Chapter 263: Difficult topics
"Did you spend the day in a furnace?" that was Ada’s first question upon laying eyes on Arabella.
The maid let go of the dish in her hand and turned her full attention onto her friend.
"No," Arabella simply shook her head, a ridiculous grin still on.
"Well, then tell me it isn’t a fervor," Ada sped towards her and started feeling her forehead and face, "You’re as red as a tomato," but noting the smile on her, the maid relaxed, "What truly happened?" she narrowed her eyes.
"Nothing!" Arabella squeaked, rushing around Ada towards the table where she poured a glass of water and gulped it down in one breath.
"Oh! Just out with it, please!" Ada clasped her hands together and followed her friend as though close proximity would make the pleading more effective.
Upon setting the empty glass back on the table, Arabella took a deep inhale, "I’ve just had a conversation with the Lady,"
"Oh dear!" Ada gasped, "She saw the brooch! Was she mad?"
In response, the young woman merely shook her head from left to right.
"What did she say then? Was she mad that the Master requested you no longer entertain the guests?" question after question, the maid grew more desperate, her voice turning shriller with every word.
"She congratulated me,"
Finally, utterances that quelled Ada’s fire. Her shoulders relaxed as a longer exhale left her mouth.
"Oh! That is such great news!" she gently patted her heart, "I worried she’d be angry,"
Arabella marched towards the bathroom in order to wash up but continued the conversation as she walked, "She was concerned,"
"Well, that is to be expected," Ada nodded slowly, "What was her main concern if I may ask?"
"Intimacy," Arabella murmured.
But Ada peeked her head from behind the door frame, "Intimacy? As in Sexual intimacy?"
The young woman’s quietude at that question caused both of their faces to flush red, even redder for Arabella.
"How... Did that go?" very sheepish Ada was.
"It went as well as you might expect," Arabella grimaced before turning towards the mirror facing her.
"I don’t wish to push, but I am curious as to how things will unfold when it comes to that... I’ve never witnessed or even heard of a relationship between a human and a vampire," Ada bit her nail, "The emotional aspect of things is complicated enough, let alone the physical side,"
"Well, as I told the Lady, I’ve received training,"
"I didn’t know noble women received such training," Ada grumbled.
"My father ordered it after I’d turned fourteen,"
A few seconds of silence followed during which only the light splashing of water was heard.
"I suppose that had something to do with his plan to ship you over to the prince," the maid hastened and picked a towel before bringing it over to Arabella.
"It in fact, had everything to do with that, yes," the young woman nodded.
"I am not sure how to feel about this," Ada took the towel and hung it once the wiping was done, "You were just a child,"
Arabella walked out and sat at the dinner table, followed by her friend who picked the nearest chair to her.
"Have you discussed where the two of you were going from there? You and Master Silas I mean?"
"Discuss what?" she stuffed her mouth with a green lettuce leaf.
Ada twiddled her thumbs and hesitated for a moment before responding, "Will you... Be moving to his room?"
Arabella choked on the piece of food that had reached her throat. Her eyes turned red and threatened to pop out of their sockets as her hands clasped over her mouth to muffle the coughs.
"Take some water!" Ada rushed to pour a glass of it and pat Arabella on the back, "You can’t even handle this question. How are you going to deal with the rest?"
"Perhaps... We should talk about these things when no choking hazard is introduced," a few tears escaped Arabella’s eyes as she still gasped for breath.
"Good idea,"
Not much was said for a moment after that until dinner was over.
"What is the plan then? Will we just sit or...," Ada trailed off suggestively.
"Silas said he’d come by so that I could see Katherine,"
"Oh! I still can’t get used to you calling him by name like that," the maid’s hands flew to conceal her face.
A chuckle escaped Arabella, "No, my lips still tremble whenever I try to pronounce it without the honorific,"
Ada’s expressions dimmed again, announcing the colors of her next questions, "Was that all you spoke about with the Lady?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"I might be projecting a little too far into the future but...Have you thought about children?" she bit her bottom lip while flicking her fingernails together.
Those words stung. They brought the fresh memory of Cynric hinting at that same thing from earlier that day.
When she said nothing, Ada piped up, "Our biology isn’t exactly compatible even though we look so similar. So, from what I understand a human cannot reproduce with a vampire,"
A knock landed on the door right at that moment. The two women leaped to their feet and seemed completely lost as to what to do with their hands.
Silas looked between them and their jittery eyes with a raised eyebrow for a good moment before asking whether Arabella was ready to go.
Still beet red in the face, Arabella nodded furiously.
"Is everything alright?" he asked as they walked the hallways.
The young woman looked like she wished to bury her head among the floor tiles, "Yes! Of course,"
"Does your expression have anything to do with your latest subject matter?" he asked.
Her breath hitched in her throat and her windpipes twined in a manner reminiscent of the way food had clogged them minutes earlier.
"I... Suppose, yes," she murmured.
"Does it worry you?" his voice soft, he kept it steady.
"It isn’t something I necessarily want to discuss right this moment," she shook her head, refusing to meet his gaze.