Chapter 8

My eyes flew open, and my arms grabbed each side of the tub to sit upright. I brought my thighs toward my stomach, hoping to hide my nakedness.

Water splashed everywhere, and nothing in my movements was graceful.

I glared up at my uninvited guest. How dare he come in without announcing himself?

Alexander had his left shoulder pressed on the bathroom door frame, a sly smirk on his godlike face that I momentarily hated. Both his hands were in his front pockets. He looked amused as my cheeks flushed with shame… and maybe want.

Faiths, I really wanted him, but I also wanted to punch him!

“Oh, don’t stop on my account; I was really enjoying this! Do make it a habit.” He winked.

His eyes were black. I began to think I had imagined them being grey. Whenever I saw Alexander, I thought I saw their pale grey colour, but they seemed to darken unexplainably when he suddenly noticed me.

I hugged my knees to my chest, looking at him, trying to pull the most infuriating, scolding, death stare I could muster. I admit that I was out of practice.

Alexander still didn’t budge and certainly didn’t intend to leave, so I did the only thing I thought could get a rise out of him. I was feeling quite brazen. That man made me do many things I never thought I had the guts to do.

I removed the drain plug, stood up, and got out of the tub, showing him every aspect of my body.

I didn’t even bother covering myself with my hands. Alexander had already seen what there was to see, anyway.

“Do you have towels in this room?” I asked while arching my brow.

His hands were no longer in his pockets. They were bunched up in fists at his sides. Either he was very offended or barely holding on to his restraint.

I smiled internally; I could work with that.

He pointed to the back, where the glass bottles were, and I saw, just below them, a little cupboard.

I turned around, showing him my backside, and I heard him suck in a breath. Then I remembered I had lash marks all over my back and hurriedly grabbed a towel to finally hide my body and make my point.

“Now that I know you’re a peeping tom, I sincerely hope that what you saw is now seared in your brain because you won’t have the chance of seeing that again.” I simply stated, pulling out another towel to pat my arms and legs dry. “I’d like for you to leave while I make myself a bit more presentable so we may discuss my working arrangements, Milord.” And the possibility of adding locks to my room, I mentally noted.

Alexander nodded and followed me out of the bathroom without a word.

He stopped mid-walk when he saw me pull out my nightgown from my little bag. It was old and tattered, but it was the only one they had given me when I arrived here. I tried to clean it regularly as best I could, but the cotton eventually turned a pale beige, and the fabric thinned from use and cleaning.

“You’re wearing that?” he quickly asked, grabbing it from my hands.

“It’s the only one I have.”

He used the adjourning door to his chambers and left me alone for a few seconds. The young lord returned, handing me a man’s nightshirt. It was made from the same soft material as my new maid’s dress.

It looked expensive.

I hesitated to take it. The last time I had touched Alexander, it was as though a bolt of lightning had electrified me.

Alexander insisted once more, so I was careful to take it without contacting his skin.

If he found my action odd, he didn’t let it show.

I pulled the nightshirt over my head and let it fall over me. Once I had passed my arms in the sleeves, I unwrapped the towel covering my body and let it slip under the shirt and onto the floor. I’d bring it back where it belonged after my dealing with the lord was over.

I pulled out a thin woollen shawl and placed it over my shoulders. It was the only possession I had left of my old life. It was my mother’s, and I kept it all those years, never able to part from it.

The shawl covered enough of Alexander’s nightshirt that I was respectable. Faiths, the definition of “presentable” had been thrown out the window the second he saw me naked while touching myself.

Alexander cleared his throat and gestured to the small table and two chairs. Once we sat down, he went straight to the point. “While you will work on this floor, I would like you to call me Xander. ‘Milord’ seems a bit too formal, and no one is here to punish you for not being proper with my title.”

I bit the inside of my cheek and nodded. I could try it if he insisted on it, and he gave me a lovely room, so I thought I owed him something for that. Also, his seriousness made me doubt there was room for objections.

“You may clean the entire floor as you see fit. You will be mostly living here with Leo, whereas I have work and am barely here during the day, so do what you want,” he said while backing himself in his chair.

I still didn’t completely understand.

“Hmm, Milord—uh, Xander?” I righted myself in my seat. “If I have finished cleaning, what do I do?”

It was an honest question, I thought.

“I have a library. You may look at any books you wish. I have more than I care to admit. Mind you, some are in Latin, Greek, and others in a lost language.” He shrugged.

“And who’s Leo?”

“That would be my footboy who brought you here.” Alexander’s eyes softened at the mention of the boy.

“There are but two things I ask of you, and I want you to respect them.” His index finger rose. “You are to stay in your room and lock it at night and only come out after sunrise.” He then raised his middle finger. “And you are not to enter the room where we first met. Is that clear?”

As I sat there in that dimly lit room, my mind was racing with thoughts. Each one of them was raising more questions than the other, and I knew that I probably wouldn’t get an answer to any of them. I was puzzled and couldn’t comprehend the reasons behind the requests. After all, he had just confirmed that we were alone on this entire floor. So, why would I need to lock myself in my room?

I took too long to answer him, so he slammed both hands on the table and stood up. Before I could react, he grabbed my arm.

“This is important, Ida. Do you understand?”

As his hand touched me, I felt a tingling sensation all over my skin. It was like a shower of sparks, almost painful to bear. It was as if a raging fire was trapped inside me, trying to escape.

What was wrong with me?

I looked at Alexander. I searched his face, hoping he would understand that I was freaking out because of the strange sensation I was experiencing. The feeling was making me uncomfortable, and I pulled my arm away so I could rub my hand where he had touched me in an attempt to rid myself of the sparks.

“I understand. Please, let go of my arm.”

At that instant, Alexander’s eyes seemed to lighten up a bit, and I felt his grip on me loosen. Maud’s warnings about what had happened to other maids came to mind. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, hoping that he wouldn’t hurt me.

As I rubbed my arm, I noticed that Alexander was looking at his hand again with an incomprehensible expression. He quickly put it back in his pocket, mumbled an apology, and left, leaving me alone with whatever had just occurred.

I stayed there for a while, trying to piece things together. After some time, I slowly made my way to the oil lamp and doused it.

Peeling the bed covers, I slid my body under and tried to relax. My heart felt like it would explode from my chest, and I needed to calm down. I needed to focus on my emotions.

“Breathe. Just breathe,” I kept repeating, hoping the darkness would claim me quickly.

I rolled on my side and looked at the wall when it didn’t.

Lord Alexander had mentioned I had free range around his living quarters, so I decided to look in the library after my morning tasks. Maybe I could find answers to explain the illness that suddenly took hold of me. It had to do with Alexander. It couldn’t be anything else.

I hugged my sides and brought my knees up.

Yes, the library would be a start.