Tears of the Neko Read Online Free PDF Page A

together in the
towns and cities in pretty much harmony. Just like any human, some
developed trades and business, although Damien still had yet to see
any reach nobility status. But just like humans, the hybrids could
also choose to become a slave if they were unable or, in some
cases, unwilling, to survive on their own without a master.
    And so it was that Damien was standing over
the mix of freshly collared human and hybrid slaves, introducing
himself to them. Even though he knew he might not see many of them
very much, since Harrison and Roman were overseeing the
construction of the East wing, it didn't hurt for them to be able
to recognize the master of the estate.
    Strangely, he realized, as he looked over the
group, there weren't that many hybrids that worked in his actual
house. He knew there was the one brown-haired one that he saw
occasionally, but most of the servants inside the house were human. Huh , he briefly wondered why Roman had distributed the
slaves that way, since Roman and Harrison usually dealt with that
part of managing the household.
    Well, he did know that Garin, his head chef,
refused to have them in the kitchen--something about fur shedding
from tails and some such stuff. But other than when extra servants
and slaves were needed for things like large parties, he didn't
usually see them in the house. He wondered why this suddenly struck
him as odd. Perhaps it was seeing the cluster of so many happily
eating their first meal here.
    "Good day, sir," Arnett greeted, looking a
little sweaty and flushed. He straightened in the presence of his
formidable lord. The Duke was massive, bigger than both of his
brothers, and the permanent scowl that seemed to reside on the
master's face made him seem even more imposing.
    "How are things going, Jacob?" Damien greeted
congenially, aware that Geoff still hovered behind him.
    Arnett was nodding quickly, averting his eyes
and then looking over at the new slaves. "Fine, just fine."
    "Any problems?" Damien asked, although he
would be surprised if there had been.
    "No, no, no," Arnett said a little too
quickly. He waved at the happy group of slaves, talking and
chattering while they ate and drank their fill. "They've all been
collared with the Whitmore Manor mark. And I'll get them over to
the east side soon. We're going to just let them reside over there
now that the kitchen is somewhat functional. So we'll take several
sets of clothes, bedding and such when we head over."
    Damien nodded, "Good." He paused. "Are any of
them slated for work in the main house?"
    Arnett visibly startled. "What?"
    Damien frowned. "Are any of them coming to
the main house? I can walk them there myself."
    "Oh, oh, no," Arnett waved. "Harrison said
they were all for the east wing. Although we will probably pull
several of them to work at your birthday party."
    Damien grimaced at the reminder of his party.
He started to turn away and head back up to the main house, but
then paused and asked the question that had flitted across his
mind. "Arnett, why aren't there more hybrids working in the main
house?"
    Arnett's brows shot up in surprise at the
question. "Well, most prefer to work outside, sir," Arnett said
simply. He had assumed his master knew that. "When we can, we offer
the slaves an option on what type of work they'd prefer, and most
hybrids prefer to have access to the outside, so they tend to be in
the fields. I think Ellis is one of the few who chose to be
exclusively a house slave."
    "Ah," Damien nodded. "That makes sense
then."
    Geoff laughed slightly at the Whitmore duke.
"You are almost twenty-five years old, sir. You run at least four
plantations and two ports, but you don't know about your own
house?"
    Damien grumped at his guard captain. "I leave
Roman and Harrison to that," he grumbled. "I guess I just never
really thought about it much."
    "I see," Geoff grinned.
    "Maybe when the east wing is finished some of
them might be willing to put up with you in guard training,"