Reaching the Mansion, Anna and Victoria carried the things they had bought in the market into the kitchen.
The maids were getting the meals ready to be served for the Windsor family when Anna caught sight of Edith.
"Anna." Edith called her.
"Yes." Anna bowed her head slightly and approached her.
"Take the tray there and serve it to Master Marcos in his room." Edith ordered. She bowed her head and picked up the tray and walked outside the kitchen. When she reached his room, she knocked on his door for him to come out and glare at her.
She quickly bowed her head. "Good afternoon, Young Master Marcos. Lunch is ready."
The white shirt he was wearing was covered with paint. He had a brush on one of his hand while he continued to stare at her.
Not saying a word, he opened the door wide for her to enter before turning around to continue painting. When he didn't hear the door close, Marcos turned around to see Anna still standing at the door entrance.
"What are you doing standing there? Come in." He stared at her.
"I can't." She blurted out. The last thing she wanted to do was go into his room after she had promised herself not to go in no matter what happened.
When his eyes narrowed at her, she tried to look away. Anywhere was better than looking at his blizzard eyes. It was as if he was reading through her mind.
"What do you mean you can't?" Marcos asked.
She held the tray tightly and prayed that it would not slip from her hands due to fear.
"I thought you never wanted me to enter your room. It would be—"
When he took a step forward, her heart sank into her chest. He slowly walked towards her and stood in front of her. They were inches apart and she had to look up at him because of his intimidating look.
"I never said you should not come into my room. What I meant is that you should not step foot into the next room." He told her but Anna refused to step into his room.
"You should come in before the food gets cold. You can see that my hand is stained with paints." He said.
"And also...., Where you the one who took the black bag I kept there?" He questioned.
"The bag belongs to me." Anna replied.
"I never gave you the permission to take the bag. Do you want me to give you some punishments as it seemed like you are becoming too stubborn. Just yesterday you had caused an heated argument with Alex." He muttered.
At the mention of Alex, Anna frowned. "She was the one who had caused the argument."
"We would talk about that some other time. Now come inside." He told her.
Anna tried to find some other way to refuse. "Your mother had warned me not to come near you or else I would lose my job."
"Who do you think pays the maids when month ends?" He placed one hand above Anna's head, on the door.
"I don't know." She replied.
"I cover the cost of almost everything in this house. It is I who decides if you should be around me or not." He said.
Anna did not want to be around him. Just yesterday they had come back from the Median Town, she had heard some of the maids discussing about her. Most of them were jealous that she had the chance to be around the Marcos even though they didn't say it to her. They were pretenders who gossip about her behind her back and come to speak nicely in front of her.
It hadn't been up to a week when she started working here and Anna do not want to cause more trouble for herself. The more she is seen with Marcos, the more gossips about her.
"Come in now or you want to lose your job this minute." He told her.
With no other options left, Anna stepped inside. She walked behind him and placed the tray on the wooden table to see a canvas painting of Elizabeth.
Why was he painting here instead of painting in the spare room?
Once she dropped the tray on the table, she turned around to leave when he said,
"I never asked you to leave." She heard him and quickly turned around.
Bowing her head, she spoke calmly. 'I apologize."
"There would be a party holding near the cemetery next week. I want you to come with me." He walked into the bathroom to wash the paint from his hand.
"I don't think I will be have time to go anywhere with you by then." The truth is, Anna did not want to witness the same thing that had happened the other day. She was looking for a better excuse not to go with him.
"I will cover that for you." He came out of the bathroom and sat down on the sofa.
"But—"
"Except you want to lose your job. You may leave." Taking the plate of food from the tray, he opened it and started to eat.
Anna bowed her head one last time before opening the door were she caught sight of an unpleasant scene. She saw Elizabeth in her room being handcuffed against her chair and a woman who appeared to be her governess because of the way she dressed, was writing down somethings about Elizabeth.
Before Anna could look more, the door was closed and so many questions ran through her mind.
She was curious to know what they were doing to Elizabeth. Why was she tied against the chair like that?