   “Manfred, do sit down, you might lose your head to a thief if you keep looking out the window.” I leaned back into the carriage, turning to look at Lord Manfred who was sitting beside in the carriage. He was dressed in his finest—a gold doublet under a white vest. His breeches were also patterned, and it was one of the few times he wore one of those prominent codpieces.
   “Manfred, is there something on my face?” He laughed, reaching out to poke at my forehead with his finger. I blinked, looking away when I realized I had been staring for too long.
   “Sorry,” I mumbled, placing my hands on my lap. “I’m still a bit shocked at how well you’re dressed,” I commented, feeling a hand on my thigh. I looked down at Lord Evenus’ hand as he gave my leg a squeeze.
   “You look very nice yourself,” he said, making me look over at him. He was smiling at me, showing off his good teeth. My face became hot, and I looked away, staring out of the window again. I was wearing one of the best set of clothes the Count had sent to be on Lord Evenus’ behalf. I was wearing a similar cut to him. A doublet with a high lace collar—though mine was blue.
   We were on our way to Axminster for Lady Agnes’ ball. Lord Evenus told me that it would be eventful and that I should hide from the guests if I didn’t want to be pulled into any party games or drinking. It seemed that Lady Agnes’ parties were less like what I knew from books and secondhand accounts. Balls were held to bring aristocrats together. Often, people used ball season to pair their children up for marriage or to look for new friends to make property arrangements with.
   “Agnes prides herself is holding her beer.”
   I remember Lord Evenus telling me the other day as I helped him get into the fitting for his clothes.
   That told me right away that Lady Agnes wasn’t interested in appearances and was doing this for her own amusement. For one thing, the aristocracy preferred wine to beer. Beer was for the poor man that couldn’t afford brewing alcohol in the length expensive way wine was made. Beers like ale and drinks like mead and cinder were easy to make, but even then, not a lot of people were able to get access to grain, honey, or apples to make them.
   “Are you excited?” the Lord asked me, and I looked up to him, nodding. He squeezed my thigh again.
   “I suppose,” I muttered, and the Lord hummed.
   “I would be very upset if other men flirted with you,” Lord Evenus said. My face grew warm at the thought of that. That was right, Lady Agnes did speak of these balls as the places the Lord met new lovers. My lips turned down. Wondering if I would be the one getting jealous instead.
   It wasn’t something that I wanted to do, but I started to wonder how many people Lord Evenus has been with before he had started to pursue me. I wondered what they looked like, and I wondered if they were all aristocrats like himself. Lady had expressed surprise at him taking interest in a servant like myself when she and her father had come to visit the Lord.
   “Sir,” I called out, turning to find that Lord Evenus was resting his head on the window frame and had his eyes closed. He hummed, so I knew he was still awake. “What do you do at these parties?” I asked, watching as his eyes peeled open. His dark eyes stared into mine.
   “I eat.” He adjusted his position. “I drink,” he added, looking forward towards the back of the driver. “And I take part in activities.”
   My curiosity wasn’t satisfied. That had been a long-winded way not to tell me anything.
   “Do you perhaps play the piano at these parties?” I asked. The Lord played music, and he sang. He had done those things with his count and his daughter.
   He laughed. “No. I don’t play music in public.”
   Why? Was at the time of my tongue, but I held myself from asking. I didn’t want to do anything that would put him in a bad mood. The carriage soon dissolved into silence as my unasked question hung like a hook in the air. I busied myself by looking at the passing scenery and listening to the sound of the horses pulling the carriage.
   As the carriage got closer to Axminster we started to see more people on the path. Something I noticed was that the people here seem a little better dressed, and a bit less modest. Women were wearing dresses with short sleeves, and the fit of hose on many of the men made me blush. Considering who their leaders were, I wasn’t surprised.
   As we passed through houses and the market, I wondered if Axminster even had a church. Lord Evenus’ castle did have a section with a podium and pews—it was just unused, and the furniture gathered dust and cobwebs. I never asked Lord Evenus why. I already knew. He wasn’t that interested in talking to God, and he could just ignore the church built into his castle by one of the former Lords before him.
