Grace engaged

"My Lady," Grace greeted as she breezed into the room with a laundry basket.

Janice glimpsed at the smiling face of her maid and how enthusiastic she was.

Grace had always been an enthusiastic maid, but there was something quite different about her.

Something she couldn't place her hand on, Janice noticed.

She stared at Grace once more whilst trying to pinpoint what was new about her. Although she was in the usual outfit all the maids in Cherview wore, this looked quite new.

She wondered if she just sewed it.

Her curly blonde hair was brushed and oiled. It didn't look as frizzy as it often did.

Also, she noticed she had star-shaped earrings on and a necklace with a star-shaped pendant too.

It could easily be missed, but since the girl had come to the castle, she had noticed every little detail about her.

Janice could also tell everything she donned was new.

"You seem quite cheerful this morning, Gracie. May I know what is running through your mind?"

Grace halted blushing. She didn't know Janice would notice anything about her. However, she knew she was intelligent and she had stated earlier that if anyone was to notice, it would be her first.

"Your Majesty," Grace said. "Umh…" she trailed off blushing.

Janice stared at the blushing maid for a while, then her eyes widened. "Oh dear, Gracie. It's about a boy, isn't it?"

Grace's cheeks reddened more. She nodded whilst glancing at Janice, then at the floor shyly. "It is."

Janice grinned at how cute the maid looked. "Silly Grace, you don't need to be embarrassed around me. You can always confide in me."

Grace nodded. She lifted her eyes off the ground and twirled her fingers together.

"So…?" Janice raised a brow whilst waiting for her to say whatever had been going on in her mind.

"I'm getting engaged." She beamed, flashing the cheap golden band on her middle finger. "I need to do this quickly so I will request a day off."

"Gracious!" Janice exclaimed. Her smile went wide as she assessed the smiling girl.

She hadn't thought the change in the outfit would be because she was getting engaged. Yet, she knew a boy was involved.

She didn't know how old Grace was, but she seemed quite young. Although not too young to not be able to decide for herself.

She was aware that in the world where she was right now, women got married as early as fifteen years of age.

They were often betrothed while young and she wondered why Jules and Jeremy hadn't gotten a young naive wife.

However, knowing how both men were,

they would have surely rejected any advances from women.

"I don't know if this sounds dumb, but how old are you?" Janice asked.

She shook her head as soon as the word came out. But Grace didn't look offended by the question. Rather, she was eager to answer her.

"I'm twenty-seven, your majesty."

Okay, she had been wrong. Grace was a bit older than her, but she didn't make any comment about it.

"You look so young."

"I have been told many times. A lot of people often mistake me for a teenager."

So had she, Janice thought.

"Anyways, you are given the day off. The other maids available can take care of my laundry, you don't need to."

"Really?"

"Really," Janice affirmed.

"Thank you, thank you." Grace grinned. She gripped the laundry basket, hoisting it. "I will do this as quickly as I can."

Before Janice could protest, she needed not to do it, she had slipped out of the room.

Shaking her head, she stepped down from the bed, slipped into her fuzzy slippers and trudged into the bathroom.

Some while later, the door to the room opened and Jules slipped into it with a tray in his hand.

"I know you wouldn't eat, so I came with this because Grace wouldn't be available today."

"She told me the reason she wouldn't be. So, I gave her a day off." Janice explained. "Besides, that doesn't mean I won't eat."

"I don't want to risk it. I know before you think of eating, it will be noon."

Janice rolled her eyes whilst grabbing a toast. She placed it in a bowl that was made especially for the dog.

"I brought its food," Jules mumbled, lifting a lasagne can. "You don't need to waste your food."

"I'm not wasting it," Janice replied. She sipped a glass of orange juice before munching on the toast.

"I don't think I can finish this." She said with her mouth filled with food.

Jules extended his brows whilst glancing at her. "This is half of what you often ate."

"Perhaps, I have no appetite," Janice said. "You should eat with me."

She nudged the tray closer to him.

"I will…" Jules began to protest.

"I'm not taking no for an answer." Janice cut him off.

Jules sighed. He sat by her side after setting the bowl which contained the food for the pup on the carpeted floor.

He grabbed a piece of bacon and moved it towards Janice's mouth.

She shook her head, wrinkling her nose. She set the pancake with her on the ceramic plate, then grimaced whilst wrinkling her nose as the food she just gulped down regurgitated back in her throat.

"Are you alright?" Jules' asked.

"Of course, I am." She snapped, glaring at him. "You know seeing bacon makes me nauseous."

"I thought you liked bacon. I mean since your morning sickness stopped, you've been eating it without any complaints."

"That is if I really want to eat it." Janice mumbled. "Seeing it now makes me want to puke."

Jules frowned whilst staring at her for a brief second. Her skin was a bit pale and he noticed she was caressing her bump every now and then.

He knew if he asked her what was wrong, she wouldn't tell him anything. Maybe nothing was wrong with her. He might be the one overthinking, he mulled.

"I will put this away." He said, setting the bacon present aside and putting them on a plate.

"I'll be right back." He stood to his feet and walked out of the door.

Janice sighed whilst staring at his back. She glanced back to the food and resumed eating.

She was glad her appetite was still intact and hadn't vanished like it used to do whenever she felt like throwing up.