his whore,” Nila said.
“He’s not asked you to do anything degrading.” The silent “yet” hung in the air for a moment. “Just to accompany him on his errands. It’ll get you out of this damned house again. I’ll keep an eye on Jakob while you’re gone. Here,” Faye said, “let me help you.”
Nila let Faye pull her to her feet and strip off her old dress.
“There’s new undergarments,” Faye said, lifting a small box from the bed.
Nila snatched the box and threw it to the floor. “I’ve seen them, thank you,” she snapped. “Only a whore wears a shift like that.” She took a deep breath, realizing that her hands were shaking.
Faye let her arms drop to her side. She stepped to the nursery door, looking in on Jakob, and then closed it. She turned to Nila, hands on her hips.
“Have you seen the room in the basement?” Faye asked.
Nila stared back defiantly. Who was this old woman to demand things of her?
“Well?” Faye said.
Nila nodded sharply and tried not to think of the room with the long tables and blood stains and sharp knives on the bench.
“He showed them to me, too,” Faye said. “When I first got here. I don’t want to go to that room and I imagine you don’t, either. So keep him happy.”
“I’m…”
“I don’t care who you are,” Faye said, “or why you’re here. But you seem to care for Jakob. Vetas is not the kind of man to hesitate in turning his insidious practices on children.”
“He wouldn’t.”
Faye took a step closer to Nila. Nila made herself stand her ground, but a look in the woman’s eye frightened her.
Faye said, “He cut off my boy’s finger while I watched. While my children watched. We all screamed, and his goons held us back. Then he sent the finger to my husband, to ensure his cooperation in one of Vetas’s plans.” Faye spit on the floor.
“And what are you doing now?” Nila said.
“I’m waiting.”
“For what?” Nila scoffed.
“My chance.” The words were barely audible. Faye wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and took a deep breath. “There’s time for fury. And there’s time for patience. And Vetas’s reckoning will come.”
“What if I were to tell him what you said? How do you know you can trust me?”
Faye tilted her head to one side. “Go ahead and tell him if you want. You think he doesn’t know that I’d pull his guts out through his ass if I got the chance?” Faye shook her head in disgust. “My husband is an inspector. He’s a smart man, a principled man. He’s always thought the nobility were a load of inbred fools. I once asked him how he could put up with a baron’s mockery or the obtuse idiocy of a duchess long enough to finish a high-profile case.”
Nila remained silent, watching the side of Faye’s face while she talked.
“He said,” Faye went on, “that swallowing his pride and being patient in the face of adversity had allowed him to feed and protect his family for years, whereas giving in to his instincts to fight back would only land him in prison, or worse. Waiting is all I can do right now. So I wait. And you should, too. Put on the damned dress.”
Nila watched the woman for any sign of dishonesty. There was fire in her eyes. Fury. The kind only a mother is capable of.
“Give me some privacy,” Nila said.
She was dressed by the time there was a knock on the door. Not from Jakob’s nursery but from the hallway. Nila swallowed her fear as she heard the door open and was glad that she had put on the clothes.
“That’s progress,” Lord Vetas said. “Turn around.”
She turned to face him, forcing herself to meet his eyes.
He looked her up and down and slowly swirled the wine in the glass in his right hand. “You’ll do,” he said.
“For what?” she asked.
If he heard the anger in her voice, he ignored it. “I’ve been trying to secure a luncheon with a woman named Lady Winceslav for some time. I have finally succeeded. You will accompany me to the luncheon
“He’s not asked you to do anything degrading.” The silent “yet” hung in the air for a moment. “Just to accompany him on his errands. It’ll get you out of this damned house again. I’ll keep an eye on Jakob while you’re gone. Here,” Faye said, “let me help you.”
Nila let Faye pull her to her feet and strip off her old dress.
“There’s new undergarments,” Faye said, lifting a small box from the bed.
Nila snatched the box and threw it to the floor. “I’ve seen them, thank you,” she snapped. “Only a whore wears a shift like that.” She took a deep breath, realizing that her hands were shaking.
Faye let her arms drop to her side. She stepped to the nursery door, looking in on Jakob, and then closed it. She turned to Nila, hands on her hips.
“Have you seen the room in the basement?” Faye asked.
Nila stared back defiantly. Who was this old woman to demand things of her?
“Well?” Faye said.
Nila nodded sharply and tried not to think of the room with the long tables and blood stains and sharp knives on the bench.
“He showed them to me, too,” Faye said. “When I first got here. I don’t want to go to that room and I imagine you don’t, either. So keep him happy.”
“I’m…”
“I don’t care who you are,” Faye said, “or why you’re here. But you seem to care for Jakob. Vetas is not the kind of man to hesitate in turning his insidious practices on children.”
“He wouldn’t.”
Faye took a step closer to Nila. Nila made herself stand her ground, but a look in the woman’s eye frightened her.
Faye said, “He cut off my boy’s finger while I watched. While my children watched. We all screamed, and his goons held us back. Then he sent the finger to my husband, to ensure his cooperation in one of Vetas’s plans.” Faye spit on the floor.
“And what are you doing now?” Nila said.
“I’m waiting.”
“For what?” Nila scoffed.
“My chance.” The words were barely audible. Faye wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and took a deep breath. “There’s time for fury. And there’s time for patience. And Vetas’s reckoning will come.”
“What if I were to tell him what you said? How do you know you can trust me?”
Faye tilted her head to one side. “Go ahead and tell him if you want. You think he doesn’t know that I’d pull his guts out through his ass if I got the chance?” Faye shook her head in disgust. “My husband is an inspector. He’s a smart man, a principled man. He’s always thought the nobility were a load of inbred fools. I once asked him how he could put up with a baron’s mockery or the obtuse idiocy of a duchess long enough to finish a high-profile case.”
Nila remained silent, watching the side of Faye’s face while she talked.
“He said,” Faye went on, “that swallowing his pride and being patient in the face of adversity had allowed him to feed and protect his family for years, whereas giving in to his instincts to fight back would only land him in prison, or worse. Waiting is all I can do right now. So I wait. And you should, too. Put on the damned dress.”
Nila watched the woman for any sign of dishonesty. There was fire in her eyes. Fury. The kind only a mother is capable of.
“Give me some privacy,” Nila said.
She was dressed by the time there was a knock on the door. Not from Jakob’s nursery but from the hallway. Nila swallowed her fear as she heard the door open and was glad that she had put on the clothes.
“That’s progress,” Lord Vetas said. “Turn around.”
She turned to face him, forcing herself to meet his eyes.
He looked her up and down and slowly swirled the wine in the glass in his right hand. “You’ll do,” he said.
“For what?” she asked.
If he heard the anger in her voice, he ignored it. “I’ve been trying to secure a luncheon with a woman named Lady Winceslav for some time. I have finally succeeded. You will accompany me to the luncheon
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