He walked over. “I’m sorry. No,” he said, taking it away from her. “I’ll get you books from the library. When active, devices like this can be reversed to spy. I won’t keep any of them in a room until our situation is formalized.”
“How long do you expect that to be?”
“Not long,” he said noncommittally.
Chapter Eight
Evston sighed at Melsint’soutburst when he closed the door of the pet’s room off the play area. The bedroom had an attached bath chamber. It was a perfectly suitable apartment. Except for the fact that it had a locked gate for a door.
“You simply can’t keep her in there!” Melsint argued. “She is a royal person. An innocent royal person, whom you have not purchased. Sir, you can’t.”
“Mels, listen, she is accomplished at running away. I can either keep her shackled in my room or keep her in the pet chamber where she’ll be much more comfortable,” Evston said, becoming exhausted by the unbelievable amount of negotiating with young girls he seemed to be doing. “In there, she has her own facilities and books. She has her writing desk and bed cushion. It is adequate for a person’s needs. You know it is. We kept you in it long enough.”
“Sir!”
“Kitten,” Rocurt said sharply, arriving from the hall to his room. “He knows her better than you. Trust his judgment.”
Melsint bit her lip, and then whispered, “If you do this, she will never stop being angry about it.”
“If I don’t do this, she will run. And someone might spot her as she does so.”
“If she runs, you will track her down, just as you did before. And if someone sees her, well, we will make up a cover story.”
“I have to attend diplomatic meetings. Rocurt is going off-world to lead a battle. She can’t be allowed to run wild. It could have consequences from the crown that I couldn’t protect her from. Once she’s my wife, I can protect her better. Until then, I have to exercise caution.”
Melsint bit her full lower lip, shaking her head. “She’s a beautiful princess. How can this be right?”
“It’s not right,” Evston conceded. “I’ll make it up to her later. Just the way we made it up to you when you were upset about being kept that way.”
* * *
Brande sat on the bedcushion in the small room with a gate for a door. It was apparently where Evston and the commander kept new pets incarcerated during their first period of servitude while they adjusted to the confines of their situation.
Brandese had been locked in her room numerous times as a child. And even a couple of times when she was beyond childhood. The difference had been that she’d known how to escape her room at home.
It was strange to be kept in a small chamber with only a stack of books, no screen, and no real company. Lana had never let her waste away alone in her room. She always joined her in the chamber to play games and chat and watch shows.
