The Count's Secret Maid (8)
Screaming from the sudden light, I stepped back.
As soon as I stepped back, my legs gave way and I fell to the ground. For a moment I lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes again, my heart was pounding, my ears were popping, my body was throbbing painfully, but I had to concentrate and assess the situation.
A bright light was still flashing before my eyes. I put my palm in front of my eyes, blocking the light, and tried to see something through them, when suddenly I heard someone approaching.
A dark figure appeared through the light. Seeing the man approaching me, I opened my eyes in surprise. He had the same reaction.
“What are you doing here?” Ethan looked at me in fear.
I was no less confused than he was, and hastily looked around. The source of light was the headlights of a car behind Ethan. There was a stranger standing there, looking at me with puzzlement. I began to fumble with my hands on the ground in search of my bag. Feeling for a handle, I grabbed it and rose to my feet.
We need to get away before it's too late.
I turned to run, but Ethan grabbed my arm.
-Are you all right? – Ethan said worriedly.
- Let go! – I immediately pulled my hand away.
Ethan froze and his face hardened. I realized late that I had turned to shouting and began to apologize.
- …Sorry. I'm in too much of a hurry. Please... follow your path.
-Where are you going? – Ethan frowned and took a step towards. I fell silent and stepped back.
“Paula,” Ethan continued.
- Don't come closer!
-...
I continued to back away, insisting that he not come any closer. Ethan stopped. I clutched the handle of my bag tightly and was ready, if anything happened, to defend myself and run away.
– Please, please, don’t come closer.
-... What the... No, what's going on? What are you doing here?
– I have the same question for you.
- I'm heading to Vincent. There was an urgent matter.
- So go where you were going.
-What scared you so much? “I won’t leave until you tell me,” Ethan continued.
I didn't have time to explain. I was still too close to the mansion. Apparently I was just wandering around.
“Maid,” Ethan turned to me, perhaps feeling mixed emotions. He seemed about to say something else. But suddenly I heard the rustling of leaves behind me.
The sound was getting closer. Ethan and I simultaneously reacted to the strange noise.
Everything swam before my eyes.
What should I do? Did they catch up with me so quickly?
Panic overwhelmed me, and I sharply turned to Ethan. He looked at me intently.
His face was tense, and he squinted in bewilderment, because he did not fully understand what was happening. When Ethan asked another question, I didn’t hesitate to ask for what I so desperately wanted.
- Help me... please.
Ethan's eyes widened, but quickly returned to their previous sternness. He turned towards the sound. Then he glanced at me, stepped closer and grabbed my hand.
- Everything is fine. “Just trust me,” Ethan said calmly, despite the external tension.
I was silent, but quickly nodded when I concluded that his serious look indicated the absence of evil intentions.
Ethan led me to the car and helped me climb inside, then sat down next to me and closed the door. He ordered to move out, and the man who had previously been watching me took the driver's seat.
The car quickly started up and we set off.
I didn’t take my eyes off the window, watching the forest recede. The car was driving in the direction from which I had originally left. When we drove far enough, I noticed a group of people coming out of the forest, exactly where we had recently stood. A little more and I could have come face to face with them.
I was indeed being followed. This was not just a figment of my imagination. Cold sweat ran down my back in streams, but at the same time I felt relief. Everything worked out, at least this time.
Ethan, who had been glaring at me the whole time, spoke first:
- What on earth is going on here? What were you doing there in the middle of the night? Why did she run away?
-...
“It looks like you were being followed,” Ethan continued.
I was silent because the fear did not subside, and I could not come to my senses.
- This is true?
Ethan already understood everything even without my explanation, although I would like to keep it a secret. It was pointless to refute anything, so I had nothing to say. Ethan, assessing my reaction, realized that his guesses were correct, so, a little taken aback, he continued:
- Why? Why so suddenly?
- Certain circumstances have arisen.
- What are these circumstances that forced you to make your way through the forest in the night? And what about Vincent? Did they drive you away?
- No.
Ethan narrowed his eyes in disbelief, so I repeated my denial more confidently, waving my arms.
- Then what's going on? Tell me already, after all.
