Offending the Master of the house.

Tcehe next day, the morning went by so quickly that Antoniette could hardly catch her breath by afternoon. She eventually understood what her aunt had said about the house being greatly understaffed despite the small number of people living in the house. It was very taxing for one person to handle the requests of the ladies of the house and the very thought baffled her.

She was now visibly sweating when she had managed to find a break after coming back from an errand so she cleverly found a spot to rest under a tree near the gate to rest since it was far from the house. She massaged her legs tiredly and was happily resting until she heard a voice under her head chuckling. It said. "Is it that difficult to serve under the Knight house?"

She jerked and looked up to see the person, her eyes gradually widening in shock as she rearranged her skirt and backed away from the tree as far as she could. "Master Finley!"

She watched him expertly jump down from the tree while flashing a charismatic smile at her. He seemed even more surprised now that he was closer to her, scrutinising her properly. He muttered under his breath as he looked down. "Evelyn was right. She really is a rare beauty."

"Pardon?" Antoniette frowned a little, trying to hear what he had said more properly and internally thinking of excuses to leave. Although she had not heard of this person being unreasonable to any servant yet, she feared that he would make things hard for her once he had set his sights on her.

"It's nothing." He waved his hand as if dismissing her questioning gaze and reassumed his smile that had always made any lady he had met swoon. For a brief moment, it nearly faltered when he saw that she remained unaffected and even wary of him. He quickly caught on that she might have heard the rumours about him and inwardly grimaced as he took some steps to approach her. "There is no need to be cautious of me. I will not bite-"

"Of course you won't, dear cousin." A voice behind her was laced with obvious displeasure, making her turn to see who it was. She nearly doubled over seeing that it was none other than her very boss, Aidan Knight who stood watching them with annoyance in his gaze. "It seems like you do not have a reasonable explanation for not going to work today."

"I found it unsuitable to attend another meeting after what I said to those old fogies who didn't like my ideas." He looked more sober than he was before when he faced his cousin's cold stare and explained further in a smaller voice. "I was being considerate of you this time."

"If you pull this kind of stunt again, I will make sure to tell Mr Robinson about your incessant absence." Aidan warned him in a resolute tone before his eyes finally landed on the maid who stood at the side scrunched up like a frightened kitten and asked her. "You, what are you doing here? It's your first day of work and you are already slacking off."

"N-No, that's not true...." Antoniette was scared witless when she heard his words and unconsciously cast a glance of help to the person by her side who had gotten her in this situation in the first place.

Finley caught her helpless look and stepped up to help her as he told his cousin. "I am the one who requested for her help in helping me catch all these apples I was trying to pluck. You are the one who interrupted our work in the first place, Cousin."

Aidan ignored him and dropped his briefcase on the ground as he cast a look on Antoniette at the side before turning to enter the mansion with his hands tucked in his pockets. "Take my briefcase and follow me."

It took some time for the dazed young woman to respond to his command as he halted for a brief moment when hr realized that no one was following him so he turned with a more frostier tone. "Are you daft? Do you not hear what I just said?"

"Ah...Yes, Master!" Antoniette quickly picked up the briefcase and followed him as she cast a resentful look at Finley and left in small timid strides.

Finley, on the other hand, was slightly amused seeing her look and smiled as he took his first bite of the apple in his hand. Although his cousin has never been thrilled about his flings with the servants of the house, he could sense an underlying danger behind his cousin's glare this afternoon and it made him chuckle once more. He said to himself. "What an interesting scene, indeed."

Meanwhile, Antoniette followed at her master at a speed that was draining for her as they climbed the stairs. She tried as hard as she could to conceal her harsh breathing but she only managed to hold it until she entered his room where she dropped his briefcase with a loud thud. She immediately stilled in slight fright when she saw him glare at her. "M-My apologies, Master. Is there else anything I can do for you?"

Aidan loosened his tie with one hand with his inscrutable gaze on her, saying. "I heard that you need this job to help your family, is that true?"

"Yes, Master Aidan." Antoniette felt even more vulnerable hearing him talk about her life in such a lifeless tone and couldn't get decide if she should plead for her job or wait for him to get to the point but she had a feeling that it was not going to end well for her either way.

"If that is so, then try not to lose it by dropping your skirt for the first fine man you see. This is my last warning to you since you are the Head Maid's niece and her service to this household has been impeccable over the years." He noticed when she clenched her fist as her eyes reddened and felt a pinch of guilt in his chest so he cleared his throat. "You can leave now. Make sure to heed my words, Antoniette."