Four

Dressed in fresh clothing that was much the same as what she had accidentally gotten a few drops of blood on, Anna followed the maid back to the  garden for lunch. The harp had been moved but not taken away and it looked as if the area where she’d bled on the stones had been washed.

Bririah was waiting at the table with a slightly younger man whose small eyes widened as Anna approached and she reminded herself of the choices currently in front of her as she put on a curious smile.

“This is Lady Annabella?” He beamed as Bririah nodded and rose to offer a shallow bow. “You’re beautiful Lady. I am… I am stunned by your loveliness.” 

“That is very sweet of you to say,” she glanced at Bririah who gave a small laugh.

“This is my younger brother, Lord Davridan Vilneiros Godrian Vadithas. Davridan, this is Lady Annabella Isabeau Fitzroy-Grenfell.”

“It’s a pleasure, Lord Davridan Vilneiros Godrian Vadithas.” With a warm smile, Anna offered her hand and he took it offering a brief squeeze as Orilen had done.

“You’re very warm, Lady Annabella.”

“Just Anna or Annabella is fine, really, especially since I think your wonderful sister wants us to date.”

He laughed and flushed, “Anna, that is… please call me Davri.”

“Sit, sit,” Bririah was smiling smugly as she gestured for Anna to sit next to Davri. “As I was telling you, she is lovely, charming, and gentle but because her father had her raised drinking and bathing in pure water she is warmer to the touch than one would expect. Her hair more than anything else.”

“Why would he do such a thing?” Davri’s brow furrowed.

“Isabeau means ‘pledged to the gods’.” Orilen said as he joined them. “I suspect he had her raised with that in mind, intending for her to remain unmarried and most likely to attend him in his old age. He had her trained to play many instruments and I can vouch that she plays the harp marvelously.”

As he took a seat he continued, “But, as someone can be cautiously made more pure, I suspect that she can be brought back to a more normal level. The conception of children, however, will probably be as difficult for her as it was for her mother.”

“I would very much like a child or two from my wife.” Davri smiled wryly, “A daughter as lovely as her mother would be a treasure.”

“My father felt the same.” Anna gave him a warm smile and then let it fade, “I would still have a mother if they had stopped trying for more children after I was born. It took him nearly ten years to get over her death enough to look for a second wife. My father finally remarried and they’re trying for children now.”

“Would,” Davri paused and then looked at her speculatively, “would you be willing to mother my children from another woman? I know that is a great deal to ask but…”

“I adore children. I’m not-I’ve never really considered marriage or children. If it’s likely that I can’t have them I wouldn’t be upset if someone else did the labor of birthing them.” She held up a finger as his face lit up, “As long as the woman wasn’t hanging around. I would not want her in the house.”

He turned to Orilen with a beaming smile, “Make the match, I knew the moment I laid eyes on her she was perfect.”

Orilen chuckled, “I’ll broach the subject with your eldest brother. I had hoped the two of you would get along well, and I’m happy to see it, but… Any match will have to wait until approval is granted by the King and by the Exarch. The matter of her abduction has to be addressed and because of the way her father raised her she is terrifyingly pure. The Masters who were here wanted to have her taken to the temple to remain.”

“Because she’s warm to the touch?” Davri frowned.

“Because her tears are pure water and her blood behaves as if it is nearly as pure. Her hair burns on a qina, and the maids have to cover their hands in satin to touch it. They didn’t believe it was possible to purify a living person so much but they suspect that because it began when she was first born and wholly innocent it made a great deal of difference.”

“If she stops drinking the pure water and-” Davri began.

“She can only drink pure water.” Bririah gave him a wry smile. “They gave her water directly from the well and it caused her mouth to bleed.”

“I can drink tea, preferably with honey, and I’ve had wine with meals on occasion, I don’t like it without food-”

“Food likely softens the impurity of the wine, but I suspect you’ve only been given wines made with boiled water. Some of the better winemakers do so.”

“My father said it was very good wine.” She made a face and Orilen chuckled. “But he didn’t tell me whether the water in it had been boiled. I genuinely didn’t know that it was so strange to drink pure water, it’s what I’ve always been given.”

