Chapter 22
-DAX-
Rontell turned and left the room, slowly closing the doors behind him.
Immediately after they closed, he watched Bea fall to her knees and then heard her take several deep breaths. She was shaking like a leaf and talking to herself.
He couldn’t make out exactly what she was saying, but he overheard random mutterings about not being a Lady and remembering her place.
He couldn’t believe how she’d stood up to David. He’d always disliked the man but saw no reason in training a
new Steward. Until now.
He tried to lift his head high enough to see Bea on the floor, but it was too exhausting and his head fell against his pillow in exasperation.
She must have heard because almost instantly, she was at his side. “Does it hurt?” She was inspecting the wound
that David had left on him.
He still didn’t want to talk to her. After hearing her story about the fire and everything that happened to her, he couldn’t help but blame himself. All he could muster as a response was to whisper, “No.” as he shook his head.
Then her eyes lit back up, and she glared at the door. “Oh, that odious man vexes me!”
The smile that slid across his face felt good. He enjoyed watching her become protective and fierce earlier. He had
watched as her whole demeanor began to glow when she was talking at David. Which is exactly what she’d done. She wasn’t speaking with him as an equal. She spoke AT him, like a Lady would a servant, and Dax had to admit
that it moved something in him that he’d never felt before.
He could tell that she was scared and not used to such behaviour. Without even asking, he could tell that she was fighting with everything in her and braving this new role she’d taken on.
He also noticed that she hadn’t done up her hair as she normally did. Normally, it was pulled up into a tight bun and away from her face, but today it looked like she may not have had enough time and simply pulled the top portion out of her face. Allowing the layers to cascade down her back in chestnut–colored waves. The morning sun was peeking through the glass and was highlighting each different shade of brown.
Had he ever seen anything so beautiful before? He couldn’t remember.
Then she turned back to him, “What happened? Why was he in here? Did he say?” Her tone held a hint of passion, and he couldn’t help but feel respect for the woman.
“He said the doormen overheard you talking. They told him you sounded as if you were replying to me. I think he wanted to check,to make sure you were still poisoning me.” He shifted his head on the pillow then. The audacity of the man and the betrayal had Dax seething. He exhaled in frustration. “I want the men at the doors to be replaced. Ask Rontell about it, he’ll know who to pick.”
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Chapter 22
“Rontell?” Her sweet voice repeated.
“Mr. Fuller. His first name is Rontell. He’s been with me since I was in law school. Out of everyone here, he’s
shown his true loyalty to me over the years. He’ll know who to trust most in the estate.”
“Oh. Okay, Master.” She said brightly. He hated her calling him that. He knew she was a slave, and her actions were proper, but he hated it. Had he not been clear when he called her his wife?
“Dax.” He said his name and held her gaze. “Please, call me Dax.”
She didn’t say anything, just lowered her head and double–checked the bandage over his forearm.
Taking her silence as consent, he went on. “Also, if you could please keep things between us. I don’t want anyone else knowing that I can talk or that I’m moving at all.”
She turned her brown eyes to him and just like her hair, he’d decided that they held some beauty over every other set of eyes he’d seen before.
“I wondered if that was the case when you weren’t moving or saying anything to the Steward.”
“Mmmm.” He made the noise in consent to her pondering. “Yes. I don’t know who I can trust and who’s out to get me, and until I do, this stays between us.”
“Okay… Dax.” His name on her lips once again moved him in unfamiliar ways, and he wasn’t sure he cared for the fact. She was a slave. Albeit she was also his wife, he could never forget that she truly wasn’t more than a slave to the kingdom.
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