Page 36

“If you don’t like it, cover it up again. I don’t mind,” I say.

“No.” Fenrother takes my hand and leads me down the hall to the fireplace. “I did not like the tapestry either. I have nothing else to replace it.”

I’m not entirely sure I agree with him, but I am distracted by the sight of the table laid in front of the fire. And when I say laid, there are candles, cutlery, and a second chair for me. Platters containing meat, vegetables, and fruits are laid out along the length of it, the tabletop free of grease and candle wax.

“Date…night,” Fenrother says, a slightly puzzled look on his face. The words are completely unfamiliar to him. “I want to eat you, but this is something my text says you will like almost as much, and with clothing on.”

ALICE

Isit down at the table as Fenrother does his usual and throws himself into the throne chair at the opposite end. The Duegar have outdone themselves on this occasion. Not only is the table groaning with food, but it’s all presented in the most pleasing manner.

Fenrother watches me closely from the far end. He’s waiting to see what you do ondate night.

Given the way the last one ended, I suspect he is hoping for more revelations.

“Why don’t you come up here?” I call out to him and point to the empty space beside me.

He doesn’t need asking twice, dragging the huge chair behind him like it’s a matchstick until he is next to me, and he sets it down, dropping back into place.

“Eat.” It’s my turn to exhort him.

A creature his size must need a lot of feeding. I don’t imagine the pig went to waste after all. Plus, even though there’s plenty on the table, none of it is in Fenrother proportions.

“My lady first,” he says.

I snort out a laugh. “Where did you get that phrase?”

I know exactly where, but I’m going to make him tell me.

“My texts…” Fenrother narrows his eyes. “Do you not like it?”

“I’m not a lady,” I say, spooning a large dollop of mashed potato onto a spare platter, followed by some thick slices of rare roast beef, a large Yorkshire pudding, and some greens, which look like they’ve been boiled to within an inch of their life. “I’m Alice.” I hand the platter to him.

“What if you’re my lady?” Fenrother asks as he pours out gravy. His attention has turned to the food and away from his odd books.

“I thought I was your mate?”

He grunts, stabbing a two-pronged fork into the roast beef then folding it into his mouth. I add beef, potatoes, and vegetables to my plate, but in a lesser quantity, and dig in, the nausea from my period having finally left me.

Just in time too. The beef melts in my mouth in an orgy of meaty goodness. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this, especially given I’ve eaten so little since I arrived here.

Fenrother and I eat in relative silence. It feels…familiar and somehow nice. Just me and this monster, enjoying a meal together like an old married couple.

Behind Fenrother, the fire crackles, the light from it flickering over his scales and giving him a glow in the relative gloom of the great hall, lit by many candles and yet hardly lit at all. I could be at any point in history, only I am in the Yeavering where no rules apply.

Fenrother finishes the food on his plate and picks up a small roast bird, a partridge I think, and eats it in a single bite.

I think we’re back to normal.

Or whatever passes for normal around here.

Once I’m done, Fenrother pulls an apple tart across the table to me and looks hopeful.

“Are you going to try some this time?” I ask, holding out a clean fork to him. He shifts on his chair, looking doubtful.

“Sweet,” he says, as a terrible explanation.

“You don’t like sweet?”