Chương 44: Chapter 43 - Heartfelt Interview

As she closed the door behind her in the small room, Lady Yountal sat and asked Ron to sit as well. Ron was intrigued. When she had come back from her first interview with Spencer, Ron had seen Spencer standing a little taller, with a guarded look of hope in his eyes. Spencer worked with him in the gardens, and was a good man. He always helped out the others when they needed it, which had earned him Ron's respect.

Ron wondered what had transpired during that interview, and had been watching her more closely since her and Spencer returned. Before being led into the dining room to meet Lady Yountal, Lord Grivalt had gathered them all together, and told them that Lady Yountal was here in person to hand pick a few servants for her estate. He had threatened them all to keep silent, and only speak if spoken to. It was no secret that the Grivalt estate was failing.

It had been for years, slowly, but Lady Yountal's arrival in the area seemed to have accelerated things somehow. The last few months had gotten progressively worse, and a few weeks ago Lord Grivalt had sold what little possessions the estate had left. Things had been really bad since then. The servants only got one meal per day, but were still forced to keep up with their regular workloads.

Lord Grivalt had brought in a few new servants since then, but the lack of food was the main thing holding the staff back, not the lack of workers. Morale was low, to say the least. At first, Ron had kept his eyes on the ground in the dining hall, not wanting to draw attention to himself. But he couldn't help but look up when Lady Yountal had returned with Spencer. That look of silent hope in Spencer's eyes had piqued Ron's interest, and he had been sneaking glances at Lady Yountal since then.

Now, sitting across from her, he got his first good look at her. She had been to the estate once before, for a dinner, and his sweet wife Gentry had been able to help serve her. Ava too, had been able to see the young lady, but had only spoken ill of her that night in their quarters. Gentry had been more reserved in her estimations. Lady Yountal looked young, maybe a year or two older than his Kiara had been. She had long, brown hair, and was quite pretty.

As she looked back at him, her eyes glistened, and she seemed choked up for some reason, although Ron couldn't fathom why. Maybe she had a heart of gold, and was here to help? That would certainly have explained Spencer's reaction after his own interview. The silence stretched on long enough that Ron began to feel uncomfortable. He cleared his throat.

"Milady?" She hurriedly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Ah, sorry da… ackghkc!" She folded in half from pain, as her words choked off suddenly. Surprised, Ron moved from his chair to help steady her so she wouldn't fall. After a short moment, she righted herself and breathed out heavily.

"Are you alright, Lady Yountal?" he asked with genuine concern. He had never seen someone seize up like that before, and wondered if she had some sort of illness. She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She laughed for a moment, to herself.

"The irony of it all…" She shook her head, then turned back to him. What is your name, sir?"

"Ronald Dunsun, ma'am. Everyone calls me Ron."

"You have a family, Ron?" He smiled gently.

"I do. A wife and three kids." Now it was his turn to choke up slightly.

"Two of them are still living." Lady Yountal paused at that, studying his face for a moment.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said gently.

"What are their names?"

"My oldest was named Kiara," he said, holding back the lump in his throat. He smiled.

"She was a sweet girl. Died a few months back. Our next oldest is Ava, she's got the fire of a dragon in her, that one. Our youngest is Gabe, he's the little one you saw run in, back in the dining hall." Lady Yountal smiled, her eyes glistening again.

"Was Ava out there as well? In the dining hall, I mean?" Ron stiffened. He should have considered this before blabbing so proudly about his kids! Ava was one of the few servants that Lord Grivalt had avoided bringing into the dining hall today. He had lied to Lady Yountal, claiming they were all there, but was hiding some of them for one reason or another. Milt had been beaten badly a few days ago, and wasn't in any shape to appear before a lady, and so had been kept in the servants' quarters.

Goren was too likely to cause a scene, as he wasn't right in the head most days, so he had been kept back too. Ava and one other servant had also been kept from coming. Four servants in total. He knew Ava had thoughts of fleeing the estate, and honestly he'd been thinking about it too. With the estate falling apart, Lord Grivalt had let some of the guards go, as that was a paid position, and not one that he could conscript an indentured servant into with any level of reliability.

Before that, there had been too many guards moving about to attempt any kind of escape, but lately the possibilities had been opening up. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! If they escaped, they would be wanted criminals, and would have to go on the run. Move to a far away place where no one knew who they were, then try settling down again.

They didn't have any money, and would be unable to buy a farm, but that was a problem for future Ron, once they made it out of here. He didn't want to draw Lord Grivalt's attention onto him or his family any more than it already was, and was unsure how to answer Lady Yountal's question.

"It's okay," she said gently.

