Arabella pushed the trolley of food toward the drawing room, the wheels creaking softly against the floor. When she reached the door, she knocked gently before entering. The guest, Lady Eliza, sat stiffly in her chair, her face twisted with visible frustration. Her beauty did little to hide the storm brewing within her, and Arabella thought she looked like someone who might burst into smoke if she got any angrier.
Before Arabella could even set the tray down properly, lady Eliza's sharp voice rang out, startling her.
"Where is Dorian?" Lady Eliza demanded, her eyes blazing.
Arabella blinked, confused at the outburst. She lowered her gaze, not out of disrespect but to avoid the heat of Eliza's glare. "I… I don't know where he is," she said truthfully. She hadn't seen Dorian enter the house, though she suspected he had returned.
Eliza slammed her fan against her lap. "What do you mean you don't know where he is?" she shouted again, her voice echoing through the room. Anger clouded her tone so heavily that even Arabella felt a sting of fear.
"I don't know, If you want to meet him, I can help you look for him." Arabella offered, her voice coming out sharp instead of polite.
Her words, though harmless, came out sharper than intended. Eliza's lips curled in scorn as she rose from her seat and advanced, anger clouding her sanity "And who do you think you are? Talking to me in that tone" she hissed.
Arabella instinctively stepped back, wondering what was wrong with the woman, she didn't understand why a high standing woman of this caliber would be throwing tantrums like a five year old. But Eliza was already upon her. In one swift motion, the noblewoman yanked at Arabella's hair, jerking her head side to side like a child with a doll. "I asked you a question! Who do you think you are?!" Eliza shouted, her voice vibrating through the drawing room.
Then came the blow. A harsh, resounding slap cracked across Arabella's cheek. She stumbled back, colliding with the table, her hand knocking into the glass teapot. The pot shattered, and boiling tea splashed over her palm.
A sharp cry escaped her lips before she clamped her mouth shut, squeezing her eyes as the burn seared into her skin. Tears pricked at her lashes, but she forced them back, biting down on her lip. Eliza, however, didn't care. The same moment, the pain she felt seemed to suddenly go numb, as her expression changed from pain to anger, as a twisted, sinister and wicked smile made it's way to her face which was on the verge of coming out as a maniacal laughter, she subtly, picked up one of the shards of glass, clutching it besides her before standing up as though nothing had happened. But Lady Eliza didn't notice this as she turned her attention toward the door, where Nathaniel had just entered.
Lady Eliza straightened quickly, her expression twisting into something almost sweet. "Nathaniel," she greeted, pretending the outburst hadn't just happened. "Please… speak to Lord Dorian on my behalf."
Nathaniel's gaze swept over her briefly, but his attention moved to Arabella, and the broken teapot on the floor, he looked at her face directly to notice a wicked glint in her eyes, a flash of malice and suppressed fury, though her face remained mostly composed, he also noticed how she wasn't looking to the ground like other servants would, but her head was held up high.
"Eliza," Nathaniel finally said, his tone flat. "Lord Dorian asked me to tell you… you can leave now."
Eliza's eyes widened. "What do you mean, leave?!" Her voice cracked, frustration spilling out. "I've been waiting since morning, it's already evening! He promised me tea this afternoon. And now you say I should simply go?"
Nathaniel shrugged faintly. "That's what he said. You came earlier than you were told, and you know he doesn't like disobedience. He said you should leave."
"That's not going to happen, where is lord Dorian!" she yelled. "He can't just bail on me like this".
"That's your problem" he said wanting to leave as it seemed as though the lady really loved to wait.
"At least tell me where he is" she said her voice shaking as though she was on the verge of tears. Nathaniel sighed loudly before answering.
"He is in his art gallery"
"I can lead her there " Arabella suddenly butted in sharply making Nathaniel look at her. She didn't offer to take the lady there out of service, but she just needed to be somewhere alone with the lady.
"Dorian would not like anyone barging into his gallery" Nathaniel said his eyes trained on Arabella.
"I'm not hearing that, Dorian can't just –"
"That's enough " Nathaniel said his voice now low and chilling, every sign of play leaving his face as his red eyes became darker. The air became still as silence settled. "Lady Eliza, don't let Dorian get here" he said, and this time around, she finally got the message.
She picked up her hand fan which was on the couch before dashing out with enough force, almost bumping into Nathaniel, but he was fast enough to move to the side before she hit him. He looked back at Arabella noticing how she gritted how teeth against each other, anger trying to make it's way to the surface which she tried to put in check, he noticed her hand trembling as she held tightly onto something.
He had left the room when he heard the sound of something clanking onto the floor, he was sure it was the sound of glass which made him wonder if what she was clutching so tightly was a shard of glass.
He said nothing, but the thought lingered as he made his way back toward Dorian's gallery.
Inside, Dorian stood before his easel, his latest painting almost finished. He peeled off his gloves and turned at Nathaniel's approach. Through the window, he had already seen Lady Eliza leaving in a storm of anger, which made him smirk faintly. But when he looked at Nathaniel, he noticed the rare look of thought etched across his cousin's features.
"What happened?" Dorian asked casually, moving to sit beside him. "Was it Eliza's tantrum that's making you look like this?"
Nathaniel shook his head. "No… that's childish, not enough to bother me, it's about one of the maids." His brow furrowed as he recalled Arabella's expression. "There was something about her, something violent about her, she tried to hide it, but I think she was going to strike lady Eliza with a shard of glass, earlier, I think lady Eliza hit her, there was a mark of the five digit on her face" Nathaniel said. The image of Arabella clutching something so tightly etched in his mind."She even offered to bring lady Eliza here, but it wasn't out of service, I think she wanted somewhere quiet to harm her".
Dorian's eyes sparked with interest. He already knew who Nathaniel was speaking of. "Arabella," he said softly.
Nathaniel's head snapped up. "So you do know her. You knew she was like this, and yet you keep her here? Why?"
But Dorian only gave a careless shrug, rising from the couch. "That's Arabella. The slave I bought from the Crimson Dais." he continued as if he didn't hear Nathaniel's questions.
With that, he left the gallery, offering no further explanation. Nathaniel slouched into the couch, his mind heavy with unease. For once, he had no words.