Chapter 14: The Servants Are Gone

Rachel blinked, “Of course it was Mr. Guzman who asked me to get up.”

Trevor nodded eagerly. “Yes, it really was me.” “You…” the boxer frowned in disbelief and looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but Rachel didn’t give him the chance. “Mr. Sullivan said that I am free to leave as long as Mr. Guzman forgives me, right?”

“Of course I forgive you! You may go now,” Trevor said hastily, before the boxer could respond. If he could, he would have jumped out of bed and open the door for Rachel himself.

If he had known how ruthless Rachel was, he would have never provoked her wrath from the very beginning. Her angelic beauty had thrown him off, though. He now regretted ever crossing her.

“Alright then. Mr. Guzman, take good care of yourself. I hope we never see each other again,” Rachel said indifferently as she walked towards the door. Seeing that the boxers didn’t move to stop her, she left the room under the curious gazes of the doctors and nurses.

After she had put some distance between her and her former captors, she furrowed her eyebrows tightly and took three deep breaths. She looked around her to make sure no one was coming after her and then, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

A nurse passed by and when she saw Rachel sitting on the ground, she stopped and asked kindly, “Miss, are you okay? Do you need help?” Rachel opened her eyes and looked up at the nurse. “Can I borrow your phone, please? I need to make a call,” she asked in a low voice. Once she was safely back home.

Rachel sat on the sofa with a warm towel thrown over her knees. She looked at the maid standing in the corner of the room, waiting for further instructions, her eyes downcast. “Do you need me to change your hot towel, Miss Bennet?” The maid raised her eyes and looked at Rachel timidly as she asked the question. “No, thanks.” Rachel threw the hot towel into a basin besides her feet. “Where are all the servants?” “They… they left a few hours after you’re taken away by those men. They- they said that you wouldn’t come back, and that since Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins weren’t here either, those that stayed here would have a hard time. So, they followed Viola’s lead and left to work for Mrs. Jenkins,” the maid explained, her voice getting lower with each word. “Why didn’t you go with them?” Rachel leaned her head against the back of the sofa. She felt exhausted, which was not surprising, considering she had barely slept these past three days. It was really hard to get some rest while being kept prisoner, forced to kneel on the ground the whole time.

Rachel had thought that she could finally rest when she returned home, but it wasn’t going to happen. All the servants were gone and she had to do something about it. Only one maid left in the house.

Thankfully, the rest of the staff were not bold enough to steal some valuables as they left. They had just packed their own things and disappeared. The maid bit her lips and said, “I’m a little clumsy. Mrs. Jenkins and Miss Jenkins never really liked me. Even if I followed the other servants to work for them, I am pretty sure they would turn me away.”

The Servants Are Gone Rachel smiled fondly The maid lowered her head quickly, as though she had misspoken. “Then how did you know that I would keep you? As you said, you are clumsy. Why should I let you stay, if you are not fit for the job?” Rachel asked, her eyebrows raised.

The girl looked up in fear and then she quickly lowered her head again. Staring at her feet, she squeaked, “I’m- I’m sorry, Miss Bennet.”

The girl was so timid that Rachel didn’t have the heart to tease her any longer. “Forget it. I can’t find another servant in such a short time. You may stay,” she said. The door opened right after she had finished her sentence and Andy came in carrying a bag with medical supplies.

When Rachel had borrowed that nurse’s phone back in the hospital, she had called Andy to come pick her up.

She had been on her knees for too long. She was in so much pain afterwards that she could barely stand.

When Andy arrived at the hospital and saw her, he was shocked. He carried her to the car and he dropped her off at the house before he went out again to buy her some medicine.

“You may return to your work,” Rachel told the maid, trying to stifle a yawn.

The girl nodded and started walking towards the kitchen to prepare lunch. Suddenly, something occurred to Rachel. “What’s your name?” she asked, stopping the maid in her tracks.

“Abby Blake,” the maid answered, looking even more nervous than before.

Rachel nodded and said nothing else, so Abby breathed a sigh of relief and left the room in a hurry.

Frowning, Andy opened the bag and started laying its contents on the table one by one. “This is a spray that will help with the pain. This is an ointment that prevents the wound from g one can help with bruises, making them heal quicker, you know. This pill here is an antibiotic, so your rounds won’t get infected.”

Rachel was still lying on the sofa with her eyes half closed. “Okay.” “Miss Bennet, where have you been?

What were you doing in the hospital? Your knees are full of bruises and you look on the verge of collapsing. What happened to you in those past three days?” Rachel felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier, and Andy’s voice sounded as if in the distance. She blinked and cleared her throat. “Mr. Torres, I need to rest for a while,” she said in a hoarse voice, He moved his lips, wanting to say more, but seeing that Rachel was already half asleep, he stayed silent. He left the room and went to the kitchen to find Abby and ask her to make sure Rachel take her medicine. Rachel was shaken awake by Abby a few hours later. The maid offered to help Rachel to her bedroom so she wouldn’t catch a cold sleeping on the sofa. Rachel wasn’t too happy that her sleep was disturbed, but when she saw the concern in Abby’s eyes, her heart softened. She couldn’t stay mad at the girl for keeping an eye on her, especially when she saw how nervous Abby was. So Rachel simply got up and went to her bedroom.

She didn’t open her eyes until eight o’clock in the nexet morning. When she entered the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. She did a double take and raised her hand to touch her face.

She had a weird feeling looking at this face. This was definitely Rachel’s face and body, but the real problem here was that she wasn’t Rachel. Before her soul enter this body, she had another name and that was Shelia.

The Servants Are Gone “Are you still here… Rachel?” she murmured, looking into her own eyes in the mirror. No response. The bathroom remained quiet. Rachel frowned imperceptibly. She had heard that voice again in her dream, in that state where she was neither fully asleep nor fully awake. She wanted to ask the voice if it was the original Rachel, if she was still trapped in this body with her.

But she didn’t have full control over her dream and she had not gotten the answers she wanted. She didn’t know if the original Rachel was real or just a figment of her imagination. Rachel gave up trying to unravel the mystery. She would try again another day. Instead, she took a shower, changed her clothes and went downstairs. The smell of freshly-baked bread hit her nostrils, making her mouth water. When she walked into the dining room, she saw Abby placing a loaf of hot bread on the table. Hearing her footsteps, the maid looked up, startled. “Are you hungry?’ Rachel nodded as she walked towards the table. She picked up a slice of bread and bit into it. It was delicious. The smell of butter and the crunchiness of the crust almost made her moan with pleasure. She helped herself to another slice. Abby had been looking at Rachel expectantly and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her taking another serving Abby turned around and walked into the kitchen to get Rachel some warm milk. “Here you are,”

she said handing a cup to her. Rachel nodded her thanks and took a seat. “Abby, did you make the bread?” “Yes. Do you like it? If you don’t, I can make something else tomorrow,” Abby responded in a hurry. “What else can you cook?” Rachel asked smiling broadly.