“He pledged you to the gods without allowing you to become insufferably religious.” Orilen teased. “I’m certain I would like him if I met him.” He looked back at Davri. “His Majesty may take her into his custody. If she remains in mine I will have the match made if your family is willing, but as she is of a royal lineage, our King would be within his rights to bring her into his family or to at least see her married as befits her station. I had hoped to handle things quietly, to arrange matters with the Masters and see the two of you married but things have become more complicated.”

Davri’s shoulders slumped slightly. “What can I do to make matters fall in my favor? Now that I’ve met her I desperately want to have the match made.”

“I’ll do my best.” Orilen gave the man a smile and a nod of his head. “You may need to think carefully, however, her keeping may be expensive even if she can be eased away from pure water. Her father is a wealthy man with houses, ships, and horses. Lady Annabella has never had to make do with less.”

“I have.” Anna gave him an amused look, “I tried to live like the other girls at University. I learned how to make a few things, I tidied my own room-”

“And who made the bread dough you used? Washed your clothing? Your dishes?” Bririah teased.

Anna gave her a pouty look and both men broke into laughter.

“How was it you drank pure water while you were there?” Orilen asked curiously, “If you were trying to be like the other girls…”

“My father had bottled water sent to me. It would just arrive when I was getting low-”

Orilen barked a laugh, “He listened to his new wife enough to let you try to do things on your own but he had someone close to you telling him every detail and looking after your wellbeing.” A pensive look crossed his face, “He’ll know that you attended a party you weren’t supposed to and he’ll be hunting whoever took you.”

“Would you do less for one of your children?” Anna asked with a wry smile.

“No. I wouldn’t.” Orilen sighed but he gave her a small smile.

“Let us have the meal and then perhaps two two of you can walk in the garden?”

Davri flushed slightly but gave her a hopeful smile and Anna dipped her head, “That would be lovely.”

°°°°°°°°°°

Retiring to her room, Anna kept a mild, pleasant look on her face as the maids helped her into a shift to sleep in, wholly without undergarments, and a robe. The maids left as she was putting her hair up in the satin cap. Once they had gone she let her face relax and took a deep breath letting it out slowly.

“What am I even doing?” she murmured to herself. 

Anna moved to the window and stood staring out at the narrow strip of garden between herself and the wall that looked as if it were ten feet high. Walking the garden had shown that she was inside a walled area and it felt like that was significant to dream about just like being elevated to the ranks of nobility. 

“Feeling trapped maybe?” she breathed to herself and then rubbed her face with both hands, trapped between expectations and desires to be more than she was, maybe? “I wish I had a mirror, it doesn’t feel like you’re crazy for talking to yourself if you have a mirror.”

She paced around the room and caught a small sound like something moving under the bed. Timidly, she climbed onto it and pulled herself over the edge to look under it. A small nervous girl was there looking at her with wide eyes.

“Please come out, do you have any idea how frightening it is to have someone hide under the bed?” Anna smiled wryly. “Why are you even under there?”

“Forgiveness, Lady.” The girl wriggled her way out of the small space and stood looking sheepish. “The Masters wanted someone to be sure you aren’t doing anything odd.”

Cracking a smile, Anna nodded, “And you heard me wishing for a mirror so I wouldn’t feel crazy for talking to myself. I have no one else to talk to at the moment.”

“Lady Bririah-”

“Is a kind and thoughtful hostess. She is not the person I should be talking to as I try to sort out my feelings and thoughts on her little brother.” 

The girl gave another sheepish smile, “That is true, Lady. She’s protective of him.”

“He’s sweet, I can understand why, but at the same time…” Anna trailed off with a sigh. “I don’t know if I’m considering him because the way the Masters treated me terrified me, or because I’ve had so much upheaval and I want something solid to hold onto, or maybe because he’s a very soft man like my father is. I just… marriage is a big thing and my family isn’t here to talk to about any of this, and there’s still the chance I’ll be sent back home where I belong, you know?”

“The Masters terrified you?” The girl asked with a furrowed brow.

“One wanted to see if all my hair would burn like the strand from my pillow and they gave me water they knew would harm me just to see what would happen. With the exception of Master Adphon they weren’t looking at me like a person, more like an animal they wanted to poke with a stick.” She sighed, “What can I call you? If I’m pouring my heart out I’d like to know who I’m speaking to.”

“Morcaryn, Lady.” 

“Morcaryn… I understand if you need to talk about things broadly with anyone expecting you to give a report but maybe you can gloss over the fine details as a favor? I desperately need someone to talk to.”

