"Are you okay, mistress?" Harriet rushed to Jenna's side, checking if she was okay first, then got down on her knees to pick up the shards.
Jenna's lips remained open, her eyes on the ground where Harriet was kneeling. How could she have forgotten the man that knelt before her the previous night, even holding her legs?
"Let me get a broom," Mabel suggested, holding up her dress to leave the room, but Jenna stopped the young girl.
"You shouldn't ruin your dress while we are waiting for your groom-to-be," Jenna muttered, touching her forehead.
"Harriet, leave that to me. I'll clean it up. Take Mabel to your room." Jenna got down on her knees and moved the girl's hands so she could pack the shards herself.
Harriet frowned, "But, my lady, you—"
"I said I'm fine," Jenna interrupted with a tired sigh. When she realized her action might cause misunderstanding to the young girls, she shook her head.
"You did nothing... just that... I think I need a little rest, and you two should rest too." Jenna touched Harriet's face and smiled.
"Don't worry about me. If I need something, I will let you know." Her words seemed to calm the young girl a little because she nodded.
Harriet carefully put down the shards she had packed. "Make sure you let me... us know if you need anything. We are servants," the girl said, her voice barely audible.
Jenna nodded with a half-smile. "Now go, you two." She watched them leave her room, though in their eyes Jenna knew they were worried.
Once they stepped out of the room, Jenna stood up, pacing back and forth in her room. She remembered everything clearly: kissing Rhane and even pulling him to herself. Everything she had done, the young man didn't complain. Jenna placed her nails on her lips and chewed nervously.
Her being drunk had let her show her intrusive thoughts. It pained Jenna because she was supposed to be protecting the man, but she had done the same thing the caregiver wanted to do and the same thing she was stopping Beth from doing.
"What have I done?" Jenna pressed her palms together and sighed. She didn't know how to react or even face Rhane. She had been angry that he lied about his name—not literally, but he let her stay on the wrong track without trying to correct her. Yet she had done worse. Jenna knocked herself hard and winced.
She had been doubting Rhane after the name incident and had even intended to send him away since he was lying. Now it had come to shoot Jenna in the leg because the young man had let her kiss him and do anything without stopping her. Jenna now believed he still doesn't remember and was just like a child in mind. It was her, Jenna, who had really messed up so bad.
"Are you inside, master?" Rhane knocked on the door softly.
Jenna's heart skipped when she heard the knock, the least person she wanted to see at the moment. She wasn't sure how to act yet around him. Apologize or feign sudden amnesia? Jenna bit her lips and sighed. Even her pride wouldn't let her stoop that low. She knew she had to face it head-on and apologize if necessary.
"C-come in... ehm," Jenna cleared her throat, trying to sound confident, but she was shaking.
Rhane opened the door and entered, bending his head that almost touched the doorframe.
Jenna's heart raced the moment she saw the young man. She rubbed the back of her neck.
"Ann- I mean Rhane," she chuckled nervously, taking a step back, her bare feet an inch away from the broken shards.
Rhane's eyes moved from Jenna's face and settled on her lips, then down to the floor, and he frowned.
Jenna swallowed. She pointed at the door, then at Rhane. "Wha- what did I do... um... last night?"
Rhane tilted his head slightly. "Last night?" He took a step closer to Jenna. When she didn't move, he took another step until he was standing in front of her.
Jenna raised her face, her eyes staring at Rhane. She wanted to keep eye contact, but it was impossible with the way Rhane was staring intensely at her. There was just something about the way he looked at her that made Jenna's breath hitch. The more she looked into his eyes, the more she felt like she was diving into a rainforest and was getting lost. Jenna looked away immediately.
"If someone is hurting you... you don't obey or keep quiet. Even if that someone is me! Nobody should have to use you or touch you..." Jenna's voice became very low; she kept scolding herself mentally.
Rhane hummed for a moment, his eyes dulling, staring at Jenna's lips whenever she spoke. Some historians might regard Rhane's gaze as eye-fucking, which is a perfect explanation of how he stared at the woman before him.
"Master didn't hurt me last night..." he began. "Master only did this..."
Before Jenna could realize what was happening, Rhane leaned closer to her, and his lips were on hers. It wasn't the kiss that was Jenna's problem; it was the fact Rhane's eyes remained open and both of them stared at each other.
Rhane pulled back from the brief kiss with an innocent look on his face, like it was nothing.
"Master said she wanted to be free and only did this," he remarked calmly.
Jenna opened her lips, then closed them, to be sure she wasn't dreaming. Jenna rubbed her hand on her lips and took a step back.
"Ow," a soft cry left her lips when a piece of glass pierced into her leg, and she tried to jump away, but Rhane held her steady.
"Master, there are more of it." Without waiting for Jenna's approval, Rhane lifted her from the ground.
Jenna stared down at the ground, then at Rhane's face. Everything was happening so fast, and she couldn't say anything.
Rhane carried her to the chair Mabel was sitting on earlier, carefully placed Jenna there, then he knelt down and picked up her leg.
Jenna was quick to stop him. "Stop... I will handle it from here." She didn't know what other crazy thing this young man was going to do to her.
Rhane hummed. "But Master is hurt," he muttered, moving her leg to the side as he scanned the wound. "I can get it out."
Jenna sighed. It was going to be difficult if she did it herself. She nodded. "Alright... carefully use your hand to- Rhane!" Jenna's hands shot forward, grabbing Rhane's shoulder as she tried to push him away.
Rhane's lips locked with Jenna's leg, his teeth gently grazing her feet. He grabbed the glass piece with his front teeth and slowly pulled it out, then he spat it into his palm. Returning his lips to Jenna's feet, he stuck his tongue out slightly, licking and then sucking the blood.
Jenna's heart raced with each time she saw Rhane's tongue on her feet. It made her heart tremble, and not just that... it made her stomach turn... like she was hungry, but it wasn't a hunger for food.
Rhane pulled back, using his thumb to swipe the corner of his lips. He carefully dropped Jenna's leg.
"What do I do... I'm in trouble," Jenna trembled when he licked his lips languidly.