Cleaning the crown molding along with keeping with with her other chores proved more difficult than Carmine had originally thought. The first day she was working late into the night only to wake early the next morning to do it all again. Somehow there seemed to be food caught in some of the corners of the ballroom. She didn't even want to think how any of it could have got there. Nathaniel began helping her with some of her other chores so she was able to work more on the crown molding. The ladder she was given was rickety and she had to be extremely careful how she moved when she climbed it.

By the time the Chiots went for their day trip, the work was nearly finished. There was just one more corner to scrub and then it would be as clean as it could be. Carmine could see the skies raging outside through the wide windows to one side of the ballroom. It was a nasty storm that made it sound as if the windows were to shatter from the force of the wind at any moment. The skies were black except when lightning ripped across them followed by booming thunder. It was because of this that Carmine did not hear the banging on the front door at first. Only when it persisted to echo around the ballroom between cracks of thunder did she know what the sound was. As quick as she could she climbed down from the ladder. All the other servants were in the servants quarters since there was no Lady Chiot around to tell them what to do. With the storm no one else would have heard the banging at the front door.

Cautiously, Carmine opened the heavy door and peered around it. A tall man was leaning heavily on one of the great stone pillars that supported the overhang. He was wearing a traveling cloak and was soaking wet. His head was bowed and he was clutching his side as if he were in pain.

"Can I help you, sir?" Carmine called over the noise of the storm. Rain and leaves were being blown into the open door around her.

The man did not answer. Instead he walked right past her into the house. It was obvious from the way he moved that something had happened to hurt his side. Carmine frowned at the muddy bootprints he left behind him and the puddle he was making on the clean marble floor.

"Sir, I do not think my master would approve of you barging into their house while they are away." Carmine had just finished one punishment she did not want to succumb to another because of some random stranger wandering in.

"I need aid. My horse was frightened by the storm and I was thrown." The man winced and grasped his side tighter. "I think I may have injured my side."

Carmine sighed. She should turn him out back into the storm. He could be anyone. A clever thief who was just acting hurt or a fugitive. Surely, no upstanding person would be out riding in such weather without nefarious intentions. Still she offered to take his cloak and boots so at least they wouldn't trail mud and water after them as she led him to a small reading room close to the front foyer. She had him lay down on the couch. She could now see him better in the light of the room. His hair was cut very short in a style that was rarely seen in partial breeds. His skin was a dark shade that denoted he had wolf blood. His features were strong with a well defined jaw and heavy brow, but the most notable thing about him was the strange color of his eyes. They looked light brown, but in the light they seemed to have a golden tint to them. He must have had a fair amount of wolf in him to get such a color in his eyes and skin.

"Where does it hurt?" Carmine asked. It was a foolish question she knew where he hurt, but she didn't know what else to say. She was not trained in healing anything more than a deep cut or a bad burn.

He looked at her as if she were simple. "I told you my side hurts. Is there no one else here who can help me?"

"No, there is not." She snapped. He was not even supposed to be in the house; she did not want to call upon another servant who might tell Lady Chiot about the surprise visitor. "Move your hand and let me see."

The man did as he was told. The way he was staring made Carmine nervous so she did her best not to look at his face, but she could feel his eyes on her. There was blood staining his shirt and a rip in the fabric. It wasn't a lot of blood, but enough to be worrying. "I'm going to need to pull the shirt away to see it better."

He didn't say anything, but he also didn't stop her as she carefully lifted the shirt up over the wound. He hissed in pain as she pulled it away, but she ignored him. The rain had washed some of the blood away from the jagged wound. He had probably fallen on some sharp rock that had ripped through his side roughly. Carmine had to turn away for a moment to compose herself. His side reminded her of raw, bloody meat she had seen the cook use. Thankfully it was not bleeding too much, but it still needed cleaning.

Carmine went to fetch washcloths and herbs that would help with infection. She returned as quickly as she could with the supplies. The man was exactly where she left him. To keep herself calm and focused she continued to not look directly at him and explained everything she was doing. If he was a partial breed she did not want to be in trouble for not showing the proper respect. "I'm going to clean the wound now. It doesn't look too bad. It's just sort of big. I hope the water isn't too hot. I've never really healed anyone before. I mean I have bandaged up small cuts and scraps, but that comes with being a servant. I don't you will need stitches; it's not very deep. I have all the blood off now. I'm going to bandage it. I think I got enough bandages. I'm going to put this gauze square over the wound then you're going to have to help me as I wrap the bandages around your waist to hold it in place."

"What is your name?"

His sudden question cut off Carmine's babbling. She paused what she was doing to look at him before quickly turning away and getting back to tending his side. She could not remember the last time someone had asked for her name. "I am a servant of Lord and Lady Chiot."

