Arabella rose with the sun that morning as Edna's words had robbed her of good sleep. They were much harder to digest than dinner on her still churning stomach.
Her first stop had been the window where she pulled the curtains further open, hoping sunlight would cleanse the muzziness off of her eyes.
Although the sight of the garden merely reminded her that she wouldn't be able to visit it due to the task she'd been given.
And so, she turned to the second thing that had popped in her mind right after that, her locket…
Her heart did not sink but plummeted to her heels upon realizing the necklace was not in its usual place, that is the surface of her nightstand.
Her breath caught in her throat as she didn't know whether it was supposed to go in or to be exhaled.
Frantic, Arabella grasped a handful of her sheet and thrashed the fabric to the best of her ability, praying the jewelry had somehow gotten entangled to it, but no matter how hard she flapped, it gave no result.
The young woman opened every drawer and every box present in her room, to no avail. Barging into the bathroom, her eyes scrutinized every surface only to eventually spot the golden piece laying inert at the very center of her bathtub.
Without much consideration, she picked it and immediately opened the locket to make sure her mother's letter remained at its heart.
Pushing a long sigh of relief, Arabella ambled back to her room and allowed her weight to fall on the bed once more. She clenched the locket close to her heart in one hand as the other wiped at the tears that threatened to drop.
How did her locket end up in the bathroom? She wondered. Never did Arabella forget to put it back on after a bath…
The young woman pushed her weight off the bed and headed for the mirror. With shaky hands, she put the chain around her neck then searched for its clasp in order to lock it in.
Her gemstones lingered on the locket as questions whirled inside her head… How could she have forgotten it there?
Edna's flustered state when she'd first spotted her in the room flashed back behind her eyes. Could Edna have done something? The maid spared no effort to let her know how much she loathed her, going as far as to promese to make her pay for… Everything.
Would she go further? Would she cross that line?
After dressing up, Arabella thought she'd have the time to sit and open the anthology the Lady had handed her, but the habitual thundering that started from one end of the hallway rose in the distance, nearing Arabella's room with each second that passed.
A gentle knock landed upon the door right as the grinding of the trolley against the floor had halted.
"It is I, Miss, Ada! May I come in?"
Arabella's muscles relaxed a tad when Ada's soft voice reached her ears.
"Of course, Ada. Please come in!"
"Morning, Miss" Ada chirped.
"To you as well, Ada,"
Arabella moved towards the door to greet the maid, but as was customary, she drew to the side while Ada pushed the tray inside and began to place the dishes on the table.
Her lovely smile faded a little however, when she noticed hints of jitteriness in Arabella.
"Is everything alright with you, Miss?" she enquired.
"Yes!" As though snapping out of a daze, Arabella's eyes finally focused on Ada's figure, "Of course! It is a beautiful day today," she deflected.
"True, it is," Ada glanced at the open window, "Although I hear the weather will change quite a bit come evening,"
Slowly, Arabella walked before sitting down in front of the table, "Thank you, Ada," she smiled feebly.
"No worries, Miss. It is my job," Ada turned towards the door, but sensing the thick air in the room, she gulped and decided to press further, "Miss…," she muttered, and only continued when the attention of Arabella was completely on her, "Are you sure, you're alright? I mean, after your meeting with the Lady yesterday, I worried…," she trailed off.
"Truly, I am fine. It is just that I awoke quite early today and didn't get much sleep, that is all," Arabella tried to reassure Ada, but her expression wasn't fooling anyone, "I do have a question though, if you will,"
"I am all ears, Miss," Ada straightened her posture further, looking more interested in the conversation.
"Was there any issue affecting bathroom water? I mean, did you hear anything about that?" she asked.
Perplexion appeared on Ada's features as her knitting eyebrows and lack of words conveyed it amply.
"Oh… Nevermind my question," seeing the reaction of the maid, Arabella shook her head and let out a chuckle, "I am just being silly,"
"Did you encounter any trouble running a bath?" quizzed Ada.
"No, I merely heard something of the sort as I was walking back to my room from the lounge,"
Arabella had blurted that sentence then turned to her breakfast and began tinkering with the dishes, picking some and laying them down the next second, attempting to feign casualness but failing miserably at it.
Ada said nothing at first. She brought a hand to her chin and thought the young woman's words over, "If there was anything wrong about it, I was not made aware of it. Please enjoy your breakfast, Miss," Ada bowed slightly then left the room.
Arabella would have never truly had the guts to ring that bell the night before when Edna refused to leave, and only hoped her words would be enough to deter her… Thus, she kept the encounter to herself as Lord only knew what the consequences would be should she breathe a word of it to anyone.