Blossoms in the wind(CielXReader)

Chapter 17

Your P.o.V
I awoke to the sound of a bird chirping outside my window. It took me a moment to figure out that I was in my bedroom, in my oversized bed. As I studied the room warily, a sudden knock had startled me.

The voice was that of my maid, Evelyn. "M'lady, may I come in?" Her gentle voice was so quiet I almost didn't hear the question. "You may." I responded groggily and began to slowly sit up.

Evelyn entered the room and directly began to do morning tasks that usually were Zachary's responsibility. There was an unusual silence that filled the room until I decided to break it with the obvious question, "Evelyn, where is Zachary?"

The question must have come as a shock to her for she froze right before opening my wardrobe. I cocked a brow her direction and pressed on for a response, "Evelyn." I said sternly. Whatever ice she was stuck in seemed to melt and she immediately went back to selecting my outfit for the day, "Mr. Noles has gone to the market to retrieve some ingredients for tonight's dinner." She was monotone which could only mean one thing. She was lying.

Instead of catching her so early, I decided to play along and see how long she could hold out. She paused her wardrobe search to take a quick glance at me to see if I was fooled by her poorly disguised deceit. As such I pretended and shrugged off my butler's absence with the addition of a yawn to sell the act. Satisfied with herself Evelyn went back to dress selecting. "So what is he preparing tonight that requires such an urgent market trip?"I said while turning my gaze towards the window.

"Um..." Evelyn muttered quietly , but almost instantly she beamed with another lie, "Smoked Scottish Salmon with Capers and Créme Traiche!" I admit I was a little impressed that she could come up with that on the spot, but I wasn't about to just let her get away with whatever she was hiding. "Funny," I began, "I could've sworn Zachary was aware of my allergy to fish." It was my turn to lie, for I'm not actually allergic to fish, but Evelyn isn't aware of that.

It took her a little bit to respond because she had finally selected my dress for the day. Coincidentally, the dress she had chosen had a fuchsia tint and suddenly my whole body went cold. The phantom pain of being strangled was flooding back and the room around me grew colder as I focused on the dress. It was just like staring into those cold, emotionless eyes. "Not that one." I blurted out without realizing, my voice raising ever so slightly. "Miss, are you alright? You're awfully pale-" Evelyn began to say. "I said not that one so why is it still in my sight!" I said somewhat coldly and harsh.

I didn't recognize my own tone, and neither did Evelyn it seems on the account of how taken aback she seemed. The room was silent and hazy with awkward tension. I cleared my throat, "Apologies. What I meant to say was I'm not in the mood for," I paused for a moment, thinking about how stupid it would sound if I said I didn't want to wear a specific colored dress. "Frills!" I blurted without meaning to. "I'm not in the mood for frills today." Evelyn's shocked expression slowly transitioned into her standard gentle gaze and she gave a small nod. "My apologies ma'am," she bowed and then replaced the dress back into the wardrobe.

Awkward tension filled the room. I let it sit for a minute or so, until I couldn't stand it anymore. "Evelyn, I'm not feeling well could you fetch me a cup of lavender tea." "Certainly miss." With that, I have the room to myself again.