My Wonderful Second Life

Chapter 12- Francis letter

In quick steps, we reached the carriages and said our goodbyes to the worried Sargosa ladies. Emmanuel, too, seemed concerned and rushed us both into his blessed carriage. His face grew grim during our trip back, as if he had a bad feeling over those letters. And when a cheerful fool had a bad feeling, then it may be a time to worry too.

At our arrival, both Junnete, the head maid, and Fanny greeted us. They were tense, yet nothing in their semblance showed they knew what the letters were about. Junnete gave a thin sealed envelope to Emmanuel, while Fanny gave Jenni ours, which was much fuller and noisier. The sound it made almost took me away from the duke's letter until I noticed Emmanuel's face become darker. He furrowed his eyebrows in concern and mistreated his lips with his teeth.

"What does Father say, Lord Emmanuel?" asked Jenni, trying to peer into the letter, but failing as Emmanuel had raised the papers out of our reach.

The priest had been so engrossed in his reading he hadn't heard Jenni's question. As he walked up the stairs to the entrance with an air of crescent panic, Jenni coughed to get his attention. Surprised, he almost lost his pace on the stairs, looking back at us with a clueless expression. Then, seeing us stare at the letter in his hand, he showed a trembling smile.

"Oh, this." he hid the papers on his back. "Is nothing much. He says he loves you, girls, very much... Misses you every day."

"That is all?" I asked, suspicious.

His smile grew bigger and more unreliable. "Only some pleasant words for me... the rest I will tell you later." he put the letter in his pocket, under his cape, before walking at speed to the door. "My ladies, I am not feeling well at this present moment. Terrible headaches, so I hope you forgive me, but I must retire. Anything you need, you can count on Junnete to help you." And then he left with a bang on the door, while we watched without time to react.

No one believed him. He ran like a guilty person trying to escape judgment.

"That was odd... even for him." I whispered.

"Oh... he must be in one of those moods." remarked Junnete in a troubled tone.

"What do you mean by those moods, Miss Junnete?" said Jenni, coming closer to the head maid with a stern look. She hadn't gotten information from Emmanuel, but Jenni always found a way past difficulties.

The head maid blushed crimson, having now realized she spoke out loud. "It is nothing... really, my lady. However, whenever Lord Emmanuel complains about headaches, he closes himself in his office and drinks the duke's brandy. It can be for one night only or for several days." She fixed her eyes on the ground. "Your excellency, the duke, has forbidden him from drinking his brandy, though."

Ohhhhhh!!! He is stealing the duke's brandy?! He has balls... then why was he so concerned about my alchemy before? He already had a death wish...

"Shouldn't you stop him, Miss Junnete?" I said to the lady, watching her become even redder.

"We try. Yet his lordship always finds them..." she didn't dare to look at us, ashamed. Though, if I were to guess, the strong shade on her face meant Miss Junnete arbored something more for the priest than just a colleague's affection.

Old womanizer...

Jenni said nothing besides expressing her gratitude to the head maid. Then she led us back to our drawing-room, having asked for tea and some cookies on the way there. Upon reaching the room, we both sat on the same divan, with Fanny behind us watching and waiting.

Jenni had the letter by her lap and refused to open it until the tea arrived. The wait was killing me. Though Jenni was correct, nothing better than to eat some delightful treats while reading a letter from a royal prince.