The Luna's Bodyguard [a mature werewolf romance]

Ch 29: Behind the Scenes

OPHELIA'S POV

It was incredible, the things you saw and heard in servants' clothes. Armed with a pile of white, fluffy towels, I swept through every floor of the castle without receiving a single sideways glance, ducking in and out of rooms under the guise of tidying up. It would be suspect to barge straight back into the throne room, but if Aurora was dressed as a maid she had to be stationed somewhere once the luncheon was finished, and in this get up, I was bound to find her sooner or later.

Meanwhile, I collected secrets like shiny coins along the way. The Lady Evergreen was fucking her seamstress, apparently for as long as she'd been married to her lord husband. Lady Maresh was having a bad come-down, nostrils caked with a floury substance as she lay flat on her back and stared up at the canopy of her bed, silent tears rolling down her cheeks as the other servants watched on with equal parts worry and delight. I handed her a wash cloth from my pile before moving on to the Eveline sisters, who were seeing the same man behind each other's backs, even though they'd both agreed to steer clear of him. Meanwhile, the man in question — Lord Avery — had half the castle setting alarms on their phones for birth control, and required one of my towels, too, to clean up a mess I preferred not to think about. One that he invited me to join in on, next time, once his refractory period was complete.

It was diabolical. The fun the aristocracy had to invent, to distract from the boredom of their privileged lives... It was all I could do not to laugh as I walked out of some of those rooms. And they think of people like us as less fortunate, I thought, suddenly viciously glad for all my years on the road, all the places we'd explored, all the fun Aurora and I had found along the way.

My stealthy manoeuvrings brought me to a dreary corridor on the lowest floor, the stones thick with dust and cobwebs. It was a far cry from the light and airy passageways above. Servants bustled to and fro, too pressed to keep up with their chores to afford me a lingering glance. Nevertheless, I was careful to keep my stride brisk and purposeful, emulating them in every possible way to avoid scrutiny.

The hall ended quite abruptly, and I could not turn around without looking suspicious, so I tapped twice on the door. "House keeping," I said, repeating what I'd heard throughout the halls.

"Come in," came a deep, albeit feminine voice.

I opened the door and stepped inside. It was practically a closet compared to the other rooms I'd visited the afternoon, barely managing to squeeze in a desk and a single bed, but it felt far more like a home than any other place in the castle. The servants stairs must have been right next door, because I could hear their stamping feet and muffled voices.

"Lady Ophelia," the woman inside said, as soon as I'd shut the door. "I was not expecting a visit so soon."

I glanced up from my towels, taking in none other than Lady Mila, Fallon's younger sister. Her grey eyes were almost as sharp as her chin, and I rather liked the prickle of danger I felt as we sized each other up. Where Fallon's hair was wavy, hers curled all the way, little ringlets springing free of the elaborate knot on the back of her head.

I made a mockery of a courtesy and she winced. "That's going to need some work."

I chuckled. "So I've heard." But I wasn't actually trying yet, to be fair. As I wandered the halls like a ghost, I'd been paying attention to the way these people carried themselves, the way they used language, treating them like any other mark. I knew that I'd have half their mannerisms in my repertoire before the day was out.