“Of course you are.” I still offer my arm, a shocking thing amongst polite mesakkah society. I am the highest-ranking lord. I do not assist anyone.
But Milly takes it and clings to me for balance, and I lead her out of the boisterous party. As we head out, I see Lady dra’Niiron watching me with narrowed eyes, her mouth pinched with anger. She is a problem I will deal with some other time.
I lead Milly up the stairs, and she immediately stumbles on her too-long skirts, pitching forward. It happens twice, both times saved by her grip on my arm, before I decide twice is enough. I pick her up, hefting her easily into my arms. She’s very light, this human, and trusting, too. Milly immediately sighs and presses her face against my neck, mumbling something sleepily.
I carry her to my chambers, nod to indicate that my servants should clear out, and then gently lay Milly down in the bed. My bed. I shove a million of the ridiculous pillows aside and tuck her under the blankets, then move to a nearby chair.
It’s where I’ll be sleeping tonight.
17
MILLY
I wake up after the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had to see my new owner slumped over in a prissy-looking chair, his mouth slightly open as he snores.
Oh Jesus.
I sit up in horror, realizing I’m the one in the bed. I’m pretty sure that’s not supposed to happen. After watching all the other horned blue people last night, I realized a few things about them, mostly that they put human aristocracy to shame. They’re snooty as all get out, rigid in their manners, and basically looked at me like my owner had set a monkey at the table with him. I’d downed a lot of the horrible tasting wine because I’d overheard some of the whispers about how depraved he must be, and that freaked me out. If he was depraved, I didn’t want to be sober for any of it. So I got horribly, terribly drunk…
And it seems I’m in the bed and he’s not. At any other time, I would think it was sweet. Chivalrous, even. Right now though, I’m just terrified he’ll wake up and realize our positions should be reversed and then I’ll get in trouble.
As quietly as I can, I slide out of the bed and cross the room, tiptoeing out. I manage to shut the door behind me without waking him and move down the hall. Before I can even get to the stairs, someone in a yellow uniform is approaching me, frowning.
He takes one look at my rumpled hair and wrinkled dress and his expression changes from disapproval to disgust. “Where is your master?”
“Um, he’s sleeping?” I gesture back at the room. “I thought he shouldn’t be disturbed. I—”
The butler grabs me by the arm and hauls me along with him. “Come. You can stay with the rest of his servants in their quarters, then.”
“Oh, okay—”
“No talking,” he bites at me, glaring.
I shut up, startled at how nasty he is. Jeez. Come to think of it, my master’s the only one that’s been halfway kind to me and he hasn’t even told me his name. Distressed, I let the servant drag me along with him. We cross through several halls in the massive manor house before we get to an area that’s a little more rundown, a little less decorated, and the doors are smaller and tighter. Behind them, I can hear the hum of voices. Clearly these are the servants’ quarters.
The butler escorts me in, past groups in different colored tunics, until he spots a man in the dark blue of my owner’s uniforms. With a sound of relief, the butler pulls me after him. “This is your master’s problem,” he declares to the man in dark livery. “Take her off my hands, will you? Lady dra’Niiron will have a fit if she sees her in the halls.”
“Of course.” The new servant—the one in blue—takes my arm as if I can’t hold myself up and frowns down at me. He’s one of the blue guys with horns, but his features are rougher than my master’s and he doesn’t look friendly at all. In fact, he looks at me like a very nasty bug crawling across the carpet. “I see you’re my problem now.”
“Hi,” I say brightly, determined to try and make the best of things. I stick out my hand for him to shake. “I’m Milly, and I’m new—”
“You can’t wear that,” he says immediately. “I can’t believe they put such an expensive dress on a such a creature.” His nostrils flare with distaste and he leaves the room as the other servants in blue snicker behind their hands. “Come on. Let’s get you changed. If you’re my problem now, I guess I’ll put you to work until I get official instructions as to what to do with you.” He glances over at me. “Unless you know what he’s planning on doing with you?”