Morgan, age 32, City of Marin

I shifted at my desk, enjoying the delicious morning after feelings of soreness of a night well spent, trying to focus on the contract before me. When the guard on duty tapped on my office door, I looked up from my reading, grateful for the break in the boring details. "Enter!" I called, and the guard smartly escorted a worried man into the room.

The man wore the House's standard attire for a submissive of his station: black leather pants and a flowing linen shirt open to the waist paired with sturdy leather boots and belt. The color of the shirt and piping on his leathers was red indicating his elite status as one of my personal guards. The red and black of their clothing accented the richness of the gold brocade wall treatments surrounded by hand-carved woodwork molding of my office.

His head was bowed, and his arms were clasped behind his back, which was as to be expected. But when he fell to his knees with a mumbled, "Forgive me, Mistress" before my desk, maintaining an appropriate distance of course, I shot a glance to my right-hand man, Vanusia, and arched an eyebrow. He answered my silent inquiry with a shrug.

I refocused my attention on the kneeling man. Faryn was his name. He'd been in service to me for at least five years and had been something of a problem child. That he was in my office, again, was not a good sign. That he was already begging was even worse. I stifled a sigh and wondered if the Captain knew one of his lieutenants was in my office begging for forgiveness.

The ornately scrolled solid oak chair, part of the matching set of office furniture gifted to me by the Queen herself, creaked as I shifted my weight and stood. My long-legged stride took me to the front of the desk where I leaned to perch on the corner and crossed my arms.

"What is it this time, Faryn?"

A second guard, who had entered close on the heels of the first, handed Vanusia a sealed envelope with a bow. My assistant inspected the seal and sucked in a breath. "It's from Duke Simon, Mistress." He passed it to me unopened.

I cracked the seal and unfolded the letter, reading the scrawling script I found inside. Shocked, I read it twice before handing it back to Vanusia and glaring at the man at my feet. "You fucked the Duke's daughter? And got caught? Faryn! What were you thinking?"

Faryn kept his head bowed, and gaze averted. "I was thinking that I love her, Mistress."

"Love?" I threw up my hands. "Love! Faryn, you're a Household guard. She's the Duke's daughter. Your affair can never be serious. You know this. And now," I emphasized by waving at the letter Vanusai now read, "you've been caught. If it hadn't been for that, I might have been able to intercede."

Faryn's shoulders dipped as he accepted my words. "What happens now, Mistress?"

"The best I can do is to make a spectacle of dismissing you in an attempt to save your life. According to the Duke, you violated his daughter, Faryn, and he has every right to call for your head. But, if I dismiss you, send you away in disgrace, and you leave the city of Marin, you might keep your head."

His leather creaked as he shifted, stealing a glance at me. "But it isn't fair! We are in love!"

I walked to him, my heels burying themselves in the lush area rug he knelt on. When I stood before him, he leaned his forehead on my leg. I cupped the back of his head. Faryn had been with me for years since I first took office as the Second Mistress, lower in rank only to the Head Mistress, some five years ago. We had had a short fling; the man was gorgeous and hard to resist. But, he was bullheaded, even if he was submissive. When things began to get emotionally complicated, I broke it off.

"It might not be fair, Faryn, but it's the way of the world. I know it, you know it... everyone knows it. I'm sorry that this has happened, but I did warn you all those years ago that being ruled by your emotions would be your undoing."

He sighed. "Yes, Mistress."

I squeezed his shoulder, the signal that he could rise, and he did so as I stepped back. In my heels, we were nearly the same height; he, just a bit taller than me. I smiled as I cupped his cheek. "Go gather your belonging. I need to write the dismissal. I am sorry for the things I have to say in it, but keep in mind that I am trying to save your life."

He maintained his formal posture, keeping his hands behind his back, but pressed into my touch. "I understand, Mistress."

I flushed when he suddenly turned his head and kissed my palm. It was a reminder of a time when we were more intimate. Had any other person done it, I'd have been livid, but my memories of Faryn were mostly good ones... heated ones, even.

"Thank you for everything you have done, Morgan," he whispered as he relaxed his stance and kissed my palm again. "I often wish we had worked out differently."

I softened my gaze and lowered my voice. "We weren't meant to be."

He nodded, pressed into my cupped hand once more, then returned to his formal posture. "May I collect my things, Mistress?"

"Yes," I nodded. "You are allowed to collect what personal possessions you have. You may not take Household livery or goods with you. Report here when you are done." I flipped the hourglass on my desk. "You have an hour. You may go."

