Page 14 of Love Me Forever

“No, I stayed out of his way, and he didn’t bother me. I’m not even sure if he knew what I’d supposedly done. I cleaned the house, and that was all he cared about. I left as soon as my five years were up, and he offered me a paid position. I said no. Like I’d want to later work for someone who bought me. I found a job as a nanny for a bit. My son invited me to come up to the Windswept Isles where he’s living now, but I don’t want to leave Soleil. The Isles are too far anyway. The kids I nannied for are older now, and they don’t need me, so I figured I’d come south and see you if I could.”

“Do you have any plans?”

“I’ll look for work around here, and if there’s nothing, I’ll go along the coast.”

“If you want, you could work here.” Sébastien remembered she’d once told him she’d come to the Palace hoping to get a position in the kitchens because she liked cooking. The kitchen had been full, and she’d taken over for a servant who’d left to get married.

“I don’t want to put someone out of a job. I’m sure you’ve already got a couple of servants working here, and this house isn’t that big.”

“The cook is leaving soon, and if you’re willing, you could take her position. It’s just me and Remus right now, so you wouldn’t be making huge meals.”

She thought for a moment. “Actually, I would like that.”

“We won’t be staying here forever, and you could come later when we move if you want. We haven’t fully planned that all out, but we’re getting married.”

“I can definitely work for you now. It’s not like I’ve got anywhere to be. I’d heard the Rowland King might be marrying you. I wasn’t sure since it was just rumors.”

She wouldn’t be hoofing it to wherever, and she was a person Sébastien was familiar with, not that he had a problem with the other cook. Giving her a safe position that wasn’t too difficult was like another fuck you to the Regent even though he was dead and wouldn’t know.

“Does he make you happy? I mean, King Remus?”

“He does. He’s stuck with me during some very difficult times.”

“Well then, it’s nice to see you grown up and about to be married.”

She didn’t have anywhere to stay, and Sébastien had money in a lockbox in the desk drawer. She tried to refuse money and said she didn’t need a bonus for a job she hadn’t started yet. He practically had to force the lans into her hand.

“There’s a good, clean inn at the end of the street where you can have meals in your room, and the food is quite good from what I’ve heard. You can stay there for a week without draining your savings and look for a place to live. The servants don’t live here.”

She finally agreed, gave him another hug, and left. Sébastien sat at his desk and tried to get himself in order. He was glad she didn’t blame him, her time as a slave hadn’t been as bad as he’d been afraid of, and she was safe now. It still dragged up shit he didn’t want to think about, especially the afternoon when he begged the Regent to do something.

He’d known Uncle was at fault for Milly's arrest although he hadn’t dared to accuse Corentin. Uncle would have punished him. Sébastien pulled over some parchment packets so he could work and try to force his mind elsewhere even though he didn’t feel like dealing with much else at the moment.

Remus knocked and peeked in. “Did she go?”

“Yeah. I hired her, so she’ll take over for the cook when she leaves.”

“That’s good. Is she okay?”

Sébastien nodded. “I told her I’d kill her owner if he’d touched her, but he didn’t do anything besides make her clean.” He explained what they’d talked about while Remus sat beside him.

“What are you doing now?”

Sébastien finally ripped open a parchment packet. “This is from Lord Riqtwa. I’m sure he’s whining about the ship routes near the border to Moria like it’s my fault the lord next door charges an outrageous tax for ships coming up the river through his hold. I can’t tell Morian lords what to do, so I’ll have to tell Lord Riqtwa in very polite terms that it’s out of my hands and to shut up about it.”

“Do you really want to deal with it right this second?”

“Eh. It needs to be done eventually or he’ll be writing and asking if I got his last letter.”

“How about if we relax?”

Sébastien wasn’t sure if he meant to actually relax or get naked and destress in a different way. “I’m not up for sex.” Hewasn’t mad at Milly for coming by, but remembering certain things made it hard to want sex.

“I didn’t think you were. We’ve got time before lunch, and since Lord Riqtwa can wait…”

“I can’t shirk work forever either.”

“It’s fine to take a break, and I think the morning brought up a lot of stuff.”

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