Author's Note:

Whoops, just realized I saved this not published this on Friday.

😭 My first missed update.

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Anya woke early in the morning. The book was still beside her and she worried what everyone would think of her that day. She had to make everything work. She had to convince them that she was what she said and competent besides.

If only Thorne had found a real lady's maid. Of course, a real lady's maid probably would not have her skills in magic. They also would likely not have a brother who would sink to the levels of such company he could use to coerce them.

It was pointless to sit around agonizing. She decided to find something to eat, and then she would see what Lady Waldwick needed of her.

Anya realized with some surprise that she was hungry. While Missus White had mentioned set meal times, Anya had no idea when they were. She decided to go to the servant's dining room to find out.

The castle was busy for such an early hour. Anya passed several servants in the hallways, and tried to look as if she belonged there. It probably worked, because no one looked at her twice.

The servant's salon was empty of both people and food when she arrived. She turned to leave, and almost ran headfirst into a blond headed girl about her own height.

"Oops! I'm sorry," the girl said quickly. Anya thought that it was rather her own fault.

"No, it was me," Anya said.

The girl smiled at her and looked at her carefully. She appeared to only be a couple of years younger than Anya herself, but Anya felt eons older. "Are you new here?" the girl asked.

"Yes," agreed Anya.

"You're probably the new lady's maid for Lady Theresa," the girl guessed. "My name is Ildri and I work for chef."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Anya," she replied.

"That's a nice name. I've never heard it before."

Anya was named after her mother's grandmother. "It's not completely uncommon," she hedged.

"True enough. My name is unique enough so perhaps I should not talk. So what's it like working directly for our lady?" Ildri wondered

Anya shrugged. "I just arrived yesterday. She seems as if she's kind."

"She's nice enough. She's not exactly your normal lady, either," Ildri said mysteriously. Anya could see that the younger woman wanted her to ask. Besides being friendly, the girl could be a useful source of information while she resided at Wildwood.

Anya hated that she was already scheming about people like practical commodities. It was almost as if there was some part of Thorne's evil manipulations that simply transferred from him to whomever he used in his schemes. First he had corrupted Gage and now he was doing the same to her.

Ildri glanced around. "Were you looking for breakfast?"

"Oh, yes," Anya said, startled out of her dark thoughts.

"I thought so. You looked as if something were bothering you. I figure that you were likely hungry."

"That's exactly it," Anya agreed.

"Well, you're a little early for breakfast. Come with me to the kitchen and we'll find you something," Ildri said, and started walking.

Anya paused. "Missus White told me not to bother the kitchen staff."

Ildri frowned. "Oh, Missus White. She put a ban on servants 'bothering the kitchen staff' while they prepare the wedding feast a couple of weeks ago. As if it would take us so long to make one feast. Already we've got loads of extra staff, and it's a bit too early to begin in any event. Come along now. Chef won't mind and it's been quite boring in the kitchen since we've stopped getting visitors."

"When is the wedding?" Anya wondered as she followed Ildri.

"She did not tell you? Falling down on the job, no doubt. Missus White has been absolutely fanatical about the whole affair since it was announced a couple of weeks ago. I guess it has been so long since there have been any functions at Wildwood that the pressure is getting to her, or something. Anyway, when is the wedding? It's actually a week from today! I'm very excited."

"Why are you excited?" wondered Anya. It sounded like a great deal of work and bother to her.

Ildri leaned in closer as if telling a great secret. "I'm to be allowed to attend the ball after supper."

"That seems odd."

"Tell me about it! Normally servants don't get to go anywhere near such things. But, as I said, Lady Theresa is not exactly a normal lady." Ildri leaned closer and whispered, "And Lord Wildwood is so besotted that he would let her do pretty much anything. It's all very romantic." She seemed to be delighted. Anya's stomach grew heavier.

They would be her victims. She had not known how much learning any little nuance about them would twist her insides into knots. She had to do it soon. She did not know how she would bear it otherwise. She could not get attached. She had to remain aloof, and do what she had to do.

"Here we are," Ildri said as she pushed open the door to the kitchen.

"Ah, Ildri. I was wondering what was taking you so long," said a woman who must be the chef, Missus Allendale.

"I've brought along Lady Theresa's new lady's maid, chef. Her name's Anya and she was up and about before breakfast so I brought her here."

"Nice to meet you, Anya. I'm Missus Allendale. Ildri, get her something to eat."

"Yes, chef," said Ildri cheerfully.

Ildri placed a plate and fork down in front of Anya.

"Thank you," Anya agreed.

The food was good, excellent really, but Anya found herself unable to enjoy it. She could feel the tension weighing her down, and she wondered if she could ever be truly free from it. Even if she did manage to succeed and return home with the twins, she doubted that life would ever be the same. She would no longer be innocent; she would bear a weight on her soul that she feared nothing could ever erase.

She told herself to stop being ridiculous. It was not as if she had somewhere to turn. Even if she somehow managed to find someone willing to help her, the twins would be doomed if she sought assistance. For all she knew Thorne could be spying on her at the very moment.

She regretted not leaving when Gage had first told her to run. Perhaps Thorne might not have found them and they would at least be together and relatively safe.

"What's wrong?" asked Ildri.