He snapped his feet together. "Yes, Mistress." Pivoting, the guard escorted him from the room.

When the door shut, I sagged and sat on the edge of the desk again, pinching the bridge of my nose against the rising headache. "Did you know that he was sleeping with the Duke's daughter?" I asked my assistant Vanusia.

"No, Mistress," he assured me. "That we hadn't heard about his latest conquest in some time should have alerted us, I guess."

I sighed again and crossed my arms. "And now, I need to find another guard. Given our struggles last time, what with so many men lost to war, I do not relish the thought."

"I can handle it, Mistress," he assured me.

"The Queen is visiting in two weeks. We need all hands on deck. If you must outright hire someone to fill a uniform for the event, do that."

Before he could reply, another knock came on the heavy oak door. I stood and smoothed my bodice as Vanusia bade them enter. The guard strode in again. "Mistress, there is a man by the name of Corbin Jesseau requesting to see you. Shall I have him escorted in?"

My eyebrows raised as I looked at Vanusia. Again, he indicated he didn't know what the visit was about. I scowled. What good was it to have an assistant if he couldn't assist? "Yes, bring him."

The guard motioned a man standing in the doorway into the room, the second guard moving behind him. The two men in red framed him, but he dwarfed them both. This was no small feat, as I tended to choose well-developed fighters and swordsmen for the role of guard. He loomed nearly a head above the shorter guard and was broader across the chest than either.

My heart pounded. I could tell by the way he stood he was an experienced warrior. But why would such a person not be calling on the Queen herself? Why come to me? He was certainly handsome enough for the Queen, with a square jaw, sun-streaked hair that would darken in the winter, and ocean-blue eyes. His physique only added to my budding desire to have him. His flowing silk shirt under a coordinating fitted vest hid much of the hardness I knew I'd find underneath. I deliberately worked not to lick my lips in anticipation.

"Mistress Ravel, my name is Corbin Jesseau. I hear you have a need for a house guard. I would like to apply for the position."

Vanusia snorted. "It's not a hired position, Mr. Jesseau. Our guards' ranks are filled by those loyal and submissive to the House."

Corbin looked from Vanusia to me. I nodded, showing the statement to be true. I expected the hulk of a man to thank me for my time and turn to leave. Instead, he slowly sank to his knees before me and bowed his head. "Then, I wish to join the Household."

My body responded unbidden, heat rushing through me at the sight of his strength given over to my beck and call. I was glad that Vanusia was with me because I'd clearly forgotten how to speak.

"We don't take just anyone off the street," my assistant announced with a wave of his hand.

"I am not from the street, I can assure you, Mistress," Corbin retorted. His voice rumbled in my chest. "May we speak in private, Ma'am?"

"No—" Vanusia began.

"Yes," I countered, shooing the two guards out the door, though they were wise enough not to close it. Vanusia shot me a look and refused to move from his spot on the resting couch. When Corbin remained quiet, I stated, "Whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of my Major Domo, Mr. Jesseau."

"I have a letter for you, and only you, Mistress," he answered, taking a sealed envelope from an interior pocket of his vest. He held it out with both hands for me. Good form.

When Vanusia leaned forward to pluck it from his grasp, Corbin pulled it out of his reach yet managed to still have it offered to me. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, and I waved my assistant away. He sat back with a huff.

I cracked the unsigned seal on the envelope to reveal its contents and sucked in a breath. In it was an inner letter and a feather, a very distinct feather from a bluejay. Only one person in the world would send me such a thing.

I eyed my assistant. "Vanusia, it seems my tea service has grown cold. Please take it to the kitchen and have it refreshed."

Vanusia was far from a stupid man. He knew when he was being dismissed. He also knew he was to stay away until I sent for him. Knowing these things did not make him happy, however. Even so, his growled, "Yes, Mistress," didn't keep him from gathering the cups and silver service as ordered. He even had the guards shut the door behind him, leaving me and the fine man kneeling on the rug before me alone.

I proceeded to pull the letter from the envelope. It itself was sealed with blue wax, a color matching the feather, embossed with a stamp of the bird in question. Upon opening it, I read the simple phrase, "Hide him." There was no signature or other identifying mark, nor did I expect one. The Bluejay would not be so stupid.

I knew I had to obey. I trusted the sender with my full heart and owed him my life. He would not ask something such as this lightly. I would comply faithfully.