Love And Honour (Book 2)

Chapter XXIV

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"Excuse me." He smiles wide and reassuring. The maid nervously glances around before backtracking and waiting for his next words. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" He keeps his voice low, aware that others could overhear and aware that he does not wish to frighten her away. She rubs her arm and chews on the inside of her cheek. She is clearly nervous, but for once Hunter does not believe it is because of him.

"I would..." she trails of a little before regaining her voice, "...it is just that I have so much work to do and Lady Aileen would skin me alive if she caught me speaking to you." A door slams from somewhere within the manor and she flinches. "I am sorry." She scampers off down the corridor and Hunter frowns. That did not go as planned. She was the fifth maid he had tried to talk to and she was the fifth maid who was too scared of the wrath of Lady Aileen. Hunter just hopes their fear of her will keep their mouths shut about his presence here. He would rather not deal with the foul woman.

He turns at the sound of light footsteps; the third maid he had tried to question stands there wringing her hands. Hunter raises his eyebrows and she shrugs her petite shoulders, her lips twisting into an anxious smile. "You are scaring my friends." Her smile grows more confident, her green eyes sparkling. She shakes her head. "You have questions that you really want answering do you not?"

"I do." Hunter replies and chuckles. It is different to his usual chuckle that sounds dark and edges on evil, this one is light and airy.

"Then I will answer them but you must ask them while I work." She beckons with her finger and he follows her into a room. She expertly bustles around the room, straightening the curtains, brushing away dust and so on. She giggles and Hunter raises an eyebrow her way. "I thought you had questions, Mr Dark and Mysterious." She teases; all anxiety from earlier appearing to have vanished. Hunter grins and his eyes are swallowed by a deep blue.

"You may not want to answer them." She pauses in taking the covers off of the bed. She tilts her head, curiosity taking over. "They concern the girl who saw Gethin poison Gavriel." She takes a few moments and Hunter knows he must be patient. She carries on stripping the bed and depositing the sheets on the floor. She collects a fresh set of bedlinen and starts stretching it over the bed. Hunter goes to the other side of the bed and helps her. She offers a small grateful smile.

"Ask away but please do not tell anyone that I told you." She finally says, nodding as if to assure herself she is doing the right thing.

"You have my word."

She laughs before covering her mouth, her vivid green eyes flitting to the door. "I have the dark and mysterious man's word, how fortunate am I?" She grins as she places the pillows back on the bed. She glances up at him. "Do you have a name?"

"Is the maid who saw him still employed by the Ricell family?" She laughs a little at him avoiding the question. She brushes out the creases on the pillows.

"No, she left shortly after she told Zara what she had seen. She told all of the other maids that she was scared that somehow Gethin would hurt her, even locked up. She seemed genuinely frightened." She answers carefully, too carefully. How she speaks has Hunter curious, she seems to know more than she says.

"What did she tell you?" Those green eyes of her wince at his perceptive question.

"She told the same." She answers and Hunter exhales with irritation before he steps back away from the bed. She takes pity on him. "Until I questioned her." Hunter pins his gaze back on her. "She is scared of his reaction but she needs a job, she has no family or at least that is what I thought. Turns out she had been given money for being so brave coming forward with what she had seen. She told me she was going home to live with a relative who has recently become ill."