6. Little Experiment

Myra 

"So...is everyone in this mansion, like Lord Damian?" I asked Alice, reluctantly. She was helping me get ready for Damian's guests that were supposed to be arriving today. The thought had not occurred until recently. The comb stilled. I looked at her through the mirror. Her eyes had widened, "Why would you say that?" her voice was almost a whisper.

"Uh...I apologize", I chuckled nervously. She resumed combing my hair, her lips turned downwards, "No...no my lady I beg your pardon for going beyond my station", I could feel the rhythm of the combing faltering.  

"Ah...don't be", I mustered a smile, my ears heating up. I subconsciously caressed the silver ring, the metal felt cold against my warm skin. She mumbled, "To answer your question, most of us are humans. His Lordship is really kind to us poor people. I am an orphan and my dignity was at stake. Had it not been for him...rescuing me on time...I would have..." she trailed off, I noticed her lips wobbling as her fingers trembled. 

My heart fluttered involuntarily. He seemed kind. "You don't have to say more", I said softly, turning to look at her. She lowered her gaze and bowed curtly. "I...I just wanted to say that many of us have been saved by His Lordship. I reckon only Mr.Bastian and Monsieur Andrew maybe and...no and no one else. The rest of us are...humans", she replied thoughtfully. 

I nodded. After that, she did not utter a word and neither did I ask any more questions. 

~~~~

By mid-morning everything was ready. To my relief and a little bit of annoyance, no one had bothered to ask me about my opinion. I know I do not possess the knowledge or the skill but including me in the preparation would have been nice. I had also noticed that except Alice, Andrew and at times Bastian, no one really spoke to me. Miss. Jones was rather cold every time she entered the chamber as if she expected that one day I will not be there. It has been three weeks since Damian and I shared the room. The other servants either scurried away when they saw me or looked away and pretended that I did not exist. 

Damian, on the other hand, seemed aloof sometimes. He never stayed the night and I knew it because every morning I found his side of the bed cold and unslept in. He rarely spoke nowadays but when he did it was courteous and polite. Sometimes he smiled at some things I would say or do and my traitorous heart fluttered for no reason. However, he never disclosed where he would go and I refrained from asking as well.

I could never confide into him or tell him about how the servants treated me, I did not wish to be a complaining wife but sometimes it made me want to cry or scream in frustration.  

I longed to talk to someone. Yes, Alice was there. She was a good listener and surprisingly she was intelligent as well. But she wasn't someone I could confide into. Even when I considered her as my companion I couldn't tell her certain things. I missed Harmony. I waited for her to write to me but every day I fruitlessly waited but no missive or letter ever came. 

~~~~

Her name was Alexandra Woods. A tall woman with a pale complexion whose silver orbs were scrutinising me at the moment. Her cherry tinted lips tilted downward. She had arrived in the evening although Damian had informed me that she would be arriving in the afternoon and having lunch with us.

We were currently sitting in the huge parlour. Damian had introduced her as his long time friend but the fact that he was a vampiress was implied. The conversation started with her interrogating me but not telling a single thing about herself.

Damian had left the two of us to our devices simply saying, "Now you both get acquainted while I spend some quality time in the study", offering a charming smile he had waltzed away from the parlour.

"So you are the wife?" her tone held a slight disappointment and disbelief. "I would like to think so", I retorted, if she thought I would be timid then she had another thing coming. While I did not like problems and chaos, I definitely was not the one to stay quiet while someone walked over me. 

"Oh, so you are a mouthy one as well?" she smirked. I straightened my shoulders but offered no answer. 

Miss Jones had arrived with tea and cakes. Maybe it was my imagination or maybe not since I knew the fact that the housekeeper detested me but I saw a slight upward tilt of her lips, she was smirking maybe. For some reason, I felt mad.  

"You do know that Damian and I have a history", she took a sip from the cup, her eyes gauging my facial expression like a hawk. I shook my head, "I had no knowledge of it". On the contrary, my heart was pounding. So he did have a mistress. She dramatically sighed, "I can understand why he still visits me every day", she had a satisfied grin on her lips and I had never felt so violent towards anyone until then. 

I clenched my fists on my lap, trying to remain calm and unaffected. "What do you mean?" I managed to ask. My gaze unwavering. She looked right at me and responded, "You are not like us. You can never be one of us". 

I slowly nodded, "I know that and I am grateful to Lord Damian for agreeing to marry me and in exchange of waving off my father's debts". I was thankful for the fact that my voice remained steady. The pathetic situation I was in was not hidden from either of us. 

I was taken aback when she suddenly laughed, "Oh my, you poor soul. You don't even know the whole truth". She shook her head as if she felt sympathy for me but when she looked at me, the glint in her eyes conveyed that she was in fact, enjoying my plight. 

"Listen, my dear, you have been sold off by your father and dear sister. I don't know what possessed Damian to marry you, but he did. You are nothing but his little experiment". the words felt like vitriol-attack. My jaw unhinged as I stared at her now grinning face, dumbfounded.