Maid in a Strange Manor (4)
When I finished wiping the window, I rinsed the rag. The water in the bucket had already become cloudy, so I went to get clean water.
Walking down the corridor, I ran into Johnny. His sad expression made me wary. He seemed exhausted, there were bags under his eyes, and his whole appearance suggested that he had not closed his eyes for a long time.
“You look tired,” I remarked.
– So noticeable? – Johnny asked, running his hand over his face.
- Yes. Did something happen?
“Work takes a lot of energy,” he admitted, trying to squeeze out a smile.
Apparently it really wasn't easy for him.
– How are things with Alicia?
- Better than before. She finally started answering me! - Johnny said, and his face lit up with happiness.
Previously, when Johnny tried to talk to her, Alicia would only smile politely, but never engage in conversation. At first glance, her smile might seem welcoming, but in reality she avoided communication. If Alicia had answered, it might have given him false hope.
After Alicia replaced me next to Ms. Gioeli, Johnny had his “chance.”
Recently I let it slip to Alicia that Johnny was the same slob who didn’t give her a pass. She was, to put it mildly, in shock. Be that as it may, from then on Alicia began to respond to his attentions with some timidity.
- Um, hi, Alicia.
- Yeah, hi.
One day I accidentally witnessed their short greeting. Alicia's voice sounded lively, she smiled, narrowing her eyes slightly. Johnny looked at her so intently, as if he wanted to penetrate her soul with his gaze. Someone from the outside might have thought that they had recently started dating. However, knowing everything that happened “behind the scenes,” I could not help but be surprised at the absurdity of the situation. It's sad to realize that this ostentatious game actually hides their tense relationship.
However, you should not interfere in someone else's life. Sometimes it is better to leave everything secret hidden.
– Take this opportunity to get closer to her.
-What are you talking about? Will I be able to?
Why does he react this way? After all, I don’t ask him to immediately confess his feelings.
- We can talk for a long time. How much longer do you intend to remain alone? Grab this opportunity while you have it. If you miss the chance now, it may never come again. Understand?
- That's true, but...
– This may be your last chance.
“Last chance?..” Johnny stammered with a distant look. I raised my fists in support. In response to my gesture, Johnny nodded, collected his thoughts and was filled with determination.
“Well, good luck to you,” I encouraged him before we parted ways.
I turned the corner and headed straight down the corridor, in the middle of which I noticed a woman and a man. The heads of the strangers were raised up, and, without taking their eyes off there, they nervously stomped around. Their harsh voices sounded in unison.
- Please come down!
- It's dangerous!
– You may get hurt!
- Come down quickly!
The unexpected situation threw me into a stupor. I followed their gaze and looked in the same direction. At that moment something flew past me and crashed into the wall. I immediately turned my head in shock. Something slid across the floor with a piercing sound and stopped near my feet.
Horse? I picked it up and began to examine the wooden figurine in the shape of a horse. Where did she come from?
When I turned my gaze again, the picture took on a different scale. Opposite the two was a large statue of a horse with someone sitting on it.
The rider twitched, causing the horse to tremble. The man instantly turned pale and grabbed his horse in fright. The woman screamed and seemed ready to cry. Only the leg of the horseman, hanging from the saddle, fluttered merrily.
But this leg was... so small.
“Aha-ha-ha-ha,” came loud laughter from above. I slowly began to approach. The little leg kicked the side of the horse, bouncing in the saddle. I caught a glimpse of golden hair, but it immediately disappeared.
- Please come down! Fine?
“My heart is about to jump out of my chest!” Please get off!
- But-oh! But-oh! Ha ha!
I was standing nearby and noticed how the leg suddenly slid down. Instantly realizing that he was about to fall, I threw the bucket away and rushed towards him. The man noticed this later than me, so he only had time to spread his arms when I had already caught the falling boy.
Then a piercing scream was heard. Slipping across the floor, I hit an iron statue. Such an unsuccessful landing made stars sparkle in my eyes.
