“Well, I should, since I chop all the wood around here myself!” she crowed as she put her empty hand on her hip and puffed out her ample chest. “And I have to deal with all that meat in the larder. It isn’t easy tossing half a hog on the table and cutting it up.”
“Does the squire throw parties so frequently that you need to do that?”
She rolled her eyes toward the top of the stairs. “No. ‘His highness’ thinks it’s cheaper to buy them that way, so whenever he wants a slice for his breakfast, out it goes from that cold cellar and onto the slab.”
“Can we be expecting such a rare treat tonight?”
Mrs. Arvina lifted her chin. “No, but I doubt the master will appreciate my choosing his generosity. He ordered a simple meal of chicken, but-” She wagged her finger and winked at Cassian, “-I’ll make sure it’s stuffed with the best herbs and vegetables we have, and I’ll throw in some tasty potatoes with it.”
Cassian smiled and bowed his head. “My bride and I are looking forward to it. Aren’t we, darling?”
I started at his addressing me, and I sheepishly stepped out of my hiding spot into full view of the pair. Mrs. Arvina’s eyes widened. “My goodness, Mr. Cassian! You didn’t tell me she was such a pretty little thing!”
He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned at me as I joined them in the foyer. “I didn’t know myself until recently.”
“Well, hello there, dearie!” Mrs. Arvina greeted me with one open arm. I felt myself sucked into her embrace, and she drew me into a tight hug. She gasped and drew us apart. “But my goodness, Mrs. Holt! How thin you are! We’ll need to get some meat on those bones before you leave!”
“We won’t be here that long,” Cassian warned her.
She lifted her chin at him. “You just see. Vesta and I will make sure she’s a pound heavier before she goes. Now then-” She held up the steaming pot, “-I suppose you won’t be wanting any more hot water for your bath?”
I laughed and shook my head. “No, I’m pretty sure I’m done.”
“But I’d like some,” Cassian spoke up as he used both hands to brush down his person. “I’m as filthy as a pig in a sty.”
“I’d say more like a fox who was caught in the henhouse and got nothing for his trouble except their droppings,” Mrs. Arvina countered.
That got a laugh out of the king. “You may have something there, my lovely Mrs. Arvina. Is there any chance for a worn-out fox to receive a bath?”
She waved her hand at the stairs. “Only if he hurries. Dinner is cooking, and unless the chicken is as much trouble as you, it’ll be ready soon.”
“The tub water isn’t very clean,” I warned him.
He smiled at me and bowed his head. “It would be my pleasure to drain it out.”
“You’ll do that in the garden, but mind, if you do it out the window, the master won’t like it,” Mrs. Arvina warned him before she turned and disappeared into the west wing.
I followed the king up the stairs and lowered my voice to a whisper. “Do you know her?”
His eyes twinkled. “I do now, and quite well. Our supper should be quite a treat.” He stopped at the doorway and turned to face me. “This won’t take long, as soon as the lovely Mrs. Arvina brings fresh water. Entertain yourself as you wish until then.”
I glanced down the dreary hallway. Only half the lamps were lit there, as well. “If I don’t kill myself over the furniture.”
“The west wing where we’re to eat is much better lit,” he assured me as he studied my features. “But you’re most becoming in any light, my dear wife.”
I lifted an eyebrow at him. “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“It isn’t every day a man is married after such a short courtship,” he teased as he grasped the doorknob. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, your bridegroom must make himself more presentable.”
I shook my head as I strolled back down the passage. He’d drive any wife mad with distraction.
I had just reached the bottom of the stairs and was still deep in thought when a voice interrupted me. “Mrs. Holt!”
I started up at the calling of my fake title and found my host hurrying toward me out of the east wing. He had a broad smile on his face that didn’t reach his eyes. My host reached me and bowed his head. “I hope everything is to your satisfaction.”
“Oh, very much so.” Other than the outhouse’s ventilation and crookedness.
A tinge of worry slipped into his words. “And your husband? He’s quite satisfied, isn’t he?”
