Chapter 22: Escort (1)
"Oh, Annalise dear. I was told it was your day off," Beatrice said, surprised to see the young lady here. "I hoped you weren't pulled away from your time to yourself to come to me."
"No, Lady Callahan. We are in need of more servants at the moment so I offered to work the rest of the evening," Annalise answered. She looked around at the mess Beatrice created in her room. She figured it was all for this party Beatrice was planning.
"Well, I will be sure to add something to what you are paid. You've been assigned as my maid so you deserve a little more. Now," Beatrice turned back to what she was doing. "Rafael's grand return party will be held tomorrow night. I've been working extra hard to put it together so soon. Invitations have been sent out to some friends of ours. I wish I had time to invite his friends out of town. This will be a party mostly for the knights to relax and enjoy their return."
"They've been away from home for so long and have jumped back into training for when they would have to go out again. I don't know how these men are so fond of this life. I cannot bear being away from my family for so long. That is why I miss Rafael so dearly. I've gone through this with my husband. Oh, dear. Why am I ruining the occasion?" Beatrice asked, turning to Annalise.
"You are not, Lady Callahan. If you wish to express your feelings or cry, you can do so freely. I will not tell anyone about it," Annalise replied.
Beatrice smiled, liking Annalise more and more. It had to do with the fact that she could not tell if this was truly Annalise's personality or if she was good at putting on an act while serving her. She first thought of Annalise being a bad liar but she was wrong.
"It is a good offer, but I will hold my tears. If I start crying it never ends and my husband will come running with his sword. I wonder where he is now. Probably with Rafael. One of the good things about Rafael being a knight is that he has something to talk about with his father. The two can talk about their travels for hours. It is sweet. I should have tried to have another child. A girl would be lovely so she would always be near," Beatrice sighed.
There was a knock at Beatrice's door and before Annalise could move to see who had come to visit, the door opened revealing Delilah and an older woman.
'I thought they were to wait until the door was answered. Is it because they are close?' Annalise frowned. How was she supposed to get accustomed to the rules here if everyone kept bending them to their liking?
"Rachel," Beatrice smiled, walking to the door to greet her friend. "I wasn't made aware that you would be visiting. This is a lovely surprise."
Rachel Harrison, Delilah's mother, greeted Beatrice with a hug. "Henry has come to speak with both Rafael and River. I think we are going to be staying for dinner," she said,