The servants soon brought Julie away to pack her things.
Everyone agreed that the punishment Donald gave her was lenient.
However, Queeny felt rather uncomfortable about this.
For some reason, she could tell that a girl like Julie would never engage in petty theft.
Nevertheless, all the evidence said she was the thief. Without a justified reason to contradict the evidence, Queeny could not do anything about this.
The farce was finally over.
Feeling tired, Queeny told Ella to wheel her back to her room.
When they headed down the corridor, they saw Gina and several other maids lead Julie to the gate from where the maids lived.
Julie was carrying a trunk and a backpack, which probably held her belongs.
She was still crying while wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
In the meanwhile, she kept bobbing her head, as though answering to the reminders Gina and the others were giving her.
Seeing this, Queeny heaved a sigh inwardly.
Then, she wheeled around and went to her room.
Because of the fuss, she did not take a nap at noon.
In the afternoon, she practiced darts for two hours in her room. It was not until dinnertime that she went out of her room again.
It was summer now, so the daytime was longer. As the castle was located on a high hill by the lake, it was very hot here.
After the sun started setting at dusk, the evening wind glided across the lake and brought the castle cool breezes.
Queeny was in a pretty good mood, so she didn't want to have dinner in her room. Of course, she wouldn't go to the dining hall to have a meal with Bella either. Thus, she asked Ella to bring dinner to the terrace on the second floor.
The terrace on the second floor happened to face the lake. It was about 7 in the evening. The sky was not completely dark yet, but the street lamps were lit.
Faint moonlight had quietly radiated in the sky. The reflection of a crescent was rippling in the silver lake.
Queeny didn't bother to move into a dining chair. Sitting in the wheelchair and facing the moonlight-lit lake, she began to enjoy dinner with delight.
Ella didn't have dinner with her, for she had had her meal earlier. Now, she was just standing by the table, waiting to serve Queeny.
But Queeny never liked to put on airs. She also distasted the old-fashioned etiquette Felix had established.
Thus, she told Ella to sit by the table. Even if she wouldn't eat anything, she could have some juice and chat with her.
But Ella didn't dare to do so. She said that she could still chat with Queeny in a standing posture.
As such, Queeny didn't insist.
The evening breezes wafted past, while the delicious smell of the dishes permeated the air. This evening was beautiful and serene.
Over dinner, Queeny and Ella had a casual chat. They talked about what happened in the castle recently and how Ella's family was like.
It was not until this time that Queeny learned Ella was an orphan.
Ella grew up in an orphanage. She no longer remembered what her birth parents looked like.
She just knew that her family was poor to the point that they didn't have enough food or clothes.
One day, the little Ella had a fever. Her body was burning hot, and her consciousness had already begun to fade.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: My Wife Is So Sweet (Natalia Dawson)