving the office with a book, and when he noticed me, he became so happy, as if he had met a person after a long separation.
I don't know much, but it was safe to say that he had a lot of free time.
This happened at a time when I had already gotten used to the fact that Lucas lived in a mansion and wandered around. Vincent spoke after we finished eating.
- Let's take a walk.
I was surprised. But this offer turned out to be too tempting and impossible to refuse.
- Sounds great!
- Then get ready.
I decided it wouldn't hurt to have some tea on a long walk, so I brought a kettle, cups, snacks and a book to read.
Then another person joined us.
- It sounds tempting.
Lucas stood next to Vincent and grinned. I glanced at Vincent, who didn't mention anything about Lucas' company.
Finally, the three of us went for a walk. The only places we could go were the garden behind the building and the forest. I took Vincent's hand to lead him, and Lucas walked next to me. I had the honor of walking in the company of two grown men.
First we decided to have tea. All the way to the garden, Lucas was busy looking around the surroundings, and Vincent looked straight ahead. I glanced at Lucas as I accompanied Vincent. There was a strange tension in the air. Of course, only I felt it.
Then I met Lucas's gaze.
- Why are you looking at me like that?
– I didn’t watch anything.
He shook his head and looked towards the road.
When we reached the table, we sat down next to each other. I laid out the clean tablecloth I had brought with me and put on the teapot and cups. One cup was missing. I didn't know Lucas would be joining us, so I only took two.
I placed them in front of Lucas and Vincent.
- We can start.
Lucas pushed his cup towards me. I hesitated, but he said he didn’t want to drink tea, so there was no point in refusing.
Today's dessert was Vincent's favorite treat - a sweet cake sprinkled with sugar. I cut the cake into pieces and put them on plates. I put the first piece on Lucas' plate. “At least eat this,” I said.
But only Vincent, who was already waiting with a fork in his hands, reacted. I set the plate down and Vincent gracefully cut a piece of cake and popped it into his mouth. His once clumsy handling of instruments has now become perfect. He chewed several times and then cut off a piece again.
Unlike Vincent, who couldn't stop chewing, Lucas took a small bite and frowned.
- Too cloying.
He looked like he had eaten something incredibly sweet for the first time. I also took a bite of the cake. It was sweeter than a normal dessert, but quite edible. I approached the plate for a new piece. Vincent looked relaxed and quickly ate his cake as well.
Lucas's eyes darted from me to Vincent and back.
– Do you really like it?
- Not bad.
- Tasty.
We answered quickly, still eating, and focused on the cake as if we were silently arguing about who would finish it faster.