Chapter 74: Returning a favor (1)
Annalise rested on her bed, staring at the white ceiling of her room. She couldn’t help but wonder if Rafael had gone to bed by now since a few hours had passed since they drank together, and she excused herself. She had been stuck in her room since he had no intention of going to the festival.
With how silently he moved around, Annalise knew it would be a big risk for her to try searching the second floor again, but she was bored in her room. She wanted to leave, but there wasn’t anyone here for her to spend time with since she couldn’t go sneaking around. She heard a few of the maids return from the festival, but no one she knew had returned, or they would have knocked on her door.
Since she had not gotten anything done, Annalise wished she had gone to the festival to see what it was like.
Annalise rolled onto her side so that she could look out the open window. She covered herself with the soft blanket Rafael gifted her so that she would not be affected by the cold air. She watched as the rain lightly fell from the sky. It was the beginning of the end of the festival, so soon everyone would return.
"I can’t stay like this," Annalise said, taking the blanket off of her body and swinging her feet over the side of the bed to get up. She could not sleep when there was so much on her mind.
She worried about how her parents and everyone at home were doing and made herself unable to sleep. If she got lost in worrying about them, she would end up wanting to go home.
Annalise stood up from her bed to walk to her door to see who had returned and what was happening now. She wanted to avoid Rafael since she had made a fool of herself by thinking that what she was drinking contained alcohol, and now that the house might be full again, it was best for them not to be seen together.
Annalise exited her room and left the servant quarters in search of something to do. The servant quarters were much quieter than she expected since she had heard sounds as if some of the maids had returned.
"You have to be kidding me," Annalise muttered, picking up her pace as the sounds of a maid definitely not alone in her room could be heard as she walked by. She now hoped that this was not one of the sounds she had been hearing and mistook it for the maids returning.