I took a deep breath, smelling the rich scent from the steaming jug and then raised my eyebrows questioningly at Mistress Blossom. She smiled. “Only the best for my special guests,” she said, then made for the door. “I’ll be back shortly to take the dishes and things.”
Once she’d left, Amelia and Veronica came over and sat down at the table, helping themselves to food and coffee. Both women ate heartily, and it was good to see them enjoying food together. Since there were only two chairs, I layered cheese, dried fruit, and ham between the bread and sat on the bed to eat, a mug of the coffee on the floor beside me. We ate in comfortable silence, enjoying the food and each other’s company.
Just as we were finishing our meal, Mistress Blossom came back. This time, Jacques was with her. He walked in behind the Mistress and chuckled as he saw the three of us. I had been angry at my old friend for not telling me about Katlyn sooner, but my wrath had died down after a good night’s sleep and a meal. Jacques and I had shared a lot of experiences together, and he’d never intentionally meant to keep the knowledge of Katlyn’s whereabouts from me. Had he not been in Brightwater and seen Katlyn pass through, I would never have known that she’d been sold into slavery.
“Quite the appetite you’ve got there, William,” Jacques said, eyeing Veronica in her revealing blue dress and Amelia still wrapped in one of the thinner bedsheets. It was clear that they had spent the night with me. “One at a time isn’t enough for you?”
Veronica and Amelia both reddened.
“I came after they were finished,” Amelia protested. I wasn’t sure why she thought that sounded better.
“That was polite of you,” Mistress Blossom said, “letting these two climax before you.” She chuckled as she bustled the empty dishes back onto the tray.
“That’s not what I meant. I—” Amelia started to say, but she was cut off by Jacques.
“You meant to say that you came in for a bit of action while William and Veronica were asleep?” Jacques guffawed.
“That sort of thing is almost beyond my own boundaries,” the Mistress exclaimed, putting a hand to her mouth in feigned shock. “You really are quite the deviant, young Amelia.”
Amelia reddened even more at this and went silent. Obviously, she was far too embarrassed to defend herself.
“Amelia wasn’t doing anything untoward,” I said. “She wanted the company of my bed. That shouldn’t be an issue.”
Jacques and the Mistress shared a look.
“It’s no problem,” Jacques said. “I’m actually proud of you, William.”
“And I’m more than pleased to hear you aren’t ashamed of a little bed-sharing,” Mistress Blossom said. “It gives me something to work toward. A lady must have ambitions, after all.” She gave all three of us a salacious smile.
I wasn’t opposed to having the Mistress in my bed; it might even lead to an additional affinity, but tempting as that was, now definitely wasn’t the time.
“Let’s focus on the present,” I said. “We need to finish our breakfast and prepare for our journey north once we’ve got the information from Governor Arnold. Has Arnold returned yet?”
“Not yet,” Mistress Blossom replied. “I sent one of the tavern patrons, a man who owes me a debt, to scout the road that leads north out of Brightwater. He saw the Governor and said that he should be back within the hour.”
“Then we have an hour to prepare,” I said. “As soon as the Governor enters the gates, we need to speak with him. Can you arrange that, Mistress Blossom?”
“I can,” she said. “I’ll leave you all to it until I hear word of his arrival.”
I thanked the Mistress, and she smiled around at all of us as she clattered the last of the dishes onto the tray and left, closing the door quietly behind her.
Veronica and Amelia both kissed me and left to prepare for our journey.
“While you’re eating, William, there was one other thing I thought I should explain to you,” Jacques said once we were alone. He flinched as I looked up at him quickly.
I glared at him. “I’ve only just forgiven you for holding back the news about Katlyn as long as you did. Now you’re saying there’s more?”
“In my defense, telling you about Katlyn earlier wouldn’t have helped.”
“I know, Jacques, but it’s been too long since I’ve been able to give you a hard time. I’m not letting you off the hook quite that easily.”
“This isn’t bad news.” Jacques put his hands up, defensively. “It’s actually to do with that dagger your foster-father gave you, the one you use for the tattooing. It’s capable of more than you know.”
I relented. My interest was piqued by now. “I suppose that could redeem you. But how can you know about this dagger? Gregory gave it to me, and I don’t remember ever showing it to you. Amelia thinks it might be very old, and we found that it actually has a hollow tip as if it’s designed for tattooing.”
I picked the dagger up from the side table and turned it over in my hands. What other secrets could it hold?
“I know about that dagger of yours,” Jacques began, pulling out one of the chairs and sitting down, “because it was I who gave it to Gregory. You know that he and I spent much time together in the years before he adopted you.”
I nodded. Jacques had been around Aranor for a number of years, even before Gregory had taken me in. I knew very little about that past, but then, knowing the sorts of things Jacques tended to get up to, I suspected that Gregory might have not wanted me to
