Duck! (Avian Shifters Book 1) by Kim Dare

Author:Kim Dare [Dare, Kim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kim Dare
Published: 2015-08-12T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Raynard ran a critical eye over the dining table. It was set to perfection. If Ori hadn’t actually pulled out a ruler and measured the gaps between each item, no one would have ever guessed it. Every piece of silverware shone, every glass sparkled.

If his first forays into it were anything to go by, the more formal rituals of high service were going to suit Ori very well. More than a few times over the last few days, Raynard had caught sight of a quietly satisfied smile on the duckling’s face. After all the grunt work he’d put in while making the house fit for habitation, getting to play with a bit of sparkle was obviously doing him a world of good.

A smile crept to Raynard’s lips too. The simple fact that Ori had managed to do it all without adding to the list of things he’d broken, seemed to have done wonders for his confidence as well.

Raynard looked over his shoulder. Ori stood by the dining room door, his hands folded neatly behind his back and his chin up—his stance as perfect as everything else he’d laid out for his master’s inspection.

The table was set for two, just as Raynard had ordered.

Raynard nodded to Ori, signalling that he was ready for the food to be served.

Ori reappeared three minutes later, ornate silver tray in hand. He’d followed Raynard’s orders when he’d prepared the food and hadn’t panicked about producing something that fitted the elaborate trimmings that graced the table.

The scent of the meal called to Raynard. Not as much as the sight of the naked man carrying it, but still, it promised him a plate piled high with the kind of simple food Ori had quite a knack for.

Raynard took his seat. Ori served the meal, just as he’d been taught to over the previous few weeks, as the kitchen table had found itself set a little more elaborately every day.

He served the empty chair next to Raynard in much the same way before stepping back to receive his master’s criticisms.

Raynard didn’t have any to give.

“Leave the tray by the door, and take your seat,” Raynard ordered, as they reached the end of those sections of a dinner party’s proceedings in which he’d instructed Ori so far.

“Sir?”

Raynard raised an eyebrow at him. “Did you think I’d be eating alone?”

Ori hesitated for another second before slipping into the seat to Raynard’s right. Just because Raynard had been content to eat with him in the kitchen until that evening, it obviously hadn’t occurred to the fledgling that they would both migrate to the formal dining room now it was fit for purpose.

“There will be times when the table will be full of guests,” Raynard told him. “The Raynards have been a leading family in the area for generations. I’ll be expected to entertain.”

“Yes, sir.”

“In which case, you’ll be required to dress for dinner,” Raynard added, a little rush of jealousy coursing through him at the very idea of anyone else seeing Ori wearing nothing but his collar.

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