“Stop asking questions and just let me out.”
– Paula.
- Please.
- Is it because of James? – лицо Итана помрачнело, когда он высказал это предположение. I couldn't find an answer.
“Vincent told me that you were at the scene.”
I looked back at the driver. Besides us, there was one more person in the car. It was a little difficult to share anything with Ethan.
“It’s okay,” Ethan assured, noticing my doubts.
- But...
- He is a reliable person. There is no reason to worry.
If Ethan said it so confidently, then this man must really be trustworthy. Despite this, continuing the difficult dialogue was not an easy task for me.
- Sorry.
The sudden apology threw me into a stupor. Ethan grinned sadly.
“It’s ironic that I’m talking about this now, but I knew about everything.” Knew about James's involvement in his father's death. But even so I couldn't believe it.
- Why? – I asked barely audibly.
“Because he was an important family member to me.” I didn't want to believe it was true. Could he have done something like that? It must have been an accident, so I convinced myself. I watched how my brother changed, how distant he became towards me. I respected and loved him despite the fact that we were stepbrothers.
Ethan's unexpected revelation left me speechless. But if I was in undisguised surprise, Ethan looked too calm for such a situation.
“James was brought by his father’s second wife. To the public, he is my father's illegitimate son, but in reality it is not like that at all. He was born from her previous marriage. When she entered our family, she took James with her. Then she gave birth to Lucas.
-...
“My father didn’t care because he truly loved James.” He even allowed an illegitimate child to inherit the title to avoid discrimination. But James was uneasy. Being an illegitimate child, he was worried that even if he became a count, those around him would still not accept him. My father didn’t care, but public opinion had its influence. Everyone believed that only a purebred could lead a family. So James became wary of me. But I had no intention of taking the place offered to him.
Ethan grew even more gloomy. He tried to keep a smile on his face, but his sadness was visible right through. His eyes were lost in memories. I listened calmly.
“But I never expected him to do this to his father... Lucas, Vincent... I didn’t want it to turn out like this.” Honestly.
Ethan sighed heavily and dropped his forehead onto his clasped hands. His shoulders sagged, his back hunched. He was breathing heavily, and his entire appearance expressed deep sadness.
His beloved father died, the brother he was so proud of was in danger, a close friend lost his sight, and Ethan himself suffered incredibly. I have no right to condemn him, but perhaps everything could have turned out differently if Ethan had not turned a blind eye to what was happening.
I looked out the window. Long branches of bushes slid along the glass. The monotonous landscape did not catch my eye at all, it was impossible to distract myself from a serious conversation, so I turned my head back to Ethan.
- Sir Christopher.
- What?
– Why are you telling me all this?
I am a simple, unremarkable servant, and he pours out his soul to me so openly. I would like to know how I should perceive this.
Ethan raised his face in response to the question. He tried to soften his sadness with a weak smile and looked out the window.
– Do you know that there is a forest inside the castle? It is artificial and only members of the royal family and some nobles are allowed there with special permission. They say that they tell secrets that people are forced to keep secret from everyone. That's why this place is called the Secret Forest.
I had already heard about this from Lucas, but from that story I concluded that the stories about the forest were nothing more than rumors.
– Paula, you have become a Secret Forest for us.
Ethan turned his gaze to me. The weak smile faded, his face became so serious and lifeless that he seemed to me like a completely different person.
– You are calm, friendly and quiet, so you inspire the trust of others. You are the only one with whom I have shared something so intimate. Do you understand what this means?
- I don't understand.
- Think about it. Why would I trust such an important secret to a maid?
-...
- Because you can be gotten rid of at any moment.
Ethan lifted the corners of his lips, spreading into a dark grin. His sad face now took on an eerie hue. Brown eyes sparkled ominously. I got nervous: it looked like he could attack me at any second.
I gripped the handles of the bag tightly in my hands and looked Ethan straight in the eyes. Instinctively, I felt that now was not the time to retreat. I tried to hide the trembling of my fingers by hiding them under my bag. At that moment, a thought popped into my head - Ethan is an aristocrat, and I am a simple maid.