The King's Lover
Chapter 79: Kali

Chapter 79: Kali

Rose watched Lady Delphine walk away with Esme on her tail as they walked toward the man. He looked a little drunk, and there was a huge wooden cup of ale in his hand. With every movement he made, the liquid spilled over the top of the cup, but he wouldn’t stop moving his hand.

"Who is that?" the man asked, pointing toward Rose. "A new girl? Give her to me."

"No one," Lady Delphine said sweetly as she tried to distract him while Kali grabbed Rose’s arm and pulled her away from the scene.

Rose let herself be pulled as Kali dragged her up the side stairs. They turned a corner and came into a row of rooms. Rose counted no fewer than five different rooms. She wanted to plug her ears against the noise that came from every corner of the house. How could anyone—she didn’t want to think about it.

Kali stopped in front of a door and pushed it open. "This room should be empty," she was saying.

The door opened, and Kali rushed in. Rose followed behind her, closing the door as they entered the room. The room was small, with the bed taking up most of it, but it was a decent room, and a lit lamp sat on the table.

"Stay here, don’t come out. If you—" she frowned as she took in Rose’s appearance.

"I will get you something to clean up with, a change of clothes, and a new pair of shoes."

Rose nodded. She couldn’t help wiggling her toes at the mention of shoes. She wouldn’t mind being barefoot here. The wood wasn’t bad, and there was a soft carpet she could step on.

"Lady Delphine will be very busy for the rest of the night, and I can’t come here after getting you shoes," Kali continued speaking. "If you need anything, you have to wait until someone comes to you. And when I leave, lock the door behind you." free\we,bnovel.c o(m)

Rose nodded.

"I can call you Rose, right?" she asked with a frown.

Rose nodded again, wondering what caused the displeasure in her eyes. Kali looked at Rose again, from her toes to her face.

"Can you speak?" she asked.

"Aye," Rose replied, realizing that Kali must think she was dumb since she hadn’t said a word since they met.

"Good. If someone tries to break into the room and you can’t run or fight them off, scream! It’s a busy night, so Lady Delphine will have her hands full trying to get control of things. I have to go. I’ll get you the things you need."

Rose nodded again and watched Kali leave the room. As soon as Kali stepped out, Rose clicked the latch into place. She turned around and leaned her back against the door, slowly falling to the ground.

Rose just sat there with her head between her knees. She grabbed the back of her head while still hiding her face. Her forehead still hurt, but she was currently more aware of other things. Lady Delphine had not only paid for her, but she was also now in her manor—brothel. Something told her this wasn’t a good development.

Rose jumped to her feet as she heard a knock, followed by Kali’s voice. "Rose, open up, it’s me."

Rose moved her shaky hands to the door, unlatched it, and pulled it open. Kali was standing by the door, but she wasn’t alone. There was a girl next to her who looked to be around the age of thirteen or fourteen. .com

She held a bowl of water while Kali carried a plate of food and some clothes in one hand. They walked in and placed them on the floor while Rose stood holding the door.

"When you are done, just place them in the corner. Someone will come and take them eventually. I have some work to do now, but by morning, things will settle down. Then you can see Lady Delphine. Here," she said, shoving the dress into Rose’s hands.

"Thank ye."

Kali frowned. "It might not be to your liking, but it’s the only dress I could find. I couldn’t find extra shoes, but since you don’t need to leave the room, I will find something for you in the morning."

"I don’t mind walkin’ around barefoot," Rose replied. "The ground is not too bad."

"Well, Lady Delphine minds, and she will be furious if she finds out I didn’t get you anything to wear. So just bear with this for tonight."

"I am grateful," Rose said, bending her head.

"You shouldn’t thank me. Thank Lady Delphine. Clean up and get some rest." With that, she dragged the child she had brought with her, and the two of them left Rose alone.

It took Rose a bit to move from her frozen position and walk to the door. She was tired, all her bones screaming at her to just lie down and sleep, while her eyes still couldn’t comprehend the scene in front of her. fr\eewebno vel .c(o)m

She latched the door and walked into the room. Rose started by getting rid of her clothes before cleaning herself. She piled the dirty clothes in the corner and turned her attention to the food.

It was some curry and bread. Rose drank the soup as if she had never eaten anything better. It had taken sheer willpower for her not to eat first, but she didn’t want to sit on the carpet with her dirty dress.

She tore into the bread viciously before slowly drinking the soup. Rose drank water and fell onto her back. She was almost content. She stayed in that position for a bit, unmoving, then finally forced herself to her feet.

She placed the dirty dishes in the corner as she had been asked and then looked at the bed. Could she really lie on it? It was better than the bed in the servants’ quarters. It even had a bed frame. There was a lot to do in the morning. She might as well get some rest while she could.

She would deal with things tomorrow.