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Sadie’s eyes focus on the basket of bread. She sits quietly, not speaking. Not moving. Her eyes don’t even roam when the door to the kitchen opens and three uniformed servants come in with large silver platters.
Dimitri continues our discussion while they unveil oval-shaped dishes laden with zakuski. We take our food seriously in our country, and Dimitri likes his appetizers. Sadie eyes the pickled cucumbers and beets, salad of diced onion and cabbage, and stuffed eggs, with a curious eye. My stomach rumbles with hunger. It’s been some time since I’ve eaten at our table, and I’ve missed my favorite dishes.
I place several items on a plate in front of her but shake my head to remind her not to touch them, then fill my own dish. As Dimitri brings me up to date, I take a small bit of salad on my fork and hold it in front of her mouth. She eats it politely, chewing and swallowing, then following it with a sip of water, while Dimitri watches our interaction.
“Have you had enough?” I ask. She nods, so I eat my own food.
“Does your girl have a tongue?” Dimitri asks in English for her benefit, his humorous tone laced with disapproval. “Or must she always sit so mute?”
Beside me, Sadie’s fingers clench into fists.
“She can speak when allowed to,” I respond in English. “Do you have anything to say, Sadie?”
“I’m not sure what to say,” she replies. “So perhaps it’s best I stay mute.”
Dimitri’s eyes darken. “The chatter of women amuses me,” Dimitri says. “Do speak, Sadie.”
“No, thank you, sir.”
“Sadie,” I warn.
“What is it you wish to hear?” she asks Dimitri through gritted teeth.
“Tell me of your family,” Dimitri says, giving me a curious look.
“I know nothing of my family,” Sadie says in a little voice. Her eyes travel over his head when she speaks, as if she’s giving a recitation. “I was raised in foster homes by people I don’t care about. I prefer to be alone.”
“I see. No siblings?” he asks. He already knows all of this but wants to hear it in her own voice. I want to tuck her into my chest and carry her away, not just to my room but far, far away from him.
She shakes her head. I watch her closely. I’m a man of my word and she’s out of warnings.
Dimitri’s eyes meet mine. “How fortunate.”
I finish my bread and swallow before I reply. “Very.”
“Are you shy?” he asks her, ripping his bread with savage tears of his hand.
Inhaling, she takes a breath as if to calm herself before she replies to him, her voice soft. “Yes. I don’t like people. They’ve never been nice to me, so I prefer not to socialize.”
He smiles. “Are you a virgin, then?” He draws out the question as if he mocks her. My temper flares. If he were any other man, I’d level him. Make him bleed. How dare he ask this of her? I have to remind myself who he is and curb my temper with a steady intake of breath.
But Sadie doesn’t balk. “Of course.”
He leans across the table and eyes her thoughtfully. If he asks her anything else, I’m liable to hurt him. Before he speaks again, and before I say something I might regret later, the dining room door opens. The waitstaff bears several platters laden with fish, potatoes, and wilted greens.
I’m grateful for the interruption. I want to gather her up in my arms and shield her from him, and it angers me that she softens me. Full grown men cower in my presence, but here… here I am, wanting to protect her. I want to see her smile.
I take double the portion onto my plate, and hand her empty plate to the staff. She watches me warily as I take small bites and feed her bites of food. I’m enthralled by her full lips closing over the fork, the way her tongue darts out and captures every last drop of food. The way she chews and swallows with grace, her little voice when she thanks me for the food.
“Good girl,” I croon, and for one brief moment it’s just the two of us until Dimitri speaks up. I’m so mesmerized by Sadie, I almost forgot he was here.
This will be the last meal we take in the dining room for a good, long, while. She’ll sit on my lap in my room and eat from my hand, unencumbered with clothing and social expectations. Away from the eyes of everyone but me.
Dimitri goes on and on about a meeting he had with the Prime Minister, his wife’s birthday wishes to travel to Paris, and a new investment he’s made. I listen, but I’m preoccupied by the soft breaths she takes. The feel of her leg beneath my hand. The soft, warm skin beneath my palm beckons to be kissed and bitten and licked. I squeeze her leg on impulse, so taken by her beauty. Soon, I’ll have her alone in my room.
