Ashes of Roses (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

liked him, even if I didn’t care much for his taste in young women. But he always treated me with a rough kindness that was a welcome respite from Mari’s cattiness and my stepsisters’ scorn.
    He grinned at me now, and came to take the buckets from me, hoisting them easily and depositing them on the kitchen’s stone floor. “Heard the news, ay?” he asked, clearly ready for some gossip, with the lady of the house gone and not much to occupy his time…well, except keeping an eye on me. I had no doubt my stepmother had left strict instructions for him to make sure I ventured no farther than the well.
    “I did,” I replied, and lifted one bucket to pour some water into the basin I used to scrub the vegetables. Claris, our cook, would be returning from her marketing soon, and I knew better than to not have things ready by her return, even if the meal she prepared would be modest enough, as it was only the three of us who would be eating it.
    “Think they’ll try for it?”
    I shrugged. “Most likely.” I did not want to say more than that. Just because I liked Janks didn’t mean I would trust him to keep my opinions between the two of us. I could have added that the preparations would send the house into an uproar, and that my stepsisters only had the barest claim to fit the parameters of the Emperor’s summons, as their own father had been merely a knight. However, I had no doubt that my stepmother would use my father’s title to get them in, even if such machinations stretched the borders of what was actually allowed.
    Nor would I say that neither of my stepsisters was nearly pretty enough to catch the eye of the Emperor. He could have his pick from hundreds of eligible young women, after all. Although Shelynne, my junior by a year, was an attractive girl — taking after her mother, luckily, who was still handsome — she did have a tendency to wear an unfortunate expression half the time, owing to her extreme near-sightedness. And Jenaris, the elder, was really not pretty at all, although her mother tried to hide her shortcomings with elegant gowns and perfectly curled hair and the slightest touch of stain on her lips. Even so, Jenaris still looked to me like a pig wearing silk and curls…and her disposition did little to dispel that impression.
    Janks frowned a little, and retrieved an apple from the basket that sat on the sideboard. After crunching into it and taking a few contemplative chews, he said, “It’ll be a right old mess, won’t it? Running about all over town, ordering new gowns…they’ll probably drive Mari to distraction, poor girl.”
    Somehow I managed to refrain from saying that I did not feel a great deal of pity for Mari. Another lift of my shoulders, and I said cautiously, “I believe it will create some extra work for her. I suppose we should be glad it’s a month off.”
    “Ha. So that’ll be a month full of more work. Typical, isn’t it? The grand lords and ladies have their brilliant ideas, and it’s dropped on the likes of us to manage it somehow.”
    I smiled and shook my head, and was saved from making a reply by the arrival of Claris, who bustled into the kitchen laden with baskets of vegetables and fruit, and precious little linen bags of nuts and spices.
    “I doubt the mistress would appreciate you standing around idle, just because she happens not to be here,” the cook snapped. “Janks, I thought you were supposed to be taking care of the creaking floorboards in the small salon.”
    “Yes’m,” he said with a grin and a laughing light in his dark eyes. A slight bow, and he went out into the rear courtyard, no doubt heading for the small shed where he stored his tools and other necessities for keeping the house in repair.
    Her gaze moved to me, and I stiffened, waiting to be scolded for my shiftlessness. But her expression softened, and she only said briskly, “I see you have the water ready for me. Scrub these vegetables, and chop them into small pieces. I