A Friend's Betrayal?

Heat caressed Rhea's cheeks as she stepped into the Manor's large kitchen.

The chorus of banging pots and pans immediately coming to a stop and under a dozen pair of excited eyes were drawn to her.

Rhea's tongue suddenly felt ten times heavier in her mouth and she hovered by the doorway. There was a reason she avoided the kitchens, despite the delicate art of cooking being one of her most favoured hobbies, and all eight of those reasons were staring at her.

When faced with one to four servants at a time, Rhea led like the Countess she was, but bombarded by the excited cooks whose only contact with the nobles of the house was the empty dishes returned and the rare visit to the kitchen, she always found herself breaking into a nervous sweat.

Her drinking session with them but a few days ago also did nothing to soothe her nervousness.

"Lady Rhea!" Greeted the head chef, Henry, a large smile stretching his bearded face. "What an honour it is to have you down here again. We had such good fun last time."

Confidence restored by his cheerful behaviour, Rhea allowed the door close behind her, and soft smile on her lips. "It is a pleasure to see you too Henry, and of course, your crew." She acknowledged with a nod at the others, earning her echoed greetings and pride smiles.

"What can we do for you, My Lady? I recently got my hands on a nice bottle of Jamesun's Whiskey and we have enough time till dinner to have a round with it."

A small laugh escaped her before she could stop it, and her delight was reflected in the small flush of her beautiful face. "That sounds beyond tempting but I am unfortunately here on business."

"Oh? How can we be of service?" The hulking man's smile grew softer and he wiped his hands clean on the towel thrown over his shoulder.

"I was hoping to have a look at some things in the pantry, but as you are all occupied I believe I should be able to handle it on my own."

"Of Course, My Lady. You go right ahead and do as you please and if you need any help my crew and I are only a holler away."

Holler. Rhea's mother would have a heart attack if she learned her cook used such 'crass' language around the woman of the house. Somehow that made it all the more charming to her

"I will be sure to holler," she said with a small smile, then made her way to the pantry door, overly aware of all the eyes following her.

The pantry door closed behind her with a soft click, and she turned around to begin her search with a determined square of her shoulders.

Her motivation quickly wilted when she was greeted with an entire ecosystem of produce, spices, jars and whatnot stacked on endless rows of shelves and tucked away in large open crates.

She glanced back at the closed door, wondering if she should call in someone for help, but the remembrance of the gravity of her mission decided her next move.

"The inventory book it is," Rhea whispered and set to work finding the large journal.

It did not take long to find the book resting open on a small table to the left of the door.

With quick steps, the click of her heels echoing in the cavernous room, she arrived at her destination and began skimming through for what she was looking for.

Her fingers froze on a purchase entry in Felicity's familiar handwriting, and she smiled when she saw 'Molianna Tea Tree, Green Tea' written there.

Blue eyes flitted to the description; it read: Sixteen bricks of Molianna Green Tea purchased from Alveson Tea House and Supplier, Plot 6 of 14th Heavenway Street, Gardrew Road, Riverrun. Others - purchased at Wellrick's Road.

Rhea frowned in confusion and a heavy stone settled in her gut.

Refusing to jump to conclusions, she flipped to the previous pages, and each time she found an entry of her tea's purchase, always logged in with Felicity's neat scripts, accompanying it was 'Others' and the same vague Wellrick's Road.

The problem was, there was no Wellrick's Road.

Rhea had lived in Riverrun her whole life, and one of her many lessons when she came into position as Countess was learning an in-depth history of every corner of Riverrun.

The closest thing to Wellrick's Road was Welldrop Road, and that area was a residential zone far from the business district where the Manor's wares were purchased.

Unless Felicity had been going to a convenience store, which was extremely unlikely considering everything they used was usually bought straight from the manufacturer at a discounted rate, this 'Others' should not exist.

Something was horribly wrong, worsened by the fact that 'Others' was always purchased at the same time as her tea, and Rhea suddenly felt nauseous.

Maybe it was a case of theft, she rationalised.

There were cases of Housekeepers taking advantage of their control over a significant share of their employer's household's finances, and while it seemed out of character for the loyal woman, perhaps Felicity had a personal matter that exceeded her generous salary and she had decided to augment it.

Or maybe she was being blackmailed by some scoundrel to do it.

Whatever the matter was, Rhea had been lax in her duties as Lady of the Manor, and it was time she took control of the reins for as long as she had left to be Lady Montgomery.

Noting the location of the tea and 'Others', Rhea set off deeper into the pantry with a short run until she arrived at the specified shelf.

A short step ladder was helpfully placed at the end of the shelf, and she slid it by its heels as she counted down to section 11 of the shelf D.

Smiling when she found it, she climbed the two steps until she was at eye level and began pulling out each of the stacked bricks one after the other.

By the time all sixteen were scattered around the floor, a light sheen of sweat covered her face and her arms trembled with an ache she knew would take days to cease.

Still, there was no sign of 'Others', confirming Rhea's suspicions.

"My Lady?" called out a young maid, who bowed shyly when Rhea's eyes fell on her. "Do you require any assistance, My Lady? The pantry can be a maze and you've been in here for quite some time."

Rhea slapped a well-practised smile on her face as she got up off her knees and dusted her dress. "Yes. Please return the tea bricks back to their place and...." She beckoned the maid closer, "keep this between us, alright?"

The maid's eyes widened, and she nodded eagerly, delighted to share a secret with the woman she had only ever seen from afar.

"Of course, My Lady. My logbook will not be hearing word of this." She agreed with a conspiratorial wink.

The maid's words caused something to click in Rhea's brain, and she began trembling with excitement.

All twenty-one of the serving staff kept personal logbooks of their day's activities, Felicity included.

If she could get her hands on that book and find the dates each of the tea's purchases took place, it could give her some idea of what 'Others' is or where it was purchased.

Satisfied with her plan, she wished the young maid good luck in her task and made her way back to the inventory journal.

Gripping the pen by the book, she wrote the last five dates her tea had been purchased on her soft palm. When she was done, she returned to the most recent page and then took a few moments to hide all signs of overexcitement.

After all, It would not do good for word to spread about her activities and get back to Felicity before she could get her hands on the book....

Rhea's face crumbled, and all composure slipped. Felicity had been her Lady's maid since the very beginning, her confidant, the first person who had made her feel like she was truly deserving of being Lady Montgomery. To think she had been stealing from their purses or heaven forbid lacing 'Others' in her tea was the same betrayal as Lonan's child growing in Alice's pregnancy.

Shaking the thoughts away, she made her way out of the pantry and into the kitchen. Henry was thankfully occupied with a smoking pan on the stove, and so she simply called out her goodbye and made her escape out into the hallway.

The air was cool away from all of the stoves and ovens, and it helped to soothe her growing headache.

The sun was an orange glow in the sky as evening was quickly approaching.

After dinner, when Felicity was occupied with the last of the day's chores, would be the best chance of getting her hands on her logbook, so the decision was made.

She would wait, and when nighttime came, Rhea would know if truly she had a serpent in her midst.