Belle didn’t know why but she felt as if he had an inkling of what she was feeling right now as they stared at each other and the more she thought about it, the more her cheeks started to rush with blood that made her cheeks go warm.

“You didn’t answer my question, Miss Belle,” she heard Lucas’ words that affected her mind.

Her head felt muddled where she could barely think straight. Her hands were placed on the edge of her bed and she gripped on it, “What was the question,” she asked him not able to remember for the life of her of what he had asked. Lucas pulled away and somewhere she felt a sense of relief as well as disappointment at his action.

There was something in the atmosphere today, no it wasn’t the wind, thought Belle to herself, it was the butler himself. His demeanor was different and it made her gulp. The night and his words were adding into her soul like the fire that needed logs of wood to burn.

“I think we both can agree that Mrs. Whitaker appears to be a slimy leech-like vampire. Don’t you think so?”

Belle said, “I thought you liked her,” and she saw the smile pull upon his lips.

“If there is anyone who knows me, it is you, Miss Belle,” his words stirred something her stomach, “I am not fond of people in general. There are only a handful of people who I find tolerable.”

“But you are nice to everyone,” she reasoned.

“What can I say, I am the butler.”

Seeing her not reply, Lucas started to leave when he heard,

“Did you know what happened with my father’s work?” she asked him to see him nod.

“I do,” she looked away from him, and he then said, “You don’t have to worry about it.”

How could she not? One side was the house while on the other side was the butler. To others, he was just a butler but to Belle, he was the person she had grown around to realize she liked him more than what an owner was supposed to feel.

“You won’t be here though,” she said, her eyebrows knitted together with concern.

“The next butler Lady Olivia assigns here would be an efficient man,” that wasn’t what she was worried about! But she heard from him anyways, “If you think about it, milady. You will be betrothed to one of the men of the high society and you wouldn’t be living here anymore.”

Belle didn’t want another butler. Her heart squeezed in her chest at the thought of him now not looking at her the way she wanted him to.

Of course, thought Belle to herself. Another thing to think about was that Lucas saw her as a child, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Adams and he didn’t look at her like she was a woman.

Her voice came out soft and sweet as she asked, “Is that what you want?” she wanted to know what was there in his mind. What he thought about the whole situation, like her, her parents wouldn’t have spoken to Lucas about him being traded away after all he was the butler of the house.

Lucas tilted his head, one side of his lips pulling up at her question. This smile was rare but she had seen it in the past that had her heart skipping a beat.

He looked at her hands that held the edge of the bed tightly, “What do you want?”

Belle wondered if she could be selfish but this wasn’t just about her as the situation also involved her family, “I wish things were peaceful,” if it weren’t for the massacre that was done by the black witches where the people of the entire town were wiped clean leaving no one alive, her father wouldn’t have been put up in a situation like this.

“Have a goodnight,” saying this, he bowed his head and left the room with the door clicking softly as it shut close.

Truthfully, she didn’t know what to do because where she stood, she was a vampiress who was still learning the ways of the world. To be a capable woman would be something to aim for, thought Belle to herself.

When the next morning arrived, as expected, Lucas was busy with other things and Belle had no governess who was going to teach her. She was a smart girl and she decided to learn things herself. It wasn’t like she knew nothing, thought Belle to herself.

“Belle, Lady Olivia is being generous enough by providing you a governess where we don’t have to bear any expenses,” her mother started to be worried about her behavior, “Unless you don’t write down an apology letter, she won’t come here.”

“Then that’s good,” Belle said, pulling a sheet of parchment which was stacked at the corner and she started to write to make notes, “I am not writing an apology letter to a woman like her. I don’t need charity from Lady Olivia.”

“Why are you being so difficult? Don’t you want a better life?” Her mother let out a tired sigh and Belle finally dropped the quill she was holding to look up at her mother.

“I know it might sound vexing to you, mama but I will be fine without a governess.”

