an equal rather than their superior, but she had come to think of Lady Leesa and Lady Beatrice as friends and companions. They had
filled the dark well of loneliness that had seemed an almost constant companion
throughout her childhood and banished the sense of isolation she’d felt from the rest of the world with their talk of their own lives. Even the other maids, although she had not felt the same sense of closeness, had livened her days with their idle chatter.
The quiet that surrounded her now was suffocating.
She missed her apartment--all the things she’d taken for granted, even the tasks
she’d once dreaded and found boring.
She missed her garden even more.
THE DEVIL’S CONCUBINE
Jaide Fox
33
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t her garden. Her father had had it designed and built
for her mother, who had been from a land warmer than their own and had missed the
garden of her childhood home. When she’d come of marriageable age, she had inherited her mother’s apartments, and her mother’s garden--which had been off limits to her as a child and which had gone to seed after her mother’s death.
She had filled much of her days tending the plants and coaxing them to flourish
once more, and a good part of her leisure there as well, working upon some needlework project or another and listening to her ladies talk about their homes, and their beaux.
She was never going to see her home again, or her garden, she realized with a
shock of dismay.
She would’ve had to leave it anyway, when she was wed, but she would have
been able to visit at least occasionally.
She would not be welcome there now. Her father would disown her. She’d sunk
so low, her own people would probably spit on her.
Unwilling to go there, Aliya returned her thoughts to her garden, thinking back to
what it had looked like when she’d first taken it as her own.
It occurred to her after a moment that, at first, she’d been unsettled by the fact that the garden was on a rooftop. It had seemed so very high that she couldn’t bring herself to go near the low wall that surrounded it without feeling as if she was going to plunge to her death.
She’d forgotten that.
Over time, she’d grown so accustomed to the height. She’d ceased to find it
unnerving at all!
It was a small step from that thought to wondering if she could grow accustomed
to the terrifying height of Talin’s castle.
THE DEVIL’S CONCUBINE
Jaide Fox
34
Chapter Seven
Aliya turned to stare at the thin beams of light pouring through the shutters for
several moments. Girding herself, she stood after a moment and moved to window. Her belly tightened before she’d even reached it and for several moments she paused,
wondering if it was even a worthwhile idea.
She should try, she finally decided. Perhaps, even if she did grow more
accustomed, it would mean nothing more than that she wasn’t so on edge about the
distance to the ground, but in the back of her mind she knew that as long as she was
terrified of the height, she couldn’t even search to see if there was a way to escape.
It seemed doubtful there would be. But wasn’t some chance better than none?
Wasn’t hope better than hopelessness?
Inching a little closer, she finally leaned toward the crack where the two planks of
the shutter didn’t completely meet and peered through it. Instantly, as her vision focused, her belly did a free fall and it felt as if her heart wasn’t far behind it. Her chest felt as if it was wedged in a vise that was slowly tightening and squeezing the air from her lungs.
“They’re bolted.”
Aliya jerked all over at the abrupt intrusion having been so focused on her fear of
the view beyond the window she hadn’t even heard the door open. Sucking in a sharp
inhalation of air, she whirled toward the sound, one hand lifting instinctively to the wooden panel to balance her.
A wave of dizziness went through her at the sudden movement.
Talin
filled the dark well of loneliness that had seemed an almost constant companion
throughout her childhood and banished the sense of isolation she’d felt from the rest of the world with their talk of their own lives. Even the other maids, although she had not felt the same sense of closeness, had livened her days with their idle chatter.
The quiet that surrounded her now was suffocating.
She missed her apartment--all the things she’d taken for granted, even the tasks
she’d once dreaded and found boring.
She missed her garden even more.
THE DEVIL’S CONCUBINE
Jaide Fox
33
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t her garden. Her father had had it designed and built
for her mother, who had been from a land warmer than their own and had missed the
garden of her childhood home. When she’d come of marriageable age, she had inherited her mother’s apartments, and her mother’s garden--which had been off limits to her as a child and which had gone to seed after her mother’s death.
She had filled much of her days tending the plants and coaxing them to flourish
once more, and a good part of her leisure there as well, working upon some needlework project or another and listening to her ladies talk about their homes, and their beaux.
She was never going to see her home again, or her garden, she realized with a
shock of dismay.
She would’ve had to leave it anyway, when she was wed, but she would have
been able to visit at least occasionally.
She would not be welcome there now. Her father would disown her. She’d sunk
so low, her own people would probably spit on her.
Unwilling to go there, Aliya returned her thoughts to her garden, thinking back to
what it had looked like when she’d first taken it as her own.
It occurred to her after a moment that, at first, she’d been unsettled by the fact that the garden was on a rooftop. It had seemed so very high that she couldn’t bring herself to go near the low wall that surrounded it without feeling as if she was going to plunge to her death.
She’d forgotten that.
Over time, she’d grown so accustomed to the height. She’d ceased to find it
unnerving at all!
It was a small step from that thought to wondering if she could grow accustomed
to the terrifying height of Talin’s castle.
THE DEVIL’S CONCUBINE
Jaide Fox
34
Chapter Seven
Aliya turned to stare at the thin beams of light pouring through the shutters for
several moments. Girding herself, she stood after a moment and moved to window. Her belly tightened before she’d even reached it and for several moments she paused,
wondering if it was even a worthwhile idea.
She should try, she finally decided. Perhaps, even if she did grow more
accustomed, it would mean nothing more than that she wasn’t so on edge about the
distance to the ground, but in the back of her mind she knew that as long as she was
terrified of the height, she couldn’t even search to see if there was a way to escape.
It seemed doubtful there would be. But wasn’t some chance better than none?
Wasn’t hope better than hopelessness?
Inching a little closer, she finally leaned toward the crack where the two planks of
the shutter didn’t completely meet and peered through it. Instantly, as her vision focused, her belly did a free fall and it felt as if her heart wasn’t far behind it. Her chest felt as if it was wedged in a vise that was slowly tightening and squeezing the air from her lungs.
“They’re bolted.”
Aliya jerked all over at the abrupt intrusion having been so focused on her fear of
the view beyond the window she hadn’t even heard the door open. Sucking in a sharp
inhalation of air, she whirled toward the sound, one hand lifting instinctively to the wooden panel to balance her.
A wave of dizziness went through her at the sudden movement.
Talin
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