Abigail

---13---

I sat in my chair fiddling with my fingers under the table, I couldn't work out why but the idea of these people eating my food made me nervous. Perhaps it was the fact that I knew they wouldn't hesitate to complain if something was wrong, or maybe it was because in the time I had been here I was slowly being conditioned into believing that the opinions of these people mattered to me, because of their high status. 

The soup was being served to each individual, the Queen picked up her spoon to eat and then everyone else joined her. I thought the soup was pretty impressive, the vegetables lightly seasoned with whatever herbs I could find. I watched a few of them as they ate, they seemed content, and then my eyes found themselves watching Mr Ridley, he sipped his spoonful of soup, he remained expressionless but continued to eat it, I decided to take it as a compliment because I knew it was the closest thing to a compliment that I would ever get from him. He looked up, laid eyes on me, and smiled, I was certain that I'd done something to embarrass myself but after careful inspection of myself and everything around me it became clear that he was in fact just smiling at me. 

I smiled back and continued eating, making a mental note of how nice his smile was, and that if ever the moment was right I should tell him to smile more often.

"Excuse me." The Queens voice echoed through the dining room, "You there." She was referring to the lady that was leaving the room with a handful of empty trays, it was Margret, she turned and walked back towards the queen, she waited for the Queen to speak again.

"Bring me the chef that made this soup,I should like to thank them, it is rather tasty." There are a few mumbles and nods from the others around the table, I smiled to myself, I knew Margret would say it was the chef who made it, she understood that when I came down to the kitchens I did so in secret.

She answered just as I had thought and returned 10 minutes later, this time the chef was with her, it humoured me that he looked so confused, you could even say a little lost. His eyes darted across the room, looking at all the expectant faces.

"What herbs did you use?" The Queen asked him curiously, I cursed under my breath, he wouldn't know the answer to that. There was a moment of silence before the chef parted his lips to speak.

"I didn't cook this soup your highness, I'm afraid I'm not the cook you need to compliment." He bowed a little in respect. The Queen looked confused and turned to Margret, who now looked sheepish.

"I thought you were going to bring me the chef who made this soup?"

" He is the only chef employed in your kitchen ma'am." Margret replied, I hoped they wouldn't mention me, I shouldn't care what the people at this table thought of me, but somehow I knew their response probably wouldn't be positive if they found out that I preferred the company of their servants than them themselves. I inhaled deeply and fiddled with my fingers under the table. 

"The person who made this soup is sat at your table ma'am." I heard the chef say and I looked up, the chef was looking directly at me, in fact everyone was.

"Hi" I said awkwardly, they kept looking at me, Mr Ridley was among them, resting his chin on his folded hands.

"You're not a chef." The queen stated, her daughter Beatrice looked at me her eyes fulled with recognition and Catherine was beside her, smiling.

"I'm afraid not ma'am, just a girl who likes to cook." I blushed, the heat rushing to my cheeks. 

"Well my compliments to you then, you make a lovely soup." She smiled and stood to her feet, leaving the dining hall, everyone else starting to leave behind her. I breathed out, relieved shutting my eyes and slumping in my chair.

"I didn't know you could cook." The familiar monotone voice made me open my eyes and sit up quickly.

"Yes, well, you don't know an awful lot about me, do you Mr Ridley?"

"I suppose you're right about that."

"I'm right about a lot of things Mr Ridley." I looked up at him, standing so that we were at equal height. He chuckled softly, his eyes flicking over my face.

"You're right about that too." I smiled, noting that there was not a lot of space between us, I stepped back a bit, then decided that I preferred it when we were closer, but I wouldn't move closer to him again. 

"I shall see you later Mr Ridley, I filled the silence, smiling and walking past him, his hand gently wrapped around my wrist, I looked up at him, he didn't loosen his grip. He looked at me for a few moments, liking his lips before speaking.

"Will you come on a walk with me?"

A/N:

word count: 845

I'm back! Sorry this chapter is late my computer broke! This chapter is a little shorter but its just a filler chapter.

Also for those wondering (probably none of you) D.W Diamond is my chosen Pen name, I just think its super cool so from now I'm gonna sign off as D.W. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

-D.W :)