Chapter 4

"After all these years, you're still the easiest one to order about."

She smiled.

"Avery, tell me. Haven't I always treated you well?"

I lowered my head and looked at the shadow I cast on the floor.

Either I'd be buried at Rowan's side, or I'd live and go on being a servant.

She had treated me so "very well."

I said nothing.

Celeste didn't seem to need an answer anyway. She stood.

"All right, I'm leaving. This place is unlucky. Linger too long and you might catch his dying air."

She shoved the bond papers into my arms and gave a meaningful little smile.

"Do your best as the regent's wife.

"After all, it's only for a few more days."

I walked her to the door and dipped into a curtsy. "Safe travels, my lady."

Celeste swept out with her chin in the air.

Mrs. Wells hurried over from the corridor, saw the swelling on my face, and sighed.

"Your Grace, you didn't have to endure that."

I said nothing.

I only gripped the bond papers tightly.

I had waited ten years.

This scrap of paper had finally come back into my hands.

Maybe I was too happy.

That night, as I worked the stiffness from Rowan's limbs, I talked more than usual.

"Rowan, when I was little, I had one older brother and two younger ones.

"My brother had to study, and the little ones had to eat. My family couldn't afford to keep me, so they sold me."

...

"Celeste had a whip, braided cowhide. It hurt terribly when it landed.

"She liked watching me flinch away. The faster I dodged, the harder she swung.

"Later I stopped dodging. She found it dull and left off whipping me so much.

"In House Langley I did everything. Washed the laundry, scrubbed the chamber pots...

"In winter my hands were covered in chilblains. In summer I'd faint from the heat, and no one cared."

The more I said, the more absurd it all seemed to me.

I went on, "Rowan, I'm not a bonded servant anymore. I never have to be anyone's slave again.

"Do you know? Back in my village there was a boy next door named Billy Reed. He was four years older than me, and he was so good to me.

"When his mother baked bread, he couldn't bear to eat his share. He'd sneak a piece away for me.

"When someone bullied me, he'd grab a stick and fight for me.

"We were only foolish children. He stood at my family's gate and said he'd marry me when we grew up."

I found it funny and laughed out loud.

But my hands didn't stop; I was kneading his calf.

"Ten years have gone by now. I wonder whether he ever married..."

The muscle under my palm suddenly went taut.

I made a small sound. "Rowan, are you awake?"

I leaned closer to look at his face.

Still pale.

Still lifeless.

Was it my imagination?

I frowned and went on rubbing his legs, murmuring to myself,

"When you wake up and set me aside, I'll go back to the country.

"I've saved a little money. I can buy a couple of acres, keep a few chickens, and live a decent life..."

Before I could finish, golden words suddenly welled up before my eyes.

[Baby girl, stop talking!! Lord Blackwell can hear everything!! How is this any different from talking about an affair right in front of your husband??]

What did they mean, he could hear everything?

The next instant, a gaze pressed down on me from above.

Cold.

Heavy.

I slowly lifted my head, inch by inch.

And met a pair of eyes.

They were clear and dark, fixed on me without a blink.

"I'm not even dead yet, and you're already planning to remarry?"