"Nothing," Anya said quickly, and then added, "It's just hard to take everything in." She forced herself to take hearty bites of the food. She knew that she needed it.

Ildri nodded knowingly. "I remember when I was first brought here, when I was just a kid. I had never seen anything like Wildwood in my life."

She paused with her brow furrowed, as if so deep in her memories she forgot to talk for a long moment.

Indra shook her head absently. "It was all so big I could scarcely believe. Really, though, you'll adjust. I think you'll like it here. It's very safe."

Missus Allendale spoke up, her voice calm and reassuring. "It's not nearly so overwhelming when we're not preparing for a wedding. Everything will settle back to normal soon enough."

"I suspect it will be bit more exciting now that Lady Theresa will be our lady." Ildri looked delighted at the prospect.

"That will change things," agreed the chef. "Not to mention that she and Lord Wildwood will be back and forth while putting things in order at Waldwick."

Ildri nodded. "I'm glad that she'll be staying here though."

"As are we all," agreed Missus Allendale. Then she spied that Anya was finished. "Here now. Ildri, why don't you take Lady Theresa her food now? It's about the time that she'll be getting up, and I suspect that Anya has much to do."

"I do," Anya agreed because she felt it was probably true. It would be better just to dive into work.

"Why don't you help Ildri carry the food?" suggested the chef.

"I'd be glad to," agreed Anya. She was happy that everyone was being so accepting of the new person among them. She wished that she really was one of them. She wished that she was not planning to betray their trust.

They were all so horribly trusting.

It was already obvious that Lord Wildwood inspired loyalty in his staff. Lady Waldwick seemed to have the same ability. When she killed Wildwood, they would all grieve terribly. If they knew that it was she, they would all hate her.

Anya realized that Ildri had filled up two trays and was holding one out to Anya. She grabbed it and followed Ildri through the door.

Ildri kept up a steady stream of chatter while they walked along until they ran into Missus White.

"Did I not ask you not to bother the kitchen staff, Miss Smyth?" the woman asked imperiously.

She had and Anya could not think of anything to say to the woman standing over her with obvious dislike.

Ildri blinked. "Missus White, Missus Allendale asked Anya to help me take this to Lady Theresa."

Missus White did not look impressed. "Remember what I said, Miss Smyth," she said, and swept down the hall.

"Don't worry about her. She's just like that. She'll find something else to rage about soon enough."

"She hates me," Anya murmured.

Did the woman see through her? What if Missus White knew that there was something suspicious about her? What if she confided to Lady Waldwick or Lord Wildwood? What if—?

Ildri shook her head. "She doesn't hate you any more than she hates anyone. No one is quite good enough for her precious Wildwood. She's like a dog defending her territory. It's because she's been here since the dawn of time, I think," she said and giggled.

"She's really touchy about the kitchen," Anya commented dryly.

"There's two parts to that. First, she has had everyone walking on eggshells since she heard about the wedding. Second, when Lady Theresa first arrived, she spent a good deal of time in the kitchen with us. No one knew she was a lady, or how high her status was at the time, and I think Missus White was rather awful to her. Now Missus White feels embarrassed and that means that she takes it out on everyone."

Anya nodded. "Why didn't anyone know she was a lady?"

Ildri giggled again. "When I said that no one knew she was a lady, I meant no one really knew that she was a lady! Why, I didn't even know that she was human. I thought her simply a cat with odd colored eyes."

"Really?" Anya asked.

"Yes. Seems odd, doesn't it? I suppose I did not put it together sooner because I'm quite dismal at magic. Chef tried to teach me a bit, but it seems like it's good old fashioned non magical cooking for me.

Ildri barely took a breath before continuing. "But anyway, she was transformed for a while. She used to visit the kitchen when she was a cat and even after Lord Wildwood fixed her she would come down sometimes. She taught Matt—our regular kitchen boy—how to play chess, among other things."

Anya nodded. "Mind you, I did not know that she was the same as the cat until after they returned from the capital. There were all sorts of crazy rumors flying around. Things like, that her aunt was a horrid witch who controlled and transformed Lady Theresa and her sister, and that her aunt tried to kill them, and that our lord and lady were getting married. It was most exciting."

"That is exciting," agreed Anya. She ignored the comment about witches, because the aunt seemed horrible indeed. Being a witch did not make one good or bad, it was the actions that proved the person.

Anya tried not to think about the proof of her own future actions, instead focusing on her companion.

Ildri was like a fountain of information. She thought it would be wise to become close to the girl. Besides the fact that Ildri seemed to enjoy sharing anything she knew, it was kind of nice to have someone around her own age to talk to. She had never really had that back in her village, where all the children were wary of a warlock's daughter in their midst.

Anya wondered if this was what it was like to be normal. Perhaps, when she got the twins back, they could sell the cottage, at least if anyone would dare by the former home of a witch.

Or perhaps they could simply pick up and leave without even bothering. They could go somewhere where no one knew who they were. Then the twins could have a normal life like the people here had. Maybe they could become part of a community, as long as they hid their true identities.

"Here we are," Ildri said suddenly. Anya would have walked right by the door. She had to stop daydreaming and pay attention to her surroundings, she chided herself.

No matter what Thorne thought of her capabilities, it seemed she was a dismal assassin indeed.