The head maid had been giving me queer looks ever since the incident with the lord two weeks prior. They had not punished me for anything because neither Maud nor Lord Alexander said anything about it to her. Still, she kept giving me weird side glances every time she saw me.
Luckily, they asked me to report on Lady Lucia’s floor these last few weeks.
I enjoyed working for her. She was Duke Kestrel’s wife. A sweet lady with a playful side. She made me think she wasn’t born into nobility. She had a very laissez-faire attitude about many things—something no respectable noblewoman would have.
While I waited for her, she would often talk about her youth and all the mischief she would get into.
I adored working in her quarters. It was just so much simpler.
Lady Lucia never reprimanded me and always asked how I was in the morning. She would even let me stay with her while she had tea and read her poetry books aloud, so I, too, may enjoy it while cleaning and polishing chandeliers.
I felt almost human again. That’s how much I loved it. I didn’t feel like I was a servant maid working off a debt.
“Ida, dear, what would you say if I read us something not from this country today? There’s a very well-liked writer named Shakespeare in one of the neighbouring countries. What do you say?” She looked at me quizzically. “Here’s one of his works I know you will like: A Lover’s Complaint.”
I snorted. Of course, Lady Lucia would not have known I was familiar with that author and play-writer, but I remembered that poem. Although it was a good one, I didn’t enjoy it much. It talked about love and how cruel it could be. Shakespeare wrote about the many facets of love beautifully, but when love blinded all the other senses, his poem reminded us it became something dangerous.
“As you wish, milady.” I softened my eyes at her when I answered. If it made the duchess happy, I would let her read it to me.
I was feeding more logs into the fire when a small footboy knocked on the parlour door and interrupted the reading. I saw Lady Lucia peer over her book, questioning the young boy’s sudden appearance.
Since I did not recognize him, I deduced he was not from this floor.
“My apologies for this disturbance, Lady Kestrel, but Lord Alexander has asked if he could have tea with you this evening?”
“Oh my, he never has time for me! Of course, please let him know he can join me.”
She clapped her hands together while trying to suppress her sudden glee. It was another thing I liked about her. Most of the time, etiquette was thrown out the window.
The footboy bowed and hurried to deliver the message back to his master.
It shocked me I would see Lord Alexander so soon. Ever since our encounter, he left me with a burning desire to see him again, which was ultimately the opposite of what my brain was screaming at me.
I smiled when I thought of the irony that Lady Lucia wanted to read me “A Lover’s Complaint.” The Faiths must have had a terrible sense of humour that day.
“Ida, will you make sure that we bring out the nice tea set Alexander gave me for my birthday? I would love to use it while he’s with me,” she paused, bringing her brows together in thought. “And maybe bring up some small biscuits as well?” She asked, smiling. I could tell it delighted her to have him stop by.
I took the ash bucket, inclined my head toward the lady to acknowledge her request, and left swiftly to inform the kitchen of the sudden arrangement.
When I came back and prepared the fine china, I wondered if her son came to visit her often. In the last two weeks of being assigned to her floor, she never really had the company of anyone. Not even Duke Kestrel himself came to see his wife.
They were in their late forties, and them having each their quarters was not something odd. It was a widespread practice amongst the nobility.
My heart cramped up a bit at the thought of my parents. They had loved each other fiercely and had refused to have separate floors, even though my father was never really around because of his duties. He always said that nothing grounded him more than to return to the arms of his loving wife after a hard day’s work.
I hated thinking about my family. I still had nightmares because of what happened years ago. I tried to chase away that unnerving feeling and resumed my task.
The place setting was done, and I had elegantly set the food on the fine porcelain plates. Lady Lucia had instructed me not to use silverware while her son was in her company. This caused me to raise my eyebrows inquisitively at her. She shook it off, saying that her son reacted severely to Silver.
I had to rummage through all the silverware in the estate to find any flatware available. It was tricky, but I could find something accommodating while still looking stylish: copper, brass, and nickel.
Lady Lucia returned shortly to the parlour, holding Lord Alexander’s arm. Every hair on my body raised when I glimpsed Alexander. He was most striking in his black two-piece suit with a white dress shirt.
It’s like the room had run out of air, and it plunged me into a boiling hot pot. Heat flushed my cheeks, and I was very grateful at that moment that my bonnet covered half my face once I bowed.
I tiptoed toward the end of the room and pressed against the wall until they excused me. I had to wait if the lady had any other demands before I could leave in the adjourning room and work while keeping an ear out if she needed me.
“Ida, this is my son, Alexander,” Lady Lucia spoke, smiling sweetly at me.
Alexander looked at me, and his eyes changed from a soft gray to almost black the instant we made eye contact.
He looked almost angry.
What was his deal?
He then straightened himself, recomposed his face, and flashed me an almost perfect smile while tasting the sound of my name. “Ida.”