"That is not what I asked. What is your name?"

"Carmine."

"You are a human." It was not a question.

"Yes," She answered slowly. Of course she was a human. No one with wolf blood would be a lowly servant. Still, she found it odd that he would point it out.

After that he made no further comment about the matter, but he seemed to be evaluating her. It was just another reason she avoided his gaze.

Once the man's wound was completely bandaged Carmine looked at her work. Considering her lack of medical knowledge, she thought she did a decent job of patching him up. She did not spend more than a few moments admiring her work because the clock was chiming the hour which reminded her how much trouble she could be in if anyone found them. She had been lucky so far that no one had passed or come to look for her, but she did not want to tempt fate.

"Well, I think that should keep infection away and it's no longer bleeding." Carmine held out her hand to help the man up. He slowly wrapped his fingers around her palm which made Carmine swallow nervously. Once he was standing he seemed more stable than he was when he arrived. She began shuffling him towards the door. "I wish you the best of luck. Oh, look the rain has let up some."

A particularly bright flash of lightening and loud crash of thunder accented how wrong her statement was. Still, perhaps Carmine could get him out of the house before anyone saw regardless of the weather. She pulled his still damp cloak from the rack and lined his boots up in front of him.

"Are you mad? If anything the storm is worse than before. I can't go out in that. Besides, I lost my horse and have no way of getting back to town. No, I will have to stay here until the storm lets up or my mount comes knocking on the door." The stranger crossed his arms resolutely. It seemed he would not be leaving any time soon.

Carmine chewed on her lower lip; it was a nervous habit she developed as a child and never quite grew out of. "Town isn't too far away down the road. A little rain never hurt anyone." She said slowly, but even to her ears he words sounded feeble.

"You're trying to get rid of me."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You are a terrible liar and even worse host."

Now Carmine crossed her arms indignantly. "I am not the host of anything and if you must know yes, I am trying to get rid of you."

The man smirked. "Ah, the truth comes out. Now, why are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Because you are a stranger of course."

"Ah, I see. You can call me Jace." He tried to bend in a bow, but with his wound he ended up nearly falling to the floor and Carmine was forced to catch him. It did not wipe his smirk away though. "There now, I am no longer a stranger. Surely, you are not so heartless as to send a poor wounded man out into the pouring rain?"

Carmine set him back on his feet with a sigh. "Very well, I suppose you can stay for a bit until the rain eases up. But you have to leave soon. It would not be good if someone were to find out you were here."

"And why's that?"

"Because you are still a stranger and no one besides the house staff is supposed to be in the house when Lord Chiot and his family are away. I have work to do, follow me." Carmine was not going to let this man get her in trouble for not doing her work. She didn't check to see if he was following as she returned to the ballroom. It was the low whistle that affirmed that he had indeed followed her.

"This is quite the dance hall. I have never seen such clean ceilings. Are they new?"

Carmine didn't turn around so he could not see her proud grin. Instead she walked to where she left the ladder. "No, just clean."

Jace had remained at the entrance to the room and was still admiring the grandeur of the room. "You mean you cleaned them from that rickety old ladder? That is impressive. I thought only the royal family had dance halls like this."

"The Chiots are half bloods; they are entitled to more finery than the normal country family." Carmine climbed the ladder again and reached for the last corner of the room. "Though sometimes it seems they like to pretend they are full bloods and more important than they really are."

Jace snickered. "That sounds about right for half breeds. Here, let me hold the ladder for you."

The ladder ceased rocking when Jace grabbed the legs of it. Carmine looked down to see that he was looking up at her. She had never had anyone except Nathaniel help her with her chores before. It was odd to see this stranger smiling up at her. "Thank you." She said a bit uncertainly.

"It's really no trouble at all. So how long have you worked for the Chiots? I suspect it isn't very exciting cleaning a house that isn't yours. As a matter of fact I have never even been very fond of cleaning up after myself let alone anyone else. It gets so tiresome when things just keep getting dirty all the time."

Figuring she had already said enough uncharitable things about her employers, Carmine tried to be gracious. "It is not so bad working for them. They provide a roof over my head and enough food to eat. For someone of my station, I am actually quite lucky to be here."

"Don't you ever wish you were something other than a servant?"

Carmine nearly laughed out loud. Of course she wished she wasn't a servant most days, but she was human. For someone like her being a servant to a family like the Chiots was as lucky as she was going to get. However, being a partial breed, Jace would no nothing about the life of a human. "And what would you propose as an alternative for a human such as me if not to be a servant?"

