[Translator/Editor: otwentyfirst]
[Host: justreads.net]
[May 10th, 2019]
... Jier nodded, agreeing to let her continue.
That was all the encouragement Sheila needed. She took a deep breath and continued. “His name was Marlon. The one I liked. I was sure I could make him my husband, but the more I watched him the more I realized something. Whenever he looked at the mistress, his gaze would stay on her for too long. One time I even caught him hiding away one of the mistress’s handkerchief. I realized the one he liked wasn’t any of us maids, but the mistress.
That realization was like a bolt of lightning for me! He was in love with the mistress! Inappropriate! There was no way things would end well. I tried to discourage him. I even suggested the mistress had someone in her heart.
Even though I made a lot obvious comments about it, I knew better than to reveal Master Wenda’s name. The love my mistress had for him had to be kept secret. I knew that! I never once mentioned Master Wenda’s name. I just didn’t expect Marlon would be so clever as to figure it out himself.
One day Master Wenda visited to see how everything was going. After he left Marlon noticed right way how happy and perky the mistress was. I thought this would have forced Marlon to give up. If he gave up on the mistress, then I would have a chance. I loved him so much!
But he left the next day without saying a word to anyone. I thought he just went out to cool his head, that he’d be back. Even if he was suffering he’d come back…
So just a bit after Marlon left, Master Wenda comes back. After he leaves my mistress is all perky. Like a little chirpy bird. She said that Master Wenda came back to declare his love for her, that he was going to make her his wife, that he was going to divorce Mrs. Malin.
I mean… it was pretty incredible! Master Wenda spoke to everyone when he visited. All of us could see how much he loved his wife. Why would he just abandon her and marry the mistress? It made no sense.
But the mistress was so happy, she refused to listen to reason. She wanted to be a married couple together with Master Wenda, for them to always be together.
Later my mistress took me with her when she left to go to Master Wenda’s estate. It was the first time we met Mrs. Malin and Miss Clara. It was horrible. Master Wenda had a huge row with Mrs. Malin right there in front of everyone because Mrs. Malin refused to divorce. It was horrible! My mistress was sandwiched between the two of them, unable to do anything. She was forced to bear the cold eyes of all the servants in the house. She was so sad… It was just horrible, horrible!”
Had she known this was how things would turn out, she would never have let her mistress go to the estate.
“It took three years, but Mrs. Malin finally gave in and agreed to the divorce. Actually she had resolved to end it even earlier, but it was just that she wanted to resolve some financial things before approaching Master Wenda about it.
After so many years the mistress and Master Wenda were finally going to have their happy ending. He would divorce his wife and marry the mistress and they would start a family together.
Mrs. Malin officially moved out of the estate and Master Wenda dismissed all the old servants and settled my mistress in the house. But something felt wrong. Master Wenda was still the same gentle person he always was, but sometimes his eyes would remind me of Marlon.
Was it because I missed him so dearly that I began to see him in other people?”
Thinking about Marlon made Sheila sigh. “Everything is related to that man. If my mistress hadn’t saved him would things be different now?”
Jier, Feng Wu and Wolf remained silent, not interrupting Sheila. All three had a feeling the she was about to get to the heart of the matter.
“One night I couldn’t sleep so I got up to get a gla.s.s of water. I pa.s.sed by Master Wenda’s study. The door was slightly ajar so I could see inside the room a bit. There was Marlon standing in the middle of the room in wearing a long black robe of some type. I was shocked you know. I thought that maybe he’d heard about the mistress’s marriage to Master Wenda and was there to cause trouble. So I snuck closer to see more clearly.
Who would have… What I saw… it… it was the most unforgettable thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ll never forget it. Marlon peeled his face off… then the rest of his skin, from head to toe. He peeled everything off. The person underneath was incredibly beautiful, but there was this sense of danger too. Just… powerfully dangerous.
Afterwards he put on a different layer of skin. This time he looked just like Master Wenda. I was shocked. The only think I wanted to do was retreat to my room. There was a sound and he turned toward the door. I immediately ducked into a side room. He walked right past me. I was so scared.
The sound had come from the kitchen, from one of the new maids. He must have thought she was spying at him so he killed her, sucked the blood right out of her. Then he took her body and buried it under the garden.
I didn’t stay to watch the whole thing. I ran back to my room when he started fillig the grave. That day I knew, the man the mistress would marry was not the real Master Wenda.
My mistress is too sincere and honest; she shows her emptions too easily on her face. I was afraid telling her about Master Wenda would put her in danger, so I’ve hidden it from her ever since.”
“Could Mrs. Malin have been killed because she also found out about the imposter Wenda?” asked Jier. His instincts told him the two were related somehow.
Sheila’s face stiffened while remorse filled her eyes. “Mrs. Malin’s death was an accident. She came over the day before the divorce to talk to Master Wenda about custody of Miss Clara.
I tried to hint to her that something was wrong with Master Wenda. I was hoping she’d report it to the authorities and they would take care of the demon pretending to be Master Wenda, then my mistress would be safe.”
Wolf snickered at that. “You knew there was a problem with your master, yet you didn’t go to the mayor and report it yourself. Instead you wanted someone else to take the risk, so you thought you’d be clever and have Mrs. Malin do it. If it hadn’t been for you, Mrs. Malin would have divorced Mr. Wenda the next day and lived the rest of life peacefully with her daughter. You truly are a selfish woman.”
“I… I’m just a maid! How can I see the mayor?! Master Wenda would surely kill me if he found out!”