Claimed By The Rival Alpha

Chapter 89: Chapter 89

Selena

I had barely settled into my new position before I realized that being a maid in House Hawthorne was going to be far more complicated than I had expected.

The headmaid had given me a basket and instructed me to take the kitchen rubbish outside.

Simple enough.

I lifted the basket and made my way through the back corridor, trying not to draw attention to myself. I had only taken a few steps when two maids stepped directly into my path.

They looked at me with folded arms and suspicious expressions. "You’re the new girl."

I stopped before answering, "Apparently."

One of them scoffed. "Apparently? You walk into this manor out of nowhere, replace one of our maids, and now you’re acting as though you belong here."

I tightened my grip on the basket before asking, "What exactly do you want?"

"To know what you’re doing here."

"I already told the headmaid."

"We aren’t the headmaid."

"I noticed."

The second maid narrowed her eyes then asked, "Who sent you?"

"No one."

"Then how did you get in?"

I sighed. "The same way anyone gets into a manor. I was brought here."

"By whom?"

"The castle headmaid."

They exchanged a look. "You’re lying."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why would I lie about that?"

"Because no servant who had the opportunity to work at the castle would simply leave."

"I didn’t say I left."

"Then what?"

I looked at them both. "I told you what you needed to know. The rest is my business."

The first maid stepped closer. "You should learn your place."

I smiled. "I know exactly where my place is. But do you?"

Her face hardened. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means if you continue wasting my time, you’ll be the ones explaining to the headmaid why you prevented another servant from doing her assigned work."

That silenced them.

I adjusted the basket on my hip. "I have rubbish to dispose of."

The second maid pointed at me. "We’ll be watching you."

"Watch all you want." I uttered then quickly walked away before they could answer.

I didn’t take them seriously. If they wanted to watch me, they were welcome to do so. I had bigger things to worry about.

When I reached the back courtyard, I emptied the rubbish and was about to turn around when the manor gates opened and a carriage rolled through.

I immediately slowed down.

The carriage was elegant, polished and decorated with the Hawthorne sigil.

I lowered my head and pretended to inspect the basket but I watched from the corner of my eye.

Two people stepped out. A man and a woman. Both were beautifully dressed, their clothes clearly made from expensive fabrics.

Several servants immediately bowed. "My lord."

"My lady."

My eyebrows rose to stare at them, they looked young. Very young.

I couldn’t help wondering if one or both of them were children of the actual patriarch of House Hawthorne.

The man carried himself with confidence, while the woman looked quieter.

I followed them inside, keeping enough distance between us to avoid suspicion.

"Where are you going?"

I immediately stopped as a servant stared suspiciously at me. "I’m heading back to the kitchen." I managed to utter.

"Then go." She snapped at me.

I bowed before speaking. "Yes." I said then instantly walked away but my curiosity had already taken hold.

Something wasn’t right. I had come here looking for information about the noble house and its connections to the vampires.

Now two suspiciously young nobles had arrived, and I was being kept away from them. I wasn’t going to ignore that.

For the next several hours, I played my role. I washed dishes. I carried barrels. I cleaned tables. I hauled water. I chopped vegetables then started fires for cooking.

The work itself wasn’t difficult. I had done far worse at the castle.

But I was watching, listening and waiting. Eventually, I decided I had waited long enough.

If I wanted answers, I needed to get closer to the people who could give them to me.

"I should probably sneak into their chambers."I finally decided.

Even as spacious as the manor was, it was still very much smaller than the castle, making hiding and sneaking around less easier for me.

I was wandering around the manor when I heard several maids arguing.

"Why should I take supper to them?"

"Because you served them yesterday."

"And you served them the day before."

"I have other work to do."

"So do I."

I immediately stopped then asked. "What are you arguing about? I can help out."

They turned toward me. "You."

"What about me?" I asked, taken aback.

"You’re new."

"I know."

"You don’t volunteer for anything yet."

I placed the dishes down. "There’s nothing wrong there. I can take supper to them."

The maids burst into laughter. One of them looked me up and down. "You?"

"Yes."

"You’ll probably drop everything."

"I won’t."

"You don’t even know how things work here."

"I know how to serve nobles."

Another maid folded her arms. "You’re very confident."

"I worked at the royal castle."

