NIRELLE - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

By the time I go around the table trying everything the chef has made, I am full, and it feels like I haven't had anything to eat. I walk back to the kitchen, and now the chef is present. I do not get another opportunity to silently watch them work, as the lady who had attended to me earlier spots me right away.
"Mrs. Vexley?" She seems shocked that I made my way to the kitchen again, but she tries her best not to show it. She walks to me, maybe hoping she can help me with something, but she is not the only one making way for me.
"Mrs. Vexley," the chef says as he stops in front of me. "Was the breakfast to your liking?" he asked in a French accent that was well articulated. Lucien was so influential that he had a chef flown in to serve him.
"Of course," I say, nodding slowly. He looks at my face, and I can tell that he is staring at the bruises. Maybe I should have done something to cover it up before presenting myself to his staff like that. He tries his best not to let his gaze linger, but his curiosity seems to be getting the best of him.
"I ran into something before I came here; it was an accident," I explain and wonder why I need to. He was not going to help me. Why did I want to cover for Yvette and Enoch? They were cruel to me; the entire world deserved to know, yet it felt like a slap to my face if people knew they were hitting their precious daughter. They hit her so much that they did not value her, so they had to send her to a monster.
"Oh yes, ma'am, I am sorry for staring." his voice filled the entire room immediately, somehow dissolving the awkwardness that filled the room. "Do you want something special for lunch?" he asked. He must have expected that I would know the fancy names for meals, but I only know what I ate, and since there was not much variation from bread and rice, that was all I knew.
"I will have the same with Mr. Vexley," I say, and he nods.
"I will escort you back to your room," the lady who had helped me volunteered again. I want to ask her name, but I know that she would most likely not tell me. It's still early enough; I have not even been here for up to twenty-four hours. I am sure in a few days I might be able to bring up such conversations.
"I can find my way back," I say to stop her because I do not plan on going back to the room. I was going to tour the mansion and hoped that I would not get lost while hoping I would not find myself on the third floor, as Theo had instructed on the night I got there.
I walk away before she can insist and begin on the ground floor, opening the door gently so as not to make any noise. I was met with pitch darkness in each room. I did not bother to try to see what was in the rooms, as my guess was a heavily furnished room that was not in use.
I stop by one door that seems bigger than all of the rest I have stumbled into, and I open the door silently, but it gives me away as it creaks open. I wince as if I am in pain and step into the room. It is the only lit-up room, and I am glad that it is the study. The walls are lined with shelves that have books in each stack. I smile happily. I had always loved reading, but then the transition to being an adult purged that out of me somehow; maybe I would be able to wake it up again with some of the books in here.
I walk to the closet shelf and begin to run my hand against the spine of the book, wondering why a grown man like Lucien had all of these books. Maybe it was not weird for him to want to be reading it, but it does not fit him in any way. Not the image of him roaming about on the outside, nor the image of him that I seem to have unravelled.
My head snapped to the sound of someone clearing their throat, and I felt embarrassed to see him standing there at the end of the room where a huge table stood. I take a space back as if that would make the space between us bigger as I wonder how I had not seen him when I came in; I was sure I checked the room well.
"I was doing a little house tour," I said almost immediately, hoping he would not think I was wandering without a purpose.
"You can do that," he replied with an approving nod. "You can do what you want as long as it is within the rules."
"And why can't I go to the third floor?" The question flies out of my mouth before I can fully think about it. Was I too comfortable? If Enoch had been the one with that order, would I have asked questions as easily as I did? Why did I want to know why I was not allowed on the third floor? Did it matter?" Don't answer that, and forget I asked." I say, even though I want to act like it does not matter, I want to know why. I turn my attention back to a book in front of me that caught my eye. 'The Secret Keeper'
I pull it out and stare at the cover for a while before I look at him. "Can I borrow this? I will have it back in top shape; I just need something to take my mind off..." I am now conscious of the fact that I am rambling. "I will have it back," I finally say, and he nods.
"You can do what you want." This time, it's like he is reassuring me because I was being too doubtful. "Everything here is yours."
"That does not sound right because I do not want it."