Morcaryn smiled wryly and bobbed a curtsy. “I can do that, Lady.”

“What would you do in my place? If you were abducted and you know your family is looking for you but they’re very far away and you might not…” Anna stopped and swallowed before taking a deep breath.

“Lady,” the girl clasped her hands together and then took a seat on the floor, “If my family had royal blood and if I knew they would be trying to find me I would wait to give them the chance. I-I know they want to wed you to Lord Davridan quickly, and that it’s because they know you’ll have finer choices or perhaps be allowed to leave.”

“I understood that as well.” Anna nodded. “But Davridan is at least sweet, there is no guarantee that anyone else I might be handed off to would be. I didn’t-” she paused, “I never considered marriage or what I wanted. Now, for the first time, I need to. What’s important, what’s not?”

“Wealth is important, Lady.” Morcaryn said thoughtfully. “If I were in your place I would want a wealthy husband. Some of the wealthier lords can be violent, though, I know that too. Lord Davridan is soft, if your father was the same way…”

“I love my father, but I cannot imagine marrying someone like him. My grandfather was a very… he was not always nice but he was charming and very firm in his decisions. You could help him or get out of his way when he’d decided on a course of action. It’s like the difference between roast potato and potato soup, you know? Both have good points but if you had to eat it every day which would you pick?”

Morcaryn giggled. “That’s an amusing way to look at it.”

“This isn’t a decision I want to make out of fear. And I don’t want a permanent solution to a temporary problem, what if…”

“You said you were feeling trapped?”

“My family isn’t here, I have to rely on the kindness of strangers. If I wanted to try to contact someone at home I-I don’t-” Her breath hitched and the maid scrambled to her feet to fetch a cloth. “Thank you.”

After dabbing at her eyes she sighed, “There’s no one here telling me what to do, that’s supposed to be nice, right? I liked it at University but now… Maybe the girl who told me I was just playing at being independent was right. Maybe what I want is just the illusion of choice and not real choices.” 

“If it helps, Lady, you’re not the only one who has to make choices. The Exarch, the King, even Lord Davridan’s elder brother, depending on what choices they make you may have none at all.”

Anna huffed a laugh, “I don’t know if that helps or not, but if no choice I make has any meaning then I don’t need to worry over it and I can go to sleep.”

Morcaryn smiled warmly and dropped a curtsy. “Get some sleep, Lady.”

Anna settled into bed and lay looking up at the ceiling considering the conversation. She’d slipped back into the wellbred mask immediately and it was true, part of her liked not needing to make decisions but, at the same time, part of her mind felt like a feral cat trying to get out of a cage. 

Davridan was a perfectly nice man, soft, and as enthusiastic as a puppy. If he had turned up to date her in a not insane dream world she’d have considered him, largely because her grandmother would approve. All her life she’d been balancing what she’d been taught about family being important and needing to consider that in a prospective partner with the fact her own mother had been a foster kid and by their measuring stick…

“If this is a dream it’s my dream. What do I want? This life? One my dad’s family would be happy with? Mom made her own way and she made her own decisions. That’s not something they approved of.” She took a deep breath. “Do I want to be soft like Dad, malleable? Or do I want to be more like Mom, moving with the flow but being the one making my own decisions?” 

It was silent in the room as she considered it. If this was her dream, she was going to be the one in control of it. If it was her dream, she’d give herself an out. Davridan seemed sweet and she didn’t want him to be miserable even if this was just a dream. He’d meet the woman that he could stand up for, like her dad had done for her mom, despite his softness. She’d push them together and wait for the next choice.

Feeling happy with that decision she closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep.

°°°°°°°°°°

Anna was practicing with her violin at the edge of campus where there were a few shops and a handful of people meandering in and out. One or two had come to drop money in the case next to her and she’d smiled and given a nod instead of discouraging them.

Tegan, someone she knew tangentially from school, gave her a dirty look before going into a shop with an older woman. A man who  had been leaning nearby with a smile on his face and listening came and dropped a gold dollar coin in the case earning a warm smile as she continued playing.

Shortly after, Tegan came out of the shop alone and stormed over.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Practicing. I like taking breaks from my harp now and then.”

