Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop

romantic in its own way—until a large bug falls off a leaf and into the bathwater.”
    It was tempting to tease her and ask if it was a beetle, but that would have been unkind, and he understood the generosity of the offer she was making. He needed to work, needed the challenge of taking care of the SaDiablo family’s estates and fortune, needed the demands of ruling Dhemlan. If he spent his time and strength on nothing but Jaenelle, he would smother her and give her no opportunity for a life beyond what they shared. But letting someone else take the burden of routine visits to the Province Queens meant being able to spend time at Jaenelle’s house in Scelt—and spend time with the friends who would be only memories a century from now.
    “I also plan to look for a residence here in Halaway,” Surreal said. “Maybe see if Rainier would like to share a house.”
    Daemon narrowed his eyes. “There is plenty of room here at the Hall. And wings far enough from the family suites that they would qualify as a separate residence.”
    “For a man who buys property all the time, you’re being dense. I want a place of my own. I want a place that doesn’t belong to the SaDiablo family or you. I want a place that has my name on the deed. Since I hired Lord Marcus to be my man of business because he is yours, I figure you know well enough that I can afford just about any kind of house I want.”
    “Marcus would never reveal confidential or privileged information,” he said with a warning bite in his voice.
    “To anyone else? No, he never would,” Surreal agreed. “Would he refuse to answer any question from you?” She shook her head. “That’s like thinking that the firm who handles the family’s investments wouldn’t answer a question from Uncle Saetan about any member of this family.”
    True, but he wasn’t going to acknowledge it out loud.
    “So you know I can afford my own residence,” Surreal said. “Besides, you’re going to pay me an outrageously generous salary.”
    “I am?”
    “You are.”
    They smiled at each other. Then Daemon’s smile faded. “You’ve told me what I’m going to get out of this
    —and I’m grateful. What do you get out of this arrangement besides an outrageously generous salary?”
    Her smile faded too. “I miss Rainier,” she said.
    “Surreal . . .”
    She laughed quietly. “Relax. I know he’d rather flirt with you than with me, except he doesn’t have a death wish. But he’s a friend unlike any other. And love isn’t always about sex. Talking to Karla about the family she formed with her adopted daughter and her Master of the Guard helped me see that. Rainier matters to me, Daemon.”
    “If you set up your own residence, you’ll hire servants?” Daemon asked.
    She snorted. “Damn right I’ll hire servants. I don’t want to do the cooking and cleaning by myself.”
    “Good. Then Mrs. Beale and Helene won’t be complaining about you the way they complain about him.”
    “Why are they complaining about Rainier?”
    “Because he keeps a room at one of the inns in the village instead of having a suite here at the Hall.
    Which means he isn’t being looked after properly. They won’t go so far as to actually criticize the cook or housekeeper at the inn since these are women they socialize with; they simply insist that it is inappropriate for the secretary of the Warlord Prince of Dhemlan to be making do with a room at an inn instead of having a proper residence and servants to look after him.”
    “Does he need looking after?”
    He heard the concern in her voice and made a rude noise. “No more than you do, but real need is never the point of these conversations.”
    Her expression changed from concern to cautious delight. “Just how often do you get pinned to the wall because Rainier obstinately refuses to recognize this particular duty?”
    “Weekly. So if you’re serious about being my second-in-command, you’re shouldering this particular