Bread and Water

Nathaniel wiped Lily’s dress with a wet cloth, trying to be both gentle and rough enough to rid of the stain. It seemed to be an easy task for him.

“How long do you think this will take?” Lily asked nonchalantly.

He leaned forward to examine her skirts. “About half an hour. If you need to be somewhere, I can find you something else to wear and return the dress when it is finished.”

Lily shook her head. “No, it’s all right. I was just curious.”

Nathaniel nodded and went back to scrubbing the stain.

For the next few minutes, all that could be heard was the sound of the sponge rubbing the soft fabric of her dress. The silence wasn’t awkward though. On the contrary, it was the kind of silence Lily felt when she and her best friends stopped talking. Comfortable.

“Does this happen often?” she asked.

To her surprise, he looked up and smiled at her. “Cleaning stains out of clothes or sitting in silence?”

His smile lit up his entire face. It only accentuated those sparkling blue eyes of his. It was so contagious that she found herself smiling back.

“Cleaning stains,” she corrected.

“In that case, yes, it happens at least once a day.” He shrugged. “It’s normal.”

“Do you live here?”

“Yes.” He said nothing more.

“What kind of servant are you?” she blurted out. Then she winced. It had been a rude question to ask.

To her relief, he smiled at her once more. “I am Prince Harrison’s personal servant.”