Page 20 of The Beast of Ashwood Manor

“And for all I know, you could be waiting to claw my eyes out.”

‘Distrust will get you nowhere.’

“Are you done?” I waved her off.

‘Yes. I will bring you back dinner later.’

As she bounded off, I laughed softly. Her “dinners” were little more than mice and squirrels. Of course I never ate them, but she liked to tease me anyway. Sometimes, I wondered if Dyna could truly talk to me or not. Perhaps I was crazy, and she wasn’t really talking to me. But it didn’t seem that way. How else would I be able to come up with the conversation we just had?

The desire to leave for Ashwood took over me. I was more than happy to get away for a while. Packing my satchel with nothing more than an extra pair of clothes, I left my room, but rather than leave without notice as I usually did, I made my way to Mary, who was busy clipping dead stems off yellow autumn flowers and placing them in a vase.

She bowed her head at me as I approached. “Going on a hunt, my lord?”

“Yes.” I scratched my head and looked away. “Can you tell me where Cale is?”

“Cale?” Her eyebrows perked up. “He’s outside with the chickens.”

I cocked my head, hands on my hips. “The chickens?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Why? I thought he was working in the kitchen.”

Mary stopped what she was doing and smiled. “He said it makes him feel more at home.”

“Uh-huh. Thank you. I’ll go find him.”

Sure enough, I found Cale outside with Edgar, who was busy trying to patch a part of the broken fence around the chicken coop.

“Dammit, Cale, keep those babies away until I get this part up,” Edgar called. “We’ll have them running all over.”

I watched as Cale picked up three baby chicks and put them inside the coop then rushed back for the others. My heart pulled, and I looked away, forcing back a smile.

Fuck it all, you’re a softie, Gil.

When Edgar saw me, he immediately took off his hat and stepped up. “Ah, my lord, didn’t see you there.”

“How’s he doing?” I nodded at Cale.

“Doing great. He’s got a knack for this. He started helping me a couple days back.”

“Good. I’ll let you get back to your fence. I just need to speak with him for a moment.”

“Oh, sure, sure.” Edgar wiped his dirty hands on his trousers and cleared his throat.

Cale glanced up, and when he saw me, his face grew sour.

I raised an eyebrow. Was he upset with me?

As Edgar returned to the fence, I made my way over to Cale. His cheeks and neck were flushed from working.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were dead,” he started. “I haven’t seen you in two days.” He pulled a few eggs out of the coop and placed them in a basket.

“It’s nice to see you, too, Cale,” I said.

He stood up and squinted in the light. “Were you expecting me to tip my hat to you? Call youlord?”

This was a sudden change in demeanor for him. Rather than say anything, I only stared at him, my hands clasped in front of me.

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