Page 8 of Keeper

“I’ll keep it brief, Provost. When you gifted me to Jacob Hart, my rules were to spy on him and keep him happy. With Alexander being your son, I thought it would be wise to clarify exactly what you require of me this time.”

He sizes me up a moment before responding. “Well trained, straight to the point. I like you. Your main job will be to keep him happy and provide heirs. I don’t care how you two make it work, but if I need information from you, I will inquire about it. Your only focus will be Alexander. If it were up to him, he’d never pass on the Creed name, and the other...” He trails off, and for the briefest of moments, I see something strange flash in his eyes. “Anyway. For this job, all you need to do is be a wife. Is that something you can accomplish?”

Heirs. Plural.

Nodding once, I offer him a soft smile. “Of course, Provost. Thank you for the clarification.”

“I appreciate getting straight to it. Are you on any contraception?”

“Just the pill, Sir. I’ll stop taking it immediately.” Which means Alexander won’t be using condoms. It’s been so long since I felt a man come inside me that it makes my thighs clench. Jacob didn’t want kids, so we were careful — birth control, condoms, and he hardly ever fucked my pussy anyway.

And Alex is... stunning, even in all of that ice.

“Good girl.” It sounds so much different coming from him than it did from Draven, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. “You really are a pretty one. Alexander is a lucky man. He may come across as aloof, but he’ll come around. How could he not?”

I want out of this loft.

“I’ll do my best to make him happy, Sir. May I be excused to freshen up a little? I wasn’t given a chance to pack or anything before Draven brought me here.”

“Your room has everything a girl could need, complete with a new wardrobe. If there is something important you need from your previous residence, let Madeline know, and we’ll send someone out to coordinate with Jacob. You’re excused. Miss Madeline,” he calls. “Please escort Sullivan to her room.”

It takes me a second to register what he said. I don’t care how good his staff members are, I don’t thinkanyoneis coordinating with ghosts — and Ephraim isn’t senile. He wouldn’t make a mistake like that, which means he doesn’t know that Jake is dead.

If he didn’t command it, Draven disobeyed his orders.

Instead of ratting him out, I tuck it away as a second piece of information to hold over his head and bow slightly to the Provost once more. “Thank you, Sir. I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow.”

He watches us leave before he heads the opposite way, and Madeline leads me up a grand staircase before she says another word. “I live here as well, so if there’s anything at all you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

I doubt I’ll need much, but it’s rude to refuse help when it’s offered. Who knows what these halls will hold for me. “Thank you. How long have you been working with the Provost?”

“Thirty-four years,” she says proudly. “He brought me on when Verna gave birth to Alexander as a temporary wet nurse and I’ve been here ever since. Not much happens in this place without me knowing about it.”

The sly glint in her eyes promises secrets,goodsecrets, but secrets I’m not in a place to ask about yet. Most people are dying to spill the dirt they know. It’s instinctual. Like moths being drawn to flames, they just can’t help themselves. Gossip is life-sustaining mana. But timing matters. I’m new here. I haven’t proven myself. A few kind words here, a favor there, telling a few secrets of my own... that’s the build-up. That’s how you build trust. And trust, well... once it’s built, the secrets flow like raging rivers.

I’ll get there, even with her. Even with Alexander. I’m already building trust with Draven despite not having a clue how to use it yet. But in this world, having a murderer in your debt is as good as gold. It may save my life one day.

“Is this one mine?”

We’re stopped in front of a single black door with an absolutely ancient handle. I doubt it locks anymore it’s so old, but she proves me wrong when she pulls out a skeleton key to open it. “Yes. This one’s yours. As I said earlier, you’ll have your own bathroom and you don’t need to worry about tidying up. Anything you need can be brought to you, just use the intercom located here.” She pushes the door open and gestures to the wall just to the left. “Any house-wide announcements will be made over this, so don’t ever turn it off. You can also use it to call for food, drink, books, clean towels, whatever you need. Just press this button and it will lead to the staff’s quarters.”

As she lightly taps the button in the middle, I take a moment to look around the room. It looks exactly the way I expected it to — four poster bed, two giant dressers, a walk-in closet filled with clothes that couldn’t be further from my style, and a chaise just next to the bed. It’s much nicer than the room I shared with Jacob, certainly, but having a room at all seems counterproductive.

“Forgive me if the answer is obvious, but if I’m supposed to marry Alexander, shouldn’t I be sleeping with him? The Provost was clear about my duty here.”

Gently, she squeezes my arm. “Alexander is extremely private. He always has been. He requested that you be given your own space so that he can keep his, and as you get to know each other, I’m sure you’ll be staying with him more often than not. He thought you’d be happy to have a space to call your own.”

Nothing belongs to me.

“Oh, I am,” I say quickly. “I was just curious. When I was given to Jacob, I was in his bed the first night. This is different, that’s all. I guess I’m still learning.”

She pats me softly and takes a step back toward the door. “I’ll leave you to it then. Breakfast will be brought to you at 8:00am sharp. You’ll be allowed free time after that to get a feel for the house, the grounds, and to get yourself ready. Dinner will be at 6:00pm and I don’t think I need to tell you that Provost Creed doesn’t tolerate tardiness. I’d be fifteen minutes early if I were you, especially for this first one. You’ll meet the rest of the family and more of the staff. Dress nicely, speak quietly, and you’ll do just fine.”

Pretty, pristine, and silent.

“Got it. Thank you so much for your help.”

With a wave, she leaves me alone and shuts the door behind her. I do a cursory sweep for cameras, and when I find none, I finally allow myself to slump down on the bed and feel the weight of everything that happened to me today.

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