The Master Key of the estate was kept under the care of Mr. Jones and when earlier the maid came running asking for it, he simply had what she needed it for. And since Arwen hasn’t explained much to her, she simply has said that the lady has asked it to open one of the mansion’s doors.And since it was Arwen asking, Mr. Jones had handed the master key to the maid. But just when she was leaving, he had told her to stay with the lady to see if she needed any more help.He hadn’t given much thought because, since the very first day, Aiden had instructed them to give Arwen full access all around the estate. So hiding anything anywhere never crossed his thoughts until he saw the maid coming back.Did you not stay with the lady to help? he had asked the maid.The maid had politely bowed her head and said, I asked Madam, but she asked me to leave as she didn’t plan to do much. She just mentioned that she is there to take a look.Mr. Jones nodded with a small ‘oh’ before generally asking, Where is she? If she asked you to leave now, you can go after some time and check with her again.She is looking around the rooms in the opposite corridor of her practice room. I will go in some time and check again —Before the maid would have even gotten to complete, Mr. Jones interjected to ask in a desperate tone. Where did you say she is?The maid, who hadn’t expected the butler to raise his voice, jolted and stuttered. S-She is looking around the rooms that are in the opposite corridor of the practice room. Maybe one of the doors was locked so she asked me to get her the Master Key.Mr. Jones didn’t stay there for any long. His steps already hurried in the direction of reaching Arwen before she discovered something that she shouldn’t.The maid didn’t understand what happened, nor did she dare to ask. She just stood rooted to her place and saw the old butler hurry as if the house was about to get on fire.While back in the room, Arwen has gotten her hands on the photo frame. She was about to flip and see what it was when heard the door getting pushed open. She raised her gaze to look up only to find Mr. Jones standing with his brows furrowed in worry.Madam! he greeted but his gaze darted to look down at her hands that were holding something. And the moment he caught the sight wooden frame, his furrow deepened, highlighting his concern.Arwen, who had her eyes on him since the moment he showed up at the door, didn’t miss the shift in his expression. Her gaze followed his and trailed to look down at her hands.Mr. Jones, she began before asking, What happened? Is everything alright?The old butler cleared his throat before shaking his head at her. Yes, Madam, he said, continuing, Everything is good.But even though he said so, Arwen didn’t believe it. She let her gaze dart back to the frame in her hand and asked again, suspiciously, Is it?When the butler looked troubled at her question like that, she pulled her lips in a deliberate smile and helped him to explain in better terms.I mean you rushed all the way here like this, I thought you had something important to tell me or maybe stop me. Arwen never sounded rude but it did make the butler realize his mistake.He quickly bowed his head and spoke, This is your home, Madam. I am just the butler. How can I dare to stop you. He paused and then looked up with a polite smile. But I did come rushing here.Arwen raised a brow and the butler continued, The rooms on this side of the estate are not as well taken care of as the rest. I feared that you might get hurt. You didn’t even let the maid accompany you so …His voice trailed off when Arwen turned her gaze to look around the room. Not well taken care of? she repeated the words with a doubt. I don’t think so, Mr. Jones, she said as she returned to look at the old butler, pulling her lips in a smile. I might not say the same for all the other rooms, but this room seems special. I can see it is well taken care of.Mr. Jones hesitated for several seconds. He tried to come up with something that would explain his concern, but under Arwen’s scrutinizing gaze, he kept faltering.This room … he began, … still needs to run through the regular maintenance process, Madam. A few days back I just asked someone to tidy it up so it looks like this. Otherwise, this room along with the rest will soon will soon be getting taken care of. A specialized team would be coming for that. We have already placed our request, but yesterday we even got a call saying that they might come tomorrow.Although Arwen’s doubt didn’t ease, still given how firmly Mr. Jones said that the appointed team would be coming, she could bring herself to doubt his words.Nodding, she accepted. Oh, she said adding, But I must say even without it, this room looks well taken care of. Mr. Jones, can you tell me what exactly is this room?The butler didn’t know what to say. This … he began but before he could say anything Arwen interrupted and added.This doesn’t look like a bedroom, she turned gesture towards the study table. There is just a desk and chair but we can say this is a study room since Aiden has his study on the other side of the house. And this photo frame …She was about to turn to see what it was about when the butler hurriedly said, This is an old room.
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