opened by another servant who gave Seri a bug-eyed stare. “What have you got there?”
“Mistress’s orders,” Winna replied coolly, pushing past the woman and flicking for Seri to follow her again. “Is the mistress abed?”
“She is,” the woman said, opening the door wide so Seri would not touch her. “Everyone is awake, per the mistress’s orders.” The woman stifled a yawn.
Feeling like a stray dog, Seri slunk in after Winna and waited, her cheeks burning. What sort of lazy noblewoman lay abed at noontime? Were all the Athonites like that?
The woman gasped in alarm when Seri’s dress dripped a trail on the thick, plush carpeting of the room, and Winna’s narrow eyes turned to Seri once more.
“Take off your dress,” she instructed.
Seri clutched the worn, soaked garment close to her and shook her head. She didn’t want to give up her only garment. To be in the enemy’s castle was bad enough, but to be naked as well? The thought was horrid.
Winna’s grim expression did not change. She snapped her fingers at the servant behind Seri. “Get one of my lady’s towels—an old one, if you please, since we’ll have to discard it later.” Her cool, black-eyed gaze appraised Seri anew. “I realize that your people have no manners at all, but my lady has costly things here, and you will not ruin them with your heathen, uncouth ways. When they bring you the towel, you will remove your clothing and change. I assure you that my lady will have new clothing for you to wear.”
Three dru , she reminded herself, biting back the retort that rose in her throat. Seri took the towel that was handed to her and undressed. Wrapped in the warmth of the soft cloth, she had to force herself not to finger the fine weave of the fabric—if this was an “old” towel, Seri’s plain, homespun linen clothing must be laughable indeed. She flushed with humiliation.
The servant took the discarded dress away with a wrinkled nose, and Seri was left with Winna once more. “Come,” the handmaiden said, tilting her head and gesturing toward another set of double doors that waited beyond the plush carpets and sitting tables of the room they stood in.
Beyond the second set of double doors lay an immense apartment, bigger than the barn that housed Rilen’s livestock. Soaring walls were decorated with pretty splashes of vivid silks, and mirrors dotted the way between. Thick, colorful rugs covered the floor and hung from the walls, obscuring the windows. Lit sconces decorated the room, and a large brazier glowed at the end of a large dais, upon which a heavy, canopied bed loomed.
It was here that Lady Mila relaxed, gently fanned by a servant as she nibbled on a plate of grapes.
She perked up at the sight of Winna and swung her legs off the edge of the bed, sauntering over with a yawn. “So it’s true, then? You came after all?” Her eyes focused on Seri’s face and she gave a catlike smile of pleasure. “How lovely.”
Winna bowed to Lady Mila and stepped aside, her eyes hot on the two of them.
Seri offered the woman a faint smile and remained still. When Winna curtsied again as a hint, Seri’s smile grew a little more forced, a little stiffer.
If anything, the gleeful look on Lady Mila’s face increased. “You will not bow?”
Her breath caught in her throat. Would she be turned away, naked and penniless? “I will not.”
“Excellent,” Mila said, her eyes gleaming. “I vow that that will catch the prince’s eye if nothing else.” The lady waved her hand negligently. “And I will not need you for a full week. Less than that, I imagine. Lady Aynee has arrived with the prince, so the Ceremony will be held the day after. You shall be free to go once it is done.”
A bit shorter than Rilen would have liked, Seri imagined, but she was relieved. She’d have the three dru in a matter of days and be free of these oppressive, hateful people soon enough.
“Lady Aynee is important?” she asked calmly, trying to
“Mistress’s orders,” Winna replied coolly, pushing past the woman and flicking for Seri to follow her again. “Is the mistress abed?”
“She is,” the woman said, opening the door wide so Seri would not touch her. “Everyone is awake, per the mistress’s orders.” The woman stifled a yawn.
Feeling like a stray dog, Seri slunk in after Winna and waited, her cheeks burning. What sort of lazy noblewoman lay abed at noontime? Were all the Athonites like that?
The woman gasped in alarm when Seri’s dress dripped a trail on the thick, plush carpeting of the room, and Winna’s narrow eyes turned to Seri once more.
“Take off your dress,” she instructed.
Seri clutched the worn, soaked garment close to her and shook her head. She didn’t want to give up her only garment. To be in the enemy’s castle was bad enough, but to be naked as well? The thought was horrid.
Winna’s grim expression did not change. She snapped her fingers at the servant behind Seri. “Get one of my lady’s towels—an old one, if you please, since we’ll have to discard it later.” Her cool, black-eyed gaze appraised Seri anew. “I realize that your people have no manners at all, but my lady has costly things here, and you will not ruin them with your heathen, uncouth ways. When they bring you the towel, you will remove your clothing and change. I assure you that my lady will have new clothing for you to wear.”
Three dru , she reminded herself, biting back the retort that rose in her throat. Seri took the towel that was handed to her and undressed. Wrapped in the warmth of the soft cloth, she had to force herself not to finger the fine weave of the fabric—if this was an “old” towel, Seri’s plain, homespun linen clothing must be laughable indeed. She flushed with humiliation.
The servant took the discarded dress away with a wrinkled nose, and Seri was left with Winna once more. “Come,” the handmaiden said, tilting her head and gesturing toward another set of double doors that waited beyond the plush carpets and sitting tables of the room they stood in.
Beyond the second set of double doors lay an immense apartment, bigger than the barn that housed Rilen’s livestock. Soaring walls were decorated with pretty splashes of vivid silks, and mirrors dotted the way between. Thick, colorful rugs covered the floor and hung from the walls, obscuring the windows. Lit sconces decorated the room, and a large brazier glowed at the end of a large dais, upon which a heavy, canopied bed loomed.
It was here that Lady Mila relaxed, gently fanned by a servant as she nibbled on a plate of grapes.
She perked up at the sight of Winna and swung her legs off the edge of the bed, sauntering over with a yawn. “So it’s true, then? You came after all?” Her eyes focused on Seri’s face and she gave a catlike smile of pleasure. “How lovely.”
Winna bowed to Lady Mila and stepped aside, her eyes hot on the two of them.
Seri offered the woman a faint smile and remained still. When Winna curtsied again as a hint, Seri’s smile grew a little more forced, a little stiffer.
If anything, the gleeful look on Lady Mila’s face increased. “You will not bow?”
Her breath caught in her throat. Would she be turned away, naked and penniless? “I will not.”
“Excellent,” Mila said, her eyes gleaming. “I vow that that will catch the prince’s eye if nothing else.” The lady waved her hand negligently. “And I will not need you for a full week. Less than that, I imagine. Lady Aynee has arrived with the prince, so the Ceremony will be held the day after. You shall be free to go once it is done.”
A bit shorter than Rilen would have liked, Seri imagined, but she was relieved. She’d have the three dru in a matter of days and be free of these oppressive, hateful people soon enough.
“Lady Aynee is important?” she asked calmly, trying to
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