At first, I was confused as to why she looked so surprised to see me. Then it hit me that it was probably because she was surprised to see me setting foot outside of my bedroom. That was to be expected given the many days that I’ve confined myself to that room.
“Where is Bradon? Is he still here or has he left for work already?” I asked while praying that I wasn’t too late.
“I am very sorry, but you’ve just missed him. He left around half an hour ago...” Jenna replied with a regretful look on her face.
How early does he leave the house? It’s like he doesn’t even want to be here...
“Oh...” I mumbled with clear disappointment.
“The weather is forecasted to be nice today. So, what about taking a stroll in the garden?” she suggested with a smile.
I cocked my head to the side as I gave her a curious look. It wasn’t like I intended to follow his orders to the letter or anything like that, but if I remembered correctly, I did not have permission to leave the mansion and that included wandering into the gardens.
“Oh, Master Bradon gave orders this morning that you are now allowed to enter the gardens as long as you don’t venture anywhere close to the gates,” Jenna informed me before beaming a bright smile my way.
“Congratulations to me...I guess...” I murmured sarcastically.
Jenna had a conflicted look on her face as if she was hesitating to say or ask me something. I wondered if she got into trouble somehow from my failed attempt to escape.
“Is something the matter?” I asked directly.
“Nothing. I’m just glad that you’re back,” she replied with a kind smile.
“I see. Thank you...I shall take a stroll in the garden...” I replied before returning her smile.
Clearly, Jenna realized that I had gone missing and that something must have happened. Since she hesitated to talk about it, I also decided not to bring it up either. I had no idea how much she was involved but I hoped that she didn’t get into any trouble because of me. Since Bradon left a note telling me not to tell anyone, he probably didn’t tell anyone about the punishment that I went through last night either. I also thought that that was definitely for the best. I could feel my face heat up when I recalled the way he caressed my body both inside and out.
While trying my best to shrug off that thought, I headed toward the exit of the mansion where I half expected to run into Zain.
“Good morning, Lady Diana...” Zain greeted me with a polite smile.
Once again, Zain was stationed right at the door of the mansion. I was sure that he had other work to do and didn’t spend his entire day and night stationed at the door, but he was always there when I happened to drop by. After conversing with him a couple of times, I still found it hard to believe that this well-mannered man who spoke in such a warm and friendly manner was the same man who handed Bradon a gun without any hesitation. That being said, I was well aware that he probably always carried a gun on him even if it wasn’t visible. The other guards truly looked their intimidating part. They never spoke to me, and I never struck up a conversation with any of them either.
“Good morning...” I returned his greeting as well as his smile.
“You are now free to leave the mansion to enjoy the view outside in the gardens. Shall I escort you?” he offered.
I wasn’t sure if that was a genuine invitation or if he needed to be there with me to watch over me. The garden looked so much more beautiful during the day than the way that I remembered it at night.
“I don’t want you to, but if you have to, you can come along as well,” I replied bluntly.
“I can let you go alone if you’ll just do me a simple favor of answer a question that I happen to have,” he replied politely.
He’s actually negotiating with me...?
“Sure...” I replied while finding the entire matter entertaining.
“Did something unusual happen last night?” he asked as he stared directly at me.
Does he know or does he simply suspect that something happened?
“No...” I replied with an innocent look on my face.
It suddenly occurred to me that the thing that happened last night that Bradon was really referring to was probably the fact that I had tried to escape. I should have known that he was referring to that rather than what I had in mind. My mood darkened slightly for some unknown reason as I forced a smile on my lips.
‘Your punishment will be much lighter if you let me do it here. However, if we go back and everyone finds out that you tried to run away from me, I won’t have the luxury of going easy on you...’
Bradon did say something like that. So that was the reason why he wanted me to keep it a secret from everyone that I attempted to run away last night?
I resisted the urge to chew on my lower lip as I wondered if he was being truthful about going easy on me with the punishment. It was still hard for me to picture Bradon actually going easy on me or anyone else for that matter.
“I see. Sorry for asking out of the blue. I noticed that some of the guard dogs went missing for a while and then some security systems were turned off. It must have been a glitch in the system,” he said before showing me a nice smile.
“Is that so? I have no idea what’s been going on lately. As you know, I’ve been doing nothing but sulking in my room,” I replied innocently.
“I am glad that you have decided to come outside again,” he answered politely.
--To be continued...