The head maid slowly turned her head. Her sharp, cold eyes locked onto Camilla.
Camilla completely ignored the dramatic scene. She picked up another piece of chicken. She took a bite and chewed slowly. She looked out the large glass window, watching the green leaves blow in the wind. She acted as if the five women screaming and crying on the floor did not even exist. She licked a drop of juice off her lip.
The head maid felt a hot wave of anger rise in her chest. She carefully let go of Nancy's wrists and stood up. She wiped her wet hands on her apron. She walked toward the long wooden table. Her footsteps were heavy and hard.
She stopped right in front of Camilla. She slammed both of her hands down on the table. The silver plates rattled slightly.
"You vicious woman," the head maid hissed through her teeth. Her face was twisted with absolute hatred.
Camilla paused her chewing. She slowly turned her head away from the window. She looked up at the angry older woman. She swallowed the chicken and wiped her mouth with a clean white cloth.
"I am vicious?" Camilla asked. She raised her eyebrows in genuine surprise. She pointed her finger at the crying maid on the floor. "She was walking and talking to herself. She did not look at the ground. She tripped over the thick rug and fell down. And somehow, I am the one who is vicious?"
Camilla shook her head slowly. "Your logic is very broken. Next time, tell your maids to look where they are walking instead of making up stories about magic curses."
The head maid's face turned completely red. The veins on her neck popped out. She was so angry that she was shaking.
"Do not think you are off the hook with your clever words!" the head maid shouted loudly. She leaned closer to Camilla's face. She was ready to explode. "We all know who you really are! You have hidden your true face for years, but now everyone sees the truth!"
Camilla rested her chin on her hand again. She looked deeply bored. "Please," she said lazily. "Tell me exactly who I am. Because I am very confused right now."
The head maid took a deep breath. She started to speak very fast, pouring out all the secrets of the household. She wanted to hurt Camilla with the truth. She wanted to see the young Lady cry like she always did.
"Since childhood, you have been pestering the General!" the head maid yelled. She pointed an angry finger at Camilla's face. "You followed him around like a lost dog. You cried and begged your father to give you what you wanted. You caused the elders of both families to step in. They arranged a marriage between their children just to fulfill your desire!"
Camilla listened quietly. She did not interrupt. She was gathering important information.
"You made the General sign a contract!" the head maid continued, her voice echoing in the large room. "You forced him into a contract with you for one single year of marriage! He only did it to stop his old grandfather from withdrawing his political support. He never loved you! He never wanted you in this house!"
The other maids on the floor stopped crying to listen. The room was tense. The head maid was revealing the biggest, darkest secret of the General's family right out in the open.
"And now," the head maid said, lowering her voice into a dangerous whisper. "Because the General finally sent you a divorce letter this morning, the contract is over. He is finally free from you. But you could not accept that, could you?"
The head maid slammed her fist on the table. "You tampered with his horse! You ruined the saddle so he would fall! You want to kill him because you cannot have him! You are a murderer!"
The head maid stopped shouting. She breathed heavily. She stood tall, waiting for Camilla to break down. She waited for the tears. She waited for Camilla to fall to her knees and beg for mercy.
Camilla sat perfectly still. She stared at the head maid's face. She looked at the woman's eyes, her mouth, her hands.
She slowly shook her head.
Inside her mind, the pieces of the puzzle were finally coming together. She knew how criminals acted. She knew how liars behaved.
"It is obviously this woman planned everything," Camilla thought to herself. A small, cold smile touched the corners of her lips.
She analyzed the situation. The original Lady Camilla was a weak, stupid girl. She was deeply in love with the General. The original girl would never hurt a horse, and she would definitely never try to kill the man she loved so much. Furthermore, the original girl was not smart enough to sabotage a heavy leather saddle without anyone noticing.
So, someone else in the house had cut the saddle. Someone else wanted the General dead. Or, maybe, someone wanted to frame Lady Camilla so she would be kicked out of the house in disgrace, or even executed for attempted murder.
"I have read enough novels to identify a culprit," Camilla continued to think. Her sharp eyes stared deeply into the head maid's angry face. "Why is she putting all this information right in my face? Why is she shouting out the secret marriage contract in front of all the lowly cleaning maids? Why is she so eager to accuse me loudly in public before the guards even do an investigation?"
It was the classic move of a guilty person. The person who screams the loudest about the crime is usually the one trying to hide their own bloody hands. The head maid hated Lady Camilla. The head maid wanted to protect the General, or maybe she had her own secret boss who wanted the General dead. Either way, the head maid was the perfect suspect.
Camilla leaned forward. She picked up her white cloth napkin again. She wiped her hands very carefully. She placed the napkin down on the table. She looked up at the head maid. Her eyes were completely cold.
"Are you finished?" Camilla asked. Her voice was terrifyingly calm. It was so quiet that the head maid had to lean in slightly to hear her. "Are you finished telling me a story about my own life?"
The head maid swallowed hard. The sudden change in Camilla's energy made the older woman feel a chill down her spine. The weak, crying girl was completely gone. The person sitting in the chair felt dangerous.
Camilla stood up from the wooden chair. She was shorter than the head maid, but right now, she felt ten feet tall.
"You speak a lot of words for a servant," Camilla said smoothly. She walked slowly around the edge of the long table. She stopped right beside the head maid. She looked down at the puddle of spilled soup on the floor, and the red, burnt hands of the crying maid.
"If I wanted to kill my husband," Camilla whispered softly, making sure only the head maid could hear her words. "I would not use a stupid horse. I would do it quietly. I would do it perfectly. And no one in this house would ever know how he died."
The head maid's eyes widened in sheer terror. The color completely drained from her wrinkled face. She stepped back from Camilla as if she had just seen a demon.
Camilla gave her a sweet, fake smile. "Now, send someone to clean up this mess." Camilla turned around and walked calmly out of the room.