43. Who Is Her?

Despite their careful work, the servants at the Pavnozzi mansion were used to working under pressure. That afternoon when the capo Pavnozzi's wives arrived at the mansion, one of the servants, Cessa, accidentally spilled tea on Madam Massimo's dress. This well-built woman with her chin up was notorious for her cruelty. Suddenly, her face turned red with anger. "How dare you spill tea on my expensive dress. Don't you see this dress is made of very expensive silk? Your lifetime salary alone won't be able to afford such an expensive silk dress, you won't escape my punishment," she scolded. Madam Massimo looked sarcastically at Cessa whose face was now deathly pale. Hearing Madam Massimo's sharp words, Stellina did not remain silent. She could not stand it when her servant was chastised and humiliated by Madam Massimo. "Anthony should take Cessa downstairs. Maybe she's too tired, you know the place I mean is in the storeroom, don't you?" In a slight whisper Stellina spoke to Anthony. Anthony, the loyal manservant who had worked at the Diego mansion for many years, nodded his head as he said, "Yes, Mistress Vellina." Anthony did not understand why the lady's tone was not as loud as usual. The pale-faced Cessa could no longer refuse. Although she knew she would be punished in the cellar below, it was better than being humiliated in front of the other guests. With shaky steps Cessa followed Anthony. The two of them immediately headed to the basement area, then entered into a spacious room that looked like a warehouse but was clean. Anthony still remembered that when he passed Stellina, she had whispered to him, "Make sure she's not going anywhere, Anthony. It's better to secure Cessa in the cellar downstairs than have her punished in public. It would further humiliate her pride." Anthony agreed with Stellina. After securing Cessa in the cellar below, Anthony reassembled with the other mansion servants to return to serving the guests who were still continuing the programme. Of course, Stellina's change in demeanour was a hot topic of conversation among the servants. "I didn't expect Mistress Velina to be so soft with us now." "Yes, you're right, I also felt a change in behaviour for the better. Not only to us but Mr Diego and Miss Arianna also welcomed the change in Mrs Vellina's attitude." "It looks like the mansion will be quiet again if Madame Vellina continues to behave like this." The change in Vellina's demeanour in the eyes of the mansion's servants had also reached Diego's ears. Diego had overheard the servants talking about Vellina's kindness, who no longer restricted food for the servants. A few days ago, Stellina had also given him a list of menus that were similar to their family menu. In the past, when Vellina was the great mistress, the servants had differentiated their meals. Now they really felt no reluctance to interact with Stellina who they regarded as Vellina. One afternoon, there was a bit of a commotion in the servants' room. "Look at this, I got a gift from Madame Vellina," said Martha, the butler who had worked at the Pavnozzi mansion for decades. So far, if there was a problem, Martha was the first to take responsibility for everything. Velina did not hesitate to punish or cut Martha's salary. "Wow, you've got a really nice necklace, Martha," said Leoni, a waitress whose tenure didn't differ much from Martha's. "Not just for me. You will also get a gift from Mrs Vellina, just wait for the time." A beaming Martha carried the necklace box into her room. For the first time in her history of working for the Pavnozzi family, the great mistress gave a gift of fantastic value. It had taken Martha months to save up the money for such a fine necklace. Just as the servants were relaxing, Stellina walked in with a goodie bag full of gifts for the servants. No one was left out, everyone got a gift. Even now, Stellina never punishes them if they make a mistake like before. "It's really amazing to know what made Mrs Vellina's attitude change, but I hope God will always bless her life." Cessa's face lit up as she received the gift and thanked Vellina. The woman was touched that even though she had made a mistake that she thought was fatal, Stellina had not punished her like before. For her, this was an unspeakable gift. "Did you see Miss Ariana asked Gina, when she finished bathing. She had been taking care of Arianna and let her foster daughter play in her room.But when she went to her room, she found that Arianna was not there. "I saw her in the front yard with Mrs Vellina. Mr Diego was there too. They were enjoying tea in the garden and snacks as usual." Anthony replied. "Really?" Martha did not seem to believe Anthony. In all the years she had worked at the Pavnozzi mansion, Vellina had never taken the time to have tea with Diego, let alone with Arianna who had always been a nuisance to her. "Don't you believe me, Martha? See for yourself over there." Anthony opened the curtains and Martha saw Diego and Arianna chatting in the garden, while Stellina laughed at their antics. "This is the picture of a perfect, harmonious family, oh my God I'm so happy," Martha said. All the servants saw the scene and were grateful that the mistress was back to being a human being with a heart. Diego, meanwhile, did not fail to notice Stellina's kindness and was very proud that the girl who had never even been married could play the role of Vellina so well. "Have you heard the gossip among the servants?" Diego asked as he threw the ball at Arianna. The little princess caught the ball and returned it to Diego. "Catch it, papa!" Arianna cried out in delight as Diego threw the ball back to her. "Gossip, what do you mean gossip about?" "About your kindness being praised by the servants. The rumour is that the punishment is gone. You also made the same menu for the servants. Apparently your reputation is starting to rise in this mansion. I just wanted to congratulate you since everyone is now praising you." Diego sincerely said his praise to Stellina. "I think you should amend your words, Diego." Diego frowned. "There's one person who still doesn't like me." Selena's gaze went straight to Diego's two eyeballs. Diego already felt that Stellina's words were directed at him. But was he really that bad a man in Stellina's eyes? "Since I've been here I haven't seen you like me either." This time Diego was speechless. He wanted so badly to deny it. How could he not like Stellina who was now really playing the character of Vellina very well, even beyond his expectations. Actually, what he said to Stellina earlier was an expression of honesty also from his small heart.