Chapter 33

After being paraded around like a show pony, Claude finally gave me to one of the servants. He spat out some directions and left. I was certain he was just trying to figure out when I was fair game to eat.

“Come now, signorina,” a gentle-faced servant offered. He was an older man, probably mid-seventies, his years etched across his face as if he’d lived a long, full life.

He outstretched a hand to me, and I looked away from him.

“Please. You are a guest of the family. You must eat for your strength,” the man explained.

“Why? What’s the point?” I mumbled under my breath. They were just going to kill me once they got what they wanted.

“While you are a guest, they cannot harm you.”

I glanced at the man from the corner of my eye. “Yeah right. I don’t believe that,” I replied, remembering how Claude fed on numerous servants. How could that not be harmful? “Why should I believe anything you say to me?”