- Ah! Mister!
- Oh, my God! Everything is fine?
A man and a woman quickly ran up to me, shouting over each other. At that moment I curled up on the floor, groaning in pain. It was so painful that tears welled up in my eyes. While I was gritting my teeth from the suffering that overwhelmed me, I felt something shift on my stomach and begin to rise.
I raised my torso and looked at the instigator of all this commotion. In my arms was a small boy who looked to be about four years old. He had short blond hair, very well-groomed, and piercing violet eyes.
- How are you?
“Young Master, are you okay?”
– How do you feel?
While they examined the child in my arms, I guessed that the strangers were servants.
But what kind of “mister” is this? I was perplexed because I had never met this boy before, and he did not take his gaze off me.
Then the boy tilted his head to the side and with his plump, richly colored lips asked me who I was.
I wanted to ask the same question.
“Sir, you should get off her.” Even if she is a servant, sitting on a girl like that is bad form.
The man waved his hand, and the woman picked up the child and removed him from me. After that, I was finally able to straighten up. Suddenly I was overcome by a coughing fit. There was a tingling sensation in the chest and abdomen, which was apparently the result of a bad fall.
-Are you okay? – the man asked worriedly.
- Yes. Everything is fine.
I accepted the hand extended to me and stood up. I shook off my clothes and cleared my throat again. When I came to my senses, I felt the back of my head go numb and my back ache.
While I was feeling myself, the man was looking at me with a worried face.
“You should check with a doctor, just in case.”
“I’m fine, it’s better to check the baby’s condition.” Perhaps he had not yet recovered from the shock of the fall.
I don’t know who this kid is, but judging by the way they call him “Mister,” one thing was clear - he is an aristocrat. Therefore, they nodded approvingly to my proposal.
All this time, the child’s clear eyes were glued to me. He tugged at the woman’s skirt, calling her “nanny.”
- Who is this?
- Hmm, I don't know. I've never met her before.
The woman also did not take her eyes off me, but her gaze was apologetic.
I ran my hand down my back, assuring her that everything was fine. At that moment, the realization came that the hand was unusually empty. Hastily looking around, I noticed that behind the woman’s back was lying the bucket I had recently thrown away. Water had already spread all around him.
- Wow.
There was no need to rush - the water had already completely splashed out. Picking up the overturned bucket and examining the wet floor, I sighed heavily.
- Oh, God. “I’ll help you,” the woman said, looking at the unfolding mess.
- It’s not worth it. I was the one who threw the bucket.
I squatted down and began to wipe the floor with a rag, squeezing out the water again and again. The woman began to scrub the floor with the hem of her skirt, but I immediately tried to stop her. The man quickly realized what was happening and ran away, saying that he would bring more rags.
In the end, I had to accept her help. I was still cleaning up the water when small feet suddenly appeared in front of me and stepped on the edge of the rag. A child appeared before my raised gaze with an indignant expression on his face.
- Ugly.
I froze in shock. The boy's hand pointed at me.
- Ugly! You're ugly! Freak!
“Sir, stop,” the woman looked at the child in confusion.
I couldn't believe my ears. But the child continued to repeat this, as if he was trying to convince me of the reality of his words.
- Ugly, who are you?
- How can you, sir? Don't say that.
- Who are you? – the boy asked, pressing harder on the rag under his foot. Water began to flow out and wet my hand.
I was in such shock that I didn’t know what to say. The meaning of this child’s words did not fit into my head. He kept repeating and repeating “ugly.” Do I understand correctly?
The woman panicked and tried to stop him, but to no avail. I was silent, the question was spinning in my head: “Who is this child?” He was determined and clearly had no intention of backing down until he heard the answer.
- This is an order! – the boy bulged his lips and shouted loudly.
- Master!
I don’t know who this child is, but one thing is clear to me: he is a stubborn, arrogant, problematic child!
