When Belle woke up the next morning, there was a broad smile on her lips where she didn"t bother to step out of bed soon. With her back against the surface of the bed, her thoughts ran through her mind of what had transpired last night. The nightmare she had woke up to after seeing Olivia and the other creatures, in the end, she had received Lucas" affection which she had been seeking for some time now. She hadn"t expected it at first. Her heart had tried to leap out of her chest with every squeeze of his fingers against her own that had her heart racing.
She brought her hand up her lips, running it on her bottom lips where she felt him kiss and lick her lips. Her body turned and curled at the thought about it. Who knew that Lucas could make her feel things far beyond her very imaginations. A constant smile continued to remain on her lips, and it had been days since she had smiled like this. Things had been hard with her parent"s death and her relative"s behaviour, but she had started to find solace, trying to come in terms that her parent"s lives that were sacrificed wouldn"t go in vain.
She would bring justice to what happened and maybe if everything did fall in the right place, she would try to meet her parents where they weren"t corrupted. She knew there were lesser chances of that happening but she decided to look forward to it as her goal.
Pus.h.i.+ng herself out of the bed, Belle stepped into the bath where the water had been heated and was warm in this early morning of the Winter that was approaching the land of the Bonelake. Once she wore fresh clothes, she went down to meet Lucas.
Belle noticed how Lucas was listening to one of the maids in the mansion at the end of the corridors, "I was right there and cleaning but I don"t know who spilt the bucket of water that I had placed."
Lucas said, "I will check with the other servants. Spilling water in the middle of the corridor is dangerous. What if someone slips and falls. Did you change the sheets in the guest rooms?" he asked the maid.
"I finished the second half of it with Peyton but we need to do the other side. Shall we finish it first and then do it the rest of our work?" asked the maid giving out a worried look to the butler.
"Alright," Lucas answered her.
Belle made her way towards them, wondering if it was the rabbit who had been mischievous enough t push the bucket of water. When Lucas noticed Belle"s presence, Belle had expected him to greet her like he always did without bringing up what happened last night between them. After all, there was the maid who stood in the front taking the instructions from Lucas.
"Good morning, Miss Belle," the maid greeted Belle and Belle returned it with a smile.
"Good morning, Belle," said Luca, leaning forward he placed a kiss on her cheek.
This action had the maid"s eyes go wide in surprise and excitement building up where she wanted to go back to the other maids to let out the little gossip in the mansion. The butler looked a little different with Miss Belle today. There was that certain softness in his eyes and expression for the lady none of them would have ever believed that it existed in the butler"s bone.
Belle, on the other hand, blushed at the open affection of Lucas she was not prepared for, "Good morning," she wished him, her eyes getting lost in his black eyes. She raised her hand with a hint of shyness to tuck her hair behind her ear. It wasn"t a dream after all.
"Did you have a good sleep?" Lucas asked her, his eyes on her.
"I did. It was a peaceful one," she answered him, "What happened with the bucket of water?" she asked him and her eyes s.h.i.+fted to look at the maid who looked more surprised than Belle herself.
"It is the left side of the second floor," Lucas answered, "Someone must have pushed the bucket of water as a prank. Nothing to worry about," he said before ordering the maid to have someone clean the water that was put down and the maid left their side with quick footsteps towards the kitchen where the other servants were present.
The maid upon reaching the kitchen quickly called the other maids, "The man has finally opened up to Miss Belle!" she whispered to them to receive their attention from whatever they were doing earlier, "I told you something was up when he carried her to her room."
"Are you sure about it?" asked another maid who had been busy cutting vegetables for lunch that had to be prepared.
"That"s not possible. Have you met the butler or are you talking about someone else?" asked another maid.
The one who had just come inside shook her head, "I am serious. They are out there, go see yourself!" there was an excitement in her voice as she said this and the three maids quickly walked out of the kitchen and leaned their head forward to peek at the couple who stood on the other side of the corridor talking to each other, "Look at that," she said when the butler smiled at Miss Belle.
"Doesn"t he always smile like that towards Miss Belle?" came the whisper of one of the maids, "It was time something happened between them. Miss Belle looks happy," said the maid with a smile. The servants who had been working for the Adams for longest had often seen the exchange between the butler and their young Miss.
"He has too many smiles but this one is surely reserved for Miss Belle."
"Oh my! Look look!" said another one where they saw Lucas leaned forward before his eyes turned in their direction and they quickly got inside before getting scolded for peeping as well as not working.