"Rested?"Magdalena greeted me, a knowing glint in her eyes.
"Well enough," I answered, smiling back.
Ezra had left me a limp and sweaty heap in my bed, kissing every inch of me as I came down from my high until I fell right back to sleep. By the time I woke up again, Booker had a just barely warm breakfast waiting for me, and a message to see Magdalena.
"I'm sorry about the awkwardness of the meeting last—well, this morning," she said, with a wave of her hand.
"I don't mind, although to be honest, I'm still learning all the…etiquette in this world," I said, taking a seat at the tea table as Magdalena poured me a cup. Her dark hair was damp and braided over her shoulder, and she was dressed in one of her exotic robes, face clean but with those signs of exhaustion I'd seen last night.
"Mm, Auguste was territorial, primarily because of Julian, although Siobhan has been known to poach girls from other houses," Magdalena explained, lifting her head and offering a faint wry smile. "Not that he had anything to worry about with you."
"Of course not!" I said. "I wouldn't betray you like that."
Magdalena smiled and shook her head. "No, you wouldn't. More importantly, I don't think you'd trade your men for anything."
I sighed and nestled into the armchair a little more, cheeks warming. "That's true," I said softly, staring down into my tea.
"Amon is on his way over, just to check on you, I think," Magdalena said, watching me.
I brightened despite the tension that seemed to fill my relationship with Amon, and her smile grew. I still had concerns, but I was looking forward to seeing him, to savoring that heady mix of his intensity and affection. Even his possessiveness. It caused friction where the others were concerned, but it made my heart pound.
"I'm glad your gentlemen are finding their way in the arrangements," Magdalena said with a sly bat of her lashes. "And I am very grateful now to have Ezra. He's been quite helpful, although if you can discover where he's been stashing some of my silver, I'd be very grateful."
I choked, tea sliding down the wrong pipe as my eyes widened. Ezra was stealing from Magdalena? I would ream his beautifully rounded ass for it. And we'd probably both enjoy ourselves.
"Of course. And…Magdalena, is there anything I can do?" I asked, frowning.
"Do?" she asked, blinking.
I winced and shrugged. "I know that I'm not…like you or the others. But if there was a way I could help fight against—"
"Oh, darling," she said, a soft laugh rising that made me even more determined to want to help.
"I could help set a trap or—"
"Esther!" Magdalena cried, stiffening. "Don't you dare let Auguste or Amon hear you say something like that. They'd have my head on a platter."
I pressed my lips together briefly because she was probably right, even if I didn't think it was any business of theirs. "I just feel a bit useless."
Magdalena released a long sigh and nodded slowly. "I wouldn't want to be told to do nothing in this situation either."
I stared aimlessly around the room, lips twisting in a frown, and Magdalena waited in quiet for me to gather my thoughts, sipping from her teacup.
"I guess it isn't just this trouble. Before Rooksgrave, I had a job—no, I know this is kind of employment too, but it certainly doesn't feel like it," I rushed to add, and Magdalena brightened. "But some of the girls here are finished, they were ladies before this and they have accomplishments, and I… Auguste is very talented and very wealthy, Jonathon is some sort of mad genius, and Amon is a kind of royalty apparently, and I—"
"And you are sweet and honest, and perhaps your skills and interests aren't the sort of thing one talks about in polite company, but they bring relief and pleasure and contentment to your gentlemen," Magdalena said with an arch of her eyebrow.
"So sex is my talent," I said, drinking from my teacup and wondering if the bitter flavor in my mouth had anything to do with tea leaves.
"Esther," Magdalena said softly, leaning forward and reaching a hand across the table to me, waiting for me to put my cup down and accept the offering. "Esther, you are still so young, and you've had so little access to the world. Let Auguste teach you to make pastries, let Underwood teach you his experiments, ask Amon to take you traveling around the world, tell Ezra to stop stealing my silver, and—"
I broke out into laughter, and Magdalena grinned back at me.
"You don't have to wake up and be the same person every day, my darling girl. You have curiosity, so follow it and find out where it takes you. You can find passions outside of physical passion too. Very few of my girls choose to stay at Rooksgrave forever. Some fall in love and leave, some find the means to pursue a new adventure. You'll find your path too." Her fingers squeezed around mine, and she arched an eyebrow. "Otherwise, you're happy?"
"Very happy," I said quickly. "Oh! And thank you for helping Ezra. That was a lovely surprise this morning."
"He's under my orders not to sneak around any of the girls, but he seemed offended by the suggestion, so I think he'll do just fine," Magdalena said with a firm nod before winking at me. "You have very good taste for not having had a good look at him before."
"Mm, but I could feel the potential," I answered, and we both snorted.
Magdalena looked up suddenly, leaning back to peer through a crack in the letters that covered her windows. "That looks like Amon's carriage. Good luck, darling."
I took a quick gulp to finish my tea and jumped up from the chair. "Thank you, Mags," I said, flashing a smile over my shoulder and using the nickname I always heard from Auguste. She chuckled as I ran from the room, hurrying to the entrance of the manor to meet Amon in the drive.
I had one of the simpler dresses from Auguste on, pale blue with yards upon yards of an airy skirt, and long fitted sleeves that started just off my shoulders, lace panels running down the princess bodice and peekaboo-ing the sides of the sleeves. The skirt billowed with the breeze as I stepped out of the manor just in time for the carriage to pull to a stop. It was as big as the one we'd used in London, shining a dark cherry red with gold curtains and delicately painted gold trim.
Amon pushed the door open, and it was like being struck immediately by the sun, the force of his glowing gaze lighting me up from the inside. My breath caught in my lungs as he stepped out, daylight revealing the faint shimmer of the feline features hiding just beneath the surface of his human disguise.
"My star," he murmured.
"Amon," I greeted, dipping into a low curtsey.
His purr rumbled through the space between us, polished dark shoes eating up the distance, and then strong fingers lifted my chin and drew me back to standing. Amon bent forward, resting his brow against mine, and I let my eyes fall shut, inhaling the dizzy whiff of him and nuzzling into that velvety touch of his fur.
"I ached for you," Amon murmured, his nose brushing against my own.
"I missed you too," I said, reaching between us.
His hands caught my wrists, stopping me from wrapping myself around him. "Show me the loch. We'll walk together."
* * *