“Sure you did,” I said hurriedly. “Now, what were you saying? When you find her, you'll what?”
“We're going to marry her,” he declared.
“What; all of you?” I scoffed.
“Yes.” Braxton smiled again as he snatched up my hand and kissed it. “Thank you, Madelyn, you've given me a moment of reprieve that I dearly needed.”
He stood and strode off.
“Sure, anytime,” I huffed. “Take all the reprieve you need.”
Chapter Ten
That evening, I was dumping the dirty water from my mop bucket out into the grass when the final brother arrived. My hair was tied up in a kerchief, and I was sweaty from the day's labors. I looked down at my rumpled clothes and red hands and shook my head. He wouldn't be sticking around very long.
“Good evening, Madelyn,” Ashton said as he walked up.
“Your Highness,” I bobbed a curtsy. “Sorry, I didn't know you were coming, or I would have put on my good gown.”
He chuckled and lifted a satchel to show me. “Are you hungry? I've brought dinner.”
“For me?” I scowled.
“Of course, for you,” he said. “Do you see anyone else here?”
“Why is a prince bringing a servant girl dinner?” I asked him pointedly. “Don't you have servants at the castle you can cook for?”
Ashton smiled and shook his head. “How do you manage to lift my spirits while simultaneously insulting me?”
“That wasn't insulting,” I huffed as I leaned against the doorway. “But if you want to stick around, I can try harder.”
He burst into laughter.
“Come inside then.” I waved toward the kitchen. “We can eat by the fire.”
“Thank you.” he followed me in.
I watched him as he looked around the tidy kitchen. I had cleaned everything and put it all away for the night. My pallet was laid out in front of a small fire, an old pillow and worn blanket spread over it. There was a jug of water on the heavy wood table, sitting beside a plate with some leftovers I saved from the meal I'd served my stepmother and stepsisters. Ashton looked it all over with a smile at first, but it quickly changed to a scowl.
“Is this your dinner?” He asked as he set the satchel down beside the plate of chicken scraps.
“Hey, I cooked that,” I huffed.
“I just mean that there's not a lot of it,” he said softly.
“Well, they don't exactly save me a portion.”
“I see.” Ashton stared at the pallet. “Is that where you sleep? In the cinders?”
“It's warmest there.” I shrugged. “The kitchen can get drafty.”
“But don't you have a room?”
I laughed, and he scowled deeper.
“Do the other servants have rooms?”
“What other servants?”
