Wings of a Dragonfly

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

The following day was largely spent doing as little as possible. I avoided leaving the servants' areas to ensure I did not see Lord Cahill. I was in quite a foul mood; I had a swollen, purple eye and while my nose was unbroken, it hurt like hell. The rumour of Lord Cahill sweeping into the kitchen to hit me in the face had circulated quickly, and the staff Lady Charlotte had hired to help for the party kept whispering to each other about it.

MJ looked at me in concern while I put a stack of clean plates in the boxes that would be taken with the extra staff. I frowned. "MJ, it's fine. I feel fine."

"It looks painful," she replied, worried.

Joseph placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "MJ, the boy is fine. Leave him to his ruminating."

I glared at him, but was also thankful that he led MJ away from me. Her hovering was well intentioned but incredibly annoying. I heard the door open behind me and hoped it wasn't yet another person come to whisper about what happened. I looked over my shoulder briefly to see Oliver standing in the kitchen.

"Oh, sir," I was startled. "I apologise, I had not heard a bell ring."

"No, I didn't ring for you," Oliver hastily interjected. "I just wanted to check up on you. You did not come to wake me this morning, so I thought you might be unwell."

"No, I am well," I replied, putting the plate in my hands down on the counter. "I apologise, I slept in this morning to try and rest up after last night. I hope Joseph was not too harsh with waking you."

Oliver smiled ruefully and admitted, "He took my covers away. I believe he regretted it almost immediately, however; I was completely naked."

"Then you both suffered together." I laughed a little, and a jolt of pain went through my eye as the skin moved a little. I winced, and Oliver noticed.

"Are you alright?" he asked hurriedly.

"Quite, sir," I smiled, but it was forced. "And how are you after your night of dancing?"

"Oh, I am tired, but it was enjoyable all the same," he mused, and then sighed. "Well, enjoyable may have been a strong word. The dancing was enjoyable, the rest of the evening was horrendous. Avoiding my father was difficult, but if he had spoken to me I would likely have lost my temper." He frowned at my face. "To think he lay a hand on you to teach me a lesson, it makes me furious."

"I know, sir," I replied, glad that the bruising on my face would disguise the blush spreading across it. "And I thank you for that, but please do not cause an issue because of me."

"It is not because of you, it is because of him," Oliver insisted, but then added, "Fortunately he shall leave tomorrow, along with my mother, and I can go about making this up to you. Carolina suggested we have a smaller night of dancing, just the staff and myself - and Carolina, of course."

I was surprised by the mention of Miss Ramos. "You spoke to Miss Ramos about what happened, sir?"

"Yes, she could see I was agitated," Oliver explained, and a smile crept across his face as though he couldn't quite hold it back. "She had some choice words for that sort of behaviour. It seems she is of the same opinion as me, that the household staff is part of a family." He laughed suddenly. "She is quite amusing. Such a tiny little thing, but she held up against my father's scrutiny, which is quite admirable..."

He continued talking about Carolina, but it was largely about people at the party that I had never met, and so the jokes flew slightly over my head. I knew some things about his friendship with Mrs Heroux, so I tuned back in when he started discussing her.