Chapter 26: The Morning Surprise
When Annalise and Sera made their way to the kitchen, they found Aunt Claire, Mr. Warren, and Garron standing near the entrance in a straight line as if they were waiting on someone. All three of them greeted her with deep bows before Garron nodded towards the inside of the kitchen when he noticed the confusion on her face.
Annalise followed the direction he pointed in and her jaw almost dropped to the ground when her gaze landed on Lord Valerius and Lord Kenric who seemed to be cooking something. And no, it was not a potion or some elixir they were making.
"What’s going on here?" She asked the others as she too stopped at the entrance, not being sure if she should go and help them or just let them do their work without any interference.
"The Lords told this servant to leave when I was preparing for the breakfast. It’s been nearly an hour and The Lords have since not allowed any of us inside." Aunt Claire answered as she looked in Annalise’s direction with a devastated look on her face. It was clear that she was unhappy about her job being snatched away, even if the ones who did it were the Masters of the house.
Annalise gave the old woman a small warm smile as she patted her hand in comfort. That was the only thing she could do for her at the moment.
A familiar presence behind her pulled Annalise’s attention to Lord Damien who seemed to have returned from the outside of the castle as he was holding a bunch of fresh vegetables, meat, and other kitchen essentials in his arms.
"The four of you, there’s a cart standing outside. Go and get the items. Also, set our breakfast table on the porch." He ordered the servants who immediately moved to complete the tasks.
Annalise too moved forward to help Lord Damien in carrying the items but the Lord just handed her a bunch of the Lotus flower buds that immediately filled her nostrils with their sweet and fresh fragrance.
"You are finally back," Kenric commented as he approached the two of them but unlike what Annalise predicted that he would help his brother carry the items, the man just wrapped his arm around her shoulders and made her follow him.
"You guys gave me the worst job. It’s already great enough that I returned with all the items that you asked me to buy." Lord Damien responded to his brother’s sarcastic remark as he approached the stone counter in the middle of the kitchen and just dumped all the items he was holding on it.
Annalise tried to go and help the man in arranging everything because it seemed like he had no idea how to do it but she was stopped by Kenric as he made her follow him to where Lord Valerius was still busy with his work.
"Sorry for the late breakfast, but we are almost done." Lord Valerius suddenly spoke as he turned his attention to her for a splitting second before going back to his work. He was taking small-sized steamed stuffed buns out of the steamer and arranging them on a plate. The smell alone made Annalise’s stomach growl out loud in protest.