Realizing his misstep, Jace did not reply immediately. Before he could rectify his mistake another voice sang through the ballroom. "Carmine!"

Carmine nearly knocked Jace over in her haste to get down and nearly fell from the ladder herself. Nathaniel was calling for her. Luckily he had not reached the ballroom yet. With a hurried command for Jace to stay where he was she ran out. Nathaniel had to jump quickly to the side when she came barreling around the ballroom door.

"Whoa, slow down there. What is the rush?" He asked as she did her best to look nonchalant and as if she wasn't hiding someone.

She brushed some hair from her face. "Nothing. No rush. What did you need? I really need to finish the ceiling before her ladyship comes home."

All her efforts to dissuade Nathaniel were for nothing. They had known each other too long for him to be so easily fooled. The questions came in quick succession as he tried to get around her to look through the door. "What are you hiding in there? Did you knock down part of the ceiling or something? Come on, let me see. It's not like I would tell that old hag about anything that would get you in trouble."

"No, there's nothing there. Nate, stop it. It's nothing."

Nathaniel used his greater size and strength to bodily hold Carmine while he looked into the ballroom. When he saw what she was hiding he quickly hid behind the door and faced her. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open in shock that quickly turned to an excited grin. "You have a boy in there." He attempted to whisper but it came out closer to a shout.

Carmine clamped a hand over his mouth and looked around the hallway to make sure no one heard. "Shh, it's not like that he came in to get out of the storm."

"Scandalous!" Nathaniel pulled the hand away from his mouth. "I never thought you of all people would have brought a person of the male persuasion into the house when the family was away. Who is he? He looks handsome. How long have you known him? Can I meet him?"

"I did not bring him here; he just showed up. I couldn't exactly throw him back out into this storm. What was I to do, he was injured."

Nathaniel grinned and tilted his head. "Oh, Carmine, you old softie."

"Hush up," Suddenly things had become much more complicated. She had imagined that she would be able to get Jace out without anyone even knowing he was there. At least it had been Nathaniel who came along. If any of the other servants had found out they would have gone straight to Lord Chiot or his wife.

Nathaniel tried to peek into the ballroom again but pulled him away. "He's leaving now. It sounds like the storm is mostly over and the Chiots could be home at any moment. You can't tell anyone. Promise me."

"Of course I promise, but there's a problem. The Chiot's carriage just crossed the bridge. They will be here any minute."

Carmine's mind began frantically going over how to get out of this situation unscathed. "Go distract them. I'll get Jace out the back."

Before Nathaniel went to try and stall Lady Chiot he couldn't resist one more parting shot, "Oh, Jace is it now. That's a nice name don't you think?"

"Go!"

Carmine returned to where Jace was still standing by the ladder. She figured they could probably get out easier through the servant's exit. If she hurried she could return and put the ladder up before Lady Chiot came to inspect the ballroom. She just had to get Jace through the servants quarters without being seen.

"It's not raining so hard now. You should be on your way. Come on let's go."

"You're in a hurry." Jace commented as she all but pushed him towards the hidden servant's door on the side of the room.

"Don't want you going home in the dark. You might end up hurting yourself again." They entered the narrow dark hallway that connected the ballroom to the kitchens and servant's quarters.

It wasn't far to the back door that led to the garden. That part of the house was rarely ever used unless there was a party so they did not run into anyone along the way, but other servants could be heard moving about down other halls. When Carmine threw open the back door the rain had let up, but the garden was a muddy mess. The stepping stones that created the path were nearly buried in the muck. It wasn't ideal for walking through but there was no way to get him out the front door without being seen.

"Is there something wrong with the front door?" Jace asked as he looked over the garden.

"Why would you say that?" Carmine was distracted looking over her shoulder into the house to make sure no one was coming.

"Carmine," The way he said her name made her turn to look at him. He was looking at her expectantly. They were standing next to each other in the doorway and he was closer than she had thought.

"Lord and Lady Chiot have returned and if they find you here I will be in so much trouble so you have to leave now." She quickly explained.

Jace nodded and stepped down onto the single stone step then paused. "When will I see you again?"

"I am just a servant," She laughed. "You don't want to see me again. I have to go. If you go through those trees it will take you to a path that goes straight to the main road. I'm sorry to push you out, but I have to go now. Goodbye."

Carmine closed the door before he could say anything and ran back to the ballroom. She had just folded up the ladder and picked up the bucket of cleaning supplies when Lady Chiot walked in. She looked up at the ceiling and nodded her head once. "It seems you aren't completely useless. Put up that ladder then go and help Mable with her fireplace."

That was all the thanks that she would ever receive for her work on the crown molding. Lady Chiot left and Carmine went to put the ladder away.