Chapter 38 The Shadow Man

Chapter 38 The Shadow Man
"Lila, does this wall goes well with soft pink or butter yellow?" I asked Lila, showing her the new curtains.

We are inside the first guestroom and giving it the touch of welcome. "I read that Miss Clarina likes deep colors, despite her young age, her taste is impeccable." she commented.

The youngest one will occupy this room. She did not want any roommate so basically she will own this room--- from the color, decorations and aesthetics. Since there is no matured shade of curtain, I chose soft pink instead since it matches with the olive green ruffles of the bedding.

I shoved the curtain into the rod. "You don't have to help me, you know. You are just a maid in the paper. You are not required to act one. Not anymore." she uttered and dusted off her apron.

Lila carried the basket filled with dirty sheets and pillowcases. "When you finish, you might wanna take a rest. Lord Constantine does not want you to suffer with servant chores." she giggled and walked out of the door.

The mention of his name makes me flush. I don't think I would be able to face him again after that incident. He caught me finger-fucking myself while whimpering his name... like what on Earth is that?! It is embarrassing and soul crashing!

I finished beautifying the room, yet still unsatisfied. I crossed my arms and wander my eyes around the room... something is missing. I placed the vase on the center of the table and smiled. There. It is better. Elegant. Simple. And royal.

I heard footsteps behind me. "Well, I thought you are done, Lil?" I asked but when I turned around. It was not Lila but Madame Ingrid. I gulped and played with my fingers. "Madame Ingrid, do you need anything?" I muttered uncomfortably.

"Nothing, dear. Just checking on you. How's being a maid?" she trailed off.

"I kind of missed it, actually..." I confessed and was about to excuse myself when she spoke. "Did you hear the voice yesterday?"

"W-what? What voice?" I acted ignorant. I think it is best if only Constantine and I knew about it.

"Guillaume's voice..."

"Wait, how did you know about that? Did Constantine tell you?" I asked, I could not hide the annoyance in my tone.

"No...Trudy. Because I heard it too." she whispers and looked around the room. Madame Ingrid grabbed my hand and lead the way out of the guest room. We started walking along the hallway, I am waiting for her to speak up again.

"It echoed and haunted me in my sleep." she explained.

"The voice you heard... was it Guillaume?" I stopped for a while.

"Yes, it was him!" she panicked.

"Because the voice I heard was Constantine, it was just pretending to be him." I revealed and that dropped her jaw. Her eyes got triggered and was about to explain when I talked again.

"So, we probably heard different voices. I- I, uh, don't know. I cannot talk about this. I am sorry, Madame Ingrid." It was suffocating to even talk about it. I cannot even bear this think about it. As much as possible, I wanna free my mind from the horror and just for once pretend that I am just living my happily ever after with Constantine.

I walked passed her, carrying the woven basket, avoiding to make an eye contact. I marched back to the kitchen to have a glass of water. I stood in front of the glass window and looked outside. The weather's bleak. The gray, thick clouds are hiding the streaks of sunlight. I gulped the last drop of water and just as I was about to put the glass down, a figure caught my attention. Someone was standing beneath the boulder. I squinted my eyes to have a closer and clearer look but it was just a shadowy, black figure.

I gasped and unaware that I was moving my feet backwards to escape the sight of him looking at the direction of the manor. "Holy ghost!" I panicked when I bumped into someone behind. It was Madame Ingrid. "Why do you look so pale, Trudy? You looked as though you saw a ghost." she smiled and patted my shoulder.

"I, uh, I saw someone outside. Look..." I stammered and let her look for it herself but the moment she stood in front of the window, she just shrugged off her shoulders and looked at me as if I was not telling the truth. "He was just there... it looked as if it was not a person. It was shadowy and smokey or something---"

"Trudy, I get it. Calm down. But there was no one there. Maybe you were just tired from all the house chores?" she assisted me back to my room.

She was shushing me and caressing my hair until we have reached the door of my bedroom. "I need Constantine. Will you let him know? I will wait for him in here..." I murmured and sat down the cool bed.

"Alright. I will call him. For the mean time, rest. That would be best." she chanted and smiled. I was about to say no and run away until she helped me lie down the mattress and covered my body with the comforter. "Now, now... leave this situation to me. I will deliver your message to the Lord." she assured me.

She went out of my room, but before she shut the door, Madame Ingrid stared at me and smiled. Her uncomfortable smile. I shivered when I was finally alone. I do not know whether to fee safe now that she is not here anymore, or be afraid now that I am locked inside my room. Suddenly, it looked bigger and the sound of the silence is just numbing.

I rested my head and closed my eyes until the darkness took over.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

I was taken aback when I heard a loud knocking on the door. "Come in..." I answered.