Janelle
Three days had passed since Adrian caught me leaving the tower. Three days of him watching me with suspicious, hurt eyes while I pretended everything was normal. Three days of carrying Darius's silver pendant against my skin, waiting for word about Tommy's safety.
"More wine, my lord?" I asked Lord Hartwell, keeping my voice steady despite the tremor in my hands.
He waved me away without looking up from his conversation about grain prices. I moved to the next table, where Lady Margaret held court with several younger nobles, their faces flushed with wine and gossip.
"...heard she was found in compromising positions with not one but two men," Lady Margaret was saying, her voice carrying clear over the music. "Servants these days have no shame."
Heat flooded my cheeks, but I kept my head down and continued working. Let them talk. By tomorrow, I'd either be helping Darius bring down the King, or I'd be dead. Either way, their petty gossip wouldn't matter.