"I know that she wasn't there. You can speak freely to me, Ron. You have nothing to fear." He glanced at her briefly before looking away again. Was that true? Did he have nothing to fear? He didn't know Lady Yountal well enough to know her heart. What if she was a spy, planted by Lord Grivalt to feel out the loyalty of his servants? But Ron struck that idea down as quickly as it came. Lord Grivalt didn't have enough money to play at something like that. Besides, it was pretty obvious what everyone thought of him.

Even if she had a good heart though, she was unable to truly protect him or his family. He was sure that Lord Grivalt wouldn't let her purchase Ava's debt, seeing as she'd been prevented from appearing in the dining hall today, and there was no way Ron or Gentry would leave without her. And once Lady Yountal was gone, Ron and his family would be at the mercy of Lord Grivalt's good graces. So no, she couldn't truly protect him.

"Ava… wasn't feeling well, milady, so she stayed in the servant's quarters." He tried to word it in a way that might prevent any unnecessary collateral damage from Lord Grivalt's wrath if he found out.

"I see," Lady Yountal said, studying him.

"Do you mind if I ask what happened to your oldest daughter?" What had happened? He didn't rightly know. One day, Lord Grivalt's men had shown up at the farm and dragged everyone here by force. They had been sentenced to twenty years of indentured service to pay a blood debt for their daughter, Kiara. They had been told that she was dead, after attacking Lord Grivalt's carriage. That didn't make a lick of sense, but there was nothing they could do about it.

They had written a letter to their neighbors, filling them in on the situation, asking them to keep an eye out for Kiara. When she returned home, she would be alarmed to find them all missing. A week went by, and they got a reply. Their neighbors had watched vigilantly, but Kiara had never shown up. A month later, another letter, same thing. At the end of the second month, they had given up hope, wondering if she truly was dead. Otherwise, why would Lord Grivalt claim that she was?

"She died in an accident, milady," he lied, not wanting to burden her with the full story, and still not sure how much he could really trust her with their family secrets. She looked away and nodded, seemingly accepting the story. When she looked back, Ron studied her for a moment, looking into her eyes. Something deep in her eyes felt familiar. It felt comfortable, like a friend returning after a long absence. How could that be? He had only just met the woman. She smiled, and stood to leave.

"Let's head back now." Ron followed her out. * Kiara wondered if her family truly didn't know what had happened to her, or if her dad had lied for some reason. Did they think she just vanished one day? What explanation had Lord Grivalt given when he brought them here? The idea of them suffering here without even knowing why broke her heart. Back in the dining room, Ron lined back up with the other servants, and Kiara turned to Lord Grivalt.

"Do you have any servants who weren't brought in due to being ill, Lord Grivalt?" He looked alarmed for a moment, then turned a withering gaze at her dad.

"What did you say, you little brat?!" he screamed at Ron. He stepped forward and struck her father on the side of the head, sending him sprawling.

"Stop!" Kiara shouted, stepping forward as well. She glared at Lord Grivalt.

"What has gotten into you?" He whirled towards her.

"You dare question me?!" A second later, a look of fear came over his face, and he retreated from her instinctively, flinching away. Then, he fumbled with something around his neck. He checked it frantically, glancing up at her in trepidation. After a moment, he visibly relaxed somewhat, but kept checking the item as he looked towards Captain Soren. I asked you a question!" Kiara said, stepping forward again.

"What possessed you to strike that man?" This time, Lord Grivalt didn't so much as flinch as she stepped towards him. After looking at Captain Soren for a moment, he began looking in Estella's direction, all the while checking the item hanging around his neck. A moment later, he laughed.

"Ha! I had no reason to fear. A mere mortal, challenging me in my own house! And with two lowly tier 1 guards, no less. At first, I wondered if you might be a hidden powerhouse, a monster in disguise, but now I see you for what you are." Kiara peered over her shoulder, where Captain Soren and Estella had both come fully alert, glancing warily around the room. Their hands were on their weapons, but they were maintaining their composure for now.

Lord Grivalt patted the item hanging from his neck as he let it fall back out of his hand.

"A gift from my late father before he died. Accurately detects the power tier of anyone I point it at. Quite handy." His voice lowered to a dangerous tone.

"Now I know that you pose no real threat, I ask you again. You dare question me in my own house? I will do whatever I please, to whomever I please. You would do well to remember your place, Lady Yountal." He moved towards her father again.

"And you! You go behind my back with lies when you think I wouldn't find out? You try to turn my allies against me when you think I'm not listening?" He stepped towards Ron threateningly, and Kiara's sword appeared in her hand from her soul space. This was the enchanted one, with sharpness and durability enhancements on it. She always kept it in her soul space, ready to go, without a sheath.

"If you touch him again, I'll remove your hand," she said with a dangerous edge to her voice.