“I’m afraid this won’t do, Melissa. Not at all. A newly hired servant shouldn’t be bringing dangerous things into her master’s home. Were you planning to peel some fruit, perhaps?”
Even with her back against the wall, Melissa kept her composure. “I need it for you, my lord. In case I must defend you.”
Rashid stared closely at her face, watching for even the slightest change. Then he grinned wider. “Oh, is that all? Sorry that I doubted you, then. I was never informed that you’d double as a guard, and your reasoning seems rather forced, but that’s how these things are sometimes, no? Here—you can have it back.”
Melissa was released, and her knife was held out to her. She stared at the blade for a few moments before accepting it with a polite “Thank you, my lord.”
From there, the two continued their tour, the boy acting as though nothing had happened at all. “Now, come along. In here,” he said. “As you can see, there’s a lot of cleaning and laundry to be done. Those duties fall to you now, I suppose.”
“Pardon...my intrusion.”
“So, let me give you a quick overview of the place. First, the room we passed through before was the parlor. That’s the first kitchen there, and beyond it lies a smaller one for servants. There’s another, larger kitchen on the other side of the garden, but it doesn’t get used unless I’ve got plenty of guests. You shouldn’t ever need to go there—when I need to host, I simply hire a chef.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Ah, and—there’s one more thing I’d like to ask, if you don’t mind.”
There was a pause before Melissa said, “Anything, my lord.”
The boy stopped and turned to her, his pleasure clear on his face. “I’ll get straight to the point, then. Who hired you? Was it someone I know?”
“I know not what you mean, my lord.”
“Ha ha. Come now, there’s no need to play dumb.” Rashid continued to smile at the girl whose expression refused to change. “It’s a simple question, really. Who’s your real employer—the person who sent you here? My granduncle? He is next in line for father’s fortune, after me. Or was it my grandaunt Sthezini? One of my greedy little brothers, perhaps? Ari and Nhid are about old enough to start receiving their allowance; it wouldn’t surprise me if their first thought was to hire an assassin. So? Am I on the right track?”
Melissa stared at him, blank-faced. “As I said, my lord, I do not follow.”
“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter who sent you. I’m just worried you might’ve been deceived, is all. And just so you know, I see right through that little performance of yours. You’re being way too subservient. I’d work on my acting skills, if I were you.”
“My...deepest apologies, my lord.”
“That aside, I’m rather thirsty. Let’s take a break, shall we? There’s a tearoom down this way.”
Rashid proceeded a few steps deeper into the manor, then stopped and turned around. Melissa hadn’t moved.
“Oh? What’s wrong? Don’t just stand there; come brew me some tea. I’m parched.”
“I...understand, my lord.”
This time, she acquiesced, and the pair soon found themselves in another room.
“Here we are,” Rashid said. “The tea set I always use is on that shelf over there. It’s somewhat expensive, so do be careful with it.”
Melissa fetched the set, as instructed, and got to work steeping tea leaves in hot water. The boy watched from his table as she poured the steaming brew into a cup and carried it over to him.
“Your...tea, my lord.”
“Thank you, Melissa. But what’s wrong? Your hands are shaking.”
Her breath hitched. “I... I...”
“Ah ha ha. Your reactions are awfully amusing. Don’t tell me—is this your first time trying to kill someone? I’m surprised they sent you, if so. Or...is this all an act, meant to lull me into a false sense of security? I very much doubt it.”
The maid said nothing.
“Melissa? Another word of advice, if you don’t mind.” The boy’s smile turned cold, and he leaned so close that their faces almost touched. “Your naivete will be the death of you. Or perhaps I should say ‘your unconditional compassion for others.’ Do you let your weakness show on purpose, hoping someone might swoop in and save you out of pity? I’m amazed that you’ve survived this long. You’re not cut out for this line of work.”
Still, the girl made no sound. Rashid took the teacup from her quivering hands and turned away from her.
“To be blunt, I think you’re incompetent. Why even take a job of this nature without the guts to see it through? Although, I guess the true featherbrain is whoever entrusted you with the task in the first place.”
At last, Melissa broke her silence. “Do you really think I was given a choice?”
“I suppose not. I can see you, by the way. Look.”
Rashid nodded, directing Melissa’s attention to a nearby mirror. She recoiled when she saw her reflection, knife raised in preparation to stab her new lord in the back, and scrambled to hide the weapon from view. The boy slowly turned to face her, looking as amused as ever.
“Oh? What’s wrong?” Rashid pressed. “Not going to do your job? How about I show you my back again? Would that make it easier? Here, I’ll even close my eyes so I can’t see the mirror. Go ahead. Do as you please.”
True to his word, he turned around and squeezed his eyes shut. He even spread out his arms as if to welcome her blade. Melissa raised her knife again, but her slowness spoke to her indecision. She managed to bring the weapon only halfway to her target before she stopped completely.
“Lord Rashid...when you said you were alone in this manor...”
“I was lying, of course. My servants are gone, that much is true, but as for guards... Well, my allowance is enough to cover a few. They’re all quite talented—enough to mask their presence and shoot an arrow straight into your heart, should they need to. I’m surprised you caught on. Perhaps you aren’t completely incompetent after all.”