Page 23 of Waking Roslyn

His eyes seemed to soften at my enthusiastic response. “What do you like?” he asked.

I smiled, remembering the cool ground beneath my bare feet as I’d danced and the song that floated on the breeze. “Everything, I suppose. The new wing. The grounds. The quiet. The lack of people gawking.”

“Winhaven was not to your liking?”

I shook my head, not caring that some of my hair came loose.

“What was it like?”

“There were too many people, but none of them actually knew me or cared to know me,” I answered in a bold moment of candor. “No one wanted me there, except for Lisette.”

“Well, I’m glad our little corner of the dukedom suits you better.”

“Much better. I didn’t care for the palace at all.”

He let his eyes wander over me, assessing. “I suppose that doesn’t surprise me. Maidens who lounge on dusty couches in deserted houses probably don’t belong in palaces.”

I choked on a chuckle. “The more you get to know me, the more you’ll realize how true that is.” I looked over at him, surprised by how comfortable I was here with him.

“Are we going to get to know one another?” he asked with a bit of a challenge in his tone. “Servants do not usually acquaint themselves with the guests of Lord and Lady Rockwell.”

Perhaps not, but I was much more comfortable around people like John than I was around people of my own class. Plus, I had a particular reason for getting to know John. I likely wouldn’t find a better time to bring it up, so I sucked in a breath and dove in. “You asked before why I was watching you train.”

He seemed only slightly surprised by my change of topic. “I did. You said something about being intrigued that my sister and Lindy train with us.”

“Yes,” I said, charging ahead. “I don’t suppose there’s any way that…you see, I would like to learn like they are.”

He blinked several times before finally speaking. “I beg your pardon?”

“I want to learn.”

“To fight?”

“Yes. Would that…be possible?”

He was clearly still trying to wrap his brain around such a concept but finally nodded. “I suppose there’s no reason you couldn’t.”

“Really?”

He thought for several moments. “If that’s what you really wanted.”

“I know it’s an odd request.”

“Not so odd,” he countered, though I could tell he said it to make me feel better, not necessarily because he believed it.

I was just grateful he hadn’t dismissed the idea out of hand. If I could learn to protect myself, at least to some degree, I might actually be comfortable when I was finally able to go home. “I’d just…I’d like to learn.”

“Very well. Um.” His eyes cast about as if he were trying to get his thoughts in line. “You may have noticed that we only train on Sutton land.”

“I did notice that.”

“That’s because those of us who work here for Lord Rockwell are unsure whether or not he would appreciate his servants taking time to train with weapons. Of course, we always put our work and responsibilities first,” he hurried to assure me. “We’d never shirk our duty.”

“I understand,” I said. There might not be anything technically wrong with the Bridgefield servants taking time to learn weaponry, but that didn’t mean Lord Rockwell would appreciate it.

“Would you like to join the group when we spar? Or would you like Falstone or Marcus to instruct you?”

My brows pulled together. “Who?”