The laughter stopped as one of them asked in awe. "Really?"

I nodded. "I have served people far more difficult than your lord and lady."

They looked at one another, They were clearly impressed despite themselves. "Then prove it."

I glanced at the trays. "Give me those."

I arranged several trays across my arms. One, Two, Three... then another. I balanced them easily.

The maids stared in disbelief. "How did you..."

"It’s an experience." I smiled. "So, am I still a newbie?"

One maid rolled her eyes. "You can go serve them."

I balanced up the trays properly before muttering. "Thank you."

"Just don’t blame us when the headmaid catches you."

I lowered my head. "I’ll take my chances."

They laughed while I turned toward the stairs.

The guards directed me toward the upper floor. "Lord Henry and Lady Sophia are in Lady Sophia’s chamber."

"Thank you." I said then continued upward with my heart beating faster.

Henry and Sophia... so that was their names.

When I reached the chamber, a guard stood outside so I lowered my head then uttered. "I’ve brought supper."

"You can leave it."

I looked toward the door. "I was told to serve them directly."

The guard shook his head. "Leave it here."

I needed him gone. Immediately, I thought of something. "Actually, I was told there was an issue in Lord Henry’s chamber."

His expression changed. "What issue?"

"Some servants need help moving heavy furniture out of the room for cleaning."

He frowned. "Now?"

"Yes."

He glanced at the door before murmuring. "I’ll check."

"Okay."

He left while I waited until his footsteps disappeared then I turned toward the chamber.

I didn’t enter. Instead, I positioned myself close enough to hear their conversation.

Voices came from inside. It’s a man’s voice... Henry. "You need to understand how this family works."

A woman’s soft voice answered. "I understand."

"No, you don’t." There was silence before he added. "Tell me what our family does."

"We trade..."

"Trade what?"

The woman hesitated. "Livestock."

Henry sighed. "And?"

"Meat."

"That isn’t enough." His voice became sharper. "Our family has survived because we understand people. We know who to respect and who to disregard. We know which families are useful and which families are dangerous."

I shifted the trays on my arms... My muscles were beginning to ache but still, I remained there.

"Now tell me who we owe our loyalty to."

The woman answered but he immediately screamed, "Wrong!" Then he continued, "Never forget that our position depends on knowing where power lies."

I frowned. This sounded less like a conversation and more like a lecture.

Henry was teaching her. But why?

"Again," he said.

The woman tried answering and he corrected her.

Then came another question and another. The lecture continued for several minutes while I listened carefully.

The more I heard, the more suspicious I became. Something about the woman sounded wrong.

She didn’t sound like someone raised within a powerful noble family. She sounded frightened, uncertain and dependent.

Then Henry suddenly raised his voice. "How many times do I have to explain this to you?"

"I’m sorry."

"Sorry won’t make you smarter! You cannot remain this dumb if you want to become your sister."

My heart skipped. Her sister?

I leaned closer as Henry continued. "Do you understand what is at stake?"

"Yes."

"No, you don’t." His voice became bitter. "The vampires want my sister."

My blood ran so cold that I almost stopped breathing.

"If it wasn’t for that," he continued, "you wouldn’t even smell my sister’s chamber, let alone sit inside it."

My mind went blank as everything began to click. The woman inside wasn’t Lady Sophia. She was an impersonator.

A peasant and someone who was brought here to pretend to be Sophia because the real young lady had been requested by the vampires.

I nearly dropped the trays because my foot shifted and the wooden floor creaked.

Everywhere suddenly became silent. "Who’s there?" Henry’s voice came sharply.

I panicked then quickly pushed the door open. I stepped inside and bowed deeply. "My lord."

The woman sitting inside looked at me. She was beautiful and elegant but her eyes were filled with sadness.

She looked like someone who had been forced into a life she didn’t understand.

Henry stared at me before asking. "Who are you?"

I kept my head lowered. "I’m a maid, my lord."

"I’ve never seen you before."

"I’m not new." He frowned while I quickly added. "I’ve worked here for some time. I’ve simply never been charged with serving you before."

For a moment, I thought my answer had worked but then, the door suddenly opened behind me.

The guard returned and he immediately pointed at me. "That’s her."

My heart immediately began racing.

"She lied." The guard added, making me curse underneath my breath.

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