Having dealt with these thoughts, I quickly came to my senses. Yes, that's right. Only inexperienced people can succumb to panic and excitement. I was one of those who had experience communicating with individuals similar to him, and, besides, I had seen a lot. I have dealt with a more cruel and arrogant person than this boy.
“Sir, please don’t do this and move your leg…”
“Mister,” I lightly clapped my hands. The child stared at me with a sparkle in his eyes, waiting for me to continue. The nanny turned her tense gaze to me.
– I am a modest servant, but even so I know about the rules of decency. Before you find out the name of another person, you should introduce yourself,” my words sounded clearly and measuredly so that their meaning would reach the child the first time. He blinked, taking in what I had said. Nanny digested my words much faster and now didn’t know where to go.
– You must obey! - It was not clear whether he understood anything from what I said, but he shouted as if I had been rude to him. The boy did a good job of constructing his speech, but he pronounced some words incorrectly, so even when he screamed, he looked cute. It was impossible to take him seriously.
- Sorry, but I don’t know what to answer to your order. Please fulfill my request. Your leg...” I said as calmly as possible, pulling the rag from under his feet. With this I wanted to tell him to remove his leg, but apparently, the boy again did not understand anything. I tried a little harder to free the rag when suddenly a small hand pushed my shoulder away.
I sank to the floor. Then the sound of a fall was heard. I raised my head, paying attention to the child sitting opposite me. When he threw me back, the hand with the rag reached behind me, so the boy lost his balance and fell.
The surprised woman ran up to him and hurried to lift him to his feet, but the child’s clothes had already become wet.
The boy was very upset. His big eyes filled with tears, ready to flow at any moment. The woman perplexedly pressed the hem of her skirt to his wet face.
I just wanted him to put his feet away. Panic came over me. The man who had gone to get the rags had still not returned, so I decided that I should follow his example and get out of sight.
Be that as it may, this small rag is still not enough to remove all the water. So I need to go get a new one myself and finally get out of here.
Having scrolled through these thoughts in my head, I immediately turned around and hurriedly walked away. A loud cry was heard behind him.
- Aaah!
Naturally, I didn’t turn around.
To tell the truth, I tried to escape as quickly as possible.
This boy seemed to be a dear little master, but too late I began to worry that I would be punished for making him cry. That's why I went down to the kitchen under the pretext of looking for a new rag. Luckily for me, when I returned, no one was there anymore.
I felt lost the entire time I was scrubbing the water-soaked floor. The boy got very upset and ran away, should I apologize? But I didn’t know who he was, and finding him could be a problem. Even if I find him, a new meeting would be unpleasant.
Having finished cleaning, I rubbed my aching back and went to get clean water for the bucket. Soon the events of that day were completely forgotten.
***
However, it didn’t take long before this naughty boy and I met again. I was cleaning up my part of the mansion as usual when Audrey sent me to Joely.
- This is my nephew. He will stay here for a while.
Next to Joely stood a small child I already knew. I could never forget that short blonde hair and pretty face. His violet eyes lit up and stared at me relentlessly. I was silent.
- This boy was talking about you. He said he wanted to meet you.
I got really stuck. It took me a lot of effort to suppress the desire to jump out of the room at that very second. But if something happened, I really could do that.
- What is your name?
- Robert, say hello first.
- Hello. What is your name?
The child clearly remembered me and, apparently, understood well what was happening now.
-...My name is Anne.
Robert, this child, finally got what he wanted and laughed joyfully. Of course, this laughter was not so innocent.
- Now Anne will serve Robert and help his nanny.
- Um, me?
- Yes.
– Are you talking about me now?
“Yes, Anne,” Joely confirmed with a smile.
Robert, standing next to her, laughed even more mischievously. The nanny standing behind him smiled slightly and turned her sad gaze on me. Alicia, who was serving Joely, looked back at me with visible disapproval.
- I'm looking forward to it. Take care of him.
The only thing I wanted to do now was burst into tears.