Once the king left the room, lady Victoria turned to Andrea whose smile had lowered when he left.
"Give him time dear, it is the first time that he did not make a sarcastic remark on a woman who he is not closely related to."
At the basement where the servants used to sleep, Rose had finished taking a bath and had also changed into a new set of servants clothes. When she got out of the bathroom, she came across a young girl who seemed to be the same age as hers and she was also wearing maid's uniform where her hair was tied into a tight bun.
"You must be Rose if I'm not mistaken." The girl stated with a friendly smile. when they met halfway and Rose nodded at the girl. "I was told by Sir Lincoln that we will be sharing a room. Finally I will have someone to talk to at night, by the way I'm Stella." The girl introduced herself.
"I'm Rose. This place seems to be much better than the place I work."
"Yea, and the servants here are super friendly I'm sure you will like it here."
Rose did not know what to say to the girl and just smiled at her words. In as much as the place seemed better that the Dawson's house, she wanted to go back because everyone she genuinely cared for was there which made her happy. How would she get to be away from them.
She had promised herself to talk to the king once she would get a chance and it had to be today because she did not know when lady Andrea would leave.
When they stepped into a room where she believed was Stella's room, she turned to the girl to ask,
"Where are the king's quarters located?"
That was a question that Stella did not expect. When she was new here, there was a maid beheaded for entering the king's room and she had never forgotten the gore that was right in front of her eyes because it was done right in front of the servants and members of the royal family.
"The only people allowed in his room are the butler and the head maid. Trust me, you would not want to die by the king's sword because he does it without a second thought."
Stella said while sitting at the edge of the bed that was neatly made and even though the sheets and the blankets had faded, it looked much decent than the one she used to sleep on.
"Does he really kill people for no reason at all?" She had already received a threat from the man and she did not know if he would actually cut her tongue or her neck if she uttered something that she was not supposed to.
"Not really..., but I can't defend him when it comes to that. You say something that doesn't please him and you end up dead."
That was pretty comforting, thought Rose as her lips set themselves into a thin line.
"We should get going before sir Lincoln finds us here. He's not that generous with his words."
Saying that, Stella got up from the bed and soon enough, Rose started to follow her. "It's time for dinner preparations while you also meet others."
When they finally entered the kitchen, all eyes were on Rose who was now wearing dry clothes and the chatter that was not there started. "She is really pretty. I heard from Lucy that the king was the one who personally brought her." One of the male servants who was stirring something in a large pot said to another.
"Guys, this is Rose she is from...." Stella who had forgetten to ask where she is from trailed.
"Donhelm." Rose filled in and some of the servants started to introduce themselves to her
Seeing everyone occupied with work, Rose joined them in assisting the woman who was busy washing the utensils but she did not get to finish as the butler called her and told her to follow him in which she obediently did until they came to stand in front of two large doors whereby the butler knocked the door.
Once the person inside answered, the butler pushed the door open. The king stood in front of the large window with his hands in the pocket and did not turn to look at the two people who had entered.
"Milord, the girl is here."
"You can now leave, Lincoln and..." He trailed. "Close the doors behind you."
His words started to ring bells to Rose who stood not too far from the door and her stomach dropped. "Oh God, please keep me safe." She prayed internally when she heard the doors close and at the same time the king turned around to look at the girl whose heart was drumming in her chest.
"Roselyne." With the way he called her, she had no choice but to raise her head to look at the man who had the first three buttons of his shirt unbuttoned.
"Prepare a bath for me." Looking around the room, she saw a door that was not far from his word robe. "Yes milord." She did not stand there any longer as she walked into the bathroom which had a large bathtub in it. She trailed her fingers on the edges of the bathtub and then bent so that she could twist the faucet that was at the bottom and soon enough water started to fill in the tub.
Once the tub was almost full, she turned off the faucet and walked around the room where liquid soaps of different fragrance were placed at which she took the one that smelled like mint. Going back to the bathtub, she poured the soap in the warm water and turned around but she missed her footstep and stepped on the hem of her dress and almost fell on her back but a hand an her waist stopped the small accident.
"Careful there. Though roses are beautiful, they are very fragile." Once he let go of her waist, she quickly took two steps backwards.