hated how young she was—younger than Talia—and already she’d faced so much evil and darkness in this world.
Pouring her a cup of tea, I handed it to her. She shook as she took it from my hands. I wanted to wrap my arms around her
and protect her at the sight of her trembling. Was I truly that scary? Or perhaps it was who I married that scared her?
“Please, don’t be scared of me. I won’t let anything happen to you. You showed me kindness that day and I will repay it the
best way I can. I know not being a maid isn't the most exciting, but?—”
“Oh, but it is majesty!” she interrupted, "I am and will always be grateful to you and the king for saving me and taking me
away from that awful place.”
She popped her cup down on the small table in her excitement to speak up. It was then I noticed how her fingers and
knuckles look bruised and cut. I made a mental note to send for the healer to help fix her hands. They looked awfully raw and
painful. It made me wonder what she was getting into that would cause that kind of damage.
“How did you end up there?” I asked, wanting to know more.
She was no older than fourteen, at the very most, and to be working in a place like that. The thought made a shudder run
through me. How could anyone leave a vulnerable child to be surrounded by any number of people who could take advantage
of them? It made my stomach twist in knots.
The images of that night flashed in my mind’s eye, and I tried not to show my discomfort or the fact my heart was racing. I
was desperate to block the noise of those men undoing their belts, the screaming that escaped my throat, or the noise as his
head hit the floor.
“My mother—she died, you see, and my dad, he was a soldier, mam said. I was just passing through and I ended up in my
mistress's house as I had nowhere to go. Mistress said, I could work in the kitchen—away from the others.”
She winced as she played with the edge of her sleeve, pulling it down slightly. To cover the scars. I’d already spotted them
days ago when she arrived in my room with breakfast one morning.
How many other scars did she have hidden,I thought.
“Well, this is your home now and you won’t be treated as poorly as you were there. If Mistress Claire gives you any grief,
please, tell me.”
“Oh, Mistress Claire treats me as if I were one of her own. She’s been very kind.”
“Good. I am glad to hear that. Otherwise, I’d have to have a few words.”
Winking at her as I drank the rest of my tea, I made sure she drank hers and enjoyed some of the sweet cakes. We sat
watching the sunset in silence before heading back inside. Dismissing her so she may go and eat dinner herself, I headed back
up the stairs to Nicholas’s study, hoping to catch him before dinner.
“I don’t care how you do it Percy! Just do as I command!”