supposed to be, a paravent , a room-divider, was hiding its own little secret.
The curtains to its right were drawn back and revealed a tall oriel window and a comfortable bench to sit on.
The opportunity to look outside drew Mairin closer. As she was slowly approaching her target, her gaze fell on the fireplace that was closest to the head of the bed. In front of it, next to several pieces of fur or a similar material, was a rocking chair and even though the room wasn’t well lit, Mairin noticed that the chair wasn’t empty.
The girl who had taken care of her was napping inside it, cuddled up in a woollen blanket. Mairin immediately stopped moving, trying to avoid waking her, but it was already too late. Disrupted in her sleep, her caregiver let go of her blanket and stretched and yawned heartily until she finally realised that she wasn’t alone.
“Oh, Miss Muriel, you’re awake! I’m so sorry I fell asleep,” the girl said, speaking with a heavy accent. The moment she had spotted Mairin, the sleepiness had instantly vanished from her face and had been replaced by a frightened look.
“Don’t worry.” Mairin made an appeasing gesture and tried to calm the girl. “I am glad that you were able to find some rest after taking such good care of me.”
The events at Sunflower Garden had proven to her how bad it was not to have any allies and Mairin decided to at least try to befriend her companion.
“You can call me Mairin.” With a little effort she even managed to conjure a peace promising smile on her face.
The maid nervously fidgeted around in the chair and tried to avoid her eyes. Despite Mairin’s endeavour, the situation seemed to be awkward for the girl and being socially inexperienced, Mairin ended up thinking for a moment that she had done something seriously wrong.
“But Miss, that wouldn’t be proper,” the girl explained distressed.
After all that had happened the day before, Mairin was wondering if it mattered what was proper and what wasn’t. In the end, necessity had overshadowed social rules and false shame.
“Let’s make a deal then,” Mairin suggested, “when we’re alone you can call me by my name and if we’re in company you are free to act the way you think it best.”
The girl pursed her lips and stared down at her knees, seemingly thinking about it.
“Alright, Miss!” she suddenly agreed, already ignoring Mairin’s proposition. “My name is Hilda, but anything will do if that’s too hard to remember.”
Mairin raised an eyebrow. What kind of treatment was this girl used to?
“Not that I think it’s too difficult for you, Miss, oh no! It’s just that important people always have such a lot of things on their minds,” she hastily added jumping up from the rocking chair.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m terrible, forgetting about all my duties! Let me open the curtains and get some breakfast for you, Miss!”
Before Mairin could reply, the girl had already rushed past her and began working on her task. With Hilda gone from the fireplace, Mairin’s attention was drawn to the painting that was hanging on the wall above it. It showed a dark knight with blood red hair who was wearing heavy armour and sitting on a black monstrosity of a horse.
Father Adrijan’s resemblance to the knight was astonishing.
Mairin wasn’t certain if it was this, the dark and depressing mood of the painting or the low temperature of the room that made her shiver. Struck by the urge to know more about the artwork, Mairin turned around to ask Hilda about it, only to catch a glimpse of her vanishing behind the paravent . The clapping sound of her small feet on the steps saved Mairin the trouble of having to look for herself what the folding-screen was hiding. It had been foolish of her not to realise earlier that there had to be a way to leave the room.
Instead of following her maid, Mairin walked over to the other end of the bedchamber, where Hilda had drawn back the heavy curtains, revealing
The curtains to its right were drawn back and revealed a tall oriel window and a comfortable bench to sit on.
The opportunity to look outside drew Mairin closer. As she was slowly approaching her target, her gaze fell on the fireplace that was closest to the head of the bed. In front of it, next to several pieces of fur or a similar material, was a rocking chair and even though the room wasn’t well lit, Mairin noticed that the chair wasn’t empty.
The girl who had taken care of her was napping inside it, cuddled up in a woollen blanket. Mairin immediately stopped moving, trying to avoid waking her, but it was already too late. Disrupted in her sleep, her caregiver let go of her blanket and stretched and yawned heartily until she finally realised that she wasn’t alone.
“Oh, Miss Muriel, you’re awake! I’m so sorry I fell asleep,” the girl said, speaking with a heavy accent. The moment she had spotted Mairin, the sleepiness had instantly vanished from her face and had been replaced by a frightened look.
“Don’t worry.” Mairin made an appeasing gesture and tried to calm the girl. “I am glad that you were able to find some rest after taking such good care of me.”
The events at Sunflower Garden had proven to her how bad it was not to have any allies and Mairin decided to at least try to befriend her companion.
“You can call me Mairin.” With a little effort she even managed to conjure a peace promising smile on her face.
The maid nervously fidgeted around in the chair and tried to avoid her eyes. Despite Mairin’s endeavour, the situation seemed to be awkward for the girl and being socially inexperienced, Mairin ended up thinking for a moment that she had done something seriously wrong.
“But Miss, that wouldn’t be proper,” the girl explained distressed.
After all that had happened the day before, Mairin was wondering if it mattered what was proper and what wasn’t. In the end, necessity had overshadowed social rules and false shame.
“Let’s make a deal then,” Mairin suggested, “when we’re alone you can call me by my name and if we’re in company you are free to act the way you think it best.”
The girl pursed her lips and stared down at her knees, seemingly thinking about it.
“Alright, Miss!” she suddenly agreed, already ignoring Mairin’s proposition. “My name is Hilda, but anything will do if that’s too hard to remember.”
Mairin raised an eyebrow. What kind of treatment was this girl used to?
“Not that I think it’s too difficult for you, Miss, oh no! It’s just that important people always have such a lot of things on their minds,” she hastily added jumping up from the rocking chair.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m terrible, forgetting about all my duties! Let me open the curtains and get some breakfast for you, Miss!”
Before Mairin could reply, the girl had already rushed past her and began working on her task. With Hilda gone from the fireplace, Mairin’s attention was drawn to the painting that was hanging on the wall above it. It showed a dark knight with blood red hair who was wearing heavy armour and sitting on a black monstrosity of a horse.
Father Adrijan’s resemblance to the knight was astonishing.
Mairin wasn’t certain if it was this, the dark and depressing mood of the painting or the low temperature of the room that made her shiver. Struck by the urge to know more about the artwork, Mairin turned around to ask Hilda about it, only to catch a glimpse of her vanishing behind the paravent . The clapping sound of her small feet on the steps saved Mairin the trouble of having to look for herself what the folding-screen was hiding. It had been foolish of her not to realise earlier that there had to be a way to leave the room.
Instead of following her maid, Mairin walked over to the other end of the bedchamber, where Hilda had drawn back the heavy curtains, revealing
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