“No, you’re not! You’re f*****g busking!” Tegan pointed angrily at the money in the case. “You can afford to pay to send out your laundry to be washed and you’re out here taking money away from other artists-”

“There is no one else here, Tegan. I’m not taking anything away from any other artist and I’m not asking for money. I’m playing because I want to and I need the practice. Have some people chosen to give me money as an expression of appreciation? Sure, but I didn’t ask them to.”

Teagan sputtered, “You-you know what? This is the same as you taking a place at Broad River when someone else who wanted and deserved to come here and doesn’t have a fortune to spend on school could have had your spot. You could have gone anywhere but you picked here. You’re just out here slumming it and having a great time. You’re a f*****g b***h, Anna.”

“I earned my spot and they had no other harpists applying.” Anna gave the girl a pointed look, “I haven't taken anything away from anyone and I earned my spot here. This is a good school and I picked it for a lot of reasons. You’re putting the school and yourself down if you think I’m ‘slumming’.”

“Is everything okay?” The woman who had gone into the shop with Tegan came over with a baffled frown on her face.

“This rich b***h is out here-”

“Tegan Marie!” the woman snapped. “Watch your mouth.”

“She’s busking and she doesn’t need to!”

“I'm playing for my own enjoyment and to get practice in on one of the other instruments I play. Do you see a sign anywhere asking for money? Is my case pushed out for people to have easy access to?” Anna frowned sternly. “If someone wants to show appreciation by dropping a dollar or something I’m happy they enjoyed the music and I’ll let them do it. I pay that appreciation forward as tips to other people. 

“All you know about me is that my family has some money and my dad makes sure I can focus on my school work. Maybe focus on the good in your own life instead of being jealous when other people seem to have it easier, okay?”

“Oh you just seem to have it easier? No one in your entire family has ever worked a day-”

“My good b***h, my mom was a foster kid. I know what busking looks like because she supported herself and my dad with it. He got temporarily disowned for marrying her. So yeah, my family has some money but it’s not mine and my mom, until the day she died, made sure that I knew I could earn a halfway decent living if I needed to by playing the instruments she taught me to play.

“I am not busking. I’m playing because I love it. If I wanted to busk I would be in a much denser area and I would have a sign sitting in my case which would be positioned for people to be able to drop money in easily.”

Tegan blinked and looked at Anna dubiously. 

The woman with her tugged on her arm, “Come on. I want to have a talk with you.” 

They walked away and Anna took a deep breath debating if she wanted to keep playing or not. The man who’d dropped in a coin came over with a wry smile on his face.

“Are you stopping for the day?”

“I don’t know, she kind of messed up the vibe I was feeling.”

He gave a small laugh, “Don’t give other people that kind of power. You’re playing because you like it? Just play what you’re feeling.”

“That is some of the best advice I think I’ve ever gotten.” Anna gave him a warm smile, “What kind of music do you like? What genre?”

Grinning, he started to laugh, “I usually listen to metal but you’re really good. I like your energy.”

“How do you feel about Master of Puppets?” She matched his grin. “It’s usually better with someone else playing something with some bass too but I can manage a decent cover on my own, I think.”

“Do it!” Laughing he stepped back. 

She started to play and he watched with a beaming smile on his face. The song took focus especially on the fast parts of what were adapted guitar solos. When she finished and looked back at him, the small crowd that had gathered began to applaud.

Anna woke with a start as someone grabbed her foot.

“Sorry, my Lady.” The maid smiled ruefully, “You weren’t waking up as I laid the clothing out.”

“I was having a good dream.” Sitting up she yawned and stretched.

“Your hands were twitching a little.” 

“I was playing a difficult song and enjoying myself.” Anna gave a small laugh. “I was playing my violin.”

The maid shook her head. “Let me help you dress, Lady.”

Getting out of bed she yawned and stretched again before letting the maid usher her to the vanity. This morning the woman donned satin gloves and set to work on Anna’s hair without assistance. It was braided into three smaller braids and wrapped elaborately around her head as if it were a braided crown of braids.

Today she was being lent a more elaborate gown as well, a cream dress with dark blue embroidery along every seam and hem, and instead of a wrapped shawl a pleated yoke of a top that gave it a very layered look with the way it cascaded some stopping at her abdomen and other layers going as far as her knees.

“This is lovely, the embroidery is such a lovely color.”

With the shoes on her feet she let the maid lead her out of the room to the table in the garden.

Bririah and Davridan were sitting looking uncomfortable with a man who looked perhaps ten years older and bore a strong resemblance to both of them. On seeing her, the man came to his feet.

