Chapter 84: Kindness in High Places
Eirin’s teeth worried at her thumbnail, a nervous habit she could not get rid of. A tight knot of anxiety twisted in her stomach: it was already the 13th of August, and she had only a few fleeting days to complete their critical mission. Tomorrow, the weeping bindweed shall bloom.
"If you want, Miss, I can take care of the boy so you could eat with His Grace and Her Grace," Masie offered, her voice soft and deferential, her hands clasped neatly before her. But the suggestion struck a discordant note in Eirin.
Trust Masie? After she’d just endured the mortification of bathing her ’worst enemy’—the arrogant, perpetually annoyed Shade Cromwell—because she couldn’t bear to let him out of her sight for even a second? The memory of that awkward, tense bath, even with a fever-addled child-Shade, made her stomach clench anew.
’No, leaving him alone with a stranger, no matter how kind, was not an option,’ the teenage girl thought.
Eirin understood the rigid hierarchy of this world. She knew, with a sinking feeling, that she had no real right to reject an offer, much less a summons, from a Duke and Duchess. They held power, status, and an unspoken authority that demanded compliance. Her brows furrowed as she searched for a polite way to refuse Masie’s seemingly helpful suggestion.
"Uhm, is there no way I could bring my companion with me?" she asked, her voice softer than she intended, a hint of hopeful desperation she couldn’t quite mask.
Masie’s dark eyes, wide and sympathetic, flickered to the small bundle of blankets that was Shade. "Uh, you may, Miss, of course," she said, a faint hesitation in her tone. "But the physician did say he needs considerable rest to recover."
Eirin squared her shoulders, a new resolve hardening her features. The faint waver of doubt was firmly pushed aside. "He’ll be fine. It’s just a fever, and he’ll drink his medication later. What he needs now is food to regain his strength," she declared, forcing a bright, almost brittle smile onto her face. With practiced care, she moved to the bedside and gently, but firmly, eased Shade into an upright position.
Worry still creased Masie’s brow, but she simply nodded, accepting Eirin’s decision. With a graceful turn, she led the way through the opulent corridors, her soft slippers making no sound on the polished marble floors, guiding them toward the grand dining area where the Duke and Duchess awaited their arrival.