บท 3: A lady's thigh (1)

"Men. Sweet beautiful shirtless men," Annalise said, watching the knights who returned with Rafael in the middle of the night run laps around the training grounds. She was blessed with the perfect view from the second floor as they ran by below, already back to training.

Cara came to Annalise's side to see what was making her smile so much. "I can see why Rafael is not on your list. Now you see why women love this job. You'll enjoy it more when they start to fight against each other. If we finish our morning tasks quickly, I will introduce you to the knights I know. I have a list of knights you should beware of. They say their hearts belong to you but then they are in the arms of another woman when your back is turned."

"I don't intend to be involved with any of them. I just like admiring their beauty. They should stop running around without shirts if I am to do my job right. Mavis will look for any opportunity to fire me soon. We should go before she scolds us for being late to help set the table for breakfast," Annalise stated, but her sight remained on the guards.

"It is you who will be late because you cannot tear your eyes away from the men running around. I'm amazed by this side of you. Here I thought you were some little virgin who had no interest in men."

Annalise looked away from the training grounds after hearing Cara's assumption. "I don't see how looking at men makes me not a virgin, and just because I do not want to sleep with Rafael, I somehow have no interest in men? I simply show interest in men I find to my liking, and though I can admit Rafael is quite handsome, I don't want to have an intimate relationship with my employer."

"What I meant did not come out right. When we heard a farm girl was coming to be a maid, we thought you would be the same shy, only cares about work, and has some boy back at home she wants to get married to type of girl. You've been here for two weeks, but you have not shown an interest in anyone. This is the first time I saw you gawking at men," Cara explained, hooking her arm with Annalise's.

"A better assumption should have been that I am not attracted to any of the men that I saw."

"Honestly, I thought you might have been secretly into women. Me, to be specific," Cara shrugged her shoulders.

"Ha!" Annalise scoffed. "Not even in your dreams would that be true."

"Why not? You have seen this body when we bathe in the river. Is it not to die for?" Cara released Annalise to show off her desired body. "Is it not why I am your only friend here?"

"I was only interested in washing the sheets and my body to take notice of your body. I am not interested in women, and you are my friend because you are the only one with a personality I can handle. That and Mavis always puts us on the same jobs. I have no choice but to enjoy your company since we are always near each other," Annalise said.

"That is true. Talk to you when breakfast is over," Cara whispered when they entered the dining room.

Rafael was already seated at the table and Mavis stood right behind him, pouring something to drink.

Annalise forced a smile when Mavis looked up and noticed her just standing still.

"Get to your job Annalise," Mavis ordered the insufferable young woman. If not for Rafael, Annalise would have been gone last night.

"Right away," Annalise lowered her head and moved quickly to find something to pretend to do. No one had told her what exactly she was meant to do at breakfast. She was only told to go to the dining room. Cara was already far away for her to ask. 'Those handsome men made me forget to ask,' she sighed.

"Young master, a message from the King," Edwin, the butler, came into the dining room with a letter in his hand.

Annalise's interest was piqued upon hearing the King sent a message.

"Thank you," Rafael took the letter. Before he opened it, he prepared himself to be annoyed. Of course, the King was aware of his return already.

The message read, 'Rafael, it's about time you returned. How could you be so rude not to send me a message on the day you would travel back home? I had to go through other people to find out. As soon as you have rested, come to the palace for us to enjoy a drink together. I have a plan that concerns our dear friend Edgar getting married to a young lady of my-'

"This idiot," Rafael crumbled up the paper. Edgar, the Duke, and marriage were a bad mix, but only a fool like the King, Tobias Castro, would want to get involved in finding Edgar a bride.

Still, Rafael had to enjoy that Tobias had his eyes set on Edgar to be the one to get married. Rafael was in luck as Tobias would be forever trying to get Edgar to get married so Rafael's turn wasn't near.

"Throw this out," Rafael started to hand the letter back to Edwin as he wanted no part in trying to get his friends married.

Annalise watched to see where the message would be thrown away.

"Send this to Duke Edgar," Rafael changed his mind. Hopefully, Edgar would strangle Tobias and make him give up trying to get all his friends married. "See if you can send it with all the other letters going out now.

'Of course,' Annalise rolled her eyes. She wouldn't get the chance to see what was in the message if it got sent out now. 'It must be important if he wants it to be sent to the Duke now.'

"Of course," Edwin took the letter and hurried out of the dining room before it would be too late.

Rafael turned his attention back to the coffee Mavis poured for him. Before he could pick the cup up, he noticed someone was watching him ,and after last night, it was someone he didn't want watching him so intently. "Are you trying to take a peep at me again? You will have no luck as I am fully clothed," Rafael said to the maid from last night.

Annalise looked to her right and then to her left as she was uncertain if he was talking to her even though he was looking directly at her. "Oh right, you called me a pervert," Annalise realised he was meaning her. "I assure you I am not trying to see you naked again, young master. I do not want to be known as a pervert so can we be even? How about I show you my thigh?"

"Your thigh?" Rafael raised his right eyebrow. She saw his manhood and thought her thigh was of equal value. He was not looking to get even with her.

"Yes, my thigh. Don't you know a man seeing a lady's thigh is quite scandalous? So," Annalise grabbed her dress, ignoring the reactions from the other maids listening to their conversation.

The fact that a lady showing a bit of skin could cause an uproar was the first thing she learned when she came here. It was honestly ridiculous when there were so many half-naked men walking around here. She was used to training among men with little clothing back at home and it was perfectly normal. Was it a big deal here because men could not control themselves?

"What is your answer, young master?"