Her Stepmother Sent Her to the Duke as a Joke – He Offered Her a Chair Before He Said a Word

of watery porridge the day before.

Pride demanded she refuse. Survival demanded she eat.

She stood up, walked to the table, and poured the tea. She made a plate, keeping her portions small, polite.

“Don’t be tedious,” Alistair said from his desk, not looking up from a new ledger he had opened. “Eat until you are full. The hounds get the scraps anyway,continue reading …