Anna put on a warm smile, “Good morning, Lady Bririah, Lord Davridan,” she paused looking at the third person.

“This is Lord Edelath Wranwarin Conlas Beltaor Godrian Vadithas, our eldest brother,” Bririah offered in a forcefully cheerful tone. “Lord Edelath, this is Lady Annabella Isabeau Fitzroy-Grenfell.”

“This lovely creature is the reason that the Masters are sour with your husband and us by extension?” Edelath arched a brow. “What happened?”

“I told you.” Bririah sighed. “Lady Annabella is a rarity. Her father dedicated her to the gods and has raised her drinking and bathing in pure water. The Masters are fascinated and they want to take her to the temple and keep her. She is of royal descent, gentle, and somewhat naive.”

“Ah.” Edelath nodded, taking Anna’s hand and squeezing it briefly as she offered it. “Are you feverish, Lady?”

“No, but I’m a little warm to the touch, my hair more than anything else.”

He lifted a hand to her braids and jerked it back with a startled look.

“The strands are so pure they burn on the qina.” Bririah smiled wryly. “Her tears are as pure water, and her blood is very nearly so. We know this because of the unkindness of the Masters. They gave her water drawn from the well, unboiled. Her mouth bled and her eyes poured tears.

“They wished to force my husband to allow them to take her after the way they behaved, my sons stood with their father as lords and refused them.”

“Ah. That was not relayed to me. It was suggested that she was a charlatan of some kind and that they wished to test her in the temple but your husband was preventing them.”

“He sent a missive to the King informing him of these events.” Bririah sighed, “I had hoped Davridan could be quietly wed to her. She may not be able to bear children but she is willing to adopt children as long as the mother is not permitted in their home.”

“She’s perfect in every way.” Davridan sighed.

“If she’s so pure you wouldn’t be able to bed her.” Edelath gave him an annoyed look. “And a great deal of her value would be in bearing children that would carry their mother’s royal blood.”

“There should be ways to ease her into a more normal life.” Bririah waved her hand. “And while it would be ideal if she could bear children, we would be able to say a member of our family has a wife of royal blood. She’s gentle and charming, undeniably lovely, even if she only attends social engagements she would raise us in the estimation of our peers.”

Edelath frowned looking at Annabella again. “And you wish to marry my brother?”

“I don’t know. I spoke to a maid last night about it. She had hidden herself under my bed because the Masters had asked her to keep an eye on me and make certain I wasn’t doing anything odd.” She gave Bririah a wry smile. “Lord Davridan is very sweet and reminds me of my father in some ways, they both have a certain softness-”

“Was your father the eldest?” Edelath interrupted her with a dubious look.

“No. He was the youngest. But as soft as he usually was, he fell in love with my mother and refused to give his family the opportunity to keep them apart. She was an orphan and he eloped with her. He was briefly disowned, but with my mother’s help he didn’t suffer from it. It was a point of pride for him, that he could say truthfully that he knew with every fiber of his being that she loved him because instead of leaving when he had nothing she supported him. He told me once that love put steel in his spine. After she died…”

“I am amazed that his family only briefly-”

“I was the first grandchild and the youngest is almost always the darling of the family. They were angry and they expected him to come to his senses because they thought that no one would want him if he didn’t have wealth to offer. They were wrong.”

Davridan looked lost in thought and she added, “I like Davri, I do. But somehow I don’t feel like it’s the same thing my parents had and if I choose to marry that’s what I want. I’m very aware that the choice may be made without consulting me on what I want but if I get to choose…” 

“You barely know each other.” Bririah gave her an exasperated smile. “Let him persuade-”

“I need to go.” Davridan said in a firm quiet tone. “I… she’s right. There’s someone I need to see.”

“I told you already, Davridan.” Edelath gave his brother a stern look. “If you try to marry that-”

“I understand. I want to ask her if she’s willing to marry me with nothing. If she is… She’s carrying my child and I care for her. Anna would have been ideal. I could have Yallana away from the house as a mistress and raise my children as legitimate. I would have had a wife that people would respect. But if I won’t be able to… I-” Davri looked at Anna and flushed.

“I wish you nothing but the best, Davri. If she’s the one for you I will hope it all unfolds for you even better than it did for my parents.” Anna smiled warmly.

