Nights With Ebony Stewart

22. Stories And Laughter

"So Bonnie."

Bonnie looked up from the soup and into the blue eyes of Lord Maddox Asher.

Her and Zion arrived at the dinner a few minutes ago. They were late and Zion had no issue pointing out that it was indeed Bonnie's fault. She blushed in embarrassment, which turned into a blush of modesty when Sheryl and Lord Asher complimented her dress.

She thanked them and followed everybody into the dining room. It looked magnificent, like in those princess movies. Oh what would she give to have grown up in a place like this.

Then the dinner started with a fair choice of soups. She was almost done with hers and only when Maddox called her name, did she realize she was the last to finish.

"Tell me something about you." He continued with a warm smile. Bonnie gulped before smiling back and clearing her throat. She wouldn't mind telling Lord Asher about her, but she was very aware of the other two pairs of eyes watching her in that moment. And especially one of them was not supposed to know a lot about her. But she could not lie to the Lord, he probably already knew about her past.

"Well, I grew up in Rian, a small city in Nonan." She said.
"Was your father Michael Stewart?" Bonnie was surprised to hear about her father.
"Yes." She nodded.

"He was a good man. It's a shame those mine explosions cost him his life. I only met him once when I had business with the company he worked for. My condolences." He told her, making Bonnie nod before taking a sip of her water. What a way to start a conversation.

"And your mother, dear. What does she work as?" Sheryl's question seemed innocent enough. But truth was, Bonnie had no idea what her biological mother was doing. If she was even alive. So she decided to talk about the only mother figure she ever had.

"She worked at an orphanage back in Nonan." Bonnie said, making Sheryl smile.
"I once had a friend who worked at an orphanage. Nice people they are." She smiled at Bonnie, who nodded in agreement. Rosie was a nice person, she silently thought. A very nice person.

Zion couldn't quite comprehend the new information he just received about the woman across from him. She told him she had a big family. Now he knew her father died. He wouldn't expect her to tell him that, but he was still pretty surprised she never did. And he thought people who worked at orphanages also lived in orphanages. But surely that wasn't the case if Ebony had four sisters. Someone had to take care of them, right? Man, what did he know.

"I bet she's very proud of your accomplishments." Lord Asher said right before a maid walked in, pushing an empty tray. Yes, a maid. Bonnie figured a big palace like this needs many maids. But it was still interesting whenever she saw one. So far, she counted seven.

"Thank you, Lucy." Lord Asher said when she finished clearing the table. The young maid nodded before pushing the now full tray out of the room. A few minutes later, she reappeared with the second dish of the evening.

"I hope you like salmon. I hadn't had it in a while, but my cook fished them himself this morning." Lord Asher smiled at Bonnie before digging in. Bonnie started to get more comfortable with each smile he threw her way. This man seemed truly pure.

"Yes, I love salmon actually. Have you ever had grilled salmon with barbeque?" She responded, taking a bite of her food. The fish was just perfect. It practically melted on her tongue. She actually hated every other fish. Salmon was the only fish she really enjoyed.

"No, never. But I'll make sure to have it in the future. It sounds delicious. How do you like this one?" He asked her.
"It's amazing. I'll have to compliment your cook." She said with a smile.