Chapter 318 - Reached The Inn
On the other side of the estate were the servant quarters where one maid was currently resting.
The female physician who had arrived at the mansion did not take long to diagnose the maid.
'A small twist of the ankle. Should be fine before the day ends.' She informed the Butler who walked her to the door.
Butler Limo had sneered at the woman who pretended that she could not even take a single step forward but the words coming from the physician's mouth were widely varying from the maid's behavior in the morning.
He greeted the lady who had taken the effort of coming over and sent her away after paying her.
He then commanded the same maids who had helped Paula to watch over her and make sure that she was taken care of.
After which he returned to his duty of guarding the Master's office.
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Inside her bedroom, Paula glanced at her elevated leg which was positioned this way thanks to the physician's advice.
'Thank Asmodeus that they did not figure out my tricks.' She sighed and pressed her leg when she noticed the maid turning to look at her.
Paula's plans of getting closer to the Earl were looking bleak as these two maids were taking turns to take care of her.
It had already been an hour since the Madam had left the mansion yet she had no chance of even catching a glimpse of that man's shadow.
'I cannot ruin this chance!' She determined that something needed to be done to let her return to the Mansion and get back to work.
The maid who was inside the room with her was embroidering a lily onto a handkerchief while humming a song was unaware of the schemes bubbling up in this maid's brain.
Thus, one clueless maid and another sly and scheming maid sat in silence in the room.
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Meanwhile, Butler Limo went on his routine inspection of the Mansion to make sure that everything was perfect in this household.
When he reached the rooms on the first floor, he found an older maid walking out of one of the rooms.
"Mrs. Jacinth! Why are you here?" He exclaimed in surprise when he found the maid walking out with a large pile of clothes in her hands.
The maid was startled at his sudden appearance and almost dropped the clothes to the ground but managed to steady herself.
"Butler…" She muttered sheepishly while averting her face from his scrutinizing gaze.
Butler Limo shot disappointed looks at her while shaking his head.
"Master had asked you to rest and recover so why are you here?" He interrogated while eyeing the pile in her hands.
The items in her hands seemed like laundry from the Young Miss's room which only made his frown deepen.
'Was she planning to wash them herself?' He thought and felt irked.
The reason why Mrs. Jacinth was here and not in the carriage with the Miss was because she had fallen ill a few days ago.
When their Young Miss had heard about her maid's sickness, she informed her father about this.
This way, the old maid was instructed to take a week-long break before she could return to her station.
This order from the Earl caused her to be unable to follow the Miss to serve her during this trip.
'Only fools would get a summer cold.' Yvonne had sneered while glaring at her maid at that time who could only scratch her cheek and chuckle sheepishly.
Mrs. Jacinth would have knee trouble due to the cold Winters and common colds in the Summer.
Her late husband would always tease her about this so when she heard the Young Miss taunting her in the same way, she did not feel bad but felt closer to her husband at that moment.
Butler Limo had no idea why this old maid was smiling but he could not help but sigh.
"Mrs. Jacinth, if Miss finds out that you were about to wash her clothes while she was away then she will punish the both of us." He reminded her which made her eyes widen.
The old maid shook her head as she did not wish to implicate someone else because she could not sit still in her room.
Butler was pleased with her obedient behavior and ordered another maid to take away and wash the pile of clothes in her hands.
He then personally escorted her back to the servant quarters even when she insisted that she could return by her lonesome.
'I have another reason for doing so anyway.' He shrugged and walked along with her.
After making sure that the old maid was back in her room, he instructed a nearby maid to make sure that she did not wander around until she recovered.
However, even when instructing this maid, his eyes were darting towards the room at the end of the corridor.
'Is she still pretending to be injured?' He wondered while staring at the door of the one whom he despised the most in this household.
The maid with him caught his secret glances and was sure about the reason for his inquisitive behavior.
Therefore, she followed his gaze and decided to ease his curiosity.
"Miss Paula has been inside, resting to soothe her ankle." She repeated the words she had heard from her friend.
Nodding his head, he smiled at the smart maid who could understand his actions and then turned around to exit the quarters.
'I wouldn't mind if she stays in there forever.' He scoffed just by thinking of what she might have planned for their Master today.
Glowering at her as he left the servant quarters, he clenched his fists as he had to return to his station outside the Master's office to serve him.
As he walked along, he recalled the words that his Young Miss had instructed him with.
'Pretend that you do not see her. Whatever she does, you turn a blind eye.' She had ordered as the objective of today's plan was to expose Paula's true intentions and also to gauge the Earl's true fidelity.
Today would be Rutherford's biggest test to measure his loyalty and love for his wife.
It would also show how strong he could be against the scheme of the maid which might come between the married couple.
Thinking of the complexity of the situation, Butler Limo had a grave expression on his face as he strode in the direction of the office where his Master was.
'I leave everything in your hands, Master.' He placed his trust in the one whom he had chosen to follow from the days of his youth.
Rutherford was oblivious to the responsibilities that were resting on his shoulders as he concentrated on the papers in his hands.
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Far away from the Capital of Rosenhyde Kingdom, was a carriage that was moving at a high speed.
Inside the same carriage were two individuals, one mother and the other her child.
Yvonne was munching on the slices of apple that her mother was cutting for her as she gazed outside the window.
Just by taking a single look outside, she could observe the heat waves that could be seen in the atmosphere due to the hot sun's rays.
However, the inside of the carriage did not reflect the heat which she could notice outside.
'There is even a slight chillness in this place.' She remarked at this disparity in temperatures between the inside and the outside.
Though she was curious about how the carriage makers had managed to achieve this, she was not complaining as she was enjoying the drive while not having to face the heat waves all around them.
The two noble ladies did not have their maids with them but they did not seem to be struggling as they were capable of doing these tasks without any help.
After all, Yvonne was from a world where she was taught most of the skills needed for survival even when they had a large number of servants in the house.
Even though she was used to being pampered by her parents and maid in this world, she still held the teachings from the previous world close to her heart.
On the other hand, Raylene was a mother who knew how to take care of her children without the aid of her personal maid.
Hence, the two of them did not have any qualms in traveling without their personal maids as they were also capable enough to do these simple tasks.
Looking at her daughter munching on the cold and crisp apples, Raylene smiled as she too ate a few pieces after being offered by her adorable and caring child.
The only sound heard inside the carriage was the sound of the crisp apples being bitten off but that soon halted when they noticed a change in their surroundings.
The trees which were flying past them due to the high speed they were moving in were now beginning to slow down along with the carriage.
Yvonne could hear the horses neighing loudly due to their reins being pulled by the coach driver.
This could only mean one thing which brought wide smiles on their faces as they hurried to look out of the window.
"We're here!" The little girl exclaimed which elicited a chuckle from her mother.
'Finally!' She grinned while scanning the surroundings outside as they carriage came to a halt.
"Yes, Vonny. We seem to have reached the Inn." She confirmed her thoughts as they gazed at the name on the board hung over the luxurious-looking two-storeyed building where they would be lodging.