"I made something for you-.” Bree hoped that Zane wouldn’t stay mad at her for long.Deep inside she knew that he didn’t want her wandering around, even though he had never said it.
“Bree, I never gave you permission to leave my quarters and roam around the castle.”
“But I –.” Bree stood.Zane continued to look at her, his aggravation apparent on his face.“- I wanted to make something for you.I-.”
Zane’s anger seemed to calm down then.He just shook his head.“Bree, you are not safe.I don’t want you to leave my quarters until we are married and a child is born to us.And if you have to get out, I must accompany you.Do you understand me?”
“Yes, I understand.”Bree looked down, a bit hurt.She had never thought about it this way.Virginia apparently had spies.Maybe there were others that hadn’t been sent away, others still in the castle.“I’m sorry. I heard about Virginia.I never thought-.”
“There could be others.”
“What did you do, to Virginia?”
“Let’s just say that she will never be able to harm you again.”
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
“In the dungeon?”
“Yes.”
Bree tried to get Zane to be a little more detailed about what he had done with that bitch, but he only replied with a pointed ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to all of her questions.She tried to imagine the smug face of Virginia, afraid in the dark recesses of the dungeon.Somehow, she couldn’t see Virginia as the same person down there.She did feel bad for her then. Once she gave up her questions, Zane was glad to change the subject.
“Come on, let’s see what you have made for me.”He then took her arm and gently led her through the corridor, holding the platter in the other hand.
Once they got to his quarters he led her to his dining room.She hadn’t seen it before, in fact she never even known it existed. It was large and dark and medieval.The floors and table were made of wide planks of darkly stained wood, held together with black iron nails with the heads of tacks.The ceiling was so high and hidden in darkness that the room seemed cavernous.Iron chandeliers hung over the table.Zane carefully lit them himself with a very long pole that had a tiny oil fueled torch on the end.As the candles in the chandeliers came to life, the table below began to glow, as did the high-backed thick wooden chairs adorned with rich crimson velvet on the seats and backs.
“Zane, with all these preparations, the dish will get cold.” Bree laughed inwardly at Zane’s formalities.He just looked at her, then continued to light the last of the remaining candles.
The sliver platter sat alone and glittering at one end of the table.Zane motioned for Bree to sit next to him along the side.“Did you eat yet?”
“No.”
“Good.I wouldn’t want you eating in front of the slaves.I’d kill you for it.” Zane then looked up and smiled at Bree.She relaxed.“I will have a meal prepared for you.But you must wait for it because I am supervising everything that we eat that is made by the hands of my slaves.With all this talk of poison and such treachery, I don’t want anything to happen that would bode ill for us.”He then uncovered his breakfast and looked at it with an expression of delight.“Ah, Bree, the flowers.How did you know?”
“Because you ate the yellow rose I gave you in the park, remember?And I saw you once eating from your flower garden out on the terrace.”
“You were spying on me?”