“And what if you need help?” questioned her mother. Lucas wouldn’t be here to teach her daughter and she would need someone to shape her.

“Then there are people who willingly and genuinely want to help and teach without making it appear like charity,” answered Belle. Last night as she laid on the bed she had come to note something, “You think Lady Olivia is being hush about it? She is telling people around how father has to return the money.”

“Olivia is a good woman, Belle.”

She shook her head, “It is what she makes you think. Hana Wilson goes to the same dance class where I go to, she knew about it,” it was why Hana had spoken of how careless she was while trying to afford Ms. Edith’s class.

“The word about what happened has spread around. You cannot hold one woman to be responsible for it.

She is being generous enough to help us by speaking to Mr. Wellington. Why are you being rude to her.” Because something wasn’t just right, said Belle in her mind without telling about it out loud. If she told it this to her mother, her mother would only give her strange looks for thinking so.

“I am not writing an apology letter. Not to Lady Olivia nor to Mrs. Whitaker. If she wants to go teach the rich family she can do so but I won’t be taking part in the charade which everyone is interested in like a flock of sheep following each other without noticing there’s no damn bridge.”

“Language, young lady,” her mother corrected her, “This is why you need a governess because of the way you speak.”

“It is called freedom of speech, mama which everyone has forgotten because they coat their words in false sugar.”

Her mother rubbed her temples, “Fine. If that is what you want. You are a big girl who knows what she wants but don’t come crying if things don’t work out well,” warned her mother and Belle stood up from her seat to walk towards her mother and put her arms around her mother who was tired after arguing with her since the past hour that hadn’t stopped.

“Don’t worry, mama. Everything will be fine.”

She knew her mother was tense, nobody liked to spoil and sling mud on a reputation that was built with sweat and hard work. Like many others, her mother sought other’s approval which she was finding it hard to cope with.

It was the story of almost every family in the high society where there were words of deceit, complimented lies, and a facade that everyone carried along with them to never show their true self.

“I am sorry for what’s happening,” her mother apologized.

“It isn’t your fault,” she said, pulling back to look at her mother, “I will be fine. We’ll be fine.”

Mrs. Adams didn’t know from where Belle’s confidence came from but she was glad she was stronger than her and her husband. Somewhere glad that her daughter didn’t grow up like them to follow the society’s norms but this was where she would be living and she would need to know how things went by.

Leaning forward, her mother kissed her forehead and let her do what she wanted.

Belle knew that her mother had the best interest when it came to her and she would never mean any ill intention but at the same time, somewhere she felt it was too opportune with the way things had fallen in place for Lucas to go away from here just when she had started to notice him.

With her mother who had stepped out of the room, Belle made her way to the patio to see the maids who were in the garden. They were cutting the unnecessary shrubs that were sticking out and her eyes started to search for Lucas.

She saw him talking to one of the maids, his eyes looking colder than usual which was how he looked at the servants.

He stood tall there, wearing his uniform that was clean without a single spot of dirt on it.

Though his hair right now was neatly combed, she remembered the time when they had got drenched in the rain. Remembering the scene in front of her eyes, a sigh escaped her lips.

The men she had met in her life, there wasn’t a single man who was like Lucas.

Exteriorly it looked like he had a very patient atmosphere but only Belle knew how many times she had pressed those buttons of his to test him over and over until she had to finally stop because he gave her tons of books to study when that happened.

He was extremely polite and knew how to handle people, he knew exactly what to tell and what people were expecting to hear. Lucas was a handsome man, sharp jaws, and defined cheekbones. Since she had started to notice him, she realized he had long fingers that were always covered in black gloves. She saw the maid leave his side where he walked towards the other maids to supervise when he stopped and turned his head to look at where she stood at right now.

With his head turned and raised to look at her, the way he looked at her shot straight into her heart and she tore her gaze away from him and just as her eyes fell on one of the maids who was near the orchard of apple trees, she noticed a shadow right behind the maid as if it were hovering over her.