Chapter 3 - Flora

Ascending the stairs to the second floor, the maid started walking forward with me following her closely. She stopped two doors from the end of the corridor and turned to the door on the left. Opening it, she asked me to enter.

“This is your room. The room opposite to you is where Lord Blade resides in” she said.

“Thank you, uh…”

“Grace!”

“Thank you Grace!”

“Would you like a change of clothes? I will quickly arrange it and then I will take you down for your meal”

“If it won’t be an issue…” I hesitated. Would I come off as greedy to make such a request?

“I’ve already drawn a bath for you. While you take a bath, I’ll get a fresh set of clothes for you!”

With that, Grace bowed a little and walked away. I wasn’t used to such a treatment and felt extremely uncomfortable. I slowly closed the door but didn’t lock it since Grace would bring me new clothes.

I looked around in the room which was a little bigger than my room back at home. The walls were painted a dark shade of grey, closer to the colour of the exterior of the manor. In the room, there was a queen sized bed with a bedside table on each side. It had a small lamp which was currently lit up.

There was a cupboard at the corner of the room to store clothes. A vanity table with a huge mirror was placed at the middle of the wall a metre away from the balcony. The balcony extended further to have a view of the forest residing around the manor.

A few more tables with drawers were scattered throughout the room which made the room seem ready. The bathroom was a few feet away from the bed. I walked inside the bedroom to clean up. The interior had dark grey tiles, matching the colour of the painted walls inside the room. It had a small window right beside the shower cubicle and the bathtub was placed a little further from the wall behind. The marble was black with silver patterns on it. Opposite to the bath, there was a countertop washbasin with a mirror above.

All in all, this room was absolutely beautiful which gave off mysterious vibes. I took off my dress, tied my hair up and submerged myself in the warm water inside of the bathtub. It helped me with releasing the tension in my body. There was a small table beside me consisting of rose fragrant soap, lavender based shampoo and conditioner, a bottle of face wash and a small purple loofah.

I grabbed the soap and started to rub it on my body. With the help of loofah, I scrubbed away the dirt particles and sweat. A knock on the bathroom door startled me but relaxed when Grace announced her presence.

“Miss. Harper, I’ve placed a pair of undergarments and a couple of dresses for you on the bed. If you need anything else, I’ll be right outside of your room” she said and everything went silent.

Quickly washing myself off, I got out of the bath, grabbed the towel was placed on a stand on the wall and wrapped myself with it. I walked back into the room and dried myself with the towel. I looked at the clothes handed to me. The undergarments were the right size which was a relief.

I changed into the matching red pair of bra and knicker before putting on the silk ivory dress. It flowed gently over my body until just above my knees. The dress was sleeveless with a v-neck not too deep. It didn’t show off my cleavage. And the dress was not body tight, allowing ventilation.

Wearing the new pair of white flats provided, I walked to the door and slowly opened it. Sure enough, Grace was outside waiting for me. “I’m ready to proceed” I said in a low voice.

“Please follow me!” Grace said and started walking. I closed the door of my new room and trailed behind Grace. Descending the stairs, we took a right on the ground floor which led to another corridor. There were not many doors here. But at the end of the corridor was a huge pair of doors.

Grace opened the doors for me, revealing the huge dining area. She urged me to go inside and I did. The dining table was big, big enough to accommodate around 20 people. My eyes then met with those same light grey eyes I had gotten lost into earlier in the meeting room. His long raven hair was now tied into a small ponytail.

“Have a seat, Miss. Harper” he said and motioned to the chair beside him.

I nodded and slowly made my way to the chair beside him. Before I could pull out the chair, another maid came up to me and pulled out the chair for me to sit. I muttered a ‘thank you’ before sitting down.

Lord Blade was too close to me. His presence was starting to suffocate me as I felt even smaller. I slumped my shoulders a little and lowered my head even more. I was afraid to be in the same room as him, let alone be so close to him.

Goosebumps spread everywhere on my body when his hand grazed my arm when he put a white cloth over his lap. I slightly moved back into the chair when his hand appeared in front of my face. “Here, cover yourself with this cloth to avoid staining your clothes” he said and pushed a cloth forward. “Thank you, sir” my voice came out just above a whisper and took the cloth.

My hands were trembling as I struggled to unfold the cloth. Noticing my lack of etiquette, Lord Blade took the cloth from me, causing another wave of goosebumps as his fingers brushed the back of my palm. He unfolded the cloth and put it over my lap.

“Thank you so much, sir” I heard him hum and his hands disappeared from my sight.

Soon enough, the servants came into the dining room and placed the delicacies on the table. The aroma of the food engulfed my nostrils and my mouth started to water. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon.

My father didn’t allow me dinner because I accidentally broke his favourite vase. And this morning, he just brought me straight to the manor after I had dressed up. I was starving. As if on cue, my stomach growled; making me lower my head in shame. Why now of all times?

“Please serve this lady first!” Lord Blade instructed the servants. My head shot up in shock and I turned my head to look at Lord Blade directly. He looked ridiculously handsome with his chiselled jaw and cheekbones. There was a light stubble on his jaw. Lord Blade was attractive, no doubt.

“That won’t be necessary, sir!” I instantly denied his request to serve me first. When his eyes met mine, I panicked and lowered my head immediately. “You need to eat, Miss. Harper” his voice was steady yet deprived of any emotions.

I decided against arguing as he intimidated me even more. The servants started to serve me. I could barely restrain myself from devouring the steak and sausages as they were being placed onto my plate.