Chapter 73 - 74
"...As I said, I have nothing but praise for the child."
"Thank you, Angela. And what do you think, Madeline?" said Caedmon, moving on from Mrs. Dawn. "He seems most taken with you and Patricia, after all."
"He’s such a sweet boy," came the house servant’s heartfelt words. "Just like Elly said earlier, he’s very helpful around the house. It’s been over a year since he started living here, yet he still helps with laundering clothes and setting them out to dry."
Elly was the head cook, who had taken to teaching Alistar how to prepare certain meals in recent months. This had greatly benefited Anice, as he usually asked her to taste his practice dish of the day.
"And anything else that needs doing," agreed Patricia in her melodic voice. "Tidying up rooms, making beds, cooking meals, cleaning dishes—he does everything, even though we never ask him to help us."
"Just the way the boy is." Anice recognized the rough voice of Calub, the head gardener of the estate. "From what I can tell, he just wants to learn as much as he can."
"I agree," said Stason, who was hovering around Patricia as he had been doing a lot as of late. "He’s already a good enough rider that I don’t have much else to teach him. I’ve never met a kid that picked up on things as fast as he does. When I think of it, I don’t know anyone with such a clear memory."
Several others murmured in agreement, which made Anice feel a bit frustrated. She had lived with these people all of her life and had never received such praise from any of them. Was Alistar really so much better than she was?
"Hold on," said Caedmon, who suddenly raised his voice. "Anice, I know you’re out there. Why don’t you come in here and talk with us for a bit?"
Blushing vigorously, Anice berated herself for forgetting how acute her father’s senses were. Hanging her head as if she had just been caught stealing from a street stall, she shambled in and found a place at her father’s side, though she opted to remain standing like many of the servants in attendance.
"Silly girl," said Madeline, who retrieved a cloth from the table, wet it with water from a cup and then immediately set about dabbing the dirt from her dress. "You only just got dressed an hour ago. How did you dirty your clothes so quickly?"