Once Bitten by Viola Rivard

Author:Viola Rivard [Rivard, Viola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-04-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

It was evening, not that it made a difference anymore. Eloisa leaned against the cold glass of her balcony door, staring out at the dark horizon and the mountains in the distance.

Behind her, Lidia saw the last of the servants out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, the maid let out an exaggerated sigh.

“I thought we’d never get rid of them,” Lidia said. “I swear, every time I ousted one, two more would be waiting to push their way in. This bonus they’ve been offered, it is improper. Good service should not be incentivized. In the south, it is an art. Here, they treat it like an occupation.”

Eloisa joined her at the sitting area near the fire. She took a seat on one of the upholstered sofas and gestured for Lidia to do the same on the one opposite to her.

“Aren’t southern servants all slaves?” Eloisa asked.

“Not all of them. Lady’s maids aren’t, at least. And there are different classes of slaves. Servants occupy the highest echelons and they take great pride in their positions.”

As Lidia stretched out on the sofa, Eloisa couldn’t help but be reminded of Selia. Her heart ached remembering how they used to lay across from one another and talk through the night, only they’d been in their hard cots rather than plush sofas, and there had been a nightstand with a lamp between them, not a table piled high with a hundred different foods and drinks.

Eloisa’s stomach was silent as she eyed the opulent array of food. When it had first been brought to her, she’d been certain the it was for her and her brood of servants to share, but they’d only stood around, staring at her while she considered the different dishes. There were meats from five different land animals, seven types of poultry, and a dozen cuts of fish. Three different platters held more cheeses than she’d ever seen, and a servant had spent ten minutes just naming them all.

Because few plants could grow in the climate, vegetation was not a staple of the Cal’derache diet. Despite that, there was a full platter of imported fruits, artistically cut so as to resemble flowers, and the chef had prepared several pastries that included apples and gooseberries.

In the end, Eloisa had fiddled with the pail of cubed ice, which the Cal’derache put into their drinks to make them more palatable. She’d munched on a few of the cubes and then took a few bites of a slice of unsweetened bread.

“I hope they don’t bring so much food tomorrow,” Eloisa said. “It feels so wrong to see so much go to waste when there are humans in Atolia dying for lack of food.”

“Is that why you haven’t been eating?” Lidia asked.

“I’m afraid I’m not so noble. A lot of it doesn’t look appealing. In the tower, all we had was porridge, bread, and water. I’m afraid if I eat any of this, I’ll be sick.”

Eloisa was painting truth. Certain things, like the thick slice of chocolate cake, made her mouth water.

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.