We still need man-things!

Chapter Twenty Five

That was a shock for everyone, even for Lady Dimitrescu herself. Ingrid had never stolen anything, and nothing in her behavior in the last few days showed that she was planning this or otherwise losing her loyalty to her masters. Her payment was good, her food was plentiful, and the family where she came from had a good reputation in the entire community. Ingrid didn't have a single reason why she should have done this, but all the evidence that Alcina and her daughters found in the next few hours indicated it was really her. During their search in the headmaid's current and old rooms, they discovered at least a dozen different tools hidden inside the mattress. These were saws, drills, screwdrivers, lockpicks, and stethoscopes—all probably used for getting through the wooden floor of the chamber, blocking its door, and finding out the code of the strongbox that contained a lot of cash. But the greatest evidence was her blood: Ingrid had gotten hurt while climbing over a sharp-tipped iron fence outside, and by its taste, the whole Dimitrescu family was 100 percent certain that the perpetrator was really her.

Whatever the motive, something truly evil caused the most trustful servant to not only steal money and almost kill Daniela but also leave behind her girlfriend, whom she truly loved and planned to marry. Helga was hit so hard that she cried all the following night, and fellow maids had to constantly watch over her because there was a danger that she might attempt suicide.

Considering the current lockdown and how hard it is to escape from this place due to geographical reasons, Lady Dimitrescu believed that Ingrid could still be in the village. Usually, when she wasn't able to catch thieves before they left the castle, she called Mother Miranda. But this time, things were more complicated: Mike was still in her house, and there wasn't any possibility of keeping his presence secret when Miranda arrived and took solving that crime on her own shoulders. Because of that, she decided not to inform the village leader, and she tried to hunt her down alone.

*

Mike sat in his room and looked at the wall with a horrible feeling in his soul. Alcina had just left, and he knew what would happen to the headmaid if she found her. He prepared himself for the worst but also hoped that the mistress wouldn't slice her to death on the spot but would bring her back to the castle to ask for explanation and motive, and perhaps allow Daniela to decide if she was worth living or not.

Despite that heinous crime, Ingrid was still a friend for Mike, but since Lady Dimitrescu offered him shelter from Miranda, he had to also take her as his friend. That made things especially hard—both women had saved him from danger, and he didn't want to even think about what to say in Ingrid's possible trial.

Mike didn't want to see anybody and didn't come out of his room until late in the evening, when he started to get hungry.

Alcina hadn't returned yet. Her daughters were loading freshly filled bottles of Regina Rosie in crates at the wine cellar, and all the servants had gone to sleep except the ones who had to do night shift today and watch over Helga, who was still in a state of mental crisis in her room and refused to take pills that would make her sleep. Helga's wailing filled the entire castle, and Mike suffered from real mental torture while being forced to hear it. There was nothing he could do.

He ate some bread in the kitchen and then walked to the main hall, where things were more quiet. The fire in the fireplace was still burning and giving some warmth to the room, which seemed somewhat dank today. Mike sat down on the couch there and tried to get over all that negativity he had in his mind. He watched the fire and saw how small blue flames were dancing on the red-hot coals.

At an hour after midnight, he finally started getting drowsy and had to fight with sleep. He didn't want to go to the armory yet; he thought that Alcina might return at any moment, and he wanted to be the first to learn about his friend's fate.