The rumours of the study in the Knight mansion.

Antoniette was caught in a storm of emotions as his lips brushed against her own in a light kiss, making her gasp and inhale for air. She had never been kissed before, the only thing portraying her inexperience was the stiffness of her body as she let him take the lead. His fingers circled around her neck, drawing her closer to him while deepening the kiss with an intensity that made her breathless.

After a few minutes, she began to push him away as she struggled for air and he let go of her as soon as he sensed her light distress. He looked at her with eyes full of worry and concern while his right hand pushed a strand of hair from her face. "Antoniette, are you alright?"

"Yes...." She gulped a mouthful of air with reddened eyes, trying to calm down for a brief moment before she continued to reassure him. "...I am fine, thank you."

At this moment, Aidan's shrewd eyes had already discovered the cause of her behaviour and he let out a small bemused smile at her. She seemed very cute to him as she inflated her cheeks to receive air and deflated it in one go, looking a bit like a white rabbit he had seen in his childhood on his trip in London. He stood up midway to plant a kiss on her forehead. "I think it's time I leave. I still have to rest for a bit."

"Alright." Antoniette still had a hard time processing his words even though she gazed straight to his eyes as he whispered something with his lips. It was when tbe door finally closed she realized that he had left and she was all alone. A deep blush swept through her cheeks as she gripped her skirt tightly, wondering if she was in a dream.

'No, it wasn't a dream.' She thought to herself after she pinched her legs for more confirmation. She had been kissed by the man of her dreams, her master whom she served and she loved it. Her happiness soared through the roof even though her brain seemed to recall an unknown person's warning about rich and educated men like him. It seemed like she couldn't remember so she immediately waved it aside as she touched her lips and giggled.

Meanwhile, a maid ran into the kitchen to meet her friend who was cutting some vegetables and leaned onto her with great excitement and awe in her voice. "Louisa, you were right! Master Aidan definitely talks to someone in that study! I heard it myself!"

Louisa's wide eyes brightened when she heard her voice but she shrugged off her friend with a tone full of annoyance. "I told you girls before but you didn't believe me at all! There is something strange going on in that study!"

"Exactly, my friend." The maid lowered her tone in a conspiratorial one and said to her. "I just hope he hasn't lost his mind, though. Such a kind and handsome man, he shouldn't have to suffer any misfortunes like this at all."

"What do you mean?" They both jerked at the sound of an unknown person behind them and found out it was no other than one of the ladies of the house, Eloise. She looked at the both of them and narrowed her eyes at them. "What are the both of you talking about?"

"Nothing, my lady." The two maids immediately sobered up in her presence and lowered their heads, sharing a look with each other beneath her nose. In their minds, they had already began to plot all sort of lies and stories to save themselves from the impending trouble ahead of them.

"I clearly heard you talk about my brother." Eloise revealed a very calm but lethal smile as she looked down on them. "If you don't tell me the truth, I will go and tell Mother and Brother that you were caught stealing one of my jewellery."

The two maids paled at her statement and immediately fell to their knees in despair. As mere servants, it didn't matter that they were innocent but they were sure they would surely suffer greatly if they were really framed for such a crime. Louisa's friend, Anne said with a hint of desperation in her eyes. "I will tell you, my lady. I will tell you anything you want to know, please don't be angry."

"Start from the beginning." Eloise looked around the room to find a suitable place to sit and then said haughtily. "You are not allowed to waste my time."

A few minutes later, she was walking down the hallway and stopped in front of the study with a concerned look. She tried to open the door but it was locked so she placed her ear on the door gently to see if she could hear anything but there was no sound. She began to feel worried as she returned to her room after a while, such rumours were not good things at all and it could ruin their reputation since servants were often used as mediums of gossips and slander nowadays.

After investigating the matter further, she discovered that this rumour had been going on for a while now and it even involved her deceased father as well! Although she had managed to scare the servants into keeping quiet for a while, she couldn't guarantee that it would last forever.

So she decided to inform her mother when she returned from their trip so she could decide on what to do about it. A part of her was filled with guilt knowing that such news that reminded her of her late father was something that should not be taken lightly but she didn't care. All that man cared about was his son, Aidan while he bluntly disregarded her and her twin sister without a care in the world. It was also the reason why she couldn't shed a single tear for him at his funeral...

To her, he deserved the end he got no matter the consequences.