Chapter 239: The finally spoken thoughts
Upon returning to her room, Arabella found Ada waiting.
Seated by the already dressed table she was, her expression ambiguous. Something tainted the feeble smile clinging to her features.
"Is everything alright, Ada?"
"Oh! Yes, of course!" her words offered a confirmation, but the shaking of her head gave denial.
"Please, tell me what’s putting such a damper on your mood?" Arabella insisted, bringing a chair to sit facing her friend.
"It’s just that...," the maid trailed off momentarily, "I wish you had told me you wanted to see Edna before we got to the kitchens. I was taken aback, that is all,"
"Please, forgive me," the young woman hastened to take Ada’s hands in hers, "I simply didn’t want to cause you any worries," she shook her head, attempting to lock eyes with Ada but to no avail.
It wasn’t until Ada decided to, that their gazes finally met, "Is it really the reason? Or did you hide your true intentions because you knew I’d oppose the idea and try to change your mind?"
"I swear to you, Ada! This thought never crossed my mind! Not even once!" she paused, took a short breath, "In fact, it wasn’t until we started making our way downstairs that the idea of speaking with Edna came to me, but I still couldn’t voice it. I don’t think I would’ve ever voiced it if it wasn’t for the head- maid’s insistence,"
Ada shut her eyes and took a deep breath before reopening them and adopting a somewhat apologetic look, "I apologize for accusing you in such a manner. I shouldn’t even have believed you’d do that to me in the first place. Forgive me,"
In reply, Arabella gave her hands a squeeze as her face beamed, "No, it’s alright. I understand you. In your shoes, I would’ve leaped to the same conclusion,"
Ada nodded at first, but then a little grimace appeared on her, "May I ask about the nature of your conversation with Edna?"
"Well, I didn’t do or say a fraction of what she did to me. I can tell you that much," Arabella sighed, "I merely stood in her face and refused to budge for once,"
"Oh...," Ada shivered, "If I were you, I’d watch my back now more than ever. Edna doesn’t take too well to people standing up to her,"
"I think I may have been too harsh on her...," she trailed off before finishing her sentence, "Considering what happened to her, I mean,"
"Honestly, Miss?" the maid pushed her weight off her chair, "Even though Miss Allegra says it was unprovoked, I doubt it’s the case. I reckon Edna did something to Miss Katherine way before the attack. Miss Katherine has never ever been aggressive without a valid reason before,"
"Yes, but I believe her current condition played a roll in her behavior,"
"I wish I could say Edna had a condition," Ada muttered through curled lips while looking away. Though her face lit up quickly after that, "In any case, please eat your dinner before it grows cold," she ushered at the table near them.
As Arabella turned to face the table and began to eat, the silence that had fallen between them did not last.
Indeed, Ada’s legs kept on fidgeting resulting in the rubbing of the fabric between them.
The whispers that yielded caught Arabella’s attention, prompting her hand to stop with a spoon full of food midway to her mouth.
"Is there more you’d like to share?" she squinted her eyes.
"What?" Ada straightened her stance, "No, no, no, no, I’ve said my peace. I have nothing to add," she shook her head profusely, clearly doing her best to plaster a smile on.
"Is that so?" one of her eyebrows rose up her forehead.
Seeing that the young woman wasn’t having it, Ada pushed a sigh and allowed her shoulders to slump, "I wanted to know where you were all this time I spent waiting for you?" she bit her bottom lip.
Arabella took a deep breath then exhaled shortly after, "It seemed my feet led me to Master Silas’ chamber,"
Ada’s widening eyes prompted her to elaborate, "I meant to come straight here like we’d agreed but ended up in front of his door. I am sorry I didn’t mean to worry you. Were you scared when you didn’t find me?"
"At first, yes," Ada nodded, "I thought you’d gone to the dungeons to see... Miss Katherine, but when I ran there and opened the underground level door, I noticed the torches hadn’t ignited which meant there was no soul down there, and then I remembered...,"
"You remembered the Mirari...,"
Neither of the two mustered the courage to look the other in the eyes. Both for different reasons.
"Did he let you in?" Ada was the first to break the newly fallen silence.
"Yes, he did invite me," she bit on her bottom lip in a manner that gave the impression she attempted to seal her mouth... To no avail, "He wanted me to stay,"
"Why didn’t you stay?"
"I stayed for a while. I even made you wait," the young woman twiddled her fingers.
"I did not wait for that long," Ada shook her head, pushing forward the most innocent of looks to date.
Arabella saw right through it, "Really now?" her eyes squinted again.
"Yes, yes! Really! Did you two-"
"We did not do anything that we shouldn’t have," red in the face, Arabella sprung to her feet at once.
"I was merely going to ask if you two spoke, I swear!" Ada put both hands up as shields.
"I am sorry," she simmered down, plopping back on the chair, "I didn’t mean to yell,"
"Did he try to do something... He shouldn’t have?" Ada was very sheepish with her words.
"I am not sure, but I didn’t allow it. It’s not right for either of us," she shook her head.
"I am afraid that won’t stop him from loving you,"
Those words hit Arabella like a hurricane, causing her breath to hitch somewhere between her throat and lungs, "What did you say?"