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CHAPTER ELEVEN
P erhaps she should have gone to see the sunrise with Aurelius?
No, the memory of him coming to wake her up so he could show off his gold made her teeth clench. She’d told him no more than once. What arrogance! The way he repeatedly brushed her refusals aside made his lack of respect clear. He obviously viewed her as his inferior.
Melora wished she could go back to bed and begin this crazy day over, but now she was wide awake. Yet she couldn’t regret helping Dragon through his pain. It was against her nature to allow any animal to be in such agony and do nothing. Besides, dawn and she were old companions—she’d learned as a child to work in the quiet hours before her father woke from his drunken stupor.
Her lips pressed into a thin line, again thinking of Aurelius. Everything seemed to be about gold with him. She would not feel guilty… even if his eyes did make her feel a bit melty. She pulled out her dress and put it on over her shift, then made the bed. Perhaps she could sew another dress… but where and how could she obtain fabric? Dared she ask Dragon? Would he help her? Or would her question somehow upset him?
A crisp knock resounded on the door. She opened it to find a young maid with a breakfast tray. “Good morning, Miss! I’m Lyra, and I’ll be your lady’s maid.” Her smile practically lighted the room with its dazzle.“I thought you might be hungry. I know I can never be awake long without eating; it’s bad for the constitution. Besides, Mr. Aurelius is nothing if not accommodating of his guests, and he told me I ought to be extra accommodating because you are a special guest.”
She bustled into the room without permission and placed the breakfast tray on an end table. Wiping her hands on her apron, she turned to look at Melora.
“Oh! I see you’ve already gotten dressed. I’ll just have to help you when you get ready for dinner tonight. Meanwhile, let’s do something about that hair.” She prodded Melora to sit at the vanity and began tugging at her hair before she could refuse. “You really have the loveliest hair. I’m sure you are the envy of your village with all this volume and shine, not to mention thickness. And just look at that natural wave!” She sighed dreamily.
“Thank you. I have only the one gown, so you needn’t worry about helping me change for dinner.” She’d never had a maid help her get dressed before, though her sister often helped with her hair.
“One dress!” Lyra froze and blinked at her in shock. “Well, that won’t do at all! Months may have passed since I was a proper ladies’ maid, but I know Mrs. Sunniva would be horrified if I left you with only a single gown! Even I have more than that! I’ll be certain to let Mr. Aurelius know. He’ll be equally horrified!”
“If you could just ask him for some fabric, I can quickly sew another dress.” Who was Mrs. Sunniva? She was aware of only one other woman in the manor, the cook, but Melora was pretty sure she’d been introduced as Mrs. Calla.
The maid blinked several times, her lips parted in shock, and she was chattering again before Melora could ask about the mysterious Mrs. Sunniva. “You can sew an entire dress? Are you a seamstress?” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Are you well versed in all the latest fashions? There’s an upcoming dance I long to attend. Mama is horrible at fashion and will purchase anything the modiste tells her is the most expensive.” She rolled her eyes as her hands twisted and pinned Melora’s hair. “And let me tell you, expensive does not equal fashionable! I swear she just adds frills to charge Mama extra because she works for Mr. Aurelius and he is notoriously wealthy, you know. I mean, look at all of this gold! Mama and I get paid quite well.”
Wide eyes suddenly met Melora’s in the mirror. “Please, don’t tell her I said that! I’m not supposed to talk about money, but my mouth often runs away with me, it does.”
Melora chuckled. “I promise not to say a word. But I’m afraid I’m not really a seamstress. More like a laundress.”
Lyra looked down at her shabby dress and frowned. “Ah. Then perhaps you wouldn’t know fashions after all.”
Melora nearly choked on a laugh. The girl looked truly distraught about losing her fashion help. “Well, I’m not completely hopeless at fashion either. Perhaps I can give you a few pointers that you can share with your modiste.”
Lyra’s eyes practically glowed. “Would you?!”
For some reason, Melora was delighted to help the girl. She longed to put her skills to use by making an elegant gown. Her fingers rubbed against the rough fabric of her serviceable dress. She sighed longingly, wishing for a beautiful dress of her own. Not that it mattered. She wasn’t here to play the fancy lady. Dragon had brought her here to pay a debt. Perhaps she ought to get started cleaning and polishing the gold. It wasn’t as if she had anything else to do. With practically every inch of Everrose made of the precious metal, the task could take her weeks.
Would Dragon release her once the task was done?
Outside her room, with hair pinned up in a ridiculous courtly fashion ill-suited for the task ahead of her, Melora contemplated her surroundings. Perhaps she should begin with the floor. That was sure to be the dirtiest. Next, she could tackle this hallway, then work her way down the stairs and into the large rooms there.
Thankfully, Lyra had been kind enough to provide her with a large bucket of soapy water and a rag, though the sweet girl complained that Mr. Aurelius might not like her doing chores. Melora didn’t care two figs what that arrogant dandy thought.
On her hands and knees, she began scrubbing the diamond-shaped tiles at the end of the hall nearest the master bedroom, which she realized must belong to Aurelius. Hopefully, he was still outside enjoying the early morning sun. She didn’t wish to encounter him just then.
As she shoved the heavy tub along before her and dutifully polished the golden tile decorated in a subtle, delicate leaf pattern, her thoughts returned to her sister. How was she faring with Papa? Did he yell at her like he’d yelled at Melora? Was she still able to take in laundry? What if Papa had caught her and demanded she stop? What if he tried to sell Nerissa off too?
Melora shook out her circling thoughts as she progressed along the hallway, passing the stairs she thought might lead up to Dragon’s tower. She momentarily debated about washing his steps but decided to wait. Dragon hadn’t been feeling well, and she didn’t want to anger him again.
As she shoved the tub past that staircase, she tried to picture better times in the future for herself and her sister. Once she was finished here, Melora would return for Nerissa and do what she should have done years ago, leave. The glinting gold surrounding her inspired a faint hope that Dragon might reward her with some.
With a groan, she returned her focus to the tile and scrubbed with more vigor. No more of such vain hopes. Accepting gold had gotten her into this mess. She would figure things out without Dragon…
He’d helped her more than he would ever know.
Hours passed before she finished polishing the entire golden hallway. The water in the tub was dark gray, and the soap bubbles had all popped. She had just rubbed out the last smudges on the landing when she heard a distant tap-tap-taping.
Her heart raced. Where had she heard that sharp clicking sound before? She winced. It sounded like knives scraping against stone.
Too late, her brain put together the pieces. Dragon appeared along the hallway, the steady tapping changed tempo as he came careening toward her and the tub of dirty water in a desperate scrabble, his huge feet slipping and sliding beneath him.
She froze as he overturned the tub, but there was no time to move before impact. Dragon’s momentum pushed them both to the top step, racing the soapy cascade of dirty water to the edge. A scream tore from Melora’s lips as the waterfall carried them over the brink. Her eyes squeezed closed. This couldn’t end well for either of them.
Large claws clutched at her back. Smooth metallic scales pressed against her face. Instead of the tumble down the stairs she had expected, she seemed to be… floating?