He lit up with a smile, “Thank you, Anna. No matter what, I hope we will be close friends.”

“I hope so too.”

“Without a prospective husband she may be taken to the temple and kept there!” Bririah swatted at him and then turned on Anna, “And you-”

“I am grateful for all you’ve done for me, Bririah. I am fond of your brother but I will not be-”

“You should know better than to encourage him! Your father-”

“Married my mother even though she had no family at all and she played her music in the streets to support him. After his family relented she began playing concerts for wealthy patrons and earning what they considered to be a respectable living but I am both descended from royalty and from the most humble background you can have. I do not fault either of my parents for following their hearts.

“I will not let fear push me into marrying someone. They would both be disappointed in me. I can be soft like my father but I am also resolute like my mother. I had to think about it and whatever other decisions are made, that is one I have made for myself and no one can overrule.”

Bririah gave her a cold look, “You are here by our benevolence and wearing borrowed clothing-”

“I am grateful for your benevolence. Your home is lovely, your hospitality is warm, and your children are both handsome and kind, that does not change if you revoke your welcome. If you wish me to leave I will request the clothing that I came here in to be returned, the pure water left for me to be bottled so that I may carry it, and I will walk home if I have no other options.”

“Peace, peace.” Edelath gave her a speculative look and a small smile, “As regal as a queen but as naive as a child. You said your husband sent a missive to his Majesty?”

“Yes.” Bririah sighed and gave him a sour look. “I’m not certain that he’ll have much interest considering her breeding-”

“I have heard he’s very interested in the humble beginnings of his own house, and how they came to become royalty. He may be very interested in her. There has also been talk of diplomats from Irocia who may pay a visit.”

“When?!” Anna stepped forward, that sounded like an out like she’d given Davri, a way to wake up from the dream.

He blinked. “You want-”

“I want to go home!” She realized she’d grabbed his arm as he jerked it away. “Sorry, I…”

“I would be just as eager.” Bririah gave her a small smile. “Come have a seat.” More quietly she spoke to Edelath, “Are you hurt?”

“No, just startled. The girl is far warmer than she should be.” He took a seat as well and studied her. “You’re eager to see a diplomat-”

“I want to go home. If they can help me I-” 

“Davridan?” Bririah sounded startled.

Looking around, the man was gone.

“He must have slipped away.” Edelath rubbed his forehead. “I’ll have to disinherit him if he marries her but I will hope that she says she won’t stay with him without our money.”

“I’m very unhappy with you for encouraging him.” Bririah took a seat and gave Anna a deeply unhappy frown.

“I won’t apologize. Knowing where you stand is better and he deserves to be happy. I like him.”

It was silent for a few long moments and she looked around for Orilen or the children.

“Where-”

“Which maid did you speak to?”

“I asked her name and she said it was Morcaryn. I hadn’t seen her before. She was small and looked a little young.”

Bririah looked immediately to Edelath. “A spy?”

“Undoubtedly.” He frowned and his brow furrowed. “The Masters must desperately want her in their care.”

Orilen approached the table with a frown on his face. Master Adphon was next to him.

“Lord-”

“I wish to apologize. It seems there are things that were not relayed to me and things that were at least partially untrue.” Edelath rose and inclined his head.

With a wry smile, Orilen inclined his as well. “Yes. But it seems an order has come from the Exarch himself to have Lady Annabella brought to the temple.”

“I’ll have the meal-”

“Immediately.” Adphon shook his head. “I would allow her to have a meal first if I could but he was very clear.”

“But…” Anna glanced at Edelath.

“If the King wishes to intervene and the diplomat wishes to see you, I am certain you will be brought. Have some faith.”

Taking a deep breath she nodded. This was her dream, she’d given Davridan an out like she’d intended to and if she needed to she was certain she could shift the dream if it became unpleasant. 

Adphon gave her a warm smile as she rose. But Bririah was looking nervously at the dress.

“I would like to change back into the clothing I arrived in first. Lady Bririah very kindly lent me this lovely dress and I don’t want to risk it being dirtied or damaged before it makes its way back to her. It’s important to be a good guest to gracious hosts.”

Orilen chuckled, “You are most welcome to return if the Exarch speaks to you and decides that you may, Lady Annabella.”

Reviews

[Gary]

Yet another good chapter. However, it did seem odd that they would discuss how no one could bed Anna with her still in the room and she didn't speak up.