The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 335: Change in plans (2)

An hour later, Annalise had cleaned herself up after the knights were finished with a small stream nearby and Rafael stood guard with Ezra and Thomas to stop anyone from getting close to where she had taken off her dress to wash up. frёewebnoѵēl.com

Annalise was finally able to have a proper conversation with the women who were knights since they waited to bathe once the men were finished and looked forward to spending more time with them when she returned to the manor.

After washing up, Annalise joined in eating around the fires. Enjoying meat caught by both Ezra and the knights. She had caught Ezra sharing with one of the knights how he managed to catch a rabbit without taking a torch with him to see where he was going.

Ezra didn’t want to answer at first as he continued to eat, but then he turned to the knight and started to explain how to properly hunt. Annalise didn’t have to worry about distracting Ezra because he would make friends who would do that job for her.

After having enough to eat, Annalise returned to the tent first as it was getting late and she needed to be well-rested for their trip tomorrow. She wanted time to go quickly so she could see Beatrice again. It was what she looked forward to the most aside from seeing her friends.

Annalise decided to stay in the dress she changed into after washing up. The later it got the colder the night started to become and the bonfires were not of much help since they weren’t too close to the tent.

As soon as Annalise laid her head down, Rafael entered the tent. He had spoken to Christian about taking a few knights to get his mother and then meeting at the road they would have to take to get back to the manor.

Annalise would ride in the carriage with his mother so they could spend the ride back catching up on what had happened since the last time they saw each other.

Rafael wanted his mother to know who Annalise was before they reached home and make plans to spend days with Annalise so wouldn’t be bored in the manor. His mother would also help get Annalise used to her new life in the manor.

Rafael took off his shoes and then joined Annalise on the blanket. "Are you cold?" He asked, touching her arm to check. He added more wood to the fire close to their tent to hopefully have the tent warmer to get through the cold night.

"Not as much as I would be if not for the tent and the little warmth from the fire. I will be fine," Annalise answered.

"Come here," Rafael said, moving his hands out of the way for Annalise to lie on his chest. "Laying close will keep us warm."

Annalise wiggled over to Rafael’s side and laid on his left arm while also placing her hand on his chest. His body was strangely hot despite how cold the air was outside. His left hand settled on her waist as his right hand pulled on the blanket behind her to pull it over some of her body.

Annalise poked a finger at his chest and said, "I like you in your armour, but it also feels good to have you like this. To feel how hard your chest is. We could also have a business letting women watch us wash clothes on your chest by the river behind the manor. There are so many ways we could make money if we were desperate."

"Why do all your business ideas involve me being without a shirt?" Rafael asked. He took pride in his body as it showed off how hard he trained to keep in shape, not to attract women who yearned to look at a man.

"It cannot be helped that you are attractive, Rafael. I have seen the maids staring at you when you are training the knights and how women look at you when you walk through the markets. They must be stripping you in their minds. I wouldn’t be a good business person if I didn’t make the most of my handsome partner. I would love it if there was a job for me to scare people who wanted to be scared," Annalise said, smiling as she would be the best at the job.

"For the sake of the people who wouldn’t know what they were getting into, I hope there is never such a job for you to do. Are you still thinking about finding work?" Rafael asked as he thought they had already agreed he would take care of her.

"No. I just think it is fun to think of how we could make money using you. I wouldn’t use your body to make money. I would rather become someone who kills for a living," Annalise said, finding it to be more fun. "You could pay me handsomely to kill your uncle. I wouldn’t make you pay a lot since we are together."

"How kind of you," Rafael replied, not interested in her deal. "Go to sleep, Annalise."

"Why? Are you afraid that I might make the business real? It would be a better idea if I taught others how to sneak into someone’s house or how to spot an intruder. Speaking of intruders, I have something I must confess. I once snuck into your study but I heard something or someone fall over outside and went back out the window. I didn’t steal anything," she promised.

Rafael stared at Annalise, wondering what else she needed to share with him. They needed to sit down to write out all the things they knew the other wasn’t aware of.

"Was there ever a time you managed to steal something from me?" Rafael asked, trying to think of what he was missing.

"Your heart? Oh, that one hurt me," Annalise said, touching where there was an ache in her chest. She wasn’t used to being the person who said things like that to try to be romantic. It hurt even more that Rafael was staring at her unamused. "Could you at least try to look like that was sweet? I was trying to be cute. Goodnight," she added, trying to turn over to face the other way.

Rafael didn’t allow her to turn away from him thanks to his hand on her waist. He didn’t react to what she said about his heart because it was not what he was expecting to hear from her. "Stop fighting and stay where you are, Annalise. Are you embarrassed?" He asked, propping himself up to look at her cheek.

It was dark in the tent, but for a moment, he thought her cheeks looked flushed. It was a sight he didn’t want to miss since he didn’t see it often.

Annalise pulled her hair over her face to hide from Rafael. "I am not. Don’t look forward to me ever saying that again. It doesn’t suit me," she said, giving up on trying to turn around and made herself comfortable lying on his arm.

Rafael moved his left hand up from her waist to her lower back to gently nudge her closer to him. "That’s a shame because I want to see more of you trying to act cute. It’ll give me a good laugh," he said, chuckling as Annalise pinched his arm. "Why must your answer always be to hurt me?"

" It will make you think twice about laughing at me. I’m trying to be sweet when talking to you sometimes like how other couples are. Wouldn’t you like it if I say things like other women do to men they like? Say something that makes your heart feel like it is beating faster?" Annalise asked, looking up at Rafael.

He was the sweet talker between the two of them and she wanted to try it once in a while.

"Annalise, everything you say makes me feel like that. Whether it is from fear or being surprised by what will come out of your mouth. You don’t need to be like other women," said Rafael.

At any other time, Annalise would have enjoyed hearing Rafael saying this, but it annoyed her how he could say something like this without feeling weird so she closed her eyes to go to sleep and stop him from showing off.