I could still feel Lord Alexander’s burning gaze on me while his mother made small talk before sitting in her chair.I stayed even though I felt a bit out of place when they didn't dismiss me right away. The conversation they were having made me feel uneasy.“Could you please reason with that man, Mother?” Said Alexander.The young lord was resting on the edge of his seat. He hunched over with both his elbows lying on his muscular thighs. His demeanour was severe but almost desperate, and I noticed Alexander still kept eyeing in my direction. Maybe he didn’t like that I was forced to stay and listen to their conversation.I made an “ahum” sound in my throat and hoped that his mother heard me, but she continued her conversation regardless that I was in the room.“You know I cannot change his mind, my love. He’s a stubborn man, your father, and he only wants you to find someone and settle down. You’re the heir to High Hill; you should have been married a long time ago,” she replied; her
Alexander’s still dark gray eyes stared at me, analyzing my expression. Was he waiting for an answer? He inched closer. He smelled like the forest—a mix of pine, spruce, and earth that made me long for my missing freedom. I was convinced that smelling like this was not natural. However, his scent was intoxicating, and I knew I needed to tread carefully about the reaction my body was giving him. I kept eyeing his lips, imagining what they felt like. They looked so soft. I could see myself wrapping my hands behind his head, curling my fingers in his dark unruly hair while tasting his mouth, teasing him with my tongue, and nipping his full lower lip. My legs clenched at the sudden heat I felt down in my belly, and I became hyperaware that I was not acting like myself. I saw Alexander stiffen. I hoped he didn’t notice what he was doing to me. I was so ashamed by the wetness that overcame me I could hardly look at him when I replied, “I’m sorry, milord, but I’m afraid you will have to
I followed the footboy to the fourth floor. He hadn’t used the servant’s stairs; Instead, the boy had beckoned me to follow him through a new section of the estate I had never seen before and ushered me into a small-looking broom closet. An oil lamp was lit, and I noticed a bare tiled floor and wooden walls instead of brooms and cleaning supplies. He effortlessly slid close the door and pulled down a lever. I had a weird sensation that gravity was pulling me toward the ground. However, I soon realized that it was because we were going up. I didn’t know this estate had elevators—they were relatively new. I waited patiently behind my guide. The boy had soft brown baby hair curling around his ears. He must not have been over ten years old. He was wearing a black vest with a white dress shirt tucked into navy-blue pants with one white line following the outside seam of the leg. I had so many questions I wanted answers to, but when I opened my mouth to ask them, the boy let go of the
My eyes flew open, and my arms grabbed each side of the tub to sit upright. I brought my thighs toward my stomach, hoping to hide my nakedness. Water splashed everywhere, and nothing in my movements was graceful. I glared up at my uninvited guest. How dare he come in without announcing himself? Alexander had his left shoulder pressed on the bathroom door frame, a sly smirk on his godlike face that I momentarily hated. Both his hands were in his front pockets. He looked amused as my cheeks flushed with shame… and maybe want. Faiths, I really wanted him, but I also wanted to punch him! “Oh, don’t stop on my account; I was really enjoying this! Do make it a habit.” He winked. His eyes were still black. I thought I had imagined them ever being gray. Whenever I saw Alexander, I thought I saw their pale gray colour, but they seemed to darken unexplainably when he suddenly noticed me. I hugged my knees to my chest, looking at him, trying to pull the most infuriating, scolding, death st
I woke up early to a soft knock on my door. The sun was not up yet, but I could see the faint tell-tall sign that it would rise soon through the window. I pulled myself out of the blankets and padded toward the door. I was surprised to see Leo. The small boy smiled shyly and held out a tray with breakfast food and hot drinks. “May I come in?” “Of course!” I gestured him in, and he wobbled to the small table in the room. The tray was clearly heavy and way too oversized for his small arms. “I thought you might be hungry, so I went in the kitchen and fixed this up for you,” he scrunched his nose a bit. “I didn’t know if you liked tea or coffee, so I brought both.” That was thoughtful of the little man. He was already dressed and ready for the day. I eyed him silently, taking him in. It occurred to me I didn’t even know what kind of work he did for Alexander. “What exactly do you do here?” I asked while taking the teapot from the tray and pouring some into a cup. I would pour some
It had been days since I last saw Xander. To be honest, I had desperately been avoiding him. Sometimes at night, I would wake up completely drenched in sweat, and I would have this inexplicable desire to open the adjourning door to Xander’s chamber and ravage him. These sudden urges were frightening enough to force me into staying inside my room with both doors bolted, and a chair was always wedged under the handle. I didn’t feel like myself at all. I almost didn’t dare open the door to get the food Leo brought me every morning. I only did it when I was highly famished. “Xander should be the one locking himself up when I go crazy. This is stupid; I could just unlock everything and hunt him down...” I told myself frustratingly. I did feel slightly better whenever Xander left for work in the morning, and I found myself alone on the floor. I felt like I could breathe again and found some remnants of my previous self. Calling Xander by his preferred name still felt foreign in my min
Cressida POV—The day of the uprising It was dreary outside, and the musty old library where my magic professor showed me spells did nothing for my boredom. I had been at it for hours, creating the same round sphere of light between my hands. The reasoning behind the spell was that I could make this ball into anything I wanted: a source of light, warmth, or protection. I had perfected it years back, and I didn’t understand why Otis was so pent up on me working on it today. “Princess, you need to master basic energy spells before trying more advanced techniques. You know this! So, stop pouting and throw that damn ball at me!” Otis taunted. Fine! I’d give him precisely what he wanted if he wanted to practice attack and defence. I extended my hand and brought the other under, swirling the ball faster. I opted for offence, so I created a sizzle of electricity around the sphere. Should it hit Otis, his white hair and beard would puff from the static and shock, hopefully even incapacita
I was woken up by a heat flash, so I threw the sheets away from my body. I felt hot even though I could see goosebumps all over my arms and legs through my copper-coloured lashes.I tried to focus on my breathing and slowing down my heartbeat. At the rate it was pumping, I’d probably go into shock again.I was still too hot, so I clawed at my nightshirt. I needed to take it off quickly before I combusted.I sensed someone swatting away my fumbling hands and placing an arm behind my back and under my knees to lift me up. Then I was weightless, floating toward another dimly lit room.I felt faint from the insane heat pulsing through me, and after a moment, something wrapped me in a cold envelope. I didn’t think I had a fever anymore. It was simply me swimming in the cool darkness. My lungs had slowly returned to a normal breathing rhythm, and my limbs felt slightly numb from the cold. But I didn’t mind the sudden temperature change. I welcomed it.Soft fingers brushed my cheek, pushing