Sympathy for the Demons (Promised to the Demons #1) - Lidiya Foxglove Page 0,39

over them for my bed.

“There you are,” he said, without much real interest. The sacks weren’t long enough for my entire body. Actually, the house was hardly long enough for my entire body.

“Jenny, do you have everything you need for bed?” he asked the girl, as she was climbing under the covers. “Water?”

“I already got a cup myself.”

His eyes lingered on her a moment and he lifted the blanket up toward her chest. I watched him, to make sure he didn’t lay a hand on a fellow servant. They were both ignoring me. “I’m glad you seem to be feeling better.”

“Mmhm. All better, thanks to your nursing.”

“I try,” Bevan said. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” Their voices were getting so soft it felt like they were trying to pretend I wasn’t there.

“Were you injured?” I asked, not that it mattered much if she was all better.

“Yes,” she said. “But I feel fine now.”

“Did someone attack you?”

“My…my warlock—Bernard, I mean. He isn’t my warlock anymore, since you called me here. Bevan, is there a place to get cream tomorrow?”

“There’s a market nearby. Not the one where Lord Variel went today. Better stay clear of that one. This is a farmer’s market. I can take you there tomorrow morning.”

I shouldn’t let either of them go without my permission, but then I decided the cream could only be for a good reason.

Bevan and Jenny…alone together? It’s already clear they’re smitten with each other.

It didn’t matter to me. I was not going to be jealous of a toad girl, and damn Lady Knucklebones.

“That sounds wonderful,” Jenny said. “Goodnight, Bevan. Goodnight, Lord Variel. Your bed looks very cozy.”

“I think you might be touched in the head,” I said, a little more snappish than I intended.

She wasn’t even perturbed by it. “I’ve always wanted to lay down in a pile of leaves. We don’t have any trees that shed leaves in our yard in Florida, but I guess it must be autumn here and it’s a lot like I imagined it would be. It isn’t comfortable?”

“I am used to a proper bed, that’s all.”

“And you have a lot of servants at home?”

“Yes.”

“You must miss them!”

“They are servants,” I said.

“Oh. Well…I suppose that’s…the way of things,” she said. “I’m just a servant myself, anyway.”

“I am accustomed to more hustle and bustle,” I admitted. The servants never shut up, and the castle would be strange without them.

“Do you have a castle with gold and riches?”

“Yes. I have a castle that has belonged to my family since anyone can remember, and the lands where I know every inch. I have a stable of fine horses but only one is my favorite. I have treasure rooms with gold and gems and ivory and other treasures that my father seized from the Mongols and the Holy Roman Empire, the Egyptians and the Babylonians.”

“You haven’t seized any yourself?”

“I already have enough of it,” I said. “At some point it’s excessive.” I wondered if even Jenny might think I was a pale shadow of Lord Vorsiel. Stolen treasure was not my favorite subject. Of course, it wasn’t nearly as easy to just raid and plunder in these recent centuries.

“It’s hard to be forced out of your home,” Jenny said. “I don’t blame you for being upset. And I would love to see a real castle. Even though I’m not sure I’ll like any place more than here.”

“If you ever pity me again I’ll rip your tongue out of your mouth.”

She finally shied back a little. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that!”

Now I felt a bitter heat inside my chest, and I wished I hadn’t said it like that, and I had never in my life wished to take back words I’d spoken to one of my poor pathetic souls. They belonged to me, and I could—and should—talk to them as harshly as I could, so they knew their place. I knew this, and I knew what a weakness it was for me to care about a servant.

One thing I could not deny was that this small creature gave me a different feeling than the others. I was having a hard time not being aware of her presence. Instead of falling into my own sleep, I listened to her breathe, waiting for her to sleep. Then I heard her soft, sleepy sigh, and saw her small hand clench her pillow and then relax. I hoped she was warm enough. If Bevan was not hanging from the rafters, I might have pulled the