The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1464

"I'm heading out. Thanks for the kind hospitality tonight. It's chilly outside, you guys should head in."

"Ah, sure, sure."

They watched him leave before slowly heading back into the house.

An hour later.

After her bath, Arabella was catching up with Romeo on WhatsApp when she was startled by a rapid knocking on her door.

"Miss. Collins, are you asleep? Mrs. Griffith needs you."

Opening the door, Arabella was met with a hushed voice, "She looks a bit under the weather, seems like it's got something to do with the fright Serena had."

Serena??

"What happened to her?"

"They say Serena came bolting out of the basement so scared she lost a shoe, pale as a ghost. I don't know the details, just bits and pieces from the other staff."

Arabella knew the basement held some unsavory characters; surely one of the grisly sights down there had spooked Serena. She followed the servant's lead to the study.

Inside the study.

Eunice sat with an austere expression, gazing down at the figure huddled in the corner.

Serena was curled up, shaking uncontrollably.

"Half an hour ago, asphyxiation," Eunice explained, her gaze shifting back to Serena with a complex emotion, "Serena saw him last."

"It wasn't my fault. The staff told me he wanted to see me. When I got there, he said I wasn't the one he wanted to see. But he said he’d made up his mind, that he wouldn't spill the beans. Said it didn't matter who came, and that he'd rather end it himself than suffer at our hands. Then, suddenly, he went silent. When I looked again, he wasn't moving. I didn't know what happened."

Serena was beside herself with fear, speaking incoherently, "He was already so terrifying, covered in blood, and the basement was so dark and dreadful."

She was clearly terrified!

Arabella saw her hugging her knees, sitting on the floor, shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. She should be really aghast at it.

"What did the servant say?" Arabella asked Eunice.

"The servant said that guy wanted to see Miss. Collins, and she thought he wanted to see Serena, so she asked Serena over. She wasn't there to see what happened next, just waiting outside. Not long after, she saw Serena running out of the basement. When I checked, he was already dead."