Maid and Minstrel by Kate Stradling

Author:Kate Stradling [Stradling, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eulalia Skye Press
Published: 2022-04-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Eight

Rosalind returned the following day to work, apologizing to the potter for ducking out early the previous afternoon. He merely grunted and handed her the commission she’d earned. Though her hours had been fewer, the increase of bodies along Market Street had allowed for more sales. The wages went into her pocket, and she focused on the coming day.

More liveried servants traversed the streets, picking up supplies for their noble masters en route to cities and principalities across the eastern stretch of Lycadia. Arctoris was the largest town many would pass through on their journeys, so their attention focused more on food stalls, both fresh and prepared. Often, though, they wanted pottery to convey those items.

By mid-morning, she had sold half of the potter’s daily stock. As she counted coins after a particularly lucrative sale, a shadow fell across the stall. Rosalind looked up, but the welcoming smile on her face withered.

“Well, well, well,” said the Duke of Orrington. A nasty glint reflected in his eyes.

She wanted to drop beneath the counter, but she held her ground. He didn’t know she’d overheard his threats on the road between Greenbridge and her father’s estate. Their only direct interaction had been her insulting his deep-etched crow’s feet.

Quelling her instinct to tremble, she forced a pleasant façade and pretended not to know him. “Did you need to buy some pottery, sir?”

“How the proud have fallen, Rosalind of Lovana,” he said. Before she could retreat, he caught her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “Have you had enough humiliation yet? I can give you a comfortable life.”

She bucked her head, backing away beyond his grip.

He grunted, satisfaction on his loathsome face. “There’s that spark, begging for a steady hand to tame it.”

“If you’re not here to purchase anything, I’ll have to ask you to leave,” she said in flinty tones.

He leaned across the counter, pinning her with a stare that made her toes curl in her boots. “Oh, but I am here to purchase. Or perhaps to take what I want.” Never breaking eye contact with her, he calmly pushed a stack of painted plates from the countertop. They fell and smashed upon the ground, and Rosalind shrieked.

“What are you doing? You can’t—!”

A vase followed. “You’d rather sell pottery? That pretty face will only get you into trouble, drawing in the wrong sort of crowds to leer at you.” He punctuated this by tossing a bowl into the air behind him.

“Stop it!” Rosalind cried, moving forward to save the other pieces still within his reach. He seized her wrist instead, dragging her forward until they were almost nose-to-nose. Her heart raced, her stomach churning as she struggled against his iron grip.

“Not so high and mighty now, are we?” he whispered, his acrid breath raking over her.

“Let me go,” she said through clenched teeth. Her free hand grasped blindly and landed on a platter, which she promptly smashed upon his head.

Orrington released her, a roar erupting from him.

“What—?” The potter emerged from his back room, eyes huge as he surveyed the damage.

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.