   My eyes looked over at the Lord. He was asleep now. His eyes closed and his chin cradled in his palm. I smiled at him, reaching out to push a strand of stray hair from his face before looking out of the window again.
   I heard Axminster was a trading center that was rich in good soil and minerals. I did wonder if Lady Agnes was open about her condition and if men stopped pursuing her hand in marriage for her wealth when they found out.
   The carriage picked up speed when we passed the crowds and ventured into an empty path. The future the horses went, the less clear land we saw. It was typical for a castle to be built a good distance away from peasant settlements, so I sat up, feeling the tiredness leave my body when I realized that we must be close.
   The first thought I had of Axminster castle was that it looked like it was straight from a fairytale. The architecture was more French than British. It was also heavily stylized in a way that stood out from the usual practical style of architecture around. It didn’t even look like a grand church with arches and large beams—no, it looked odder, and I began to wonder how far removed the aristocracy of Axminster was from everyone else around them.
   Our carriage was let through the gates after some guards inspected us. Lord Evenus finally opened his eyes, looking out his window as the carriage approached the stables. I was shocked by the stables too. They looked too good of a place to just keep horses
   Unlike Lord Evenus’ castle, there were people waiting to attend us at every turn. I wasn’t allowed to carry anything, and the lady that escorted us into the castle kept asking if we’d like to have personal attendants throughout our stay. As we stood around, sometimes servants would come up with trays of water or snacks, trying to get us to eat something.
   “I’ll show you to your rooms,” the woman guiding us said, leading us up masonry stairs with railings that had intrinsic relief work on them. Everything about the castle was expensive. The material on the floors. The paintings on the wall. The candle holders and even the wood of the beds.
   “Thank you, you can leave,” Lord Evenus said when the lady showed us our adjacent rooms that shared a door. She bowed, walking out of the room backward before closing the door behind her.
   “This place…” I trailed, letting my eyes look from the green wallpaper on the walls to the fur carpet on the floor.
   “The Count likes to spend,” Lord Evenus said, taking off his boots and belt. “They have the finances, so don’t fault them,” Evenus muttered, pulling off his vest.
  I couldn’t bring myself to take off my clothes and get comfortable. Everything looked too expensive to touch, so I stood still and watched Lord Evenus change out of his clothes. It was early at night now and I could hear voices. Our carriage hadn’t been the only one that was coming in at the time of our arrival, so I guessed the other people invited were settling down too.
   “Manfred, you have to change,” the Lord said, making me blink. “Or do you just enjoy looking at me.” My face felt warm as my eyes flickered towards his body. He was in only drawers now, and he was holding on to a nightshirt that he was planning to wear.
   “Well, I don’t mind it that’s for certain,” I said, making him laugh. He dropped his shirt on the bedding of the king-sized bed with a silk canopy before approaching me.
   “I guess it’s up to me to get you changed,” he said, reaching out to undo the ribbon around my doublet before undoing buttons. I stood still, letting me do the things I would do for him as part of my routine back at the Barcombe castle.
   “Manfred,” the Lord called, pulling off my top for me before moving to help me with my belt. The room was lit by lamps cased with glass. They hung from their holders, illuminating lord Evenus’ strong jaw and tired eyes.
   “Hmm?” I wondered why he has called me.
   “Don’t let what anyone says during the ball affect you,” he said, and I felt myself freeze a bit. I wondered what he meant by that. He could be referring to people who would snob me for not being an aristocrat. He could be talking about people trying to seduce me, or maybe even people trying to make me jealous. It could be any of those things or something else entirely, and I choose not to think too much about it. I nodded my head.
   “Okay,” said, and the Lord smiled, taking my face in his hands before kissing my lips.
   There was an unsettling feeling that lingered. It filled me with questions so wanted to ask, but I ignored them to hold the peace.Â
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