The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 226: Kill for you (2)

"Annalise."

"Yes," Annalise answered, standing up after only having three seconds of sitting down.

Beatrice held a pair of black shoes she thought would suit Annalise. "I will get you these ones. No need to think about the price. It is a gift from me to you. They are going to pick out a few dresses and shoes they think will suit you so we can sit down while they get them."

Annalise accepted the shoes from Beatrice and sat back down.

"I thought you would prefer having black than some bright colour. Though I think red would suit you. We can get one in red too. Along with white. Stop me if I start to bother you, Annalise. I don’t know when I’m getting ahead of myself sometimes. I just miss this and normally I am only shopping for myself," Beatrice said, taking a seat beside Annalise.

If Annalise would let her, she would buy many new dresses to last her the season.

"You can do as you like. This is an experience I might only have once so I should make the most of it. I will need to buy you something as a thank you for the shoes. What would you like?" Annalise asked.

"How about you share a dance with me at the ball?" Beatrice replied.

"Won’t the guest be upset that two women are dancing together?" Annalise questioned.

"Do you have plans to make love to me instead of dancing? Young ladies sometimes dance with their friends since they have no partner to dance with. If the other guests get bothered, who cares? There are so many scandals attached to their names. Meeting with others they aren’t married to. I’ve said too much," Beatrice smiled, looking around at the other dresses.

"Then, I will take your offer for a dance at the ball. I must warn you that I have never danced with anyone before and I was never taught the steps. I might step on your toes or be so bad that I embarrass you. Can I change from dancing at the ball to dancing after the ball?" Annalise asked, doing her sweetest smile to convince Beatrice.

"No. You owe me a dance at the ball. What fun will it be to dance when it is over? There is nothing like dancing in the crowd and the music filling your ears. You must see the way the garden lights up at night. I need comfortable shoes because I will be dancing the night away with River even though that man hates dancing," Beatrice said, swaying side to side as a song hummed in her head.

River would prefer to find a spot with not many people since he didn’t like dancing in crowds. He became better at dancing over the years but dancing in crowds was something he still disliked.

"The knights will be inside to protect us during the ball. Is there anyone you want to dance with?" Beatrice asked, crossing her fingers for her son’s name to come up.

If Annalise said Rafael, Beatrice would send a note to Siena right this moment to tell her that Rafael could no longer accompany her to the ball. Even if Annalise didn’t say Rafael’s name, Beatrice still wanted to send the note.

Why did Annalise and Rafael have to make things so hard? Why couldn’t Rafael have asked Annalise to the ball so this would all be settled?

"I don’t want to dance with anyone," Annalise answered. As someone who didn’t understand the dances here, she wanted to keep to the walls, but she was going to dance with Beatrice just this once. "I know that you are aware that your son likes me."

"Rafael told you that he likes you? And you are not with my son yet?!" Beatrice exclaimed in disbelief that Rafael and Annalise were still not together after a confession. Beatrice shifted in her seat to get closer to Annalise and held her hand. "I will keep this conversation between us so Rafael doesn’t get angry with me. What is wrong with him that you wouldn’t consider?"

"I’m a little bit biased because he is my son and I don’t see how anyone couldn’t love him, but I would like you to be honest with me. Is it that you just don’t like him, he is your employer, or is there some other reason?" Beatrice asked. "Don’t feel pressured to say what you think I want to hear."

"I can’t explain much, but it is impossible for Rafael and I to be together. It has nothing to do with me being his maid. He’s made it clear many times that he doesn’t care about that. If in another world there were a few changes to our lives, maybe I would have given it a try. I’m sorry, but I won’t be the daughter-in-law you are hoping for," Annalise said, handing Beatrice back the shoes.

Beatrice was a bit disappointed to hear this and very confused since she didn’t understand what Annalise meant about her and Rafael having changes in their lives if this had nothing to do with her being a maid. "Annalise, I didn’t pick the shoes because I think you will be my daughter-in-law. I am buying them because I like you so please keep them," she said, pushing the shoes back to Annalise.

"I am not going to sit here and try to make you fall in love with my son because that is something you need to do on your own and Rafael would never forgive me. I hope you see my kindness as me liking you. Thanks to you, I see a new side to Rafael and I got my answer that he is not against falling in love. Rafael had me worried for a few years."

"I also like the things you say. It is not what I expect and I laugh, forgetting the things that bother me. I will admit that I was hoping you would be the one, but I won’t pressure you into accepting his feelings. Look how that turned out for me. I had to run away from everything I knew to get away from other people trying to make decisions for me. I don’t want that for you or anyone else," said Beatrice.

"We have found dresses and shoes too close to what you requested, Lady Beatrice."

"One moment," Beatrice said to the dressmaker. "As someone I love and care for, let me spoil you just this once. I really need a distraction to get my mind off other things. There are things that plague my mind that I have not told River about because I don’t want to worry him."

"Beatrice, if there is ever anyone bothering you and ruining your peace, point me to where they are and I will get rid of them for you," Annalise offered.

Beatrice chuckled, finding it sweet how Annalise was trying to cheer her up. "Do you see what I mean when you say the most unexpected things to make me laugh? There is no need for that," she said, tapping Annalise’s hand as she turned to look at what was brought out.

"I mean it. You have a kind soul as my grandmother would say. I would kill anyone who tried to rid the world of a person like you. So, if there is ever anyone bothering you, point me to them," Annalise repeated, serious about the offer.

She could always make a stop to get rid of Beatrice’s brother before going home.