After the War by Caylen McQueen

Author:Caylen McQueen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: steampunk, steampunk romance, fantasy romance, books with romance and fantasy, romance with a slave, romance with elves, romance with mythical creatures, fantasy romance series
Publisher: Caylen McQueen
Published: 2022-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

When Jackline's head emerged from her bedroom, her expression was slightly devious. Clearing her throat, she cried, “Billy! Billy, can you hear me? I need you!”

She could have called any servant, but she wanted the one who was most amusing to boss around. She didn't know why she preferred Billy over the other hired help. His handsome face didn't hurt, of course—as well as the fact that he painted stunning portraits of her. He seemed desperate to keep his job, and that amused her too. She could ask him to perform any task, and he wouldn't raise a fuss about it.

Thinking she had an emergency, Billy appeared at the end of the hallway and hurried toward her. “What is it, Miss Perry?” he asked.

“I'm going to stay up all night long and thumb through my spell books,” she told him. “To do that, I am going to need constant and frequent sustenance, which you are going to provide. Do you know how to make lemonade?”

“I do, my lady.”

“Well, I want some lemonade,” Jackline said. “There should be fresh lemons in the kitchen, and just so you know, I like it extra, extra sweet.”

“Very well, my lady.” He bowed to her and started to back away.

“Wait!” she cried. “Do you know how to make treacle tart?”

“I, uh... I can't say that I do,” Billy answered with a grimace. “Would you like me to learn?”

“No, that isn't necessary. Tomorrow morning, I'll ask Cook to make it,” Jackline said. “For now, bring me some lemonade, and I'll be content.”

As soon as Billy left, Jackline returned to her bed and collapsed on her stomach. She had a new pile of books, stacked so high it made her nauseous to look at them. Her cricket fiancé was on the bed beside her. She had to always be aware of Ludo's presence—she didn't want to roll over and squash him before he could jump away.

“Wrong spell,” Jackline mumbled as she flipped through the book. “Wrong spell, wrong spell, wrong spell... why is the table of contents never as specific as I want it to be?”

Finding nothing in the first book, she tossed it aside and started on the second one. She was in the middle of book three when Billy delivered her lemonade. She sniffed it, studied it, and cautiously sipped it, only to be pleasantly surprised.

“This is nearly perfect,” she told him. “Nearly... but not quite.”

“Is there anything I could do to make it better?” Billy asked.

“No, it's good. In fact, it's more than passable. I would even drink this again.” She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. “Billy, do you know how to make scones?”

“I could manage that,” Billy said.

“Good. Bring some scones and jam... and some clotted cream, if you can find it,” Jackline requested. “And... oh, some tea would be lovely. I prefer black tea, always with milk and one lump of sugar.”

“Do you want an entire pot or one cup?” Billy asked.

“A single cup will be fine.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.