Henrietta

Unfair

~Chapter Five~

The wind gushed just above his black leathered shin boots. He had not stepped outdoors lately and the exposed air enclosing him imprisoned him in a rigid posture. His stomach tensed, as did his jaw. Never in all his existence had he gone out of the whim to fetch a low life such as Henrietta. It made his chest flutter, dominating his entire body with an alien awareness.

In the back of his mind he predicted what that could be, but he did not want to consider it. Calvin's head swarmed as he glared at Henrietta stagger her way toward the muck road. One foot moved in front of the other as he raged after her. There was little concern for the staring eyes in his direction. He would deal with his nosy servants later. Calvin was more concentrated on finding the underlying cause of Henrietta's schemes.

Why? He had no clue. He would not allow remorse to overcome him nor mercy. Stretching for her arm yet again, he lifted her over his shoulder. She did not attempt to flee nor did she scream, instead, she merely stiffened in his grasp. Frightened and confused she gazed at some of the servants near and threw a pleading look. However, one cold unyielding look from their master had them speedily averting from his way.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, exasperated.

Moving quickly through the lingering eyes he set his sight on the large stables and sauntered in its direction. With a hard slam of the door, he tossed her unto a hefty stack of hay. Ettie tousled to her feet, the withered straw jabbing her bare feet as she edged away from Calvin.

"You will tell me the schemes you plan this instant. My patience for you has grown thin," he sneered. Calvin stood taller than she making her squirm in her posture as she retreated farther away.

He studied her as she fiddled with her fingers, the straight row of her teeth biting down on her fragile pink lip. "I don't understand," she whispered. The fact that she refused to stare at him made Calvin surprisingly irritated. It was expected of a lowlife to divert their gaze elsewhere, but he disliked the way she did it. He was tempted to lift her chin so that her eyes met his.

Had he not taken pleasure in watching her squirm, avoiding his leering presence before? Now it seemed he disliked it. He forced himself to give her his back, blocking her from his view. Instead, he lifted his eyes, gazing at the aging wood inside the stables. "Pretending you have no clue will do you no good," he threatened.

She did not reply, and her silence nearly drove him into madness. When the stillness grew too high, he turned to find her wiping tears away. She nibbled on her bottom lip, her face a mess of confusion. "The only way to prove my innocence is to...l-leave, and I shall, but please allow me to say goodbye to Henry," Ettie said.

Henrietta looked like and innocent peasant before him, her hair like long drapes cascading down her shoulders in waves of brown. He allowed himself to stare at her for a long moment. Calvin's lingering gaze forced her to stare up at him, her blue eyes capturing his emerald stare.

Then it struck him, the humiliation of mislaying control of himself in the house cleaner's chambers. His face became a cold stare once again and his hands fisted at his side.

"Gather your things and go back inside...and servant, speak of this to no one, understood?" he threatened.

Ettie nodded and rushed out of the stables as Calvin let himself lean a forearm against the wall and press his forehead to it. What had he done! He had never lost control of himself like that before. He had gone mad and crazed.

"Forgive me Lydia," he muttered, to himself.

Even then, the words did not feel truthful as they slipped from his mouth. Calvin felt something beginning to change in him as he thought about Ettie. He did not enjoy it one bit, in truth, he feared it. He had grown accustom to being a dark and brooding master, giving no room for weak emotions and interaction with individuals. How had this poor servant accomplished to break him even after his own wife had failed to?