Page 120 of Ashborne Forged

I didn’t give two shits if they knew why I was here.

“Unsurprisingly, Vane, you still need to develop more patience,” she said.

“I have been immensely patient, Mother. My patience nears its end.” I would have cursed at the smile she offered then, but I didn’t want any of them to see my agitation. So, I smiled in return, picked up the napkin laid across my lap by a servant, tossed it to the table, and rose. “Tell me when news arrives. If I’m still here.”

Then, I walked out, the servants’ gazes following me, heating the skin on my back, and raising the hair on the back of my neck.

Yet, I did smile as I walked back through the house toward my chambers. I’d angered her—but that would fuel her. And now the whispers would begin.

At worst, the moment anyone from this household had contact with the servants of another noble home, the others would hear about Vane’s bastard, growing in the belly of a desirable noble.

Someone, somewhere, would reach Breckon’s circle, and that meant Grace would hear me coming.

‘Hold on,’ I sent out, stretching my mind to its capacity, though I knew I couldn’t possibly reach her. Even Kham had stopped trying to reach Koa, knowing we were too far for any link. ‘I’m coming, Grace. Hold on.’

39. The Dark Manor

~ GRACE ~

On the fourth day of flying, just when I began to wonder if I could make it through another night of this, because my body was so weary and pained, we landed in a field alongside Breckon’s estate house. I hadn’t previously approached it by any means except the road, so I didn’t recognize it until we were almost on the ground.

And even though my spirits rose—finally I would be untied and could make a strategy for escape—my heart sank. Days of flying, and we’d reached Breckon’s estate without any sign or signal from Kham or Voski.

We landed in the twilight of sunset. Even before we dismounted, the servants gathered on the stairs, forming a long, inverted V, with the House Mistress and Master at the top, the rest of the household servants lined up and spread out to each side and below.

It was instinct, as I stumbled toward them, to roll my shoulders back and raise my head. But the muscles in my neck were so weary and sore, it was difficult to keep my chin level with the ground, as I’d been trained since I was a child.

And of course, I was dressed in leathers, rather than a gown. My hair tugged half out of its braid. No doubt there was dirt on my cheeks as well.

But I did my best to present with dignity as we approached the stairs, and the servants bowed and curtseyed.

“Yes, yes, very good. Your mistress, the Lady Grace Barnslow has finally arrived, and I’m certain you’re all very pleased. Mrs. Harrow, please have the girls run a bath. Mr. Sheperd, ensure the maids have prepared her chamber as we discussed. The rest of you, the Lady Grace is your new mistress, and you will obey her—except where her orders contradict mine. I’m certain you’re all clear on that point.”

“Yes, my Lord.” The chorus murmured. Their nervous voices made my skin crawl.

Over the days we’d traveled, I’d made a vague plan. I’d always been skilled in befriending servants, and hoped if we made it this far, I could attempt to curry the favor of one or two who might help me create opportunities for escape.

But scanning the servants as we walked briskly up the stairs, my hope faded.

Blank faces, averted eyes, trembling postures from the younger ones. These servants didn’t just know their place. They were terrified of him.

They wouldn’t fight him for me.

Without preamble, I was walked straight into his grand entrance hall, then led up one of the twin stair cases that took half-spirals up to the second level where the hallways were slightly narrower.

At first, we walked directly toward the double-doors that I was certain led to his chambers, and my stomach twisted. But, at the moment we reached the door, he passed me off to one of the maids, and with no less than four men following, I was ushered further down the hall.

I trembled with relief.

Two doors down, I was led into a bathing room unlike any I’d seen before. The floor had been stripped of its carpet and three, massive tubs were positioned on the floor in front of a large, stone fireplace.

The servants appeared undisturbed by my bonds. I worried they would leave my hands tied, but no… I was finally, finally released. With a groan and a shudder, rolling my very painful shoulders and trying to bend my elbows to lift my hands, I was quickly stripped by the women and my elbows supported until I could sit down in the water so hot it threatened to burn.

Goosebumps peppered every inch of my skin, and the heat leeched tension from sore, tired muscles. As I sank into the water, I groaned almost as deeply as I had in loving Voski.

I would have relaxed, and leaned back against the higher end of the tub, but one of the women began folding my leathers—including my belt and the attached sheath. My herbs were in the pocket.

I hadn’t been able to take the measured dose since we’d traveled, but I believed I’d been fairly accurate, surreptitiously sprinkling the herbs on my food, or twice, simply throwing some in my mouth and swallowing with the water when I was served it. I didn’t believe Breckon had noticed, and except for that first day, I hadn’t skipped the herbs—memories of Voski hissing in my ear to keep taking them never left me.