“I know. They’re a great couple, perfect for each other. But why is it the bad examples or the bad thoughts are the ones that persist and not the happy ones?”
“It’s the way you’ve trained your brain, I suppose. Look, Charlie isn’t a great husband, no one can deny that. But your aunt has kept him, hasn’t she? She hasn’t gotten rid of him even when he disappears for weeks without telling her where he’s gone.”
“Yeah. Why is that?”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
“Oh no.” I scoot back until my spine touches the headboard. “Last time I mentioned anything about Charlie, she got mad at me.”
“Maybe it’s something you’ll have to live with.”
“Maybe.”
Elmore stares at me from his home inside the mirror. I shake my head, not knowing what to say.
A knock comes from the door. My eyes widen. “Maybe it’s Nancy,” I whisper. “Come in!”
The door swings open and in limps an older woman, maybe late sixties, pulling a rack of clothes behind her. She walks in, stops and takes a long look at me.
“You must be the new mistress. Eryx sure didn’t play, did he? Marrying a witch from Castleview.”
“Does it help that I’m nice?”
She looks me up and down. “I’ll think about it.”
“So you’re Nancy.” I jump off the bed and cross the room to the rack. “Thank you for bringing these.”
“Stave told me you didn’t like the clothes he picked out.”
“That’s because it’s all lingerie.”
“Men,” Nancy says with an eye roll. “They think all we want to do is lay on our backs for them.”
Oh, Nancy has opinions.
“Or get on top,” she adds.
I burst into a fit of laughter. “I mean, you’ve got a point. Let’s see what you brought.”
“There are dresses, lots of pink, which is a nice change from here. Can I sit down?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
She limps over to the vanity and sits. As I start picking through the clothes, she watches me, then crosses her arms. “You don’t look like what I’d expect Eryx to marry. Half the district thinks he's lost his mind, marrying a Castleview witch. The other half thinks it's brilliant politics."
Lost his mind? I hope not. “And what do you think?”
I find a simple wrap dress that’s pink. It soft and silky. Perfect.
“I’d expect him to marry some tall thin woman who only eats an olive a day, maybe two. You know, the kind that looks down her nose at everyone and is a real bitch.”
I blink. “And you think this…why?”
“Because of how Eryx’s dad died.”
I nearly drop the dress. Nancy likes to gossip about her employer? I’m a yes to that!
“Have you worked here a long time?”
